Intel DX79SI Review: The Default X79?
by Ian Cutress on November 18, 2011 1:10 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- X79
Test Setup
| Processor |
Intel Sandy Bridge-E i7-3960X 6 Cores, 12 Threads, 3.3 GHz (3.9 GHz Turbo) |
| Motherboards | Intel DX79SI 'Siler' |
| Cooling | Intel All-In-One Liquid Cooler, made by Asetek |
| Power Supply | Silverstone 1000W 80 PLUS Silver |
| Memory | G.Skill RipjawsZ DDR3-2133 9-11-9 28 4x4 GB Kit 1.65V |
| Memory Settings | XMP |
| Video Cards |
XFX HD 5850 1GB ECS GTX 580 1536MB |
| Video Drivers |
Catalyst 11.8 NVIDIA Drivers 285.62 |
| Hard Drive | Micron RealSSD C300 256GB |
| Optical Drive | LG GH22NS50 |
| Case | Open Test Bed - CoolerMaster Lab V1.0 |
| Operating System | Windows 7 64-bit |
| SATA Testing | Micron RealSSD C300 256GB |
| USB 2/3 Testing | Patriot 64GB SuperSonic USB 3.0 |
Comparison to Other Reviews
Where applicable, the results in this review are directly compared to the following chipsets and boards which we have reviewed previously.
Power Consumption
Power consumption was tested on the system as a whole with a wall meter connected to the power supply, while in a dual GPU configuration. This method allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.
CPU Temperatures
With most users’ running boards on purely default BIOS settings, we are running at default settings for the CPU temperature tests. This is, in our outward view, an indication of how well (or how adventurous) the vendor has their BIOS configured on automatic settings. With a certain number of vendors not making CPU voltage, turbo voltage or LLC options configurable to the end user, which would directly affect power consumption and CPU temperatures at various usage levels, we find the test appropriate for the majority of cases. This does conflict somewhat with some vendors' methodology of providing a list of 'suggested' settings for reviewers to use. But unless those settings being implemented automatically for the end user, all these settings do for us it attempt to skew the results, and thus provide an unbalanced 'out of the box' result list to the readers who will rely on those default settings to make a judgment.
As with the ASUS P9X79 Pro I've reviewed, using something very CPU stressful, even on the Intel Liquid Cooler, makes the CPU temperatures shoot up even outside of a case.
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StephaneP - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
The DPC Latency test is a nice addition.Did you check what peripheral gives this higher DPC ? (Lan, USB3, ...)
ochentay4 - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
Expensive, not the top of the line, horrbile skull, terrible option in my opinion.tomvh - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
I am on my fourth Intel motherboard build. I use them because they work. Period !Pperformance ? Probably not up to gamer's standards, I don't play games. But for AV use and general office work, they are fine and fast.
Never had a hiccup with any thing from Intel.
Death666Angel - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
Why exactly do you use 2 different graphics cards, resulting in 4 different setups? What is testing an old 5850 supposed to accomplish?londiste - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
and no, skull doesn't make it flashy.i've had a number of intel boards, i've started to take notice of them after 440bx boards. they always tend to lack the cutting edge features even on high-end boards, bioses are always simple and i most cases more limited than other manufacturers but on the other hand these things just work. i have honestly never seen an issue in bios (although judged by readmes their bios updates do fix some issues) and never had to rma any of them (unlike some/most other manufacturers' boards).
specific board does seem a bit overpriced though.
dusteater - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
Well, I have always Intel branded motherboards in my computer builds. I am in the market for a new computer next year, but am so frustrated at Intel for their USB bungle. I will absolutely not buy a motherboard if it doesn't have all USB 3.0 ports. And I really doubt any OEM's will have any motherboards that meat this requirement either. Just pathetic.tomvh - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
I agree. There are only a couple of Intel boards with on board USB 3 controllers.I too am hoping that next years Ivy Bridge boards have at least four on the back and a couple headers on the board. I think it may be the cost of USB chips that may be slowing down all board manufacturers.
Doesn't the Ivy Bridge and new chips have native support for USB 3 ?
C300fans - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
A piece of junk. Are you ready for the 999$ cpu?CharonPDX - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
Intel always includes SATA cables.ClagMaster - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
Intel motherboards and BIOS are easy to understand.Intel products are 100% compliant to standards based and offer little room for tweeking because Intel wants their products to be highly reliable.
Most people who buy Intel motherboards do so for their quality and reliability.
Think of how Apple controls their Macs and understand their motivations for doing so.
Then you will understand Intel.