EVGA X58 SLI Sneak Peek

BIOS Interface, E-LEET Utility

X58 SLI BIOS

The X58 SLI BIOS is extremely robust. Bus speeds up to 500MHz are available for the base clock frequency in 1MHz increments, while three memory multipliers are selectable providing memory speeds up to 1333MHz at the default 133MHz base clock.

EVGA X58 SLI Sneak Peek [ @ 1600 x 1200 ] > View Full-Size in another window.

For users who aren’t familiar with OC’ing and would like the motherboard to do all the work for them, EVGA provides a “Dummy OC” BIOS setting. When enabled, this setting automatically ups the base clock speed to 150MHz, providing an OC of 11%. An extreme cooling feature is also provided for those of you with liquid nitrogen cooling who are running your CPU below 0 degrees Celsius.

In terms of voltages, CPU voltages up to 2.30V are available in BIOS in increments of 0.00625V. EVGA also provides voltage settings for CPU PLL and VTT voltage for even greater fine tuning, while DIMM voltages up to 3.075V in 0.025V increments are also selectable. For overvolting the QPI link, EVGA provides voltages up to 1.875V in increments of 0.025V while chipset voltages and PWM frequencies can also be adjusted, allowing you to choose between running the MOSFETs as cool as possible, or you can crank up the PWM frequency when overclocking.

All the voltages are color-coded, so in case you’re not sure how far you can push your system components, the colors provide a good general guideline, although you may not want to push your memory beyond 1.65V for extended periods of time. According to Intel, DDR3 voltages above 1.65V may shorten the lifespan of the processor.

E-LEET

One new feature EVGA also includes with the motherboard is their E-LEET motherboard tuner. If you’re confused by the myriad of options available within BIOS, E-LEET can be used to OC your system from within Windows. The software has most of the functionality you can find within BIOS, including a wealth of voltage options and settings for adjusting the base clock and PCIe speeds. E-LEET also has Turbo mode control functionality as well.

EVGA X58 SLI Sneak Peek [ @ 473 x 516 ] > View Full-Size in another window.

EVGA X58 SLI Sneak Peek [ @ 490 x 528 ] > View Full-Size in another window.

EVGA X58 SLI Sneak Peek [ @ 476 x 520 ] > View Full-Size in another window.

The utility does lack a few features that can be found within the EVGA BIOS though. For instance, memory multiplier adjustment isn’t available, nor are CPU multipliers.

EVGA X58 SLI Sneak Peek [ @ 473 x 533 ] > View Full-Size in another window.

EVGA X58 SLI Sneak Peek [ @ 464 x 518 ] > View Full-Size in another window.

EVGA X58 SLI Sneak Peek [ @ 502 x 521 ] > View Full-Size in another window.

E-LEET is incredibly easy to use though and it also has built-in panes for hardware monitoring as well as CPU-Z front-end. The hardcore crowd is probably going to want to stick with conventional BIOS overclocking though, especially if you have an Extreme CPU and would like to adjust the CPU clock multiplier (Turbo multiplier adjustment is limited to a max ratio of 30.0)

Conclusion

Our first impressions of EVGA’s X58 SLI are overwhelmingly positive. Hardware-wise the motherboard has all the features an enthusiast would want, including 3-Way SLI and CrossFireX support as well as 6 DIMMs, 10 SATA ports (1 e-SATA), and support for 12 USB ports total out-of-the-box. The motherboard’s BIOS also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to available settings.

The really sweet part about EVGA’s X58 SLI though is its lifetime warranty and Step-Up. These are two features EVGA’s graphics cards are famous for, so it’s nice to see them extend this to their X58 SLI motherboard as well.

The motherboard officially retails for an MSRP of $329.99 and should be hitting store shelves shortly.