Gigabyte EX58 Extreme vs EVGA X58 Classified? [Archive]

theYipster

07-21-2009, 09:41 AM

Hi all,

I'm in the midst of putting together an upgrade to an i7 920 and I've basically narrowed down the motherboard choice to the Gigabyte EX-58 Extreme or the EVGA X58 Classified (the 760 model w/o the nForce chip.)

My reasoning for choosing from the above is layout, the number of SATA ports available, the number of rear USB ports available, and that both boards lack the nForce 200 chip. However, I'm finding it difficult to make a final decision. I'm aware that all X58 are about the same as far as performance and OC headroom is concerned.

The Gigabyte looks appealing as it's a bit cheaper, and the included waterblock is nice too (even though I imagine it's more or less useless from a performance standpoint.) The EVGA looks appealing as it has, in my opinion, a slightly better PCI/PCI-E layout (being able to run two double-width video cards plus a PCI sound card is nice.) Also, I do like EVGA's customer support, as well as the well established OC community at the EVGA forums.

Basically, I'm wondering what people here think about these boards. Is one better than the other in terms of features available? Is one board's BIOS more mature than the other? How about the PWM system? Is the digital PWM on the EVGA really better than the 12 or 16 phase conventional model on the Gigabyte? Basically I'm sweating the small stuff here, but if anyone can steer me to one or the other, that would be great.

Thanks.

ReverendMaynard

07-21-2009, 09:58 AM

Owned the Gigabyte Extreme myself and while I loved it to bits, it's just not the board that the Classified is.

Classified for sure.

roller11

07-21-2009, 11:22 AM

I've also owned both but found a Bclk 'wall' at 222. I never tried upping the PCIE bus beyond 100, so perhaps the giga can OC as high as the classified. Comments?

RNeon

07-21-2009, 12:54 PM

Sorry but the Classified is a Ferarri and the Gigabyte is a Volkswagen Beetle. You know?

Hondacity

07-21-2009, 12:59 PM

i have both boards...they're good..but the classy is another class

theYipster

07-21-2009, 01:11 PM

Thanks for the responses thus far. To those who say that the Classified is in another class, may I ask why? Both boards are premium-end X58 boards, both boards are known to OC very well, and both boards have about the same number of ports. Besides some of the extreme OC features (like the dual 8pin power connectors for the CPU,) what specifically puts the Classified in another class from the EX58 Extreme?

Splave

07-21-2009, 01:14 PM

the ability to go over 222bclk being one. Also it can can eat pci-e like nothing. I owned both as well, another good choice for you would be the evga x58 vanilla.

theYipster

07-21-2009, 01:22 PM

While I've heard good things about the vanilla EVGA X58 board, I'm not to keen on the SATA port layout. Also, as I'll be water cooling, I'd prefer a passive or water cooled chipset cooling solution to what looks like a fan-based one on the EVGA vanilla. Besides, I've never owned a premium model board like a Classified or Rampage. I thought it may be fun given that I'm going into X58 territory anyway.

ReverendMaynard

07-21-2009, 01:49 PM

Sorry but the Classified is a Ferarri and the Gigabyte is a Volkswagen Beetle. You know?

Far from a Beetle guy, more like a Bentley. :up:

road-runner

07-21-2009, 01:56 PM

I own both also, classified is the board... :up:

GAR

07-21-2009, 02:03 PM

Gigabyte is an amazing board, both have ups and downs, you have an extra pci-e slot with the gigabyte if you use sli, classified is an amazingly stable board.

roller11

07-21-2009, 02:41 PM

Thanks for the responses thus far. To those who say that the Classified is in another class, may I ask why?

Here is objective info: I've tested each extensively, except I never raised PCIE above 100 on the giga so I can't comment as to whether or not it can do as high a CPU clock as the Classified.

1. Sleep mode:
works reliably on the Classified, but there's a catch.. If you are using any HDD except the very latest 7200.12 performance is very bad. TAkes twice as long to do a full resume, about 16 seconds. If using a 7200.12 drive, resume performance is 6.5 seconds, the same as the giga. On the other hand, the giga is unreliable, it hangs the computer about one time in 20 when trying to resume from S3. The above is true for all values of Bclk up to about 220.

