Intel launched their new LGA (Land Grid Array) Socket 1366 Core i7 CPUs just a month ago and the only motherboard chipset that supports the new CPU is the Intel X58 chipset. The Core i7 re-introduced Hyper-Threading technology and supports Intel’s Shared Smart Cache technologies. The LGA-1366 is the first Intel CPU to have the memory controller on the CPU not the Southbridge as earlier chipsets would have.
The X58 chipset is the first Intel chipset to natively support both SLI and Crossfire on the chipset level. Unfortunately, NVIDIA has not certified the Intel X58 motherboard for SLI though the various motherboards based upon this from other manufacturers support SLI out of the box. The DX58SO motherboard does fully support ATI’s Crossfire multi-GPU solution where you can install two ATI cards and run them together, but it is not currently SLI capable.
One of the key features of modern motherboard design that have been adopted by many manufacturers is the Solid Capacitors. An issue with some motherboards is leaking capacitors that cause the motherboard to not function properly. Solid capacitors have the advantage of not breaking off and leaking making the motherboard last longer and more stable at higher power frequencies. Intel’s DX58SO board has Solid capacitors.
Intel first introduced support for DDR3 support to their motherboard chipsets with the launch of the X38 chipset in 2007. The X58 chipset got rid of support for the earlier DDR2 standard and standardized on DDR3 memory support. As the memory controller is now on the CPU the Core i7 has direct access to the memory instead of going through the Northbridge as earlier CPUs would. The X58 chipset supports up to triple channel memory with memory bandwidth up to 76.8GB/second.
The X58 chipset is the first Intel chipset to natively support both SLI and Crossfire on the chipset level. Unfortunately, NVIDIA has not certified the Intel X58 motherboard for SLI though the various motherboards based upon this from other manufacturers support SLI out of the box. The DX58SO motherboard does fully support ATI’s Crossfire multi-GPU solution where you can install two ATI cards and run them together, but it is not currently SLI capable.
One of the key features of modern motherboard design that have been adopted by many manufacturers is the Solid Capacitors. An issue with some motherboards is leaking capacitors that cause the motherboard to not function properly. Solid capacitors have the advantage of not breaking off and leaking making the motherboard last longer and more stable at higher power frequencies. Intel’s DX58SO board has Solid capacitors.
Intel first introduced support for DDR3 support to their motherboard chipsets with the launch of the X38 chipset in 2007. The X58 chipset got rid of support for the earlier DDR2 standard and standardized on DDR3 memory support. As the memory controller is now on the CPU the Core i7 has direct access to the memory instead of going through the Northbridge as earlier CPUs would. The X58 chipset supports up to triple channel memory with memory bandwidth up to 76.8GB/second.
* Core i7 LGA1366 Processor support
* DDR3 1600MHz
* X58 Chipset
* High Definition Audio
* ATI Crossfire
* 12 USB 2.0 Ports
* Six Serial ATA 3.0Gb/second ports
* 2 IEEE-1394 ports
* Consumer IR receiver and emitter
* Solid capacitors
* Exclusive voltage regulator heatsinks
* DDR3 1600MHz
* X58 Chipset
* High Definition Audio
* ATI Crossfire
* 12 USB 2.0 Ports
* Six Serial ATA 3.0Gb/second ports
* 2 IEEE-1394 ports
* Consumer IR receiver and emitter
* Solid capacitors
* Exclusive voltage regulator heatsinks
