Test: AsRock X58 SuperComputer

Konklusion

Man kan ha' en tendens til at kæde AsRock sammen med discount, og i samme omgang måske også ubevidst placere fabrikanten under andre giganter i segmentet. Sagen er dog at AsRock med et bundkort som X58 SuperComputer, for alvor begynder at bevæge sig væk fra deres oprindelige strategi, der gik på at udkonkurrere bla. Foxconn på OEM-markedet, AsRocks hjemmebane. Vinder man på hjemmebane, så er det man får selvtilliden til at tro på en udebane-sejr, og hvis vi skal beskrive X58 SuperComputer med en enkelmetafor, så er 'udebane-sejr' egentlig meget rammende. Vi har med et bundkort at gøre, der understøtter verdens hurtigste desktop CPU'er på markedet pt. samtidig med at der er understøttelse for 4 af verdens kraftigste grafikkort, der ovenikøbet understøttes fuld ud til hver deres multi-GPU løsning - det være sig SLi så vel som CrossFire. Når vi kommer til overclocing, yder bundkortet her faktisk lige op med diverse extreme modeller af bundkort vi har haft til test, og beviser dermed at blinkende dioder, sort PCB og matchende connectors, nødvendigvis er lig med bedre ydelse.
 

Innovation/Teknologi - 4
Alene det faktum at vi har med det ypperste chipsæt fra Intel at gøre, er nok til at gøre, er nok til at trække en karaktér over middel. Men det er så faktisk også alt, for det er ikke noget videre innoverende over dette bundkort. 

Bundle/Tilbehør - 3
Der er rigeligt med kabler med til dette bundkort, noget der faktisk uden undtalgelse generelt er for lidt af. Selv på de aller dyreste modeller vi har haft mellem hænderne, er det yderst sjældent der er kabler nok til f.eks at gøre brug af alle boardets SATA-tilslutninger. Derudover er der ikke meget der trækker op i denne kategori, så et gedigent 3-tal syntes at være helt på plads. 

Design/Layout - 4
Der er ikke så meget at kommentere i denne kategori, men positivt fandt vi det, at der er taget hensyn til de små ting, så som f.eks PCIe-tilslutningerne der nemt slipper de grafikkort der skal afmonteres, og så sidder køleblokken over voltregulatorererne korrekt placeret vandret, parallelt med boardets bagpanel. 

Software/BIOS - 4
Der tilbydes i programmet OC Tune ikke meget andet end hvad man efterhånden kan forvente at finde på et bundkort i denne klasse. BIOS indeholdte ikke noget, for os, af overraskende karatér og var nem og intuitiv at finde rundt i. Programmet Instant Boot fandt vi meget interessant, og det skal blive spændende at se om der er mere udvikling på den front fra AsRock. 

Ydelse - 4
Vi fik ikke nogen ny X58-champ i denne omgang, men en værdig udfordrer skal der i hvert fald ikke være tvivl om at AsRock X58 SuperComputer er, der formåede at overclocke vores Core i7 920 CPU til over 4 GHz. Et flot resultat!

Pris - 5
Små kr. 1700,- koster AsRock X58 SuperComputer i Tyskland - boardet er nemlig nærmest umuligt at opdrive i Danmark. For et bundkort der understøtter markedets kraftigste CPU'er og quad-GFX løsninger, er prisen absolut rimelig ift. hvad man får for de samme penge, ser man på X58 bundkort gennem den populære prissammenligner EDBpriser.dk. Faktisk skal vi helt op på en pris af knap kr. 2300,- (kr. 600,- mere end SuperComputer) for at finde et andet X58 board der har 4 stk. PCIe i form af Asus P6T WS Revolution - som faktisk ikke engang har plads til 4 dual-slot grafikkort som SuperComputer har. Det giver alt i alt en meget, meget attraktiv pris for mulighedernes bundkort; AsRock X58 SuperComputer.
  

Test: AsRock X58 SuperComputer

Innovation / Teknologi	4
Bundle - Tilbehør	3
Design - Layout	4
Software - BIOS	4
Ydelse	4
Pris	5
Samlet	80%

UK summary

One might have the tendency to link AsRock with discount, and at the same time maybe place them below some of the bigger manufacturers in this segment. The case is however, that with a motherboard like the X58 SuperComputer, AsRock have taken a serious step towards their original strategy, which was to steal the market from manufacturers like Foxconn on the OEM market, which is AsRocks homefield. If you win on your homefield, then you get the confidence to win the away game aswell, and if we are to describe C58 SuperComputer with a single metaphor, then it is a win away from home. We are dealing with a motherboard that supports the worlds fastest desctop CPU's on the market at the moment, while also supporting 4 of the worlds most powerful graphics cards, that are also supported fully to their multi GPU solution - that being SLi aswell as CrossFire. When it comes to overclocking, the motherboard performs equal to many extreme models we have tested, and thereby proves that blinking lights, black PCB and matching connectors can mean better performance.
 

Innovation/Technology - 4
Alone the fact that we are dealing with the best chipset from Intel, is enough to drag this up a grade. But that is all, since there is not really anything else innovative about this board.

Bundle/Accessories - 3
There are plenty of cables with this motherboard, something that there is usually too little of. Even on the most expensive models we have tested, it is rare to get enough cables for all of the boards SATA connections. Besides this, there is not alot more to look for in this category, which gives us a solid middle grade.

Design/Layout - 4
There is not alot to comment in this category, but it was positive to see that the small things have been taken into consideration, like the PCIe connections which easily releases the graphics card when it needs to be taken out, and the cooling block is placed over the volt regulators is correctly placed vertical, parallel with the backpanel of the board.

Software/BIOS - 4
There is not alot more to get in the program OC Tune, than we can expect from a board like this. There was no surprising features in the BIOS, and it was easy to navigate in. The program Instant Boot was quite interesting, and it will be exciting to see if there is more development to this in the future.

Performance - 4
We did not get a new X58 champion this time, but there is no doubt about AsRock X58 SuperComputer being a worthy challenger, which managed an overclock of over 4GHz on our Core i7 920 CPU. An impressive result! 

Price - 5
About 1700 DKK is the price of AsRock X58 SuperComputer in Germany - the board is almost impossible to find in Denmark. For a board that supports the most powerful CPU's on the market and quad solutions, the price is definately fair, compared to what you get for the same money, when comparing it to other poducts on EDBpriser.dk Actually we have to reach a price of about 2300 DKK (600 DKK more than SuperComputer), to find another X58 board which has 4 PCIe slots, the Asus P6T Revolution - which infact has not got room for 4 dual slot GPU graphics cards like the SuperComputer has. This gives a very attractive price of the board of opportunities; AsRock X58 SuperComputer.