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Today we are checking out the latest Intel X58 based motherboard from Asrock, designed to deliver the very latest features to this enthusiast platform. Features such as USB3 and SATA3 are included, as well as some pretty impressive overclocking abilities that help make the Asrock X58 Deluxe3 a very well rounded motherboard...
Although the first Intel Core i7 "Bloomfield" processors based on the Nehalem microarchitecture were released almost 18 months ago now, it remains the most powerful processor architecture available with exception of the recently released Gulftown Core i7 980X 6-core processor. Still, almost a year and a half is a long time to hold the performance crown without any major releases.
 When launched back in November of 2008 the new Core i7 range introduced a new Intel chipset known as the X58. Today the X58 is still exclusive to the LGA1366 platform and as such we have seen very few new motherboards released for this platform. For example, in the last six months well respected motherboard manufacturer Asus has released just a single new X58 motherboard. However at $350 US, most will ignore the Asus Rampage II Extreme, as it is well out of reach at this price. Those looking for a more realistic motherboard that still has that “extreme” feel might like to check out the new Asrock X58 Extreme3. The Asrock X58 Extreme3 offers support for the latest technologies, such as SATA 6Gb/s which is also referred to as SATA 3, and USB 3.0, also known as SuperSpeed USB. When compared to all previous Asrock X58 motherboards, the X58 Extreme3 features a completely re-worked cooling design, while most of the features do remain the same with the addition of the latest USB and SATA standards. Something we really liked about the original Asrock X58 Extreme motherboard was the price. Now although the LGA1366 platform is not designed to be affordable, as the primary focus is performance, the Core i7 920 processor is quite good value at $280 US. However it is the inflated cost of the X58 motherboards that drive the cost up, while triple-channel DDR3 memory can also be a little pricey. Being a performance orientated platform, a cheap featureless X58 motherboard has no place here. However an affordable, well equipped X58 motherboard is an entirely different story and this is why the original Asrock X58 Extreme made sense. Priced at just $170 US, the X58 Extreme was and still is one of the cheapest Intel X58 motherboards available. The new Asrock X58 Extreme3 motherboard is still relatively cheap, and with an asking price of just $190 US there are still just a small handful of X58 motherboards that are cheaper. However we do believe that the X58 Extreme3 is the cheapest X58 motherboard available that offers SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0. The Gigabyte X58A-UD3R costs $20 US more, while the Asus P6X58D-E is another $50 US more. |
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LoverBoy |
Posted on: 04/20/2010 12:16 PM
I have never seen or used an Asrock motherboard but this review of the X58 Extreme3 has put them on my radar. I was thinking of upgrading to an LGA1366 processor soon and this could be the board to do it with. |
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Razor |
Posted on: 04/20/2010 10:36 PM
USB 3.0 is a bit of a gimmick right now I think since there are very few devices. I will just wait till the chipset supports it but this is a great looking board nonetheless. |
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Matt |
Posted on: 04/21/2010 11:41 PM
I have been looking everywhere for a review on this motherboard. Thank you for going into such detail this has really helped me work out my next build. |
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TurboT |
Posted on: 04/23/2010 01:36 PM
I read this the other day and I meant to say nice work. This looks like a great motherboard. I will wait to see how the Phenom II X6 goes before buying something like this though  |