Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
For most people, including us, anything more than two x16 slots is just mar-
keting hype, since they'll never be used. It is important that both slots are elec-
trically full x16, though, which often isn't the case. A PCI Express 2.0 slot may
be x16 physically, but only x8, x4, or even x1 electrically. Both x16 slots in the
DX58SO are x16 electrically, so either (or both) can support even the fastest
video adapters.
What About USB 3.0?
When we built the project systems for
this topic, a few motherboards with
USB 3.0 support were just becoming
available. We decided not to make
USB 3.0 a checklist item, and in fact
gave a downcheck to motherboards
that included USB 3.0. Why? Early
implementations of what is destined
to become a widespread standard
are often deficient in their support for
that standard, sometimes in subtle
ways. The first motherboards with
USB 1.0 support later showed incom-
patibilities with later USB 1.0 devices,
as did the first USB 1.1 and USB 2.0
motherboards with later devices
built to those standards. We have no
reason to believe the same will not be
true of early USB 3.0 motherboards.
Fortunately, there's no real dis-
advantage to buying a motherboard
that lacks USB 3.0 support. USB 2.0
is more than fast enough for all of
our USB devices. For high-data-rate
applications like external hard drives
or HD camcorders, we use eSATA
or FireWire. As devices that require
USB 3.0 become more common, so
will $15 PCI Express USB 3.0 adapter
cards that fully support the stan-
dard. When (or if ) we need USB 3.0
support, we'll install one of these
cards. We recommend that you do
the same.
Then there was the matter of communications ports. This system will have a
ton of peripherals connected to it: one or two printers, at least one scanner, a
webcam, USB speakers, an inexpensive headset for Skype, good headphones
for listening to audio or watching videos without disturbing Barbara, a high-
quality noise-canceling microphone for overdubbing audio tracks on our vid-
eos, a USB microscope camera, and a partridge in a pear tree. We'll also need
free USB ports to connect our MP3 players, digital voice recorder, digital SLRs,
and the USB flash drives we use for quick backups during the working day.
Most of the motherboards we looked at included four, six, or eight USB 2.0
ports. The Intel DX58SO provides 12 USB 2.0 ports. Of course, it's easy enough
to add USB ports by installing an adapter card, but again, it's nice to have as
many as you need already on-board.
Finally, we wanted two IEEE-1394 (FireWire) ports to connect our camcord-
ers. (We could get by with one port, but switching cables gets old fast.) Most
of the motherboards in our price range provide one FireWire port, if any; the
Intel DX58SO and two of the GIGABYTE models provide two. Once again, we
could add FireWire ports by installing an adapter card, but the presence of two
FireWire ports on the Intel board gave us yet another nudge in its direction.
We settled on the Intel DX58SO, but of course your own priorities may make
one of the competing models a better choice for you. The Intel board was ideal
for us because it's on the low end of our price range, provides every feature we
wanted, and offers Intel's usual rock-solid reliability and compatibility.
In the same $200 to $225 range as the Intel DX58SO, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-
UD3R is an excellent choice, as are the ASUS P6T or P6T SE and the ASUS
P6X58D. If you need a μATX board, choose the ASUS Rampage II GENE. If you're
willing to spend closer to $300 on your motherboard, look at the ASUS P6T
Deluxe, P6TD Deluxe, or P6X58D Premium, or the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD5. If
you don't want to spend even $200 on the motherboard, the standout choice
among less expensive X58 models is the ASRock X58 Extreme. For an AMD
processor, use the ASUS M4A89TD PRO or the GIGABYTE GA-890FXA-UD5.
Processor
Intel Core i7-980X
(
http://www.intel.com
)
For most systems, we give some thought to which processor is the best match
for our needs and budget. For our extreme system, there really wasn't much
to think about. We wanted the fastest desktop processor available, and that
was the Intel Core i7-980X. With its high clock speed and six multithreaded
cores, the Core i7-980X simply blew away every competing processor, as well
it should, given its $1,000 price tag. The Core i7-980X is 60% faster than AMD's
