Mainstream Or Hardcore? Two X58 Motherboards Compared
Table of contents
- 1. Purchasing A Motherboard Isn’t Always Easy
- 2. Mainstream: MSI X58 Pro-E
- 3. Hardcore Enthusiast: MSI BigBang Xpower
- 4. BigBang Xpower Features
- 5. Direct Comparison
- 6. Overclocking And Feature Comparison
You need Intel’s LGA 1366 interface and an X58-based platform in order to run the latest six-core processors, but which board should you pick? We're comparing a mainstream and flagship platform from the same company to explore the worth of high-end X58.
There are dozens of very similar motherboard products available for each processor interface, and the industry has blanketed the market with offerings to cover all possible segments from entry-level to uber-enthusiast and all niches in between. However, too many options can sometimes breed confusion and questions about true value. Does it make sense to spend money on a top-end enthusiast motherboard, or can most of the benefits be had for a fraction of the cost? We decided to compare MSI’s BigBang Xpower against the X58 Pro-E to find out.
The LGA 1366 platform, required for Intel’s fastest Core i7 quad- and hexa-core processors, is a costly affair. “Entry-level” X58 motherboards start at roughly $160. The majority of X58 products land above $200, and it’s easily possible to spend $400 on a premium X58 motherboard if you go for a Gigabyte X58-UD7 or UD9, Asus P6T7 SuperComputer, EVGA X58 Classified, or the BigBang Xpower from MSI.
Does it make sense to spend several hundred dollars just on the motherboard? Many people purchase an entire PC for this amount of money. Enthusiasts with deep pockets can leap first and look later since these motherboards offer tremendous overclocking capabilities and typically ship with a plethora of useful add-ons and features.
Performance-wise, though, don’t expect substantial differences beyond less-costly offerings, as the X58 chipset has little impact on overall performance. In the end, processor clock rate and core count have the largest influence on computing performance, followed by memory configuration. Since the memory controller is now part of the CPU, that's one less motherboard-based subsystem able to set platforms apart from each other. Unless (you guessed it) we dive into serious overclocking.
Let’s put the X58 Pro-E, MSI’s starter X58 offering, against the new BigBang Xpower.
- MSI,
- Performance PC,
- Hardware,
- x58 ,
- core-i7 ,
- motherboard
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You should've included atleast ASUS & Gigabyte as well.
Nice article, though not really enlightening in the sense that it summarises what we already know
You should've included atleast ASUS & Gigabyte as well. Nice article, though not really enlightening in the sense that it summarises what we already know
There was no reason to include Gigabyte and Asus, the only purpose of this test was to show the difference between a random budget board and a random high end board.
But in my honest opinion, this is a useless article. It compares two random boards and draws conclusions everyone knows already. Tom's rarely posts useless articles, but this is one of the rare exceptions...
Lol, Overclocking and Feature Comparision page, Core i5? 980x
This article does seem a little redundant, everyone knows the top end boards are not worth the moeny and are only bought by those who don't need to worry about budget. Still, it was a good read anyway
I have to disagree with most that think the enthusiasts boards, in this case the Big Bang Xpower do not provide value for money. Not because I have money to burn, but because of the practical effects of the added features.
While its true that side by side the boards produce very similar overclocking results and general performance, they are immediately set apart by the inclusion (or not)of such features as SATA 6GBs and USB 3 sockets. Then there is the extra Esata port and 2nd RJ45 Lan port. Without even mentioning the separate sound card with it's more desirable performance and connectivity!
All things are relative, so it depends if you would use these features or not. But given that these are X58 boards designed for the latest high performance processors, if you buy one you are looking for performance across the board(pardon the pun). You WILL want Sata 6GBs and USB3 facilities, if not immediately then in the short term. We all want to 'Future Proof' a major build, in so far as that is possible, so to my mind buying the cheaper version, which is missing so many useful features is just false economy.
Looking at the two very similar boards side by side, like a whats missing puzzle picture, you quickly see what is conspicuous by its absence! If you don't see the useful omissions from the cheaper board at first glance, you will likely miss them later on when you start using and adding both internal and external components to your system? These are not tiny insignificant add on's we are talking about here. Things you can easily do without to save a few quid. In the case of SATA 6GBs and USB3, they are the very things that make a board current to the newer technology?
You are better off in the long run in saving just that little bit longer, for something which should cover ALL the bases for as long as possible, otherwise there is actually little point in upgrading your systems at all?
Just a poor enthusiasts opinion of the logical way to go.
I have to agree with diablo13. 18 months ago I spent a small fortune on the x58 platform because I wanted technology that was current. I could have gone with the cheaper options but I'd have to think about upgrading again soon.
By buying the next step, I paid a small premium but I avoid having to upgrade for longer. In fact, the only thing that my board misses is SATA6 / USB3 and I don't think its worth getting a board without them unless you want to upgrade soon.
By buying the next step, I paid a small premium but I avoid having to upgrade for longer. In fact, the only thing that my board misses is SATA6 / USB3 and I don't think its worth getting a board without them unless you want to upgrade soon.
Following on from what devilxc said in the above quote;
When you buy the higher priced enthusiasts board in this case, you are not just paying for the difference between an alloy or a copper cooler. Something which makes very little difference in practical terms.
You are in fact buying the NEXT GENERATION of that board! There are more and more SATA 6/USB 3 capable drives coming on the market now, so you will want to use them. All the hype nowadays is with SSD drives because they are tremendously fast. They are also hugely expensive, but if you decided you wanted one, would you shell out 350 quid or something for one which only had a SATA 2 interface? Or would you pay a bit more maybe to get the one with SATA 6GBs interface?
If you were willing to pay out so much money on an SSD, then you would know that SATA 2 is going to be a bottleneck to your transfer speed!
So before you spent so much money on the 'next big thing', you would be wise to think ahead and make sure you had a board that was prepared for it?
I know you can get an add on PCI Express card now, I did for my Asus P6T Deluxe board, but surely you are better having it already included on the board in the first place, even if it does cost a few quid more?
Manufacturers may give their higher end boards spectacular names like Rampage, or Absolute Utter Annihilator, to make you take notice of them, but they do it to sell something which is much more for the future than just a name!
That is my only problem with the review really. It doesn't take into account future hardware that can be attached to the higher spec board.