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GIGABYTE has listened closely to the overclocking community to make sure the X58A-OC has all of the overclocking features enthusiasts have been asking for, without some of the features that are unnecessarywhile overclocking, or can negatively impact performance – similar to a stripped down sports car where the aircon, radio, passenger seats, etc… have been removed to reduce weight. Layout was a critical aspect
of the design, not only in choice of components used, but also spacing of the components so that insulation of the board is as easy as possible, while still maintaining the most efficient data pathways between the various components. GIGABYTE is also introducing 5 new main overclocking features on the X58A-OC that help to push the performance envelope of the X58A-OC even further including OC-VRM, OC-Touch, OC-PEG, OC-Cool and OC-DualBIOS.
From the name carried it’s obvious the target market of this motherboard. Finally there is a motherboard that was designed by overclockers for overclockers. Why still use X58 chipset Apparently there are still many who are still loyal overclockers using this chipset even though the chipset series 6 was present. As to whether
this motherboard? Let’s find out together.
Carrying the orange-black color scheme makes the motherboard looks to steal the attention. A board that is not intended to be placed in the casing.
If you look at the picture of this motherboard, there are some things that can be observed:
- 4 Slot PCI Express
- 6 Slot memory
- Various onboard button to adjust the performance of on-the-fly
- Using the power connector 2 x 8 Pin and two SATA power connectors for additional power
- Post Code reader
For the backplate looks minimal, but sufficient to meet the needs of the overclockers.
For business storage delivered to eight SATA connectors, two of whom are SATA3
This motherboard has several features that would be very useful for the overclockers. What features are they? Let’s look together.
1. OC-VRM
Power that can be accommodated by the motherboard is certainly more than enough, considering the use of dual 8pin power that supports up to 720A (1500W).
Under the heatsink, Gigabyte uses MOS driver chips that can handle up to 600A (1200W) through 12 phases are used by this motherboard. PWM switching frequency allows you to adjust the load required by the
processor and ensuring stability in various kinds of processor workload.
OC-VRM which includes a combination of highly conductive POScaps, 50A rated MPFC (Max Power Ferrite Core) Chokes, and Driver-MOSFETs, which combined, are able to deliver higher current to the CPU, with better efficiency and lower temperature. OC-VRM also allows users to overclock the PWM frequency via an onboard switch, for real-time adjustment. When the CPU needs maximum power, users can raise the PWM
frequency in order to deliver more current through this unique POScap and MPFC Choke design. In addition, GIGABYTE has specially chosen unobtrusive components and carefully designed their layout to make it
easier and quicker than ever for extreme overclockers to insulate their boards.
2. OC-TOUCH
A motherboard overclocking would not be complete without an onboard switch. These buttons provide the ability to control the motherboard settings without entering the BIOS or using special software. In
addition to providing direct control buttons for the multiplier and CPU frequency, there are also buttons that will instantly raise the CPU frequency to 4 GHz with a single touch. In addition, there are also voltage check points for measuring various motherboard voltages using a multi tester. Standard facilities such as POST reader, power button and reset switches are definitely available.
OC-Touch enables overclockers to quickly and easily get the best performance from their system. With onboard OC-Touch buttons, users are able to manually raise and lower the CPU ratio, change BCLK
settings, and even change BCLK stepping to either 1MHz or 0.3MHz.
These changes can be made at any time whether in the BIOS, DOS, or Windows and in real-time without the need for rebooting, so that users can quickly fine-tune to find their CPU’s maximum frequency. The
onboard 4G Ready button allows novice overclockers to automatically reach 4GHz, while advanced users can use it to get to 4GHz before continuing with OC-Touch to quickly find their CPU’s best margin.
Onboard voltage measurement modules are also included to help users to conveniently monitor component voltages.
To make things a little more convenient for overclockers, the GA-X58A-OC has voltage measurement points for:
• VCORE,
• CPU PLL,
• DDR,
• DDR VTT,
• QPI VTT,
• QPI PLL, and
• IOH
3.OC-PEG
To meet the needs of the power used when using multiple graphics cards to overclock then provided two additional power connectors in the form of a SATA power connector. The placement of this connector was placed in the down position the motherboard so it does not require a complicated cable arrangement.
OC-PEG provides two onboard SATA power connectors for more stable PCIe power when using 3-way and 4-way graphics configurations. Each connector can get power from a different phase of the power supply,
helping to provide a better, more stable graphics overclock. The independent power inputs for the PCIe slots helps to improve even single graphics card overclocking. For 4-way CrossFireX, users must install OC-PEG to avoid over current in the 24pin ATX connector. The entire board also features POScaps, helping to simplify the insulation process so overclockers can quickly reach subzero readiness.
4.OC-COOL
This motherboard has the new heatsink design that allows for overall cooling of the parts of the motherboard. In addition, there are also seven connectors 4 Pin to install an additional fan. Each connector can be independently controlled from the BIOS.
OC-Cool features a new LED lit thermal design and 7x 4-pin Smart Fan connectors to allow overclockers to easily control system-wide temperature. The OC-Cool heatpipe maximizes system convection to expel
hot air out through the IO panel and optimizes passive cooling.
OC-Cool LED lighting on the North and South Bridges further adds to the X58A-OC’s coolness.
Based on the Intel X58 chipset (Tylersburg) and supporting LGA 1366 socket CPUs such as Intel’s new top of the range Core i7 990X Extreme Edition CPU, the GIGABYTE X58A-OC takes advantage of all the performance benefits that the X58 platform has to offer including triple channel DDR3 memory support, 6 core 12 thread CPU support, and enough PCIe Gen 2.0 bandwidth to support 4-way CrossFireX and 3-way SLI for the best graphics performance in the world.
5.OC-Dual BIOS
Dual BIOS is standard equipment on every motheboard Gigabyte. Dual BIOS on the motherboard is a little different because we can control the BIOS which we will use. So that we can use two different BIOS
settings, not only as a backup BIOS in case of damage.
OC-DualBIOS features an onboard BIOS switcher and LED indicator, allowing users to select one BIOS for normal use, and another one for overclocking. It can also act as backup BIOS in case of BIOS failure
during overclocking. With two BIOSes, users are able to save up to 16 different overclocking profiles a very useful feature when overclockers want to update to a new BIOS, but don’t want to lose their original settings.
By being able to switch between 2 different BIOSes, OC-DualBIOS also allows users to test drive a new BIOS without having to update both BIOSes with the same update, helping to save time and unnecessary BIOS
reflashes.
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