The Intel Core i7 DX58SO Motherboard

Bottle necks slow down performance. This occurs if the processor, or one of its core, is unable to fetch data or instructions fast enough. The memory of the computer system is particularly important due to amount of data which is passed through it as the system receives instructions from the applications. Theoretically speaking, consequently the faster a processor receives data from memory, the better the performance.

Traditionally, processors are associated with the memory of a computer via an external bi-directional front-side bus (FSB). This bus served as being the central connection point between the processors, the chipset containing the memory controller hub, and all of those other buses just like PCI, AGP, etc.

Intel engineers realize that having better processors means that the architecture must also be upgraded to make sure that data flows more rapidly between all of the different components, and thus the Quickpath Interconnect was created.

The most notable component of the Quickpath architecture is that the memory controller has become integrated into each microprocessor. Each processor carries a dedicated memory controller. In the event that a processor has to access data from the dedicated memory of another core, it can achieve this by having a high speed broadband connection. This enables the cores to have data from memory controllers directly, and connection with other components of the system is also greatly enhanced. The technology is named Quickpath Interconnect because that is what exactly it offers: high-speed connection between all of the components.

Because of this, the Core i7 processors could only be used on motherboards that support Quickpath Interconnect. The Intel DX58SO is one such example.

The Intel DX58SO motherboard (codename “Smackover”) contains the Intel X58 Express chipset with ICH10R south bridge chip. The ICH offers support for all the other devices just like video and audio. All buses and components operate on a 133.33 MHz base clock. Put simply, a multiplier is given to the base clock to obtain a speed value. There are four multipliers on the motherboard that affects the overall system speed. These are the CPU speed, the memory speed, the Quickpath Interconnect (QPI) speed, and the uncore speed. The first three are focused on overclocking. Uncore speed is the multiplier that’s placed on devices that won’t draw power on the processor. Together, these four multipliers manage the overall system performance.

Intel DX58SOBesides support for your Core i7 processors (it supports all three editions), the DX58SO also offers other features, including integrated Intel audio, improved graphics performance, and the PCI Express 2. interface that delivers as much as 16GB/s bandwidth per port.

As all data and applications are stored on the systems disk drive, it’s most important the fact that system will be able to draw data from your drives rapidly. This is often achieved through six SATA ports with transfer speeds of up to 3GB/s. For external storage devices, eSATA can be obtained to aid achieve the exact performance.

With the DX58SO motherboard, Intel actually emphasizes system stability significantly. As an example, the motherboard features a unique fault tolerant BIOS that virtually eliminates downtime due to a corrupted BIOS.

The new features certainly promise highly enhanced performance. However, how can the Core i7 perform under stringent hardware tests?

source : http://www.ezinearticles.mk/Article/The-Intel-Core-i7-DX58SO-Motherboard/6987