Intel's Core i7 LGA-1366 performance segment processors is in for another update, past the recent introduction of the Core i7 960 (3.20 GHz). The newest entry replaces the popular Core i7 920, and leverages the company's socket LGA-1366 platform as the ultimate high-performance desktop platform. The Core i7 930, like all processors in the Core i7 900 series, runs on motherboards with the Intel X58 Express chipset. The processor comes with a clock speed of 2.88 GHz. Assuming it retains the base frequency of 133 MHz, we're not entirely sure how 2.88 GHz is worked out with a bus multiplier value that is a whole number. Since the Core i7 930 replaces the i7 920, it is expected to seat itself at the same price point of $299. Since this release comes slightly ahead of that of Intel's "Gulftown" 6-core processor, in Q1 2010, it remains to be seen if this processor continues to be built on the 45 nm HKMG process, or the newer 32 nm one.

After releasing a wave of socket LGA-1156 motherboards under the P7P55D series, ASUS is ready with its newest socket LGA-1366 offering, based on the Intel X58 Express chipset, supporting Core i7 "Bloomfield" processors. The P6X58D Premium first surfaced back in July, but hit development roadblocks due to industry-wide issues with the SATA 6 Gb/s controller it used, which now seem to have been ironed-out. It brings to the table support for new technologies such as USB 3.0, and SATA 6 Gb/s, along with making use of the company's Xtreme Phase motherboard component design. The two SATA 6 Gb/s ports are color-coded white, and placed next to the SATA 3 Gb/s ports color-coded blue, provided by the ICH10R southbridge. The white ports are driven by a Marvell SATA 6 Gb/s controller. The two USB 3.0 ports on the other hand, are color-coded blue, and are placed next to the PS/2 connectors on the rear-panel. They are driven by an NEC-made controller.

The LGA-1366 socket is powered by a 16-phase circuit. The six DDR3 memory slots support up to 24 GB of DDR3 memory across a triple-channel (192-bit) memory interface. Components, heatsinks, and slots on the board stick to the blue/white/black color-scheme. Heatsinks over the VRM, northbridge, and southbridge are connected by heatpipes. Expansion slots include three PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrically x16, x8, x8, or x16, x16, NC, depending on how they're populated), two PCI, and one PCI-Express x1. Connectivity includes two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, USB 3.0, FireWire, and a number of USB 2.0 ports. ASUS-exclusive features include Precision Tweaker 2 (that provides voltage control with a fine-resolution), Stepless Frequency Selection, and ASUS CPU Parameter Recall. The new motherboard should reach markets this November.

Intel silently made its newest addition to the Core i7 desktop processor family official: the Core i7 960. This socket LGA-1366 processor is designed to work on motherboards with the Intel X58 Express chipset. After Intel's gradual replacement of the Core i7 965 Extreme Edition with the Core i7 975 Extreme Edition, there remained a scope for a non-XE Core i7 model with the same clock-speed as the i7 965 XE, albeit with an upwards locked bus frequency multiplier.

The Core i7 960 comes clocked at 3.20 GHz (24.0 x 133 MHz), with a maximum Turbo Boost speed of 3.43 GHz. It has four processing cores, and with the HyperThreading Technology, provides the operating system with eight logical CPUs. It comes with a QuickPath Interconnect speed of 4.8 GT/s, and supports up to 24 GB of memory with its triple-channel (192-bit wide) DDR3 memory interface. Each processing core has a dedicated L2 cache of 256 KB, while an 8 MB L3 cache is shared between all four cores. It is built on the 45 nm HKMG process, with a TDP of 130W.

The Core i7 960 is touted to displace the Core i7 950 from its existing price-point of around US $562 (in 1000 unit tray quantities). As evidence of that, popular American retailer Newegg.com has listed the OEM part (chip-only) at $589.99, a mere $10 higher than the retail box of the Core i7 950 listed on the same store.

Paired with the day's launch of the GeForce GTX 285 Classified, EVGA rolled out its newest motherboard monstrosity, the EVGA X58 Classified 4-Way SLI (170-BL-E762-A1). This is one of the first motherboards based on the XL-ATX form-factor, with the board measuring 13.58 x 10.375 inches (L x W), which makes it as wide as an E-ATX motherboard, only longer. For use inside a chassis, the company recommends one with at least 10 expansion slots. It is based on the Intel X58 + ICH10R chipset supporting socket LGA-1366 processors, and might be making use of NVIDIA nForce 200 bridge chips to support its seven PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots, with adequate spacing to support four of its newest GTX 285 Classified graphics cards.

