eVGA is expanding their ever popular x58 lineup, which currently consists of the mainstream  x58 SLI, and their enthusiast offering the x58 Classified. According to reports to Fudzilla, by Jacob Freeman (no relation to one Gordan Freeman) the two new boards, the x58 SLI LE and x58 SLI Micro are intended to offer a more cost effective solution to the i7 upgrade, which currently has most motherboards positioned above the $300 mark – making it a very expensive upgrade. Their mATX offering also hopes to bring i7 into media centres and other smaller form factor PC’s. 

First on the list is the X58 SLI LE (141-BL-E757) motherboard, which will be placed directly under and priced lower than the current X58 SLI (141-BL-E758). One of the more notable features is the fact that it has four PCI-Express 2.0 slots that run at x16/x16/x8/x8, similar to the X58 SLI Classified (E760) non-NF200 model. It should be noted that the LE also features a PCI-E x1 slot directly under the top PCI-E x16 slot. This might be a problem for SLI users with audio or network cards running on the x1 interface, but it is possible to place two dual-slot cards in the second and third PCI-E slots should this be an issue. There is also a single standard PCI slot just as with the other X58 family boards.

The new X58 SLI LE will also feature a 6-phase analog PWM design with a single EPS 12v connector. In comparison, the X58 SLI features an 8-phase analog PWM design with a single EPS 12v connector while the enthusiast X58 SLI Classified features 10-phase digital PWM over dual EPS 12v connectors.

Apart from these design aspects, the LE board is very similar to the X58 SLI in its feature set. It includes six triple-channel DDR3 1600MHz slots, six SATA II 3.0Gb/s slots, an onboard LED for POST codes an temperature monitoring, but a passive heatsink rather than an active one. As stated before, the X58 SLI LE (E757) is an additional model to the X58 family that will be priced below the current X58 SLI (E758) model.

On the other hand, the company is also introducing its first enthusiast platform motherboard to compete in the micro-ATX market, the EVGA X58 SLI Micro (141-BL-E756). One of the more notable features that catches the eye is the fact that this mini board uses the same red and black color scheme found on the Classified. It features two PCI-Express x16 2.0 slots that allow for dual-slot SLI cards to be fit nicely and compactly, as well as a PCI-E x1 slot sandwiched between them and a standard PCI slot at the bottom.

The new X58 SLI Micro will also feature a 6-phase analog PWM design with a single EPS 12v connector. It has six triple-channel DDR3 1600MHz slots, six SATA II 3.0Gb/s slots, an onboard LED for POST codes and temperature monitoring, and the same passive heatsink found on the LE. Overall, this board should prove to be a good competitor to the ASUS Rampage II Gene mATX.

As far as availability goes, we are told that at least one of these new models will be available before the end of this month and the other shortly after.

Source: Fudzilla