Biostar TPower Makes a Comeback with TPower X79, Geared for Extreme Overclocking

[btarunr]

Biostar's coveted TPower brand makes a comeback with TPower X79, Biostar's premium overclocking motherboard for the Core i7 "Sandy Bridge-E" platform. TPower motherboards have been known to be a part of some record-setting CPU OC feats right from the days of LGA775. The TPower X79 is another product that's meant for record-setting feats, with its strong VRM and slim feature-set that does away with everything overclockers don't need and adds to the bloat of the motherboard.

The CPU is powered by an 8-phase DuraMax VRM with active phase control and direct FETs. It draws power from two 8-pin EPS connectors, apart from the 24-pin ATX and an optional 4-pin Molex for PCIe slot stability. Apart from a strong VRM, the board makes use of POSCAP capacitors in the CPU area, and a high-quality clock generator. The VRM and chipset heatsinks are connected with a 6 mm heat pipe, the heatsinks are made of a ceramic surface material for better dissipation. The CPU is wired to just four DDR3 DIMM slots, one per channel, which shouldn't be an issue for overclockers. It gives you shorter memory traces. Apart from JEDEC speeds of up to DDR3-1600 MHz, the board supports DDR3-2400 MHz by overclocking.



Expansion slots include two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (permanent x16), one PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (permanent x8, white), two PCIe x1, and a legacy PCI. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s (two via X79 PCH, four via additional controllers), one (red) SATA 3 Gb/s from the PCH (for the optical drive), and an eSATA 3 Gb/s, also from the PCH. There are eight USB 3.0 ports on the board (six on the rear panel, two via header), all driven by 2-port controllers made by ASMedia. Other connectivity includes one gigabit Ethernet connection, and 8+2 channel HD audio. A nice cosmetic touch here is the EMI shield over the audio CODEC.

Source: MyDrivers

[kajson]

Just a stupid question...

These are the generation motherboards that will be the base for Ivy Bridge as well right? We wont get X89 mobo's by that time?

Or are you guys expecting at least another small upgrade by that time?

[btarunr]

Originally Posted by kajson

Just a stupid question...

These are the generation motherboards that will be the base for Ivy Bridge as well right? We wont get X89 mobo's by that time?

Or are you guys expecting at least another small upgrade by that time?

No, Ivy Bridge does not succeed Sandy Bridge-E. It succeeds Sandy Bridge. Ivy Bridge will run on LGA1155 (P67, Z68, H67) platforms, and it won't be faster than Sandy Bridge-E.

The successor to this platform will be Ivy Bridge-E, and that's more than an year away. I expect a smooth upgrade path to Ivy Bridge-E from X79.

[Edgarstrong]

Wait a second, Ivy Bridge will be using LGA 1155 and SB-E will use LGA 2011. Or did I misunderstand your question?

P.S. Here is the supposed roadmap if I remember things correctly:

SB (LGA 1155)---------->Ivy Bridge (LGA 1155, so backwards compatible with current motherboards)

LGA 1336 based platforms----------------->Sandy Bridge-E (LGA 2011). Not as much an upgrade as a replacement of the existing flagship platform by another one.

[the54thvoid]

Originally Posted by btarunr

No, Ivy Bridge does not succeed Sandy Bridge-E. It succeeds Sandy Bridge. Ivy Bridge will run on LGA1155 (P67, Z68, H67) platforms, and it won't be faster than Sandy Bridge-E.

Yeah. As long as the BIOS is UEFI.

Originally Posted by btarunr

The successor to this platform will be Ivy Bridge-E, and that's more than an year away. I expect a smooth upgrade path to Ivy Bridge-E from X79.

Oh wise guru of Hyderabad, you have highlighted something interesting in two points. Do you expect SB-E to be a faster system than IB? I was going to go SB-E then read all the disappointments in production. I was under the impression, IB would be fast (I know it's a die shrink with extras) and that SB-E would be only beneficial for server side applications.

Also, I have an X58 and obviously lost out when SB came out as my upgrade path was limited. Do you expect IB-E to use the same socket as SB-E and if so is there any evidence?

Cheers

[btarunr]

Originally Posted by the54thvoid

Yeah. As long as the BIOS is UEFI.

That's not the only condition: http://www.techpowerup.com/index.php?153756

Originally Posted by the54thvoid

Do you expect SB-E to be a faster system than IB?

Yes. No Ivy Bridge LGA1155 chip will be faster than any Sandy Bridge-E chip.

Originally Posted by the54thvoid

I was going to go SB-E then read all the disappointments in production.

There are no "disappointments" in production as far as the chip goes.

It's just the chipset (its storage controllers), and the first wave of LGA2011 boards will have the same SATA connectivity that P67/Z68/H67 gives you. The second wave of LGA2011 boards (maybe Spring 2012), could have a more feature-rich chipset.

Originally Posted by the54thvoid

I was under the impression, IB would be fast (I know it's a die shrink with extras) and that SB-E would be only beneficial for server side applications.

No, that's a common misconception. Intel marketing is placing Sandy Bridge-E as a HEDT (high-end desktop) product, occupying market segments above every other client processor (that's Performance2, Extreme 1 and Extreme 2).

Originally Posted by the54thvoid

Also, I have an X58 and obviously lost out when SB came out as my upgrade path was limited.

Do you expect IB-E to use the same socket as SB-E and if so is there any evidence?