It has every feature its predecessor the X58 Classified 3-way SLI does, including a 10-phase digital PWM power design for the CPU that can provide up to 600W of power to the CPU for extreme overclocking. The pins in the LGA-1366 socket have 300% more elemental gold for better conductivity. The power is further conditioned by low-ESR film capacitors. A much larger monolithic heatsink cools the chipset. The portion over the northbridge features a fan for active cooling. Other features include support for up to 24 GB of triple-channel DDR3 memory, 9 SATA 3 Gb/s connectors, 8 channel audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, and Firewire. The X58 Classified 4-Way SLI has been listed on the company store, placed on pre-order for US $449.99.

NVIDIA's SLI multi-GPU technology served as the biggest selling point of nForce series chipsets, as it was exclusive to it. With the advent of LGA-1366 processors and the Intel X58 chipset, NVIDIA allowed the Intel chipset to support the technology, as it soon became clear that it isn't going to be easy for NVIDIA to come up with an LGA-1366 chipset. Users of the older LGA-775 however still have the option of buying nForce 700 series based motherboards to use SLI, and hence no real attempt was made to ensure the technology is available to Intel chipsets. Until now.

A member of Expreview's Chinese enthusiast community has successfully enabled SLI on an Intel chipset based LGA-775 motherboard, the first feat of its kind since much older attempts on i975 platforms using much older GeForce hardware. Firewings_[CCG] successfully ran SLI of GeForce 8600 GT and GeForce GTX 260 cards on his Intel X38+ICH9R chipset based ASUS Maximus Formula motherboard. The feat is headed by software he modified, details of which will surface soon. The mod was validated by Expreview staff, who used the software to run GeForce GTX 260 SLI on a more recent P45+ICH10R based Maximus II Formula motherboard. "By installing the software that Firewings [CCG] provides us, we managed to enable SLI configuration in Directory Services Restore Mode. Due to some 'small problems' according to Firewings [CCG], the SLI configuration can't be realized in normal mode for now, but he says this will be fixed soon," commented Expreview. With SLI enabled, the multi-GPU setup was able offer performance scaling that proves the mod works.

Motherboard mogul ASUS is ready with a new premium motherboard for the LGA-1366 platform. The P6X58 Premium breaks away from the "P6T" nomenclature the company used for its Intel X58-based motherboards, and flashed "X58" in the model name. This motherboard brings two new connectivity standards to the platform: USB 3.0 "SuperSpeed", and SATA III 6 Gbps. It uses additional controllers onboard to expand the chipset's feature-set.

The board looks similar to the P6T Deluxe series at a glance, but uses a different layout of its expansion slots, rear-panel, and connectors in general. Unlike with the P6T Deluxe, the three PCI-Express x16 are spaced-out, with the first two (blue) slots providing full x16 lane bandwidth, with the third (white) one sharing 8 lanes with the second slot (x16, x8, x8, when all three slots populated). The chipset+VRM cooler is nearly identical to the one on the P6T Deluxe. The CPU is powered by a 16-phase circuit.

EVGA today introduced the compact X58 SLI Micro motherboard (model number: 121-BL-E756-TR), supporting the Micro-ATX form factor. Don't be fooled by the small size, in performance figures this motherboard is a match for all standard ATX Intel X58 equipped motherboards, it supports all LGA1366 Core i7 processors to date, has six DDR3-1600+ memory slots, two PCI-Express x16 slots, a single PCI slot and one PCI-E x1 slot. In addition EVGA gives you full range of overclocking features including: EVGA VDroop Control, EVGA E-LEET support, enthusiast BIOS options and of course the chance to put a SLI or CrossFireX setup of video cards in a micro-ATX system. The board's build quality is also off the hook, 100% solid capacitors are used, and passive heatsink design is incorporated so the board is 100% silent. The EVGA X58 SLI Micro will be available very soon for around $200.

