Wait for next gen Zotac board with 50 phase design and SE-ATX[Super Extend-ATX] 335x380mm dimensions. For processor slot and phases 78% area and 22% for everything else...
In my experience Zotac boards have long suffered from a lack of refinement. These "kitchen sink" ideas generally end up like Homer Simpson's car design.
I agree. This board may be nice if someone wants to run linux home entertainment box with a lot of drives, and wifi router, but there is no way the, you will fit it into small pc case taht are made for those home pcs. Too much usefull things put together render this thing useless.
Maybe it is just the way it was photographed but it looks cheap and dirty. The coloring on the board, the way it shines, it all just looks cruddy. Which might not make it perform any worse but it gives me a prejudiced opinion about it.
Zotac should work towards making their boards look more high quality and visually appealing.
My experience with Zotac motherboards is exactly the same. They have fantastic features, build quality, and design - but I've seen cheap Dell and HP PCs with better BIOS and software support. This motherboard looks pretty, but it'll take a lot more than a collection of expensive components for me to take it seriously.
So apparently the board uses the NF200 chip for 32 PCI-E lanes. How in the world is someone suppose to run triple and quad SLI/Crossfire with the PCI-E slots arranged like they are?
So this looks cheap (as mentioned earlier)... and it has the ability for quad x8 lanes.... yet how could you really do that with the slot config? (again mentioned earlier.... all-in-all a big let down. If you want quad x8's the UD7 from Gigabyte is still a stellar option.
Just wanted to point out that your use of plural verbs changes, you used both "Zotac are" and "Zotac has". This actually came up in another review here recently :)
Software utilities dissapointing? I wonder what the author meant by this. Can the author expand? Dissapointing in the sense of lacking utilities, or are they crap? If it's the former, I say that is a good thing. If it is the latter, I say better to have none at all.
The number of MOSFET drivers determine the number of phases, and I doubt Zotac has mounted 24 drivers. My guess is that this is at best a 12 phase design.
By the way, why even make a design with so many phases? A proper 8 phase design should have a low enough voltage ripple to satisfy any OC attempt and even a 3 phase design can handle around 100 watt.
Essentially get rid of any legacy hardware and anything that doesnt entail USB2/3, a decent gigabit NIC, hooking in a couple of HDDS and a DVD/BD drive.
Remove as much clutter as possible so that traces can be beefed up and optimised for signal path etc.
I agree that an extra-high-quality and performance board with just-the-necessary features would be great. Unfortunately, that may not be the easiest product to market. Also, I'd want some of the features you mentioned, so where do you draw the line?
You would thing after the discussion last week about the lack of quality editing of Brendan van Varik's article that this wouldn't happen again so soon, but one the first page of this article we have the following:
"Zotac have piled . . ." "Zotac has been . . ." "Zotac are also . . ." "Zotac were going . . ." "Zotac has to . . ."
Ignoring the plural v. singular debate...please just pick one and maintain some consistency!
just one thing: usualy quad SLI its for customers that have a big budget and usualy thee dont use single slot cards for quad SLI....My question is: how can u install a 2 or 3 slot graphics card between PCI-e slot 2 and 3?
Playing Devil's advocate to the guy that wants no back panel ports, I would point out that in most cases a 6Gb eSata is going to be a better deal than a hooking an external driver/whathave you to the USB 3.
Also, on that note... ps2 supports greater than 6 key rollover. Not that it affects 99% of us anyways.
Nothing worse than having usb keyboard detection issues when troubleshooting a pc, and you are trying to get into recovery mode or access the bios.
All that said. I want 4xusb 3.0 on the back. eSata, hdmi, displayport dual gigabit lan, and built in "user replaceable wireless chip"
Well for me this would be a total gaming machine. I keep my rigs separate in what they do.
I have a gaming rig. I have a work/general rig. I have a Anti-virus diagnostic rig.
The work/AV rigs all require as many ports and connectors as possible, the more the merrier so bring em on. I love E-sata on these machines etc. Its great.
The gaming rig has no need for them or the other 'added value extras' so many boards are cluttered with. So in order to improve efficiency, stability and all round overclockableness(??) I want all the junk stripped off. Just lean and mean.
I think the current slot configuration Zotac is going to use with this board is bad. If I install two GPUs, I lose the PCIEx1 slot - I assume no one will try to install a PCIEx1 sound card on this board while having a multi-GPU setup. The second GPU has to be a single-slot one - again, too bad to put 2 PCI-Ex16 slots one next to the other and them claim your board is capable of quad-SLI. I personally don't like the all-black design but whatever...it's my personal opinion. The fact that the board needs active cooling for the northbridge makes me wonder whether they used copper for the heatsinks - I mean, it gets hot, ok but do something to avoid using fans.Anyway, on a gaming rig that is supposed to pack at least 2 or 3 GPUs, with fast HDDs and powerful PSUs, and of course a powerful CPU, I don't think there are too many that expect the computer to be extremely quiet while capable of dissipating as much heat as possible.
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23 Comments
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Kinetic Anomaly - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
This has so much potential, can't wait to hear more.wwwcd - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
Wait for next gen Zotac board with 50 phase design and SE-ATX[Super Extend-ATX] 335x380mm dimensions. For processor slot and phases 78% area and 22% for everything else...dac7nco - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
In my experience Zotac boards have long suffered from a lack of refinement. These "kitchen sink" ideas generally end up like Homer Simpson's car design.Daimon
knedle - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
I agree.This board may be nice if someone wants to run linux home entertainment box with a lot of drives, and wifi router, but there is no way the, you will fit it into small pc case taht are made for those home pcs.
Too much usefull things put together render this thing useless.
