ASUS P6X58D-E Review
Conclusion
Published: 24th May 2010 | Source: ASUS | Price: £170.57 |
Conclusion
So has this cut-price model cut the performance too or is it quite the bargain?
Unquestionably, as our results indicate, it's a bargain.
Starting with the looks, it reminds us a lot of the earlier Rampage models. It's nice to see a motherboard from ASUS that moves away from the red and black theme if for no other reason than it gives the modders something different to work with. Personally it just makes a nice change to look at some different colours. The major visual difference between this P6X58D-E and the Premium is that there isn't a heatpipe from the X58 chip to the ICH10R southbridge nor from the left side of the CPU to the block above. Despite them being passive they control the heat well although at higher clock speeds we'd recommend, as always, a case with good airflow just to help push the air across the large surface area available.
The packaging is definitely a step down from what we normally see from ASUS, although if it means the motherboard is cheaper just because we're a SATA cable or two and some black boxes short, we don't mind at all. The simplistic finish on the rear I/O shield probably demonstrates where the costs have been cut more than looking at the board does.
Speaking of the board, everything is nicely laid out with nothing either exceptional, or more importantly, terrible about it at all. Although "functional" can be seen as something of a pejorative term we mean it entirely as a compliment. So often cuts mean, as we saw from the Asrock Extreme 3, bizarre design choices. Here ASUS have merely taken a couple of unimportant features off their Premium model. Good stuff.
To use it's a joy. The BIOS is simple to navigate with all the options you'd hope to see to enable easy overclocking. As you saw from our results easy it most certainly is. No need to strike the balance between RAM and CPU speed as we got 4.2GHz on the i7-930 CPU whilst also maintaining 2000MHz on our Corsair Dominator GT.
Although SATA6 isn't taken full advantage of yet it's good to know that it's included, saving you a PCI upgrade card in the future. USB3.0 is much more useful and, similarly, the P6X58D-E comes equipped with that too.
So it's got all the latest features. ASUS build quality and technical support. Excellent overclocking performance. Well laid out and nice to look at. Most importantly it's available around the staggeringly affordable price point of £170.
Without question it's deserving of our Recommended award.
Pros
- Great performance
- Exceptional value
- All the latest technology
Mediocre
- Accessories package is a bit lackluster
- Southbridge heatsink is about as small as we'd like to see
- Could do with another two USB ports on the back
Cons
- None whatsoever
Thanks to ASUS for supplying the P5X58D-E for todays review. Discuss in our forums
Most Recent Comments
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Originally Posted by name='GrimReaper'
Nice board! how much does it retail for?
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