Test: Foxconn Blackops - UK

UK summary
 

Based on our own testing Foxconn deserves a well earned applause. With the Blackops board Foxcon have managed to climb to the top op the enthusiast tree among the very best overclocking boards. Both the design of the board and the accessories urge you to give full throttle when overclocking. We have tested all aspects of the cooling system in this test, and although the heatpipesystem will be ok for passive/aircooling, I would go for the watercooling option and/or ice for the optimum performance. I am also glad the AEGIS software has been updated. It is now a very useful utility when you want to push your hardware to the edge and beyond.
 

Innovation/Technology - 5
Blackops is cutting edge with the Intel X48 chipset that will support all modern chipset technologies, and on top of that it has three x16 graphics ports with PCIe 2.0 bandwith. Using ATi CrossfireX you can build a very powerful multi-gfx setup. Apart from the 8-phase digital powersupply, there is no real powersaving technology on this motherboard. But honestly I feel it would have been misplaced on Blackops. This board was not made to save you money on your electric bill. When it comes to innovation, the 4-in-1coolingblock  on ther northbridge qualifies. The block is also connected to the PWM and southbridge.

Bundle/Accessories - 5
It is a big box packet with nice extra stuff. Fans, cables and gizmos for the coolingblock that allows you to configurethe board to suit your needs. And to finish things off, you get a mounting plate for your kitchentable setup. By far one of the most well equipped bundles out there.

Design/Layout - 5
A lot of efford have gone into satisfying the enthusiast segment when designing this motherboard, and it works really well outside an enclosure. Onboard buttons for on/off, reset and ClearCmos. I had no real problems during the test, and the board even survived severe icing without dying on me. If one has to say something on the bad side, it is that the board is not prepared for dry-ice/LN2 when it comes to insulation and protection from water condensing. Agreed we are in the extremes here, and if you plan on using dry-ice you are probably going to do some preparing regardless of the factory doings. If you look at it from that perspective, it is a positive feature that the entire cooling system has been mounted with screws and is easy to disassemble. It is not the most beautiful board in the world if you ask me. But the lack of wow-effect really should not affect the score in this category. Enthusiasts do not care for looks anyway, as long as the damn thing works. And Blackops really works.

Software/BIOS - 5
The BIOS part is also worth a visit. It looks a lot like the BIOS we saw on the MARS board, but with more parameters for tweaking the chipset and voltages. Also included are a few extreme-clocking features such as Vdroop compensation and anti cold-bug feature for temperatures below -50C. Not something you see every day.  The tempeture measurement on the northbridge does not show anything below 0C. The AEGIS software has been updated, and is now an excellent tool for monitoring and overclocking. On a personal note I am glad to see all the negatives I wrote about it in my last review have been corrected.  ;-)

Performance - 5
In all our standard benchmarks Blackops scores in the high end of the scale running at stock speed. And when overclocked ( shame on whoever buys a Blackops to run it at stock speed ) there is plenty of power in the supply and the rest of the components to go really far. I managed to get the system well under 9 sekonds for a SuperPI 1M running at 5.2GHz on the cpu ( 552fsb ). Don't say we never test things to the limit here on HWT.

Price - 3
The only real drawback is the price for this monster marvel at around 348,5€. That is a lot of money to spend on any motherboard, but again we must look at what you get, and for who this board was made. You get one of the very best overclockers on the market, with a sh*tload of useful accessories, That has got to be worth something.

Test: Foxconn Blackops - UK

Innovation / Teknologi	5
Bundle - Tilbehør	5
Design - Layout	5
Software - BIOS	5
Ydelse	5
Pris	3
Samlet	93%