Two new EVGA Core i7 motherboards are being worked out at the company's factories, we've learned. First on the list is the EVGA X58 SLI LE (141-BL-E757) motherboard, which will be placed directly under and priced lower than the current X58 SLI (141-BL-E758) model. This motherboard has four PCI-Express 2.0 slots that run at x16/x16/x8/x8, and also features a PCI-E x1 slot and single PCI slot. The new X58 SLI LE utilizes a 6-phase analog PWM design with a single EPS 12v connector. The board includes six triple-channel DDR3 1600 MHz slots, 6x SATA II 3.0 Gb/s slots, an onboard LED for POST codes and has a simple passive heatsink with no heatpipes.
Second in the list lines up EVGA X58 SLI Micro (141-BL-E756). One of its most notable features is that it boasts Micro-ATX form factor. The board features two PCI-Express x16 2.0 slots and one PCI-E x1 slot. It has a 6-phase analog PWM design, six triple-channel DDR3 1600 MHz slots, 6x SATA II 3.0 Gb/s slots, an onboard POST LED, and the same passive heatsink found on the X58 SLI LE mainboard.
Expect to find the new motherboards in stock soon.

Although Intel X58 chipset based mother board is sold at a relatively higher price in the market, BIOSTAR still has an excellent reputation for TPOWER series, in which TPOWER X58 and TPOWER I45 are very popular with a lot of power users. TPOWER X58A, one of BIOSTAR's top X58 motherboards, is on sale now. It is coincident that the price of Core i7 processors are recently falling, so TPOWER X58A is also a top choice for power users to pursue ultimate performance.

With adoption of ATX-size board, TPOWER X58A, based on Intel X58 + ICH10R chipset, supports Socket 1366 interface and newest Core i7, the CPU that is brand new Nehalem architecture. The motherboard supports Triple Channel Mode 2000 / 1600 / 1333 memory module, with Max Memory Capacity 24GB. It provides three PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots, supporting ATI Hybrid CrossFireX and nVIDIA SLI technology; one PCI-Express x1 slot and two PCI slots for expansion; Gigabit Ethernet and 7.1 Channels HD audio for high quality of networking and multimedia.

Premium maker EVGA is now offering a shiny new water block for its Intel X58 powered motherboards. The EVGA X58 Hydro Copper Waterblock, part number: 200-CU-HC58-B1 guarantees to drop the temps of your chipset by half and also make your motherboard look very cool. The water block includes both 1/2" and 3/8" fittings for maximum compatibility with all water cooling systems. EVGA is asking $129.99 USD for the part. Find more info here.

G.Skill International Co. Ltd., a world leader in extreme performance memory with solid quality, today launches Triple Channel DDR3 2000HMz "Trident" series at timings CL 9-9-9-24 designed for Intel Core i7 processors / Intel X58 Express Chipset.

The "Trident" series provides the ultimate performance and speed for enthusiasts, overclockers and extreme gamers. The dynamic Trident heatsink blends the best in cooling effectiveness while retaining a stylish design and extreme performance at 2GHz or more. With G.SKILL Lifetime Warranty and ever ready technical back-up, Triple channel kit is total solution for all memory module enthusiasts. For more information, please visit our product page.

GIGABYTE Technology CO., LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to announce their entire range of Intel X58 chipset motherboards now officially support NVIDIA SLI technology, allowing users to take full advantage of blazing-fast NVIDIA multi-GPU performance.

With a simple BIOS upgrade from the GIGABYTE website, users can enable NVIDIA SLI support on their current motherboards for ultra smooth 3D rendering, blazing-fast frame rates and enhanced visual quality possible with a multiple graphics card solution. Whether playing current and future graphics-intensive games at max settings, or enabling multi-monitor support for enhanced productivity, GIGABYTE gives users the flexibility to design their system according to their specific needs.

Delivering the most attractive platform for various market demand, Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), the world's leading motherboard, graphics card, barebone system and notebook manufacturer, today launches the X58B-A2 Black Series motherboard based on the most powerful Intel X58 Express chipset supporting the latest high-performance Intel Core i7 processors. Targeting at overclocking beginners, ECS X58B-A2 stands for the most affordable high-end product without any compromise of great features. It tops every user's wish list with the latest blazing architecture of Intel QuickPath Interconnect up to 6.4GT/s, triple channel DDR3 1600MHz memory for the fastest data throughput, the support of ATI CrossFireX Technology for unbelievable graphics performance, and ECS exclusive M.I.B. II overclocking utility that helps beginners to cross the technical barrier.

