X38 Release Information - Part Two

[Gary Key]

Hi,

The NDA release for the third party X38 boards is now October 9th. It is not looking good for the consumer as only a couple boards from Gigabyte and Asus will be widely available (or are already available).
It appears boards from the other manufacturers have been updated or are in the process of being revised and releases will occur throughout this month and into November. Intel (as an example) is not sampling "final" Bone Trail boards at this time and we will not be permitted to show results on the sample board.
I will update this message once we have firm release dates from abit, Foxconn, MSI, DFI, and others.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Thanks for update Gary. Disappointing new though.

 

[Gary Key]

It looks like ASUS will have the R.O.G. boards ready for release at the end of October or early November now.

 

[vmsein]

Mixed news for sure. Gary, when you say some manufacturers are revising or updating their boards, do you know why this is necessary or what they are doing? At least we know that the ASUS P5E3 and its variants are starting to show at some etailers across the pond. Can't be too much longer before they start to show in the US.

 

[Gary Key]

A few of the boards required electrical and layout changes based on the final chipset silicon so production was delayed slightly. A few of the boards are going to be "late" due to BIOS optimizations and new microcode from Intel. It appears we will only have three retail boards to review at launch (we have four others in-house but have been asked to hold off until retail boards arrive, which is right since designs/components have changed) and BIOS updates are still coming in almost daily for those. :frown: There is not too much else to say that we did not already cover in the preview articles, except for CrossFire performance, final power management numbers, and some overclocking updates.

 

[vmsein]

Thanks for the information Gary. I assume that the ASUS P5E3 is one of the three that will be covered in your launch review. Looking very much forward to retail availability here in the US and to your review.

 

[Owls]

when do you guys think that prices for DDR3 will finally fall down to current DDR2 levels?

I really wanted a DDR3 board but I simply couldnt justify the price for the RAM.

 

[Gary Key]

We will have the Gigabyte X38-DQ6 and ASUS P5E3 Deluxe for the launch article. That is it, I am sorry to say. MSI is shipping their retail X38 Diamond board on Friday and it will not arrive in time for the review. Gigabyte X38T-DQ6, ASUS P5E, and abit X38 MAX should all arrive towards the end of next week. I do not have dates for the other boards yet.

 

[Gary Key]

Originally posted by: Owls
when do you guys think that prices for DDR3 will finally fall down to current DDR2 levels?

I really wanted a DDR3 board but I simply couldnt justify the price for the RAM.

We do not expect DDR3 to hit the current DDR2 levels for quite some time. However, 2GB kits should be under $200 next spring according to current road maps.

 

[Nemesis 1]

Great news on the Bonetrail releases. Looks like intel will be sending out these boards to reviewers with Intel Penryn CPU along with Certified memory for a proper reviews . Nice going INTEL. The way it should be done.

So Gary what do ya know about this?

http://www.fudzilla.com/index....=view&id=2749&Itemid=1

 

[Owls]

the thing I don't like is how ridiculously priced DDR3 is now. I know it's new and flashy but its above and beyond what you'd normally pay for staying bleeding edge. I don't remember DDR2 being this expensive!

 

[Nemesis 1]

I remember when I bought my first 2 sticks of DDR B5 . 2x512=1024= $400.

Now it all depends on how one looks at it. Doesn't it?

 

[RFV]

Come next year everyone will be wanting DDR3 memory sticks. DDR2 memory is not capable of exploiting the full potential of X38 motherboards in terms of memory speed. Anyone splashing out on an X38 DDR2 motherboard in the coming weeks ( ASUS P5E ) may be regretting it sooner rather than later. What's really needed is a drop in DDR3 memory prices and DDR3 with lower latencies ... right now DDR3 is a rich man's game.

 

[Gary Key]

Originally posted by: Nemesis 1
Great news on the Bonetrail releases. Looks like intel will be sending out these boards to reviewers with Intel Penryn CPU along with Certified memory for a proper reviews . Nice going INTEL. The way it should be done.

So Gary what do ya know about this?

http://www.fudzilla.com/index....=view&id=2749&Itemid=1

X48 is FUD right now...

 

[Gary Key]

Originally posted by: Nemesis 1
I remember when I bought my first 2 sticks of DDR B5 . 2x512=1024= $400.

Now it all depends on how one looks at it. Doesn't it?

Not too long ago, I remember my first PC1066 RDRAM 512MB (4) modules being $439 each, but then again having 2GB of memory in 2002 was expensive. Not as expensive per megabyte as my first 4MB purchase a long long time ago though... Those four modules ran a cool $1414 back in 1988, but then again not as expensive as the 2MB I bought in 1985, well you get the story...

 

[Nemesis 1]

Originally posted by: Gary Key

Originally posted by: Nemesis 1
Great news on the Bonetrail releases. Looks like intel will be sending out these boards to reviewers with Intel Penryn CPU along with Certified memory for a proper reviews . Nice going INTEL. The way it should be done.

So Gary what do ya know about this?

http://www.fudzilla.com/index....=view&id=2749&Itemid=1

X48 is FUD right now...

You got me good on that one you dog. RIGHT NOW! LOL

 

[NoelS]

I had hoped to buy an x38 board for DDR2, but from everything I'm reading here it sounds like I'd be better off going with a good p35 board like the Abit Pro. I have a new 6850 and 2GB OCZ DDR2 1066 RAM I'd like to use for a new build. What do you all think?

