EVGA X58 3X SLI Classified LGA 1366 Motherboard Review Comment Thread

[Invisibleh8]

My original P6T Deluxe had SAS, and cost a fraction this does. I don't know why they not include it on such a high end board.....

[MpG]

SAS really isn't the kind of thing you should be caring about on a desktop. The VR's come surprisingly close to server drives in many respects, and if you absolutely need the extra that the 15K drives offer, you should probably be looking at SSD's. And if SSD's aren't a good option, why are you using a desktop motherboard?

[Lithotech]

Furthermore, if you can afford SAS drives, you should be running a hardware raid controller.

Originally Posted by MpG

SAS really isn't the kind of thing you should be caring about on a desktop. The VR's come surprisingly close to server drives in many respects, and if you absolutely need the extra that the 15K drives offer, you should probably be looking at SSD's. And if SSD's aren't a good option, why are you using a desktop motherboard?

[Lithotech]

I assume you installed the new board onto the old boards OS without changing anything. The review stated that the driver disk was the same shipped with the vanilla x58, it is safe to say that yours will be fine.

Personally, I'd check the website for updated drivers, and install those if they are newer. Otherwise, I would run it like it is for a few weeks and see if it is all well. In other words, I'd benchmark the crap out of it trying to break something.

Originally Posted by rjbarker

Hi thier 3 oh....great Review....happy to say my Step-up Classified is up n running with no issues thus far, although I'm still breaking in and have not done any OC'ing..yet :) Quick question...I have not at this point installed any Chipset Drivers, LAN or Audio as my previous Board was the Evga X58 vanilla....everything seems to be running alright (as I knock on wood), would you recomend installing the Chipset Drivers at the minimum?

Thanks as always!

[3oh6]

thanks guys and sorry for the late replies...gone this weekend and still recovering from the "cold bug" i picked up...quote of the year Alwaysrun, whether you meant it as a play on words or not.

Originally Posted by Digikid

You should factor in the release of the NON NF200 model now.

A LOT of EVGA members are very angry at EVGA for releasing a Non NF200 version of the classified after EVGA told them that they would NOT release such a version. ( the NF200 is the source of the massive heat )

I hate to say though...in the review you mentioned that you liked the Thermal Grease job that EVGA did. Hate to tell you but it looks HORRIBLE to me. Way too much and could have been done a lot better IMHO. Many people have reported much better temps after reapplying nrew thermal grease to the cooling unit.

I also hate how EVGA did the control panel thingy. They should have of made a bezel for it.

absolutely, the non-NF200 version of this board was posted on the EVGA site literally the day the review went up, nothing i could do at that point. but it does effect this board. would i recommend this one over the non-NF200, absolutely not. save the $50 and get it. at the same time, if you already have this version, don't bother whining about the non-NF200 and how much the performance gains are of dropping the NF200 chip. i talked with Jake from EVGA this weekend, i talk to him everyday in fact but this weekend was in person, and the non-NF200 version has the same performance. there is the 1-3% gain by dropping the NF200 chip but that equates to absolutely nothing in games or benches.

don't let the masses at the EVGA forums talk you into hating this board...it performs the same. as mentioned, i talked to Jake about getting a non-NF200 and not doing a review, but simply an entire article comparing GPU performance. i'll keep you guys posted if it works out.

Originally Posted by Lithotech

Great review! I'd love to see what it does with one of the new stepping 920s.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...8-7_4195-1.png

i just, just, put the chip in and am working on memory clocks on air. hoping to have a session later today or tomorrow under LN2. hopefully i can push the base clock enough for 5GHz, but with the high BCLK i will have to use the 4X memory ratio which means 952MHz memory. unless i can get 6-7-6 clocking that high - and it isn't out of the question - the benches will be pretty weak. i'll keep you posted in this thread with results.

Originally Posted by rjbarker

Quick question...I have not at this point installed any Chipset Drivers, LAN or Audio as my previous Board was the Evga X58 vanilla....everything seems to be running alright (as I knock on wood), would you recomend installing the Chipset Drivers at the minimum?

if everything is working and there is no stuttering or random blue screens, things of that nature. i don't see why you wouldn't just leave as is. obviously my first piece of advice would have been to do a clean OS install though. but if things seems fine, i wouldn't worry about it.

Originally Posted by Lithotech

Furthermore, if you can afford SAS drives, you should be running a hardware raid controller.

i couldn't agree more. the ASUS board is the only one with SAS support, and correct me if i am wrong, they dropped SAS on the V2...so deduce what you will from that but i read that it wasn't worth it because no one wanted it. also, to justify the cost of a board by one feature is ridiculous. the P6T Deluxe doesn't cost as much as the Classified, but the only difference between the two isn't SAS support.

[3oh6]

well, turns out the IMC on this 920 isn't the greatest. it doesn't like more than 1.45v for VTT on air, and it can't even run my dominator-GTs at 1000 7-8-7 for anything more than a single 32M, 8x32M freezes after a few loops. these sticks run that no problem on this board with my 965. this 920 D0, however, does like BCLK. where my 965 tops out at 206ish for BCLK on air for single 32M, this 920 beats it easily...



so for all those that think BCLK is all board, think again. like FSB, the CPU plays a crucial role. this goes for memory clocking as well. don't buy those 1000MHz kits thinking you won't have issues running them stable at those clocks...your CPU IMC has to be able to handle it.

[Lithotech]

Awesome! The board is capable of 224, with the right cpu. The new 920s are potentailly capable of well over 200, and unfortunately the IMC brings back memories of dud A64s. Things will continue to improve. In the end, the review is on the board not the cpu, so it's all good info!

.

[3oh6]

these D0's are also crazy clockers with the right batch. i am not far from maxing this guy out on air for 32M...you don't even need extreme cooling anymore. just a TRUE with fans in push/pull, ambients around 23C. this Classified loves this chip...

[crispex]

I may simply be an idiot, but I am, as I write this wee lil post, in the process of trying to order everything for my new desktop that I was posting about sometime in March.

What I can't seem to figure out is which Classified has, and does not have the NF200. Help?

[3oh6]

with NF200... 141-BL-E759-A1
without NF200... 141-BL-E760-A1

HTH