2. EIST
doesn't work at all on the giga, on the Classified it works but only if you set the voltage to auto.

3. Smart fan:
Doesn't work at all on the Classified. On the Giga, it technically works but because Giga uses the crappy IT8270 controller, it is pretty much worthless because there is a great deal of lag between the CPU temp and the fan speed. So for all practical purposes, smart fan doesn't work on the giga.

theYipster

07-21-2009, 03:12 PM

Thanks for the responses thus far. It seems that opinions strongly favor the Classified in this match-up. I must say I'm a bit surprised, as everything I've read about the EX-58 is that it was one of the most stable boards out of the gate. As for sleep mode, I've never trusted and thus never it in Windows. EIST and Smart Fan aren't big deals to me either.

What I am looking to do is get a D0 920 up to or past 4ghz (with 24/7 stability) on my WC setup. I assume I'll use the same components I have listed in my signature, but I may replace the waterblock with a HeatKiller if the performance upgrade is worth it. Does one board better support water cooling than the other? I know the Gigabyte comes with a water block for the chipset, but I heard it contains Aluminum, which would make it a non-starter for me. Does the EVGA's passive heat sink do a good job considering there won't be a CPU fan blowing air around the chipset or mosfets?

Thanks

bluehaze

07-22-2009, 09:22 AM

If your handy with a soldering iron theres a mod for the giga to get past the bclk wall and actually boot with higher than 222bclk. Classified can go higher but cannot boot, you must first boot into windows at lower bclk then raise it once in Windows via eleet. Classified has lower VGA performance in my experience than the Giga. Classified has problems with Enermax PSU's. Giga is ugly compared to Classified :D

If all your going for is a 4ghz OC I think your better off with Giga. Don't get me wrong, Classified is a great board, it just doesn't really come into it's own until you break out the LN2/ Dice :)

roller11

07-22-2009, 12:59 PM

As for sleep mode, I've never trusted and thus never it in Windows. EIST and Smart Fan aren't big deals to me either.

Right, if you prefer 75 second boot times to 7 second boot times, then don't take advantage of Sleep mode. As to EIST and Smart fan, all they do is get rid of irritating excessive fan noise 24/7.

Bluehaze is dead on with his comment: Classified has no advantage over the Giga if you aren't doing Dry Ice, LN2, or Cascade. With non-subzero CPU cooling, you will achieve the same CPU clock at the same noise level on the Giga as the Classified.

NaeKuh

07-22-2009, 01:04 PM

Sorry but the Classified is a Ferarri and the Gigabyte is a Volkswagen Beetle. You know?

bad comparision...

the classified is a veryron.. also priced up at one... and the giggy extreme is a porsche turbo.

Both great boards... however, the classified is the more coveted board.

theYipster

07-22-2009, 01:23 PM

Right, if you prefer 75 second boot times to 7 second boot times, then don't take advantage of Sleep mode. As to EIST and Smart fan, all they do is get rid of irritating excessive fan noise 24/7.

Bluehaze is dead on with his comment: Classified has no advantage over the Giga if you aren't doing Dry Ice, LN2, or Cascade. With non-subzero CPU cooling, you will achieve the same CPU clock at the same noise level on the Giga as the Classified.

Boot times aren't a concern as I'm a 24/7 up-time guy. Yeah, I got the impression that the Classified comes into its own only with extreme cooling solutions. Still, the price difference between the two is +- $50. No doubt I find the color scheme more palatable on the Classified, which is another thing to consider I suppose.

bluehaze

07-22-2009, 03:56 PM

Boot times aren't a concern as I'm a 24/7 up-time guy. Yeah, I got the impression that the Classified comes into its own only with extreme cooling solutions. Still, the price difference between the two is +- $50. No doubt I find the color scheme more palatable on the Classified, which is another thing to consider I suppose.

Thing is if your not going to use LN2/Dice other boards are more friendly for 24/7 use. Classified has really long boot times, takes like 20 seconds just to post whereas with UD5 I am already posted and into Windows before that 20 seconds is up. You can't use certain power supplies with the Classified, (I think this might have something to do with the long post times) not sure. Check this thread before you buy to make sure your PSU works with it: http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=100602223. It also has a lesser vga performance in my experience and in some reviews seems to be slower overall than other boards clock for clock.

There are some compatibility issues with some soundcards and TV cards, alot of little issues that you don't hear much about when people are raving about the board because most of the folks raving about the board are using it to bench with LN2/Dice and don't run soundcards or tv cards etc so never run into these problems.

That is why I say you'd probably be better off with Giga, it's not really about the price difference so much about all the little quirks. Don't get me wrong i'm not trying to slam the Classified here, every board has it's little quirks and Classified is the best board right now undeniably if your going for the highest bclk possible it is the king. I just think people need to get out of the mindset that they have to have a Classified to get good overclocks because if 24/7 is your goal there are plenty of other boards that will clock just as well, boot faster, work with most any PSU, Sound card etc... As to which board is the best for any given situation it all depends what your priorities are.

