Intel DX79SI Review: The Default X79?
by Ian Cutress on November 18, 2011 1:10 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- X79
Board Features
| Intel DX79SI | |
| Size | ATX |
| CPU Interface | LGA2011 |
| CPU Support | Intel Second Generation Core i7 Sandy Bridge E |
| Chipset | Intel X79 |
| Base Clock Frequency | 100.0 MHz |
| Core Voltage | Default, 1.000 V to 1.920 V |
| CPU Clock Multiplier | Auto, 5x to 65x |
| DRAM Voltage | Auto, 1.20 V to 1.99 V |
| DRAM Command Rate | Auto, 1T, 2T |
| Memory Slots |
Eight DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB Up to Quad Channel Support for DDR3, 1066-2400 MHz |
| Expansion Slots |
2 x PCIe Gen 3 x16 1 x PCIe Gen 3 x8 2 x PCIe Gen 2 x1 1 x PCI |
| Onboard SATA/RAID |
2 x SATA 6 Gbps, Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 4 x SATA 3 Gbps, Support for RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 |
| Onboard |
4 x SATA 3 Gbps (PCH) 2 x SATA 3 Gbps (PCH) 4 x Fan Headers 1 x S/PDIF Out Header 1 x Front Panel Header 1 x Front Panel Audio Header 4 x USB 2.0 Headers 1 x USB 3.0 Header 1 x Remote Thermal Probe Header 1 x IEEE 1394a Header Power / Reset / Clear CMOS Buttons + Debug LED Board Status LEDs |
| Onboard LAN | Dual Intel Gigabit 82579L + 82574L |
| Onboard Audio | Realtek ALC892 |
| Power Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX connector 1 x 8-pin 12V connector |
| Fan Headers |
1 x CPU Fan Header 2 x Chassis Headers 1 x Auxillary Header |
| IO Panel |
6 x USB 2.0 2 x USB 3.0 1 x Back2Bios 2 x Intel Gigabit Ethernet 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out Connector 2 x FireWire / IEEE 1394a Audio Jacks |
| BIOS Version | 280 - 10/19/2011 |
| Warranty Period | 3 Years |
Everyone who cares deeply about Ethernet options will be pleased to see dual Intel Gigabit NICs onboard; however there is nothing too much to shout about in general in terms of what is available here. Perhaps an additional two USB 3.0 ports on the back panel, or more SATA ports by a controller would be a welcome addition to the consumer product.
In The Box
Unfortunately, there seems to be a large discrepancy in terms of what’s in the box compared to my media sample and what exactly Intel are going to ship with the DX79SI. Personally, I have:
Intel ‘Skull’ themed mouse mat
Two slot length SLI connector
Long SLI connector
Thermal Probe
In terms of what should be included, according to the manuals:
Bluetooth/Wifi Module
Driver CD
User Manual
Despite all this, we see a distinct lack of SATA cables provided. With a significant proportion of HDDs being sold as OEM, sans cables, it is a shock to see a product without cables being provided.
Software
Again, for some reason due to this media sample, my range of installing drivers and software was limited to what I could download from the Intel pre-release website. This required a manual installation of the chipset drivers, LAN drivers, USB 3.0 drivers, and so on. While not exhaustive by any means, I hope the driver CD in the retail package has an ‘Install All’ option.
In terms of software, the only one currently available to me is the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU), which is essentially their overclocking software. There are no fan controls for the OS, or ability to change the power modes here. However, the XTU is a well designed piece of software with aesthetics to match.
The core piece of XTU is the manual tuning. Almost all of the BIOS settings for the CPU are adjustable here in terms of sliders, with simple cancel buttons to return to default values. Any changes you make here should turn up yellow, indicating a reboot is required to apply the changes (unless you select an option in the BIOS which allows you to change the CPU multiplier on the fly).
As mentioned previously, the lack of OS fan controls is one major aspect which lets this board down as an overall consumer product. Hopefully this will change in future.
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StephaneP - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
The DPC Latency test is a nice addition.Did you check what peripheral gives this higher DPC ? (Lan, USB3, ...)
ochentay4 - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
Expensive, not the top of the line, horrbile skull, terrible option in my opinion.tomvh - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
I am on my fourth Intel motherboard build. I use them because they work. Period !Pperformance ? Probably not up to gamer's standards, I don't play games. But for AV use and general office work, they are fine and fast.
Never had a hiccup with any thing from Intel.
Death666Angel - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
Why exactly do you use 2 different graphics cards, resulting in 4 different setups? What is testing an old 5850 supposed to accomplish?londiste - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
and no, skull doesn't make it flashy.i've had a number of intel boards, i've started to take notice of them after 440bx boards. they always tend to lack the cutting edge features even on high-end boards, bioses are always simple and i most cases more limited than other manufacturers but on the other hand these things just work. i have honestly never seen an issue in bios (although judged by readmes their bios updates do fix some issues) and never had to rma any of them (unlike some/most other manufacturers' boards).
specific board does seem a bit overpriced though.
dusteater - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
Well, I have always Intel branded motherboards in my computer builds. I am in the market for a new computer next year, but am so frustrated at Intel for their USB bungle. I will absolutely not buy a motherboard if it doesn't have all USB 3.0 ports. And I really doubt any OEM's will have any motherboards that meat this requirement either. Just pathetic.tomvh - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
I agree. There are only a couple of Intel boards with on board USB 3 controllers.I too am hoping that next years Ivy Bridge boards have at least four on the back and a couple headers on the board. I think it may be the cost of USB chips that may be slowing down all board manufacturers.
Doesn't the Ivy Bridge and new chips have native support for USB 3 ?
C300fans - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
A piece of junk. Are you ready for the 999$ cpu?CharonPDX - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
Intel always includes SATA cables.ClagMaster - Friday, November 18, 2011 - link
Intel motherboards and BIOS are easy to understand.Intel products are 100% compliant to standards based and offer little room for tweeking because Intel wants their products to be highly reliable.
Most people who buy Intel motherboards do so for their quality and reliability.
Think of how Apple controls their Macs and understand their motivations for doing so.
Then you will understand Intel.