Foxconn has been in the league of companies to come up with one of the first motherboards supporting the Intel Core i7 processors. It used both its Digital Life and Quantum Force product lines to come up with performance and enthusiast-grade motherboards featuring the Intel X58 chipset. The company is coming up with a new motherboard: the X58 Renaissance II.

This board resembles the X58 Renaissance in most aspects, except for its component cooling, where it uses individual heatsinks over the chipset and VRM areas. Less fancy heatsinks are in place. The new board also does away with the SAS support. The rest of the product's feature-set stays identical to that of the X58 Renaissance. The company is expected to announce the motherboard soon, at an expectedly lesser price than that of its predecessor. For reference, the third picture below is that of the original X58 Renaissance.

Power Quotient International Co., Ltd. (PQI) officially announces the release of DDR3 tri-channel memory kits. Compatible with current Intel X58 chipset's coupled with Intel i7 series CPU, the tri-channel technology provides significant memory bandwidth improvements over dual channel mode. It provides the ultimate performance for enthusiasts wanting the very best system performance every time they turn on their computers.

Due to software programming complexity and hardware requirements, the increased bandwidth and memory capacity definitely plays a major role in ones PC performance. Using specially picked DRAM modules in 128M*8 configuration combined with stringent testing methodology, its full compatibility and performance is ensured. PQI's DDR3 tri-channel kit offer users extra memory capacity and greater bandwidth compared to DDR2 modules.

EVGA is set to announce the X58 Classified motherboard. The Intel Core i7 compatible motherboard is set to be one of the most feature-rich and expensive LGA-1366 motherboards till date. The design focus of this motherboard is based on the power-circuitry that fuels its various components. A 1.33 MHz 10-phase digital PWM circuitry with dual 8-pin 12V inputs, along with 4-phase circuit for the DDR3 memory, and 3-phase NB power. Four PCI-E x16 slots driven by the Intel X58 chipset in conjuction with NVIDIA's nForce BR-03 chipset adds 3-way SLI + an additional slot for a GeForce accelerator dedicated to process PhysX. Elaborate heatpipe-driven coolers over the board's northbridge and VRM areas keep temperatures under check. The X58 Classified is priced at US $449, and will start selling shortly. The product has made it to EVGA's catalogues and its product page online. A demonstration video of the product by EVGA can be viewed here.

Shuttle Inc. - the leading designer and manufacturer of small form factor (SFF) computers and accessories rolls out a new Prima flagship model - SX58H7. The Shuttle SX58H7 packs amazing performance into a mini glossy aluminum enclosure to reach "work hard & play hard" goals of extreme gamers, demand enthusiasts and mainstream PC users.

Shuttle SX58H7 features the Intel latest X58 Chipset, supporting the newest Intel Core i7 processors. The 3+1 channel DDR3 architecture triples the bandwidth of the system memory to boost performance. Capable of running both ATI CrossFire and NVIDIA SLI on the board, it's easy to enjoy best experience in gaming performance and image quality. Presenting higher efficiency levels, the SX58H7 is guaranteed by 80PLUS BRONZE certification with 500W high efficiency & energy saving power supply.

Intel will be moving its current high-end X58 chipset to B-3 stepping, the company announced in a recent official notification to motherboard makers. The IOH (I/O Hub) component of the Intel X58 Express chipset is converting from the current B-2 stepping to the new B-3 stepping. This step will require manufacturers to do a re-qualification, although both revisions are pin-to-pin compatible. No modifications or changes in the design of current motherboards will be needed for the new chipset stepping. First batch of B-3 X58 silicon will become available to board manufacturers on April 10th. The B-3 chipset marking will be replaced from SLGBT to SLGMX.

NVIDIA Corporation today announced that Intel Corporation has licensed NVIDIA SLI technology for inclusion on the Intel DX58SO motherboard for the Intel Core i7 processor. As a result, customers with Intel X58-based motherboards and the Core i7 processor can now equip their PCs with any combination of NVIDIA GeForce GPUs, including Quad SLI, for the ultimate visual computing experience.

"The addition of NVIDIA SLI technology to the Intel DX58SO motherboard has been a welcome addition," said Clem Russo, VP and General Manager of Channel Desktop Platform Group at Intel Corporation. "The pairing of our new Core i7 processors on our Extreme Series motherboard and NVIDIA GeForce graphics has resulted in some of the world's fastest consumer gaming PC platforms. For playing any of today's hottest PC titles, this is one awesome combination that our customers have been asking for."

