Meet the X79A-GD80 from MSI, where active component cooling is making a comeback to motherboards. The Sandy Bridge-E LGA2011 socket dwarfs everything around it, in the upper-half of the board. Typical of LGA2011 motherboards,the X79A-GD80 has two DDR3 DIMM slots on either sides of the CPU socket, supporting quad-channel DDR3 memory. The VRM area is above the socket, MSI used a 40 mm fan-heatsink to cool the VRM. Further, a fan-heatsink is used to cool the X79 PCH. With the PCH heatsink the use of fan is more of an effort to keep the heatsink small in size, so active air-flow can compensate for its size. That aside, expansion slots are all-PCIe, including three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x16/x8/x16), and four PCI-E x1 in middle. All 10 of the SATA 6 Gb/s ports from the PCH are internal ports, with just the one eSATA. Other connectivity includes 8+2 channel HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, and USB 3.0.

ASRock is ready with what it will be offering the very top tier of consumers of the Sandy Bridge-E platform, the third largest selling motherboard vendor is ready with the X79 Extreme4. This standard-size ATX motherboard uses essentially the same component layout as most socket LGA2011 boards we've seen so far. The LGA2011 socket is powered by an 8-phase VRM. The socket is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots on its either sides, to support quad-channel DDR3-2133 MHz memory. The processor also holds a massive 40-lane PCI-Express 3.0 hub, giving out two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 links, distributed between three slots (as x16/x16/NC or x16/x8/x8), with two each of PCI-E x1 and PCI in between.

ASRock did not finalize its chipset/VRM heatsinks design, yet. While we can't see the right portion of the board in the picture, we can assume that all 10 SATA 6 Gb/s and 2 SATA 3 Gb/s ports will be internal ports, with the possibility of one or two eSATA. Other connectivity includes 8-channel HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, and four USB 3.0 ports (two by header). The board supports 3-way NVIDIA SLI and AMD CrossFireX.

With the "entry level" of its socket LGA2011 lineup, ASUS is making a return to its signature gold-colored PCB with the C1X79 EVO. Based on the Intel X79 Express chipset, the board provides a basic feature-set sticking to whatever the chipset provides. The LGA2011 socket is powered by a simple 6+1 phase VRM, the two DDR3 DIMM slots are located on either sides of the socket in groups of two, and are powered by a 4-phase VRM.

Expansion slots include three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (electrical x16/x16/NC or x16/x8/x8, depending on whether the third slot is populated), two PCI-E x1, and an open-ended PCI-E x4. All 10 of the SATA 6 Gb/s ports provided by the X79 chipset are assigned as internal ports, apart from four additional 3 Gb/s ports. That aside, there's little in terms of connectivity, with just the 8+2 channel HD audio, dual gigabit Ethernet, and a couple of USB 3.0 ports. The board uses ASUS' UEFI setup program with EZMode. We're not entirely sure if the production version of this board sticks to the golden PCB color, let's hope it does.

Here is the first picture of GA-X79A-UD3, the first Gigabyte-branded socket LGA2011 motherboard. Based on the Intel X79 Express chipset, the board supports upcoming Sandy Bridge-E enthusiast processors in the LGA2011 package. Mind you, this is just the cheapest LGA2011 board from Gigabyte, there is a higher-end line of X79 motherboards, so don't let the unspectacular looks of the UD3 get you.

The GA-X79A-UD3 is a standard ATX sized motherboard. Its main VRM is spread all around the large CPU socket, in what appears to be a 6-phase design, with an unknown number of memory and uncore phases. LGA2011 processors feature a large quad-channel DDR3 memory controller, along with a northbridge uncore component with a 40-lane PCI-Express 3.0 controller. Those amount to the socket's insane pin-count of 2,011 pins. Memory slots are located in pairs of two on either sides of the socket. Each slot is its own 64-bit wide memory channel.

Intel may be a little over 6 months away from unveiling its new Sandy Bridge-EP platform, but it's understandable that the company is circulating engineering samples among closely tied industry partners. One such sample fell into the right (wrong, for Intel) hands, and is being pawned away on ebay for a handsome price. The current bid stands at US $1,359.99.

The chip itself is Q19D ES, an 8-core Sandy Bridge-EP in the LGA2011 package. The chip is said to have 8 cores, and 16 threads with HyperThreading enabled. It is being sold as Core i7, though some sources say the chip could be from Xeon E5-4600 or E5-2600 series (4600 is four-socket capable, 2600 is dual-socket capable). The chip is clocked at 1.60 GHz, and holds 20 MB shared cache according to the seller, though even the highest-end LGA2011 Core i7 is said to hold no more than 15 MB L3 (shared) cache. L3 is the only shared cache.

At Computex 2010, motherboard vendors across the board displayed socket LGA1155 motherboards that support Intel "Sandy Bridge" processors, based on P67, H67 chipsets, months in advance of the platform actually making it to the market. This year, the motherboard industry will do something similar and show off socket LGA2011 motherboards based on the Intel X79 "Patsburg" chipset.

