Foxconn ELA @ X-Bit Labs
“We know situations when manufacturers lay out the third graphics card slot, but it is usually running at what’s left. Since the chipset North Bridge has no extra PCI Express 2.0 lanes, the third slot uses the potential of the chipset South Bridge. So the third graphics card slot automatically loses support of the second generation PCI Express and can use 4 lanes maximum, i.e. it can work at PCI Express x4 speed at best.”
MSI X58 Eclipse SLI @ Motherboards.org
“The Eclipse gets a solid Editor’s Choice award from me and a solid recommendation to buy this board if you are looking for a new motherboard based upon the X58 chipset this board is hard to beat. The included extras like the D-LED2, a Creative Labs X-Fi sound card and the ability to install three GTX 280s or HD 4870 cards makes this a good choice for those that want the highest performing system available on the market today.”
MSI P6NGM @ Viperlair
“With HTPC becoming more and more a mainstream thought, a few chipsets have been designed with that exact end game in mind. Unfortunately, just because a chipset has a desired function or gizmo attached, it does not equate into the motherboard manufacturers implementing said technology, fortunately, there are some motherboard manufacturers that have taken note of the HTPC desires.”
Gigabyte EG45M-DS2H @ TechGage
“On the test bench today, we have Gigabyte’s latest Micro ATX offering, the Intel G45-based EG45M-DS2H. This board carries the typical Gigabyte enthusiast charm, but also caters towards those looking to build a media center. But how does it stack up against the other Intel mATX boards we’ve tested recently?”
MSI Eclipse @ TBreak
“Today we have a look at MSI’s first X58 motherboard named ‘Eclipse’. It’s a gaming series motherboard featuring some innovative features like, DrMOS, Triple PCI-e x16 slots that supports both nVidia’s SLI and ATI’s CrossFireX setups. Also MSI is taking it a step further and the package includes a Creative X-Fi PCI-e sound card.”
DFI LanParty LT X48 T3RS @ Bjorn3D
“The board has an X48 chipset, and currently the premier gaming chipset. There is also support for DDR3, the fast growing standard in RAM. DDR3 can hit much higher speeds than DDR2 memory, making it far superior. With all these specifications, this board easily classifies itself as a high end gaming board. It should compete with the best gaming boards out there, giving you unparalleled performance.”
EVGA nForce 790i SLI FTW @ Hot hardware
“This is definitely one special board that has a lot to offer. For starters, it sports three PCI Express x16 slots for 3-way SLI, and it boasts support for up to nine SATA 3Gbps drives. Additionally, the mainboard supports 2,000MHz dual channel DDR3 with EPP and a front side bus up to 1,600MHz.”
Gigabyte MA790GP-DS4H @ Digit-Life
“A lot of interesting motherboards from various manufacturers were based on AMD 780G, the predecessor of AMD 790GX. However, if there had existed a nomination for the most interesting product range, it would have been Gigabyte to win it. We’ve tested three motherboards, and awarded two of them. It goes without saying, we couldn’t pass the only 790GX-based model from this manufacturer.”
Biostar TA790GX A2+ @ Digit-Life
“Motherboard examination brings us to a trivial conclusion: engineers fully implemented chipset functionality, having avoided all widespread drawbacks. So we can criticize the motherboard only for the lack of interesting addons, which might have marked it among its competitors.”
MSI Eclipse SLI @ Au-Ja!
“When we did our review of the Intel Core i7 we said that this is a workstation plattform in desktop clothing. Now that we’ve tested our first motherboard for the Core i7, you should prepare yourself for a workstation class price tag. The MSI Eclipse SLI, a very fine and stable motherboard, which supports CrossFireX as well as SLI, is on sale for 320 Euros. Okay, you’ll get plenty but is the MSI Eclipse SLI really worth so much money?”