Noel

 

[SerpentRoyal]

$71 Abit IP35-E is a better buy even if you need RAID and eSATA. You can always re-use the RAID and eSATA cards with another PC. The separate cards will usually work better than the factory added bells and whistles.

Note that you may need to boot with JEDEC 1.8V DDR 667 or 800 and manually set memory voltage and timing to the OCZ's before you can use the OCZ RAMs.

 

[aka1nas]

Originally posted by: Owls
the thing I don't like is how ridiculously priced DDR3 is now. I know it's new and flashy but its above and beyond what you'd normally pay for staying bleeding edge. I don't remember DDR2 being this expensive!

New RAM tech is usually that overpriced until adoption numbers start going up.

 

[NoelS]

SerpentRoyal,

I'll look into the Abit IP35-E and compare it with the Pro version. I don't need RAID since I've never used that, but I do love eSATA and am now using an eSATA bracket on my ASUS Commando mobo. That works pretty well, but I have have better luck with the built in eSATA with my ASUS Crosshair mobo. I can hot plug my external drive with it, but the eSATA bracket requires a re-boot to pick up the external drive.

For those who haven't used eSATA before, let me tell you, the transfer is FAST! (I use an eSATA enclosure, too, not USB - that defeats the speed).

Thanks also for the tip on the memory. I have some Corsair DDR2 800 that I can use to do that (will that work?). I'm surprised the board wouldn't just start the 1066 at 800 and let you adjust it from there. Or is it the uniqueness of the OCZ?

Thanks again, Noel

 

[gingerstewart55]

Originally posted by: NoelS

I'm surprised the board wouldn't just start the 1066 at 800 and let you adjust it from there. Or is it the uniqueness of the OCZ?

Thanks again, Noel

AFAIK, all DDR2 RAM is supposed to at least boot at JEDEC standard settings to at least allow you to enter the BIOS and adjust from there. At least the four different brands of DDR2 RAM I've used have all managed to boot from a new build at JEDEC standard settings....typically 667, 1.8V.....and these included Corsair XMS2 (booted at 800), Buffalo FireStix DDR2-800 (booted at 667), PNY Extreme (booted at 800), and Crucial Ballistix (also booted at 800)....all booted at 1.8V.

Oh yeah, before someone asks, these sets of RAM powered up three distinctly different Intel chipsets.....965, 975, and the P35...all worked flawlessly on initial boot from builds.

If your OCZ RAM won't do the same, I'd suspect the RAM being at fault, not the motherboard or anything else. ALL RAM is supposed to boot at JEDEC standards....and ALL RAM is supposed to have the JEDEC settings programmed into them....hence the standards being called standards. Otherwise, what would be the point of there even being JEDEC standards to begin with?

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Not true. Some ICs rated at 2.0-2.2V may not boot with the default JEDEC 1.8V. OCZ are junks. Buy at your own risk!

 

[SerpentRoyal]

Originally posted by: NoelS
SerpentRoyal,

I'll look into the Abit IP35-E and compare it with the Pro version. I don't need RAID since I've never used that, but I do love eSATA and am now using an eSATA bracket on my ASUS Commando mobo. That works pretty well, but I have have better luck with the built in eSATA with my ASUS Crosshair mobo. I can hot plug my external drive with it, but the eSATA bracket requires a re-boot to pick up the external drive.

For those who haven't used eSATA before, let me tell you, the transfer is FAST! (I use an eSATA enclosure, too, not USB - that defeats the speed).

Thanks also for the tip on the memory. I have some Corsair DDR2 800 that I can use to do that (will that work?). I'm surprised the board wouldn't just start the 1066 at 800 and let you adjust it from there. Or is it the uniqueness of the OCZ?

Thanks again, Noel

RAM should work if it's rated at 1.8V on the label.

For best performance and compatibility (hot plug) with eSATA, go with a quality PCI or PCI-E card. eSATA is as fast as an internal HDD. USB 2.0 is limited to about 30MB/sec. Some boards route eSATA thru the JMicron chip.

 

[Quiksilver]

In case anyone missed these pic's of the Asus Maximus Formula (ROG) board:
http://www.xfastest.com/viewth...id=3694&extra=page%3D1

My only reaction the that massive passive heatsink is why oh why didn't they just use active cooling.

 

[NoelS]

Originally posted by: SerpentRoyal

For best performance and compatibility (hot plug) with eSATA, go with a quality PCI or PCI-E card. eSATA is as fast as an internal HDD. USB 2.0 is limited to about 30MB/sec. Some boards route eSATA thru the JMicron chip.

SerpentRoyal,

On the RAM, thanks, I'll double check it.

As for the eSATA, I assume you're suggesting I should be using an eSATA PCI or PCI-E card instead of an ESATA bracket? Wouldn't that be a lot more expensive than my eSATA bracket which only costs $10 versus the price of an eSATA card? I have my eSATA bracket hooked up to the same SATA connectors as the HDDS, the ones off the ICH8R chip, not the JMicron chip. It is as fast as the HDDs, it just won't hot-sawp, so when I want to back up to my eSATA external, I have to re-boot to get it to recognize the eSATA external...

Noel