DFI X58 T3eH8 Ultra Motherboard
Conclusion
Published: 29th January 2009 | Source: DFI | Price: £281.74 |
The DFI X58 T3eH8 is the perfect evolution of the X48 derivative. From the outset the motherboard has raised the bar for all other boards to follow.
The packaging is near perfect and while I would have liked to have seen a change in colour scheme to distinguish the new board from its stablemate no one can deny it's certainly an eye catching motherboard, especially if you are a fan of UV lighting.
The layout is excellent with all the SATA ports sat at right angles to the PCB preventing any interference to over sized GPU's. Speaking GPU's, this is only the second board we have tested that would allow the use of 3 dual slot GPU's in either SLI or CrossfireX configuration but that does present a problem. Unfortunately, as the sound card would take up one of these slots on the backplate there would be no space (or indeed no extra PCI/e slot) to have any extra expansion cards.
The motherboard cooling is nothing short of exceptional and with a huge range of BIOS options, including extremely high voltages available to the end user, that cooling will certainly come in useful. With typical DFI support, BIOS updates should come thick and fast and should a BIOS update become corrupt the ingenious removable BIOS chip design will cut down on costs for returning the board. Which is a good thing as the initial outlay for the board will certainly dent anyones bank balance.
Costing close to the £300 mark, the Ultra version is the highest motherboard on test. While it is also the highest performing board I do have some concerns if it is actually worth the extra outlay. For the average user the DFI offers little more than aesthetics, and the Gigabyte UD5 which weighs in a lot cheaper can do everything the DFI can do. However, if you are looking for the absolute ultimate in performance then the pendulum swings back in the DFI's favour and for that reason I have no hesitation in awarding the DFI X58 T3eH8 Ultra our distinguished Performance award.
The Good
- Extreme overclocking
- Audacious cooling
- Amazing looks
The Mediocre
- Some BIOS options could be more user friendly
- Power consumption at load was highest on test
- Price
The Bad
- Nothing to report
Thanks to DFI for providing the X58 T3eH8 Ultra motherboard for todays review. Please discuss in our forums.
Most Recent Comments
It's nice to know some things never change.
Amazing layout? Check.
Bulletproof? Check.
Incomprehensible BIOS options? Must be a DFI
Some great clocks coming out of that. Agree that the current high-end X58s are way too steep. Although the high-end 775 stuff was eye-watering too.
Thanks for the review.
Amazing layout? Check.
Bulletproof? Check.
Incomprehensible BIOS options? Must be a DFI
Some great clocks coming out of that. Agree that the current high-end X58s are way too steep. Although the high-end 775 stuff was eye-watering too.
Thanks for the review.
Just spotted a typo:
Probably wanna replace one of the "thats" with "not". Made for an awesome read though- day I can afford kit like this is the day I win the lottery lol.
while at first appearance appears very thick is that that daunting once you realise it is a multi language manual.
Probably wanna replace one of the "thats" with "not". Made for an awesome read though- day I can afford kit like this is the day I win the lottery lol.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Kerotan'
Just spotted a typo:
Probably wanna replace one of the "thats" with "not". Made for an awesome read though- day I can afford kit like this is the day I win the lottery lol. |
its an amazing mobo, it looks pretty good, it has a lot of good points but i still dont know its price, also the asus / msi board results were as good as the DFI mobo, and sometimes even better and i expected more from it afterall DFI is pretty famous, but still its a great mobo
Although the results showed the boards to be fairly even (they are afterall all based on the same chipset and run at the same settings), when scoring the boards there are many more points to consider.
The DFI board is not a board to run at stock settings, it isn't designed to do that, anyone who buys this board for that is only after e-peen glory and not using the board for what it was intended for - overclocking. In this area it excels. Therefore DFI have completed what they set out to do. The price they charge reflects the niche market they are aiming for. After all Lamborghinis arn't exactly in the same marketplace or have the same customer in mind as Diatsu.
If you want a board that covers all bases then the Gigabyte board, for me at least, is the better board.
For hassle free 'it just works', reliability then look no further than the Asus P6T.
The MSI, while not a bad board by any stretch of the imagination, offers nothing over the others for the price they are asking.
The DFI board is not a board to run at stock settings, it isn't designed to do that, anyone who buys this board for that is only after e-peen glory and not using the board for what it was intended for - overclocking. In this area it excels. Therefore DFI have completed what they set out to do. The price they charge reflects the niche market they are aiming for. After all Lamborghinis arn't exactly in the same marketplace or have the same customer in mind as Diatsu.