The premium motherboard market's newfound love for the micro-ATX form-factor has been dutifully addressed by companies such as DFI, by releasing the LANParty Jr series, featuring high-end chipsets and almost complete feature-sets that rival full-sized ATX motherboards. ASUS has now decided to put its Republic of Gamers (ROG) series on the prowl with its first high-end mATX motherboard: Rampage II Gene.

As the name suggests, the motherboard supports Intel Core i7 series processors, and is based on the Intel X58 chipset. ASUS keeps the segment of buyers in mind that builds light-weight, yet full-featured LAN party machines. The Rampage II Gene features an 8-phase CPU power circuit. It features six DDR3 DIMM slots for to support up to 24GB of triple-channel DDR3 memory. It holds two full-length PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots plus a PCI-Express x4 open-ended slot. Both ATI CrossFireX and NVIDIA Quad-SLI are supported. The ICH10R southbridge provides six SATA II channels with RAID support. Also provided is an onboard SupremeFX X-Fi sound system that provides support for most of Creative's X-Fi sound technologies. Two gigabit Ethernet interfaces and support for the iROG - TweakIT features, that simplify overclocking, make for the rest of the package. The Rampage II Gene is expected to be priced above $200 in the US.

MSI, the world's leading motherboard manufacturer, today announced its most affordable one of X58 motherboard, X58 Pro. It offers an innovatively new architecture that adopts the latest Intel X58 Express chipset that supports the latest Intel Core i7 processor, along with ultra-high bandwidth QPI (Quick Path Interconnect) transmission system and high-speed 3-channel DDR3 memory, resulting performance so extreme that has ever seen in motherboards. X58 Pro also has utilized the Gen.2 DrMOS, which introduced exclusively by MSI since the P45 series, improving its power efficiency more than 93% to bring best performance.

First unveiled in November of last year here, ASRock's "SuperComputer" motherboard has finally made it to retail. Click here for further details.

EVGA, having launched its X58 3X SLI motherboard which received raving reviews for its features, performance and price-point, looks to up the ante with a new flagship motherboard based on the Intel X58 platform for the Core i7 processors. While X58 motherboards start at the US $200 point, over a period, there has been a faint seggregation of the motherboards based on the prices and features, starting with a $200~240 range sans SLI support, $250~300 with SLI and >$300 enthusiast-grade range.

EVGA's upcoming motherboard fits into the top-range of motherboards, which finds competition in the likes of ASUS Rampage II Extreme and MSI X58 Eclipse Plus. VR-Zone conducted a detailed preview of this upcoming motherboard dubbed "X58 SLI Classified", with "classified" meaning that its brand name is yet to be announced. Looking at the way EVGA has been branding its flagship motherboards in the past, it could be safe to speculate it that it could be something along the lines of "FTW".

Transcend Information Inc., one of the world's leading memory module manufacturers, is proud to release its DDR3-1333 triple channel memory kits for use with Intel Core i7 processors and Intel X58 Express Chipset motherboards. Core i7, Intel's latest high-performance processor, features an integrated memory controller that introduces three channels of DDR3 memory that provide lower latency and higher memory bandwidth for amazing performance for data-intensive applications. Transcend's triple channel kits are designed specifically for the new platform, and offer an optimized combination of low voltage (1.5V), generous speed, and enhanced latency (9-9-9-24) to deliver ideal performance and compatibility with next-generation PCs.

Full-featured motherboards in the mATX form-factor seem to be back in fashion, with manufacturers gaining interest. mATX motherboards based on some performance desktop chipsets such as Intel P45, AMD 790GX, even the Core i7 supportive Intel X58 have seen the light of the day. After the DFI LP JR X58-T3H6, the second known X58 motherboard in the form-factor has surfaced thanks to an observation by one of our community members: Gateway TBGM-01 (as read from its DMI data). This motherboard from Gateway is for the OEM channels, and features some Gateway FX gaming PCs. It has been pictured in an installed on one such PC.

The motherboard features a 4+1 phase CPU power circuit. It features two PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots for ATI CrossFire, and a PCI-Express x4 slot. Sadly it lacks PCI slots. It has six DDR3 DIMM slots for DDR3-1333 MHz memory. It features six SATA II ports, 7.1ch HD audio among other standard features.