Testing Configuration and Benchmarks Used
For our testing today, we chose to pit the ASUS Sabertooth X79 against Gigabyte’s X79-UD5 and MSI’s X79A-GD65 (8D) to see which $300 motherboard will take our Intel i7-3820 3.6GHz processor to its highest performance levels in a host of benchmarks ranging from PCMark Vantage to SiSandra 2012.
CPU-Z Screenshots
Test System Setup |
|
CPU |
Intel i7-3820 (running at 3.6GHz, 100×36) |
Motherboards |
ASUS Sabertooth X79 |
Memory |
Corsair 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-1600 Quad Channel |
Solid State Drive |
Western Digital Silicon Edge Blue 128GB SATA 3GB/s |
Sound Card |
Onboard sound |
Video Card |
XFX Radeon HD 5770 512MB |
CPU Cooling |
Zalman CNPS12X |
Video Drivers |
AMD ATI Catalyst 12.1 |
Power Supply | PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750w |
DirectX Version |
DX11/ DX10 / DX9c |
Operating System |
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
Our 64-bit test bench for the LGA 2011 Sandy Bridge-E processors includes 16 GBs of quad-channel DDR-1600 memory, an XFX Radeon HD 5770 512MB graphics card, and a Western Digital Silicon Edge Blue 128GB SATA solid state drive for storage. This configuration is based off a mid-range LGA 2011 system and focuses on evaluating the motherboard’s capabilities and less on the rest of the hardware components.
Benchmarks used:
– SiSoft Sandra 2012
– CineBench 11.5 64-bit
– Handbrake DVD compression
– 3DMark Vantage
– 3DMark11 Professional
– Crysis 2
– Dirt 3
– PCMark Vantage
I think I like the p9x79
I think I like the p9x79 deluxe better. The i/o ports on the sabertooth version is too limited for me.
Looks like this was written
Looks like this was written by the company rather than being a review but it was interesting.
did you read the whole thing?
did you read the whole thing? 😉
Why does this review keep
Why does this review keep repeating “SLI/CrossfireX Quad GPU support” when I only see THREE pcie x16 slots?
PCPer usually gets it’s reviews right, but I agree with deowll, this review reads like an ASUS press release…
I ended up going with the P9X79 Pro for my lga2011 build. I didn’t want the noise of those two little fans and I liked the layout/ports of the pro better than the sabertooth.
Because Quad SLI/CrossfireX
Because Quad SLI/CrossfireX support means 4 GPU linking, not 4 cards with 1 GPU each. So support for 2 GTX 690’s or 2 HD 7990 (Whenever they do come out).
Just my guess, because it is technically accurate. 😉
But obviously if you want 4 PCI-E slots Asus (and others) have options there.
BTW-side note, I do own a X79 Sabertooth and the PCH fan is 100% silent, I didnt install the optional fan (over the VRM area).
Yup, what Thedarklord said.
Yup, what Thedarklord said. These boards can do 4WaySLI and CrossFireX using two dual GPU NV cards or two dual GPU AMD cards.
I dont know about this
I dont know about this review.
The features like the Bios and easy update etc seem nice.
But the other boards seem to do better over all in performance?
So i dont know if the board should get Gold?
Not saying it is a bad board but maybe price comes into play here to give it a Gold Award.
I think i would be a harder marker.
I think in the world of
I think in the world of motherboards these days performance really means very little, and features and usability are now king.
Thoughts?
Yeah I agree, with how the
Yeah I agree, with how the motherboard arena has become a “set in stone” approach thats dependant on your choice of CPU. Ex: You want a Sandy Bridge-E which means, X79. Or the Sandy Bridge / Ivy Bridge gives you more choices but performance isnt really the difference in those chipsets (ignoreing overclocking “K” series CPU’s, obviously).
So with how the CPU to Motherboard Chipset has changed, and how it is now, performance from a motherboard is not really there, meaning there is no real difference.
The difference has become about the user experience. So things like features, overclocking, built in audio, expansion slots, customer support, design (how good it looks), these are things that motherboards are all about these days. (Really ever since Intel’s Nahalem, and AMD’s Phenom II).
I got this board back in
I got this board back in march to be the platform for my Core i7-3930K and I am loving this board, I have this in my primary system (where I do OC, but I much prefer stability over performance, this board delivers with both).
I also did not install the optional fans (didnt need to, board runs cool in my Corsair Obsidian 800D). I was worried the PCH fan would be loud, but nope, and it has a 5 year warrenty (fan included) so should last me a long time. 🙂
Great review PCPer, good read.
Your explanation is very
Your explanation is very informative. I like the way you present it. I appreciate your hard work. A big hai for this. Please continue these sort of nice work.
Kind reards
Krish
how to connect an extenvtion
how to connect an extenvtion firewire IEEE ON MOTHERBOARD asus sabertooth x79 because i have one on the foront of my Cooler Master Case HAF932
I have bought a SABERTOOTH
I have bought a SABERTOOTH X79 with 16G Kit 1866(8Gx2) Patriot Viper Memory and i7-3930K…. i bring it from out side of my country. those r not available in our Bangladesh.
now i need some advice.
First of all which power supply is good for this system?…..
in our country Thermal Take is available.