Sandy Bridge-E And X79: The Best Intel Has To Offer

Value seekers are definitely appreciating the fact that Intel launched its most advanced desktop CPU technology in the mainstream space first. Meanwhile, enthusiasts with more exacting platform needs can breathe a sigh of relief now that X79 Express supports the same architecture at the high-end. If you haven't yet read about it, check out Intel Core i7-3960X Review: Sandy Bridge-E And X79 Express.

Perhaps we should replace the word “high” with “extreme,” however, since the cheapest LGA 2011-based CPU currently sells for about $600 bucks. It only stands, then, that exorbitant CPU prices would give way to expensive platforms. Fortunately, the connectivity enabled by Sandy Bridge-E and X79 Express is also more expansive than anything ever seen before from Intel.

A CPU-based quad-channel memory controller and 40 CPU-based third-gen PCIe lanes with built-in four-way SLI/CrossFireX support make X79 platforms stand above their Z68 siblings in the desktop segment, and we believe that anyone with the money for either a $600 or $1000 processor will also have the cash to spend on the best possible platform to support it. And yet, our announcement that the first X79 motherboard round-up would focus on flagship models to match Intel's introduction was met with a collective “What?!” by most manufacturers.

How could we expect the best products so soon after launch? With a little more time, a lot of vendors expected they could deliver a true masterpiece. But we were just as baffled by their responses, since most companies we talked to earlier in the year started X79-based motherboard development efforts last spring.

Most companies let us know that their flagship models were not finished, and that claim stood even after we announced a one-week grace period for late submissions. Imagine our surprise when several of those supposedly unfinished motherboards landed on Newegg before their manufacturers were willing to let them compete! What we ended up with was an interesting collection of premium (albeit non-flagship) models with high-end feature sets that help justify decidedly enthusiast-oriented prices.