14 DAY TRIAL // DFI is currently working on an X58 motherboard, branded LANPARTY UT X58. The new board is still under works, yet news and pictures on it already surfaced on the Web, courtesy of TweakTown. The new DFI product is a high-end board, which comes with eight CPU power phases, more than enough even for a quad-core, while not having the 1.65V DDR3 memory voltage limitation as one would expect considering the latest news on Intel's Core i7 processors.
According to DFI, memory of around 1.8 - 1.9 volts have been tested and the CPU was still in one piece. The company also said that the motherboard would support up to 2.0 - 2.1 volts for the memory, but would keep on testing to see how high they can go with the voltage. According to TweakTown, the company is focused on providing high-end motherboards fit for over-clocking, which explains eliminating this limitation. Even so, unlike other competitors, DFI does not pack up its mobos with lots of unnecessary features, thus making them power efficient as well.
The LANPARTY UT X58 will feature support for both ATI CrossfireX and NVIDIA SLI. It comes with three PCI-E 2.0 expansion slots which are electrically set at x16, x8 and x8. The new board will include two PCI slots of legacy devices along with a single x4 PCI-E slot. Eight SATA-II ports will be available on the board, while no eSATA. According to DFI, having an eSATA port on the back panel is against the basic idea of the concept. Thus, the company is working on a device that will be connected at the rear panel but will feature 10m of cable allowing it to be placed on a desk, ensuring better use.
Beside SATA ports, the LANPARTY UT X58 comes with an IDE port supporting two devices as well as with a FDD port. As for the power phases we mentioned, the triple-channel DDR3 memory will use two, the Northbridge gets two, the same as PWM, while the Socket LGA-1366 CPU gets eight phases. To ensure better overclocking and stability, DFI designed the BIOS chip as to be easily removed and replaced in case it goes bad. Also, power users are allowed to manually program the BIOS through a pin header placed above the BIOS area.
As for the heatpipe cooler, the company decided that it would be cheaper to build it, yet it is still under work. The cooler will be similar with the Thermalright one featured by older DFI boards. Also, users will be able to use their own after market or custom cooling equipment for better customization and overclocking.
According to the company, the LANPARTY UT X58 is expected to come to the market sometime by the end of November, after the first three Intel Core i7 processors are launched. DFI hasn't decided on the price yet, but the board should cost more than $300. More pictures and details can be found at TweakTown.