EVGA X58 SLI Micro LGA1366 Motherboard Review

These read points - seen in the "Closer Look" section - include vCORE, vDIMM, VTT, IOH, CPU PLL, QPI PLL, IOH IO, ICH IO, ICH, and a ground point. Basically, any voltage we can adjust in the BIOS, we can read right off the motherboards read points. Let's have a look at the difference between what we set in the BIOS, what E-LEET picks up in Windows, and what our DMM picks up from the read points; at both idle and load conditions. We will be using our overclocked settings for the testing so we see how the board handles the voltage droops at a heavy overclock.

Things look to be pretty much what we expected and wanted to see. The one stand out from the voltage readings is the VTT. EVGA has consistently messed this voltage up in the BIOS reading on all of the X58 boards thus far, and obviously haven't corrected it on the X58 SLI Micro. The BIOS reads VTT much higher than it actually is, and thus, reports it to E-LEET in Windows much higher than it actually is. According to the voltage read point, VTT appears to be about what we set in the BIOS. It actually runs a little low from what is set, and then droops even further under load conditions. In reality, VTT droops under load a full 0.062v from what we set in the BIOS. This is important information as VTT plays a vital role in memory clocks at the high end. So keep in mind that VTT is actually substantially lower than what is set in the BIOS, despite what E-LEET or any other software programs report in Windows.

vDIMM is another voltage that is important to know and it too runs a little low, 0.035v to be exact. When running memory that requires 1.65v, it might be a good idea to set 1.70v in the BIOS as this will equate to about 1.65v in actual voltage supply to the memory both at idle and load. Here now are a few charts generated by OCCT during a quick 20 minute load test on our overclocked settings. We show both with (vCORE is set slightly higher to compensate) and without vDROOP enabled as well as the rest of the voltage readings that are picked up by E-LEET and other software in Windows including vDIMM, VTT, and IOH vCORE.

vDROOP Chart from OCCT - vDROOP Enabled

vDROOP Chart from OCCT - vDROOP Disabled

The EVGA BIOS allows users to enable or disable vDROOP and the feature works as advertised, but when you disable vDROOP, vCORE actually increases under load as we saw in the chart earlier and the graph just above. We won't discuss the merits of vDROOP but can simply say the EVGA X58 boards have always offered the ability to enable or disable it as the user pleases.

The rest of these voltage charts should be taken with a grain of salt, as should the vDROOP charts, but they still give us a general idea how the board regulates the given voltages. Let's move on the Heat & Acoustical Testing section.