If you want a board that covers all bases then the Gigabyte board, for me at least, is the better board.
For hassle free 'it just works', reliability then look no further than the Asus P6T.
The MSI, while not a bad board by any stretch of the imagination, offers nothing over the others for the price they are asking.
DFI's X58 review! Gonna take my time reading this one. But yes, I love the flexibility the DFI bios offers, however sometimes, most of their settings seem rather redundant, or unnecessary.
But hey, the more there is to tweak, the double the fun.
-HypoG
But hey, the more there is to tweak, the double the fun.
-HypoG
Don't like it tbh. May sound outrageous, and I do respect the DFI history a great deal.
From the stats, I don't see a separation for any of these mobos. One will show a meager % over another, then on the next line-up it's beaten by one of the other mobos in another respect.
To this end, u could base a decision on price and ease of use. The bios is what it is, does it need to be overly expressive with the apparent limitations in what u can and can't do - probably not. w3bbo's above post iterates what for what.
The challenge I guess would be to get 4g+ from each of the mobos... that being done, which was the easiest (in terms of getting into the bios and changing things easily, getting out, and being stable equally easily) - if more than 2 of them can do that.. do u need the other features today ?
Bottom line for me, the big-arse sink out of the rear is a no-no, and £287 - no thanks.
Great review btw.
From the stats, I don't see a separation for any of these mobos. One will show a meager % over another, then on the next line-up it's beaten by one of the other mobos in another respect.
To this end, u could base a decision on price and ease of use. The bios is what it is, does it need to be overly expressive with the apparent limitations in what u can and can't do - probably not. w3bbo's above post iterates what for what.
The challenge I guess would be to get 4g+ from each of the mobos... that being done, which was the easiest (in terms of getting into the bios and changing things easily, getting out, and being stable equally easily) - if more than 2 of them can do that.. do u need the other features today ?
Bottom line for me, the big-arse sink out of the rear is a no-no, and £287 - no thanks.
Great review btw.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='w3bbo'
Although the results showed the boards to be fairly even (they are afterall all based on the same chipset and run at the same settings), when scoring the boards there are many more points to consider.
The DFI board is not a board to run at stock settings, it isn't designed to do that, anyone who buys this board for that is only after e-peen glory and not using the board for what it was intended for - overclocking. In this area it excels. Therefore DFI have completed what they set out to do. The price they charge reflects the niche market they are aiming for. After all Lamborghinis arn't exactly in the same marketplace or have the same customer in mind as Diatsu. If you want a board that covers all bases then the Gigabyte board, for me at least, is the better board. For hassle free 'it just works', reliability then look no further than the Asus P6T. The MSI, while not a bad board by any stretch of the imagination, offers nothing over the others for the price they are asking. |
, its hard to get a good opinion of it by the stock, if i understand right, but anyways good review man 
I think it's vital to test things at stock. That's what the public are buying.
Sexy. But sexyness comes with a chunky price tag too.
Yea...have to sell my entire c2d rig now in order to buy this mb.
Anyway this would be nice to have it in a next contest...
Anyway this would be nice to have it in a next contest...
Yea...have to sell my entire c2d rig now in order to buy this mb.
Anyway this would be nice to have it in a next contest...
Anyway this would be nice to have it in a next contest...
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='VonBlade'
I think it's vital to test things at stock. That's what the public are buying.
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Then again, u may expect that after the dust settles, a shoot-out between mobos may be reviewed.
EDIT: Seen the MSI X58 Platinum for £226 today, it's a bit of a difference.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by name='Rastalovich'
Taking this point up with Mr VonBlade. At the same time as agreeing that testing stock is vital, OC3D does have it's roots in an enthusiasts approach to hardware, whilst regular reviews may be found all over the 'net, I don't think I'm alone in wanting the testers to hammer the hardware if possible.
Then again, u may expect that after the dust settles, a shoot-out between mobos may be reviewed. EDIT: Seen the MSI X58 Platinum for £226 today, it's a bit of a difference. |
I agree with both sides of the arguement TBH
I deffinately want to see "the testers hammer the hardware"
but a quick look at base settings performance would not do any harm as some people only overclock to game and/or bench, leaving things at or close to base settings for a large percentage of the time.
CSS Valid
http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/artic...164612695s.jpg
Take a look too see how it fairs here.