14 DAY TRIAL // After ASUS' upcoming high-end X58-enabled Rampage II Extreme motherboard has been spotted on the Internet quite a few times already, it looks like the time has come for one of Gigabyte's upcoming Core i7-supporting motherboards to show us what it is capable of. Obviously, you shouldn't expect anything more than a couple of very detailed pictures and specifications, as the performance results still have to wait for the official “go-ahead” on the behalf of Intel. Even so, computer enthusiasts are more than happy to catch an early glimpse at what they should expect to come their way in approximately one month from today.
Gigabyte's GA-EX58-Extreme motherboard has made its way into the hands of the guys over at Bit-tech, who had a first-time experience with a board that is almost ready for launch, except for the heatpipes meant for cooling down the integrated chipset. Unfortunately, they could not test the board - but even if they did, a specific NDA would have forbidden them from publishing the results, as it was the case with ASUS' Core i7-loving mobo.
However, they did upload several pictures showing the board's overall layout, thus helping enthusiasts out there better understand what they should expect from the upcoming Gigabyte platform featuring Intel's next-generation desktop technology.
First of all, you must know that the board will come with a decent amount of connectivity options, including 3 PCI-Express slots that can support double or triple graphics configurations with either full X16, X16 speeds or X16X, X8, X8. Fortunately, the board supports both ATI CrossFireX and NVIDIA SLI graphic setups, without the extra NVIDIA NF200 chip. However, if users decide to go for a triple graphics configuration, they will no longer be able to use the two PCI and PCI-Express X1 slots.
Aside from that, you will get the usual 6 triple-channel DDR3 supporting memory DIMMs, and no less than 10 SATA II connectors. The back panel also includes a number of connectivity options, as well as a Clear CMOS button. Other than that, the Gigabyte Extreme board makes a fair use of the color code to help users easily build their desktop computer system.
Now, bear in mind you still have to wait some time before you have the chance to buy one of these boards and, even when that time comes, have a large budget allocated, as the upcoming X58-enabled mobos are expected to be quite pricey.