Sandy Bridge-E and X79 – The ASUS P9X79 PRO Review
by Ian Cutress on November 14, 2011 3:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Asus
- X79
Board Features
| ASUS P9X79 Pro | |
| Size | ATX |
| CPU Interface | LGA2011 |
| CPU Support | Intel Second Generation Core i7 Sandy Bridge-E |
| Chipset | Intel X79 |
| Base Clock Frequency | 100.0 - 100.3 MHz |
| Core Voltage | Auto, offset and manual, 0.8 V to 1.7 V |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | Auto, 12x to 57x |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 1.20 V to 1.99 V |
| DRAM Command Rate | Auto, 1T to 3T |
| Memory Slots |
Eight DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB Up to Quad Channel Support for DDR3, 800-2666 MHz |
| Expansion Slots |
2 x PCIe Gen 3 x16 2 x PCIe Gen 3 x8 2 x PCIe Gen 2 x1 |
| Onboard SATA/RAID |
2 x SATA 6 Gbps, Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 4 x SATA 3 Gbps, Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Onboard |
2 x SATA 6 Gbps (Marvell) 4 x SATA 3 Gbps (PCH) 2 x SATA 3 Gbps (PCH) w/ SSD Caching 6 x Fan Headers 1 x Front Panel Header 1 x Front Panel Audio Header 1 x S/PDIF Out Header 4 x USB 2.0 Headers 1 x USB 3.0 Header 1 x EPU Switch 1 x TPU Switch Power / Reset / Clear CMOS Buttons + Debug LED |
| Onboard LAN | Intel Gigabit 82579V |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC898 |
| Power Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX connector 1 x 8-pin 12V connector |
| Fan Headers |
2 x CPU Fan Header 4 x Chassis Headers |
| IO Panel |
6 x USB 2.0 4 x USB 3.0 1 x BIOS Flashback Button 1 x Intel Gigabit Ethernet 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out Connector 2 x Power eSATA 6 Gbps Bluetooth v2.1 Audio Jacks |
| BIOS Version | 0709 |
| Warranty Period | 3 Years |
The Intel NIC is very welcome on a high end platform, as well as one of the later models of Audio Codec by Realtek, which is represented in the DPC Latency performance. The BIOS Flashback feature (Update BIOS via USB without CPU or DRAM) is an excellent feature I hope ASUS ports to all future chipsets, as well as the SSD Caching option even though it is not part of the X79 specifications. Six fan headers is always good, as well as Debug LED and power/reset buttons, however as mentioned previously I would have liked another Ethernet port.
As always, ASUS motherboards have a 3 year warranty.
In The Box
IO Shield
Manual
Driver CD
1 x Long SLI Cable
1 x Rigid Tri-SLI Connector
6 x SATA cables, locking, right angled
Q-Connectors
While ASUS have spent money on the cables and the SLI connectors, on a product at this price, I would have liked to see a long CrossFireX cable and a USB 3.0 front bracket.
Software
Software installation, as always with ASUS, is straightforward. Clicking Install-All on the CD menu under the Driver section does the drivers, and then once again under the Software for software. ASUS bundles Google Chrome and Norton Antivirus with the CD as well which annoyingly ask to be installed – users have to deselect them if they do not want them. Daemon Tools Pro is also on the CD, though users have to install it individually.
The main stalwart of ASUS software is still here, under a slightly redesigned ASUS AI Suite II. With the depth of X79 and all the new features ASUS have added, we have to get to grips with the whole software. Overclocking function is nothing spectacular here, with Auto Tuning and slider adjustment being identical to previous implementations. With the advent of DIGI+ VRM for the memory, we now get options to adjust this, as well as the DIGI+ for the CPU.
Energy efficiency options also get a revamp in their modes, and in terms of fan controls, each of the four chassis fan headers are double-ramp adjustable, and the two CPU fan headers act under the one control.
The two new areas of ASUS brand technology come in the form of ASUS USB 3.0 Boost, and ASUS SSD Caching. Let us go over each one in turn.
ASUS USB 3.0 Boost
Readers of this year’s content may cast their minds back to the several ASRock boards I have reviewed, and their XFast USB software. This was a simple bit of software that modified and optimized the Windows7 USB driver to allow for faster operation. ASUS have gone in a similar theme, but taken it several steps further.
On the simple end, there are multiple USB protocols to use. Windows, by default, uses BOT – a simple linear process protocol for file transfer. By a simple rewrite of the driver, such as the ASRock implementation, a motherboard manufacturer can implement a ‘Turbo’ mode, which acts like a more multithreaded environment.
Now, if the USB device or enclosure has certain classes of controllers (LucidPORT USB300-REV2, ASMedia ASM1051E, ASMedia ASM1051U, ASMedia ASM1054), a protocol known as UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) can be implemented. This protocol is more efficient, and allows multiple, concurrent commands, rather than the linear BOT sequence. This is what USB 3.0 Boost is aimed at.
Initially, each USB 3.0 device will need to be set to Turbo or UASP as required, but devices are remembered for repeat use. Unfortunately, I do not have access to a device to test this UASP performance; however I was able to see it in action at a recent ASUS event.
