Gigabyte EX58-Extreme Motherboard Review :: Gigabyte EX58-Extreme Layout

The LGA-1366 Socket is clear of obstacles with plenty of clearance around the Socket to install large after market CPU coolers like the Thermalright cooler we used in our Intel Core i7 coverage. There are rows of low-profile solid capacitors on all four sides. Surrounding the CPU Socket is Gigabyte's chipset cooler. There's a Ultra Durable 3 logo on the Southbridge. The Northbridge is covered by a water block with two heatpipes leading out to two heatsinks that cover the RDS (on) MOSFETs.

In terms of expansion capability, the EX58 Extreme has three PCI Express slots for three video cards either in SLI mode or Crossfire mode. Spacing is not really an issue unless you want to install an IDE or extra Firewire cables. Also present on the board are two PCI slots in between the three PCI Express x16 slots, a PCI Express x4 slot and a PCI Express x1 slot.

The X58 chipset supports up to 6 SATA ports natively. Gigabyte has taken those six ports and added four more for hardware RAID. All ten SATA ports are sideways oriented, meaning that they will not interfere with the installation of two slot video cards nor will they be a hindrance in installing two slot video cards. Two JMB SATA II controllers support the extra ports.

Onboard Power buttons are nice to test the motherboard outside of the box, allowing the end user to install all of the components of the computer without inserting them into the case to see what problems there are with the computer before putting it all together, finding a problem and having to take components out of the case one by one. Helping this is the onboard LED giving indications as to problem areas on boot.

Onboard sound is provided by the venerable Realtek ALC 889A CODEC that has been around for a while now. Modern onboard sound has nearly made companies like Creative Labs extinct with fewer releases for the sound card market and little innovation beyond what is in the High Definition Audio standard. The ALC889A has 108DB SNR and support for Dolby Home Theater.

The IO area of the EX58 Extreme is interesting in what it includes. One important consideration on a motherboard meant for the overclocking enthusiast is the ability to quickly clear the CMOS on a failed boot. The IO area has a CLR CMOS button to facilitate this. A PS/2 Mouse, PS/2 Keyboard, SPDIF Out and Coaxial port along with the standard 6 audio jacks for the onboard sound make 7.1 surround sound available. Two RJ45 jacks for the onboard LAN controlled by two Realtek 8111D PHY controllers support Teaming. Teaming allows two Gigabit Ethernet ports to work together effectively forming a single 2 Gigabit LAN connection. Rounding out the IO are eight USB 2.0 ports with room for four more if the headers are used.