Intel's recent launch of the Core i7 processor and its accompanying chipset platform, was met with plenty of buzz and splash, due not only to the product's architectural enhancements but also its performance gains. However, the new serially enabled Core i7 also brought fairly significant platform changes as well. Though some folks may be resistant to it, most times, change is good. And Intel's new, more scalable QPI serial interface was long overdue. In fact, the Core i7 marks what could be considered one of the most significant changes in Intel's desktop processor architecture in many years. Though the new CPU requires a new processor socket and the new X58 Express chipset, end user migration to the new Core i7 desktop chip will be gradual at first but will build momentum as the platform matures into 2009.
Of course, all of these changes mean lots of new product releases from Intel's "ecosystem partners", as they like to call them. Since our launch article took flight in November, a steady stream of Intel X58 chipset-based motherboards have been filing into our labs here at HotHardware and we're queueing them up for testing and evaluation. One of the first boards we got in was an offering from EVGA, aptly branded the X58 3X SLI. Though the board's part number is a bit cryptic (we tested an EVGA p/n: 132-BL-E758-A1 board), the model naming should tip you off that this motherboard not only supports AMD ATI multi-GPU CrossFireX graphics configurations but also NVIDIA SLI graphics setups including 3-way SLI.
Of course, all of these changes mean lots of new product releases from Intel's "ecosystem partners", as they like to call them. Since our launch article took flight in November, a steady stream of Intel X58 chipset-based motherboards have been filing into our labs here at HotHardware and we're queueing them up for testing and evaluation. One of the first boards we got in was an offering from EVGA, aptly branded the X58 3X SLI. Though the board's part number is a bit cryptic (we tested an EVGA p/n: 132-BL-E758-A1 board), the model naming should tip you off that this motherboard not only supports AMD ATI multi-GPU CrossFireX graphics configurations but also NVIDIA SLI graphics setups including 3-way SLI.
The EVGA X58 3X SLI motherboard also supports all of the latest features inherent to Intel's X58 Express chipset, including triple channel DDR3 system memory. Here's a quick look at the X58 Express chipset block diagram, as a refresher.
Noteably, 3-way SLI configurations are supported in this motherboard via a x16,x8,x8 lane configuration, in each of the board's three full length x16 slots. You can reference this diagram here from our recent overview of the technology for further details. However, with each of these lane configurations supporting full Gen2 PCI Express links, there is more than enough bandwidth to support the required graphics processing throughput.
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