No, there is no evidence that Ivy Bridge-E even exists at this moment. Given that Sandy Bridge-E will be the fastest desktop platform for the foreseeable future, and given that Intel streamlined Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge to at least have a common platform (LGA1155, conditional, though compatible), everyone expects Sandy Bridge-E successor to be a LGA2011 chip based on the 22 nm Ivy Bridge architecture (to at least benefit from the 22 nm process, and try to increase clock speeds).

[the54thvoid]

Man the girlfriend's gonna kill me if i buy a SB-E rig.

[claylomax]

This is the board I'm probably going to get as I want to try a different brand, enough of Asus/Gigabyte ; also the layout is ideal for me, currently my sound card is sandwiched between two GTX 480's. EDIT: I spoke too soon, there is no room for my sound card if I go SLI with this board.

[erixx]

Normally one would give such attributions (the power to kill) only to our wifes, not our girlfriends. But even dressing code is different in the highlands, so who knows what, lol

In other words: just buy it, mate!

[pr0n Inspector]

I will be the first to scream "Biostar is back!"

[kajson]

yes but there's also the quad memory channel support in ivy bridge, or will X67 etc mobo's seamlessly start supporting that.

Ivy Bridge maybe'll be not faster then Sandy-E but it will be more affordable i reckon, also I expect overclockable processors at in my eyes a lot more acceptable TDP's

I wont be buying a new motherboard till Ivy Bridge is actually among us, but I just wanted to know if there are any current fully supporting mobo's coming out already so i can start dreaming and drooling all over em and start planning my rig...


The only parts i currently own of my new system are the case and the vid card.

[the54thvoid]

Originally Posted by erixx

Normally one would give such attributions (the power to kill) only to our wifes, not our girlfriends. But even dressing code is different in the highlands, so who knows what, lol

In other words: just buy it, mate!

Well, we live together, have mortgage and she has one of those diamonds on her finger (that i coulda bought a good PC with instead). I sometimes call her 'wife-ish'.

I could always buy one in January..... (and I live in Glasgow - those highland folk are a bit wierd).

And FTR, I run a Biostar T-Power X58 and it's a cracking board.

[btarunr]

Originally Posted by kajson

yes but there's also the quad memory channel support in ivy bridge, or will X67 etc mobo's seamlessly start supporting that.

No, there's no quad-channel memory support in Ivy Bridge. It's dual-channel.

[kajson]

Originally Posted by btarunr

No, there's no quad-channel memory support in Ivy Bridge. It's dual-channel.

Meh i must have misread or have been misinformed then (16gigs of quad channel mem seemed like a nice part of my rig *cries* )

Anyhoe I did some googling, and there will be new motherboards for Ivy Bridge, so I guess it would be logical to wait for those

[johnnyfiive]

Biostar makes fantastic boards and usually are less expensive than other makers. My first 2500k did 5Ghz at 1.42v on a Biostar TP67B+, which cost about $129 when I bought it. Great boards, fantastic prices. Hopefully I'll be moving up to Sandy Bridge-E sooner than later, I've been waiting to play with more than four cores. BD didn't suffice, so, Sandy Bridge-E it is.

[cadaveca]

on a what?


LOL.


I should get a sample of this board.

[johnnyfiive]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

on a what?


LOL.


I should get a sample of this board.

I somehow posted before finishing my post, hahaa

[pantherx12]

Biostar always manage to make their boards look so cheap regardless of if they're decent or not.

Bit of a shame really. ( only a bit)

[johnnyfiive]

Originally Posted by pantherx12

Biostar always manage to make their boards look so cheap regardless of if they're decent or not.

Bit of a shame really. ( only a bit)

Well, would you rather have a glitter splattered, LED lightshow, iceberg heatsinked board with 15 colors that costs $300+, or a board that gets you realiable stable oc's on the cheap while still giving you the majority of features other boards do? That's easy to answer IMO.

[micropage7]

Originally Posted by pantherx12

Biostar always manage to make their boards look so cheap regardless of if they're decent or not.

Bit of a shame really. ( only a bit)

yeah, maybe thats they way they put their position, btw biostar is a nice brand although their star not so bright.

[pantherx12]

Originally Posted by johnnyfiive

Well, would you rather have a glitter splattered, LED lightshow, iceberg heatsinked board with 15 colors that costs $300+, or a board that gets you realiable stable oc's on the cheap while still giving you the majority of features other boards do? That's easy to answer IMO.

Glitter all the way man.

[Static~Charge]

Originally Posted by pantherx12

Glitter all the way man.

I'll take substance over style any day.

[WarraWarra]

Two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (permanent x16) very nice.
This is not a Evga SR2 / SR3 but would do for most people.

LOL ASSMedia is making usb3.0 controllers, are they paper square based media on a roll or "silly-cone" ?
Does it need a B type plug ?
How can they be 2 ports or is it some special version running 6 ports, maybe some groupy thing ?
Not into this so no idea how it works.
Surely it would be sold with the new thermal ky jelly or at least have some vaseline based thermal paste for lubrication and friction control ?

Between T-power and Assmedia someone designing this must have been a bit frustrated or had a "bone" to pick with someone else.
Wink wink nudge nudge.

[pantherx12]

Originally Posted by Static~Charge

I'll take substance over style any day.

GLITTTTEEEEEEEEEER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DanishDevil]

Glitter is the herpes of craft supplies. Do. Not. Want.