LGA 1366 was the initial platform for Intel's Core i7 processors, and the excitement at the launch of this technology was very high. Motherboards with Intel's X58 chipset became the enthusiast's choice thanks to the power of these new processors, triple channel DDR3 memory, more PCI Express 2.0 lanes, Intel's QuickPath Interconnect (QPI), and plenty of other performance enhancing features.

LGA 1156 came along a while later and not only stole some of the excitement from the LGA 1366 products, but also created a good deal of confusion due to similar processor naming schemes. Motherboards based on Intel's P55 chip seemed to replace the X58 as the new hot item, and you didn't hear much about anything LGA 1366 any more.

LGA 1366 is by no means dead, and ASUS has breathed new life in to the platform by adding a few of the new "must have" features to an already impressive enthusiast-grade X58 board. The ASUS P6X58D-E LGA 1366 Intel X58 motherboard features desirable goodies such as SATA 6Gbps and USB 3.0 support for high speed data transfers, six DDR3 memory slots capable of supporting up to 24GB of 2000MHz triple channel memory, and multi-GPU support for both NVIDIA's SLI and AMD's CrossFireX. And as we will see in this review, the board features plenty of physical and BIOS based features to make it an excellent choice for overclockers of all experience and skill levels.



The promotional image above provides an overview of the ASUS P6X58D-E. Before taking a closer look at the sample provided for review, lets take a look at a small sample of the published information available on the P6X58D-E. This board has so much to offer it would take pages to cover, so for more details please visit the official product page on the ASUS website.

Features:

» Intel 32nm 6-Core CPU Support Ready
» True USB 3.0 -10X Faster Data Rates!
» True SATA 6Gb/s RAID Support - Experience the Future of Storage!
» True 16+2 Phase Power Design - Unprecedented Innovation with the Best Quality Component for Best Performance
» 3-Way SLI & Quad-GPU support - Flexible Multi-GPU solutions, Your Weapon of Choice!
» TurboV - New OC Records with Real - Time Super-precise Tunings

Specifications:

» Model: ASUS P6X58D-E
» CPU Socket Type: LGA 1366
» CPU Type: Core i7 (LGA1366)
» FSB: QPI 6.4GT/S
» North Bridge: Intel X58
» South Bridge: Intel ICH10R
» Number of Memory Slots: 6×240pin
» Memory Standard: DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066
» Maximum Memory Supported: 24GB
» Memory Channel Supported: Triple Channel
» Expansion Slots:
   » PCI Express 2.0 x16: 3
   » PCI Express x1: 1
   » PCI Slots: 2
» Storage Devices
   » SATA 3Gb/s: 6
   » SATA 6Gb/s: 2 x SATA 6Gb/s
   » SATA RAID: 0/1/5/10
» Audio Chipset: Realtek ALC889
» Audio Channels: 8 Channels
» LAN Chipset: Marvell 88E8056
» Max LAN Speed: 10/100/1000Mbps
» Rear Panel Ports
   » PS/2: 2
   » USB 1.1/2.0: 4 x USB 2.0
   » USB 3.0: 2 x USB 3.0
   » IEEE 1394: 1 x IEEE 1394a
   » S/PDIF Out: 1 x Optical, 1 x Coaxial
   » Audio Ports: 6 Ports
» Onboard USB: 2 x USB connectors support additional 4 USB 2.0/1.1 ports
» Onboard 1394: 1 x 1394a
» Form Factor: ATX (12.0" x 9.6")