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Gigabyte EX58-Extreme Motherboard Review :: Gigabyte EX58-Extreme Features
Blu-Ray playback outputs supported by high quality 106dB SNR ALC889A HD audio One of the key features of the new X58 chipset is support for the Socket LGA-1366 interface. Intel CPUs require a lot of power to run and the LGA-775 interface was running on its last legs as to maximum TDP. The new LGA-1366 interface allows the heat to be spread out more than the older interface meaning that TDPs of 140W are supported. In fact all of the Core i7 CPUs have a TDP of 140W.  Logo The X58-Extreme motherboard supports up to DDR3 2100 memory. Core i7 CPUs support up to DDR3-1066MHz, but the motherboard manufacturers are free to test and qualify their boards for higher rated memory. Gigabyte has tested DDR3-2000 memory from G.SKILL and Team. Their memory qualification list has many DDR3-1800 modules and lower. One issue with motherboard chipsets of the past is the inability to run Crossfire or SLI on the same board. Intel introduced the Skulltrail platform to allow the choice, but that required two NVIDIA nForce 200 chips to run SLI. The X58 is the first motherboard chipset to fully support NVIDIA's SLI or Crossfire without changing the motherboard. Gigabyte's Ultra Durable 3 technology is designed to have the motherboard components run cooler, with less power than other technologies. The EX58-Extreme has 2oz of copper for every square foot of PCB space. This allows the UD3 motherboards to operate up to 50C cooler (CPU VRM temperature rating under 100% load) than other motherboards without that much copper. The EX-58 Extreme also has Lower RDS (on) MOSFETs which have lower power consumption than traditional MOSFETS. MOSFETS allow or disallow electric current to pass through an electronic circuit and Lower RDS (on) MOSFETS generate less heat and have faster switching than regular MOSFETS. Gigabyte states that they have measured 16% lower operating temperatures using these MOSFETS. Modern motherboards like the Gigabyte EX58 Extreme have very high power consumption. The EX58 Extreme has a 12+2+2 phase power design with VRD 11.1 support. The next feature is one that will take some getting used to by some people called the Hybrid Silent Pipe 2 technology. This combines GIGABYTE's proprietary screen cooling technology, external heatsink and liquid cooling with chipset water block to deliver maximum thermal performance.  Hybrid SilentPipe 2 The Screen Cooling thermal design reduces the temperature around the CPU zone and removes the heat between the NB and SB area. The Liquid Cooling system features a special water-block design with an enlarged dissipating surface area for enhanced heat dissipation and optimum flow rate. High Precision die forming technology used to increase the thermal conductivity of the material that makes up the heatsink. The External Heatsink design utilizes a convection slot at the back of the case to increase thermal dissipation. Dynamic Energy Saver (DES) is GIGABYTE's patented energy saving utility and hardware. GIGABYTE's DES has 6-Gear Switching which means that there are 6 CPU settings that the motherboard can handle to save energy. 1 Gear phase switching is where the most energy is saved but is only supported by 45 nanometer processors with PSI signal enabled. GIGABYTE's board has three levels of overclocking with a single click with QuickBoost which is part of their EasyTune6 overclocking utility. Contents:
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