Detailed to much length in older articles, the platform schematic of Sandy Bridge-E surfaced, confirming X79's feature-set, including a PCI-Express 3.0 based supplementary interconnect between the processor and chipset to bolster enough bandwidth for the massive 10-port SATA 6 Gb/s controller, and a 8-port PCI-Express 2.0 hub. Sandy Bridge-E processor itself comes in three main variants, an all-enabled 6-core Extreme Edition, a 6-core unlocked variant, and a limited-OC 4-core variant. The platform is slated for late 2011.

Slides detailing Intel's upcoming "Panther Point" chipset reveal that the next generation of LGA1155 processors will feature PCI-Express 3.0 bus to connect with graphics cards. PCI-Express 3.0 doubles bandwidth over PCI-Express 2.0, and comes with a number of new features and electrical specifications. With Panther Point, Intel put an end to chipsets meant for discrete graphics (such as P67). Here on, all LGA1155 chipsets will support Intel Flexible Display Interface (FDI), although only the Z-series will support overclocking. Among the Z-series, Z77 is the top part supporting a wider range of PCI-Express configurations, Z75 supports discrete graphics with up to 2 graphics cards, while H77 only supports one graphics card, and lacks overclocking features.

Unlike the X79 LGA2011 chipset, Panther Point chipsets don't feature massive 10-port SATA 6 Gb/s storage controllers. Like Cougar Point, it features two SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and four SATA 3 Gb/s. The chipset embeds a USB 3.0 controller, but only 4 out of 14 USB ports are USB 3.0, rest are USB 2.0. Intel's Ivy Bridge will make for the company's 2012 Core Family portfolio, supplying entry-thru-performance segments with processor, while enthusiast segment is care of a different platform.

In Q4 2011, Intel will unveil its new Sandy Bridge-E (enthusiast) platform, consisting of new multi-core processors in the 2011-pin LGA package, and Intel X79 Express chipset. A roadmap slide leaked to the Chinese media reveals an interesting way in which Intel will approach the platform to monetize it best. To begin with, it appears like Sandy Bridge-E will keep up with the trend set by LGA1155 processors where only certain models can be overclocked, while others are greatly limited. Among those that can be overclocked (or "unlocked", as Intel puts it,) there will be two classes.

The first class are the 6-core chips at the very top of the pile, probably branded "Extreme Edition", which feature both unlocked BClk multipliers, and have 15 MB of L3 cache, among several other features enabled. Traditionally these processors cost around US $1000. The first of such chips will be clocked at 3.30 GHz. The second class of "unlocked" chips are those which make overclocking more accessible at lower price points (we're thinking under $600), probably branded with the "K" brand identifier extension (eg: 2600K). These 6-core chips will feature unlocked multipliers, while having 12 MB of cache enabled. The first of these chips will be clocked at 3.20 GHz.

Intel is preparing its next high-end/enthusiast desktop platform for release in Q4 2011. That platform will be driven by a new socket, the LGA2011, and the new Intel X79 Express chipset. Before that, Intel will give its 2-year old current enthusiast platform, the LGA1366 and X58 Express, a fitting farewell with a new high-end processor model, the Core i7-995X Extreme Edition. The i7-995X is a six-core processor based on the 32 nm "Gulftown" silicon. It features a default clock speed of 3.60 GHz (27 x 133 MHz), 3.86 GHz max Turbo, though the BClk multiplier is unlocked to help with overclocking.

The six x86-64 cores are aided by Intel HyperThreading technology to give the OS a total of 12 logical CPUs (threads) to deal with. The processor features a triple-channel (192-bit wide) DDR3 memory controller, and connects to the X58 chipset over a 6.4 GT/s QuickPath Interconnect link. Intel will launch its new chip some time in Q3 2011, i7-995X is expected to be priced at $999 (in 1000-unit tray quantities), displacing the current SKU at this price, the Core i7-990X Extreme Edition. For now, a lucky few (read: "industry partners") have access to engineering samples.

Intel's next platform for enthusiasts (successor to LGA1366, X58), will consist of a 2011-pin LGA socket, the Sandy Bridge-E (enthusiast) processor that features a massive quad-channel DDR3 memory controller and 32+ lane PCI-Express 2.0 hub, and the X79 chipset. Intel is looking to skip the 6-series chipset family with its next high-end platform chipset, and perhaps it makes sense since the platform is slated for Q4 2011. The X79 is a PCH (platform controller hub), like P55 and P67, since Intel has reorganized the platform. The beefy PCI-E hub housed in the X58 northbridge is relocated to the processor die, and the southbridge is given a much needed overhaul in terms of connectivity.

The X79 is much bigger than P67 in terms of connectivity and features. Differences start right at the interconnect. While P67 connects to the processor over DMI (physical PCI-Express 2.0 x4), X79 supplements this link with an additional PCI-Express 2.0 x4 link to the processor's PCI-E hub if the user chooses so, in the EFI setup program. The chipset bus hence ends up with 8 GB/s of bandwidth, and wait till you hear what will make use of it: a 10-port SATA 6 Gb/s RAID controller integrated to the PCH! That is a huge improvement in terms of storage connectivity, which is limping with 2-port SATA 6 Gb/s (next to four 3 Gb/s ports) on 6-series chipsets.