TheCarLessDriven

07-22-2009, 04:03 PM

Get an evga x58 Sli board, you don't need the classified. They are the same, except for the custom color scheme, and some more OC friendly features, and other gimmicks. (Maybe more stable but not enough to warrant the price)

theYipster

07-22-2009, 05:16 PM

bluehaze

07-22-2009, 09:34 PM

Thanks for the responses. As I've mentioned, I'm not interested in the Vanilla EVGA board due to the presence of a chipset fan (which I assume is necessary when water cooling only the CPU) and the SATA layout. Price is not an issue. If the Gigabyte board is better for 24/7 stability and up-time with reasonable overclocks (a 920 to 4.0-4.2ghz,) then that would weigh into the consideration heavily. My Corsair PSU is listed as working with the Classified. Not sure about my PCI Sound Blaster X-FI Premium, however. Can anyone chime in on that one? One of the things I like most about the classified is that I can run a dual-slot two card setup and still hold onto my PCI sound card.

As for the Gigabyte... Can anyone chime in on the materials used in the water block? If aluminum, I'm better off with out it, and would likely consider a UD5 instead.

I think the Sound Blasters work fine, think it's the Auzentechs that folks were having problems with. The Corsair PSU definitely works with the Classified i've used that combo before. Don't know what the WB is made of on the Extreme, I have only used the UD5. Look around the EVGA forums there is alot of info about the board there, that is a nice thing about buying an EVGA the forums are great just be aware they are EVGA forums and alot of those folks will always recommend an EVGA anything over something else regardless which is better :D

Anyways there both good boards, I don't think you'd be going wrong with either one. I personally will be switching back to Gigabyte once the new UD5-A hits the shelves. No idea when these are coming out though...

Linus@ncix

07-22-2009, 09:39 PM

As for the Gigabyte... Can anyone chime in on the materials used in the water block? If aluminum, I'm better off with out it, and would likely consider a UD5 instead.

I ran an EX58-EXTREME from day -5 until a few months after the launch of the Core i7 and I *LOVE* that board. It's very noob friendly as far as overclocking goes, so if you realistically don't want to endlessly tinker to find a comfortable overclock, then it's a great board.

From day 1 it performed admirably with 12GB of RAM, which is more than I've heard about a LOT of X58 boards, but the bad news in all of this is that I don't have any personal experience with the Classified. My second (and probably last) Core i7 board is a DFI X58-T3EH8 which I really like, but it's not as good as the Gigabyte.

The Gigabyte just has a tragic colour scheme so it had to go.

And FYI the block is copper and performs adequately.

ReverendMaynard

07-23-2009, 08:57 AM

I ran an EX58-EXTREME from day -5 until a few months after the launch of the Core i7 and I *LOVE* that board. It's very noob friendly as far as overclocking goes, so if you realistically don't want to endlessly tinker to find a comfortable overclock, then it's a great board.

From day 1 it performed admirably with 12GB of RAM, which is more than I've heard about a LOT of X58 boards, but the bad news in all of this is that I don't have any personal experience with the Classified. My second (and probably last) Core i7 board is a DFI X58-T3EH8 which I really like, but it's not as good as the Gigabyte.

The Gigabyte just has a tragic colour scheme so it had to go.

And FYI the block is copper and performs adequately.

got my Giga Extreme very shortly after release and C0 920 from you guys (NCIX). Both golden. Then my D0...total gold.

So you think the DFI's colour scheme is better than the Giga eh lol. The T3EH8 looks horrid ;)

Movieman

07-23-2009, 09:01 AM

Good info here and glad to read it.
I have a Gigabyte Xtreme and a VERY nice chip coming for it. Looking forward to see how she does.
Thanks for the info.:up:

ReverendMaynard

07-23-2009, 09:11 AM

Good info here and glad to read it.
I have a Gigabyte Xtreme and a VERY nice chip coming for it. Looking forward to see how she does.
Thanks for the info.:up:

I'm sure you'll love the board, the only reason I moved to the eVGA was because the Extreme wasn't a challenge at all and I get bored fast lol.

beast200

07-23-2009, 01:50 PM

hi

if you are going for 4 to 4.2 with a 920 then go for the gigabyte
the evga is for more extreme clocking (wish i had the time)
its more expensive
use the saving for good air cooling or watercooling
cooling on the i7 is the most important part

i have the ud5 should have gone for the extreme but still at 4.2 with a CO

kimandsally

07-23-2009, 07:27 PM

Go for the EVGA, I have niether but I have the EVGA Vanilla and wished I had the classified. I go on the EVGA forum a lot and the support is out of this world should you ever need it.
The EVGA can take the overclocks to a higher level if you ever decide you want to do so.
The waterblocks are near useless on the Giga so your paying for something that is a waste.
The one thing that would make me go for the EVGA is everyone who has had both prefere the EVGA.