JessusChristDoOTcom - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
Too little.. Too lateASUS rulez
stm1185 - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
Maybe it is just the way it was photographed but it looks cheap and dirty. The coloring on the board, the way it shines, it all just looks cruddy. Which might not make it perform any worse but it gives me a prejudiced opinion about it.Zotac should work towards making their boards look more high quality and visually appealing.
GeorgeH - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
My experience with Zotac motherboards is exactly the same. They have fantastic features, build quality, and design - but I've seen cheap Dell and HP PCs with better BIOS and software support. This motherboard looks pretty, but it'll take a lot more than a collection of expensive components for me to take it seriously.AdamK47 - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
So apparently the board uses the NF200 chip for 32 PCI-E lanes. How in the world is someone suppose to run triple and quad SLI/Crossfire with the PCI-E slots arranged like they are?QB - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
So this looks cheap (as mentioned earlier)... and it has the ability for quad x8 lanes.... yet how could you really do that with the slot config? (again mentioned earlier.... all-in-all a big let down. If you want quad x8's the UD7 from Gigabyte is still a stellar option.QB
hotjase - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
X79 is what all gamers are waiting for, quad channel PCI-E 3.0 boards !!!hotjase - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
octal core Sandy Bridge-E !Tchamber - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
Just wanted to point out that your use of plural verbs changes, you used both "Zotac are" and "Zotac has". This actually came up in another review here recently :)Fuchikoma - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
Software utilities dissapointing? I wonder what the author meant by this. Can the author expand? Dissapointing in the sense of lacking utilities, or are they crap? If it's the former, I say that is a good thing. If it is the latter, I say better to have none at all.HW_mee - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
The number of MOSFET drivers determine the number of phases, and I doubt Zotac has mounted 24 drivers. My guess is that this is at best a 12 phase design.By the way, why even make a design with so many phases? A proper 8 phase design should have a low enough voltage ripple to satisfy any OC attempt and even a 3 phase design can handle around 100 watt.
DigitalFreak - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
Because some people are stupid and automatically assume more is better?jabber - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
I'd really like to see a motherboard that takes on hi-fi principles of less is more.I want a board with no -
PS/2 ports
Audio ports
Optical ports
Serial ports
Parallel ports
Firewire ports
Esata ports
IDE ports
Wi-fi
HDMI/DVI
PCI slots
Audio chipset
Essentially get rid of any legacy hardware and anything that doesnt entail USB2/3, a decent gigabit NIC, hooking in a couple of HDDS and a DVD/BD drive.
Remove as much clutter as possible so that traces can be beefed up and optimised for signal path etc.
Then I'll hook in my GPU and soundcard of choice.
TrackSmart - Monday, July 18, 2011 - link
I agree that an extra-high-quality and performance board with just-the-necessary features would be great. Unfortunately, that may not be the easiest product to market. Also, I'd want some of the features you mentioned, so where do you draw the line?i7 - Saturday, July 16, 2011 - link
Does it come with a mail order bride?mrd0 - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link
You would thing after the discussion last week about the lack of quality editing of Brendan van Varik's article that this wouldn't happen again so soon, but one the first page of this article we have the following:"Zotac have piled . . ."
"Zotac has been . . ."
"Zotac are also . . ."
"Zotac were going . . ."
"Zotac has to . . ."
Ignoring the plural v. singular debate...please just pick one and maintain some consistency!
crisan_tiberiu - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link
just one thing: usualy quad SLI its for customers that have a big budget and usualy thee dont use single slot cards for quad SLI....My question is: how can u install a 2 or 3 slot graphics card between PCI-e slot 2 and 3?SilthDraeth - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link
It's late, so I might have missed some.Playing Devil's advocate to the guy that wants no back panel ports, I would point out that in most cases a 6Gb eSata is going to be a better deal than a hooking an external driver/whathave you to the USB 3.
Also, on that note... ps2 supports greater than 6 key rollover. Not that it affects 99% of us anyways.
Nothing worse than having usb keyboard detection issues when troubleshooting a pc, and you are trying to get into recovery mode or access the bios.
All that said. I want 4xusb 3.0 on the back. eSata, hdmi, displayport
dual gigabit lan, and built in "user replaceable wireless chip"
jabber - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link
Well for me this would be a total gaming machine. I keep my rigs separate in what they do.I have a gaming rig.
I have a work/general rig.
I have a Anti-virus diagnostic rig.
The work/AV rigs all require as many ports and connectors as possible, the more the merrier so bring em on. I love E-sata on these machines etc. Its great.
The gaming rig has no need for them or the other 'added value extras' so many boards are cluttered with. So in order to improve efficiency, stability and all round overclockableness(??) I want all the junk stripped off. Just lean and mean.
Plus why pay for crap you never use anyway?
3ogdy - Sunday, July 17, 2011 - link
I think the current slot configuration Zotac is going to use with this board is bad.If I install two GPUs, I lose the PCIEx1 slot - I assume no one will try to install a PCIEx1 sound card on this board while having a multi-GPU setup.
The second GPU has to be a single-slot one - again, too bad to put 2 PCI-Ex16 slots one next to the other and them claim your board is capable of quad-SLI.
I personally don't like the all-black design but whatever...it's my personal opinion.
The fact that the board needs active cooling for the northbridge makes me wonder whether they used copper for the heatsinks - I mean, it gets hot, ok but do something to avoid using fans.Anyway, on a gaming rig that is supposed to pack at least 2 or 3 GPUs, with fast HDDs and powerful PSUs, and of course a powerful CPU, I don't think there are too many that expect the computer to be extremely quiet while capable of dissipating as much heat as possible.