EVGA X58 x3 Classified Motherboard

 

 The EVGA 3X Classified is one of the best overclocking enthusiast boards out there – end of review? Well not quite.

 

As I have shown, the motherboard on test is also one of the highest performing boards out of the most popular ones around at the moment. It breezed through all of the benchmarks and while it did not blow the competition away and as most X58 boards perform almost equally, the Classified came out just a micron above the majority. Performance it seems is the EVGA X58 3x SLI’s forte.

 

The good news does not stop there either. The EVGA classified is a cut above the rest with regard to aesthetics. The Black and Red theme is very striking and would look amazing with a matching kit of Dominator GT coupled with EVGA’s two ‘Red edition’ GTX295’s. It’s not just the aesthetics that are appealing either as it’s clear a lot of thought went into designing the motherboard by both the positioning of the various slots to the diagnostic LED and on board buttons. From the ground up it appears that EVGA have made the ultimate platform for enthusiasts to take advantage of.

 

The packing was sublime and I cannot find fault with it. Everything was solidly packed and very well presented. The only real letdown was the motherboard manual which was basic and really needed more definitions regarding BIOS setup. I expect more from a £300+ package. It was however refreshing not to have to wade through reams of meaningless ‘Chinglish’. The mass of black cabling was very welcome but I was a little disappointed to find this version did not include the ECP, not a big issue but something buyers should be aware of as only the serial number will discern the difference between the 3 versions. With the 759 now as rare as hens teeth and I have yet to see the 761 available (but I’m sure it’s out there), your choice will be the 760 which I have reviewed today – not that it’s a bad thing you understand, that is until you see the price.

 

Costing a little over £300 makes the Classified the most expensive board we have tested to date. Is it worth £300? I would say no, not unless you require the absolute pinnacle in latest hardware. Even then to get the most out of the Classified you are going to need 3+ GPU’s and perhaps an endless supply of LN2/Dry ice, in which case paying £300 for a motherboard will be a drop in the ocean. What the £300 does give you is bragging rights over us mere mortals. People who buy the Classified put performance above everything else, however little the gain, cost matters not. More and more we are seeing hardware snobbery creep into the enthusiast market and for people who place Armani over Levis, La Coste over Le Shark; this motherboard is certainly for you. For the rest of us, we can only scoff at the price while secretly drooling about owning one ourselves.

 

– Great motherboard design

– Stunning aesthetics

– Blistering performance

– Quality accessories

– E-LEET software

– 10 Year Warranty

 

– QPI heatsink will need a  fan for extreme clocking

– BIOS Update requires writing a CD or USB boot software

– LED Temp readout not very accurate ( it could do with calibration software).

 

– The time you will serve after robbing a bank to pay for it.

– The ‘joys’ you will receive in the prison shower for owning it.

 

 

Thanks to EVGA for providing the X58 3x Classified for todays review. Discuss in our forums.