Jakethesnake011

07-23-2009, 08:23 PM

I would say the same many are already saying, the gigabyte is great for getting to 4.2 and maybe a little higher, but if you want to use LN2 cooling or DICE to get to 4.5 and 5.0 clocks then go for the classified. The classified is a whole other bread of motherboard, it is an excellent extreme overclocking board for extreme cooling, I would say it is a waste of money for air cooling. The gigabyte extreme is even a waste when you have the UD5 which is the same board you get do not get the IOH heatsink and water block for the IOH, but it is a nice part if you are watercooling. The gigabyte board's are excellent for overclocking, "they have so many BIOS options that your balls will explode" -Binge TPU :) I enjoy the UD5 I have and never looked back, I was going for the gigabyte or the DFI or the Classified, and since I do not have the money nor time with college to use Dice or LN2 or get into it I stayed away from the classified and it was also $150 more than my UD5 at the time. I would say the UD5 is your best bang for your buck with Gigabyte, instead of the extreme, the BIOS are the same and have the same options. The 2 boards have the same layouts, although Gigabyte is coming out with New revisions on their X58 series and going ot the X58A series, which house SATA 6gb/s and 24 CPU Phase!! Now that is going to give the classified a run when they are released, but since the Sata 6gb/s chip problem the new ports are being delayed which will probably delay the new X58A Gigabyte series, they were due to come out in August of this year. Here is a link (http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/18834-gigabyte-p55-second-gen-x58-motherboards-revealed.html)to some pics and some more info on the new gigabyte revisions. But anyways the classified is great if money is not an object and you want the absolute best, the Gigabyte UD5 is best bang for buck and I would forget about the Gigabyte extreme, since they are charging you about $40-$70 (depend where you buy) just for the fancy heatsink and water block.

roller11

07-23-2009, 09:28 PM

I go on the EVGA forum a lot and the support is out of this world should you ever need it.
.

From hands on experience, I'd rate EVGA product support as the worst of any mobo vendor. If you are doing water or air cooling, the Classified is no better than any other board in OC, and worst in features that don't work and will never be fixed.

kimandsally

07-23-2009, 10:23 PM

From hands on experience, I'd rate EVGA product support as the worst of any mobo vendor. If you are doing water or air cooling, the Classified is no better than any other board in OC, and worst in features that don't work and will never be fixed.

You have obviously had a bad experience, I on the ther other hand have had a replacement motherboard and the least hassle I have ever had, and how you can ever say "the Classified is no better than any other board in OC" is just utter rubbish which can be proven just by simply looking at the records etc.
You can be bitter as you like but you cannot change the facts, and for you to buy it in the first place when you say "and worst in features" you must be crazy why would you have bought one in the first place if you thought that?

All I can see here is someone who has had a bad experience and is hellbent on costing EVGA a sale.

theYipster

07-24-2009, 05:26 AM

I've owned EVGA boards back in the 680i days and I agree their customer service is exceptional. Sure, those particular boards we're far from great, but these were reference design boards... evga just rebranded and sold them. What made the 680i experience work for as long as it did was due in no small part to EVGA's excellent customer support and RMA program.

I think I've made up my mind to go with the Classified. Sure, I won't be doing LN2 anytime soon, but it's nice to have that option later down the road. The layout is better, and the support and community can't be beat. Lastly, I hate to say it, but the colors of the Gigabyte are a real turn off.

theYipster

07-25-2009, 09:29 AM

Well folks, thanks again for a great discussion. This morning I went over the GWB to the MicroCenter in Paterson, NJ (by far the best MicroCenter I've ever shopped at btw) and picked up a 920 D0 and the EVGA Classified (which they surprisingly price-matched to NewEgg.) Compared to the Gigabyte EX-58 UD5 and Extreme, is the Classified the most sensible option? Perhaps not. But it's been several years since I've really had fun with a board, and it looks like I'll have lots of fun with this one.

Thanks again.