ASUS SSD Caching
Users of Intel’s Z68 Smart Response Technology that were dismayed when SRT was not a part of the X79 specifications will be overjoyed to see something similar to Intel’s operation on ASUS’ X79 range. By placing two compatible drives (typically a mechanical HDD and a formatted SSD) in the appropriate SATA ports, the software and hardware implementation will let the SSD act as a cache, in order to improve loading times to the mechanical HDD, just like Intel’s RST.
The potential here is possibly using any extra RAM as a cache. With the abundance of 4x4GB kits for use in such a system, from my own personal experience, almost half of that would never be used – the most memory I’ve ever used is 7.9 GB, which included a hundred or so internet tabs, background software, and whilst playing F1 2010 at full settings. If ASUS were to license a RAMDisk software technology to allow users to create a RAMDisk, and then use that in an SSD caching technique, then we are on to a winner. Even better if a user has decided to fill up the memory slots with 32 GB. Admittedly, this would be lost every time the system is rebooted, and would have to be remade, but for users who leave their system on all the time for various reasons, it could provide useful.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
55 Comments
View All Comments
markgerazzi - Saturday, November 19, 2011 - link
Also very important, will the Noctua D14 fan block or compromise any of the 8 DImm slots?THanks!
CodeToad - Friday, December 2, 2011 - link
I know my workstations... they had to pry my Sun 20 out of my dying hands! All the P9X79 lacks as a true workstation are SAS+SATA control and some Intel virtualization and net tech, at least on the WS model. That would have been easy to add, and I'm sorry Asus failed to go the extra step with the WS model.The P9X79 lacks nothing that I can see for the enthusiast - in fact there are huge possibilities for overclocking, tweeking, water cooling, and improvement via add-on boards.
There is the issue of threading in current games. Worry not! Every developer I know is urgently learning to improve their code at compile time, including deeply threading applications.
Yes, the board is expensive. So are all the rest in the Top Tech arena. I've looked for another board for the i7-3960X class, and can't find anything cheaper on balance. My experience with Asus build quality and their warranty are final decision factors for me.
I urgently need to build a machine for home office use. I do heavy OLAP and Data Mining research, and I contribute to open source -- the R project and others. I'm also a heavy WS virtualization user. Whatever I choose will be feed by two mid-range servers on a cheap switched 1K+ network, my total "IT Dept." Soon I will have to learn CUDA, and this board will serve will with the right video, since behind the visualization is a ton of computation.
Yes, I could build a server-like box, but I think this board, tons of fast switched memory, and the Core i7-3960X CPU may do better than a traditional dual machine. I'll have to add some boards, but that would be required with any motherboard.
So it's a bit of a risk, but I'm sold.
Thus to all -- if you want to "pee on the tall weeds with the big dogs," the P9X79 is the board and the Intel I7-39x0 is the CPU to do it.
InfiDELL - Thursday, December 8, 2011 - link
While X38 was really something over P35 and P45 from X58 to X79 eve I can't see a difference that will worth the money invested in 1366,1356 socket boards.The extra USB or the power to tweak a CPU that already doesn't have enough backbone for his power?
Or the extra bandwidth of VGA which is so small vs the high price of this boards and CPU.
Not to say it consume more Watts than sandy.
I really scrambled my brains to find the advantages of this boards in IO and ram latency over 1155 boards but, I can't really see but very small differences in performance and with what cost.
I expected that triple channel , quad channel and the native sata 6gb will really tell me something on so called enthusiastic boards. So the CPU and whole system will benefit from lower RAM latency and the rest need it for a big brain as latest CPUs are capable off.
I expected that SB on X79 will really get in flames of so much IO but no, it only burning your pocket for more multicolored heat-sink or some worthless shape.
In top of all extra expenses we get the power bill higher as this boards + their CPU consume quiet more.
Coming back to x38, yes is better than P45 and consume about 25 watts more but, easy taken by P965 in performance and power consumption and for me P965 remain the king of DDR 2 platforms as I tested Asus P5EWS pro X38 , Abit quad GT P965, asus P5K deluxe P965 and Maximus II P45.
History repeat itself.
I'll go prolly to a common 1155, is not worth to wait for X79 CPUs to go down in price as this boards are not shining for me and the same for 1366.
Very disappointing results but thank you for tests it's clear again for me10th time now is not really a deal but, a rip off.
dgingeri - Friday, January 13, 2012 - link
I have a need for lots of memory, even up to 32GB: virtual machines. My current virtual host system (Core i7 950) has 12GB, and I run several small virtual machines for my MCITP testing prep. I currently have 2 domain controllers, a SQL server, an Exchange server, a WDS and WSUS system, and 2 virtual workstations, all to practice for my MCITP tests. (Now I just need to get the money to actually take the tests. 9 tests are pretty expensive.) It's well worth the time and money to get a system like this for that purpose. It's even more cost effective than classes for me.candabi - Thursday, January 26, 2012 - link
I'm looking for a soho server for Virtualize several machines so, I like this Mobo for its 8 memoriy slots, but Is it possible to install Win2K8 w/o any problem?I want to use the teaming functionallity of my Synology iSCSI NAS with two LAN ports.
So, I am thinking on purchase one DUAL LAN card, or two separated LAN cards in order to connect them directly to NAS.
And the integrated LAN, it could be connected to the USERS SWITCH.
Do you think is possible? What DUAL LAN card do you recommend?
Tks