Gigabyte X58A-OC Intel X58 Motherboard Review

CPU

1. Support for an Intel® Core™ i7 series processor in the LGA1366 package
2. L3 cache varies with CPU

(Please refer “CPU Support List” for more information.)

QPI

1. 4.8GT/s, 6.4GT/s

Chipset

1. North Bridge: Intel® X58 Express Chipset
2. South Bridge: Intel® ICH10R

Memory

1. 6 x 1.5V DDR3 DIMM sockets supporting up to 24 GB of system memory
2. * Due to Windows 32-bit operating system limitation, when more than 4 GB of physical memory is installed, the actual memory size displayed will be less than 4 GB.
3. 3/Dual channel memory architecture
4. Support for DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800 MHz memory modules
5. Support for non-ECC memory modules
6. Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules

(Please refer “Memory Support List” for more information.)

Audio

1. Realtek ALC889 codec
2. High Definition Audio
3. 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel
4. * To configure 7.1-channel audio, you have to use an HD front panel audio module and enable the multi-channel audio feature through the audio driver.
5. Support for S/PDIF Out

LAN

1. 1 x Realtek RTL8111E chip (10/100/1000 Mbit)

Expansion Slots

1. 2 x PCI Express x16 slots, running at x16 (PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2)
2. * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16_1 slot; if you are installing two PCI Express graphics cards, it is recommended that you install them in the PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2 slots.
3. 2 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8_1, PCIEX8_2)
4. * The PCIEX8_1 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16_1 slot and the PCIEX8_2 slot with PCIEX16_2. The PCIEX16_1/PCIEX16_2 slot will operate at up to x8 mode when the PCIEX8_1/PCIEX8_2 is populated.
5. (The PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2, PCIEX8_1, and PCIEX8_2 slots conform to PCI Express 2.0 standard.)
6. 1 x PCI slot

Multi-Graphics Technology

1. Support for 3-Way/2-Way NVIDIA SLI technology and 4-Way/3-Way/2-Way ATI CrossFireX™ technology

Storage Interface

South Bridge:

1. 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors (SATA2_0~SATA2_5) supporting up to 6 SATA 3Gb/s devices
2. Support for SATA RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10

1 x Marvell 88SE9182 chip:

1. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors (GSATA3_6, GSATA3_7) supporting up to 2 SATA 6Gb/s devices
2. Support for SATA RAID 0 and RAID 1

USB

South Bridge:

1. Up to 4 USB 2.0/1.1 ports (2 on the back panel, 2 via the USB bracket connected to the internal USB header)

1 x Etron EJ168 chip:

1. Up to 2 USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel
2. * The USB 2.0 signals of the USB 3.0/2.0 ports on the back panel are from the South Bridge.

Internal I/O Connectors

1. 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
2. 2 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors
3. 2 x PCIe power connectors
4. 2 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
5. 6 x SATA 3Gb/s connectors
6. 1 x CPU fan header
7. 6 x system fan headers
8. 1 x North Bridge fan header
9. 1 x front panel header
10. 1 x front panel audio header
11. 1 x S/PDIF Out header
12. 1 x USB 2.0/1.1 header
13. 2 x heatsink LED power connectors
14. 1 x clearing CMOS button
15. 1 x power button
16. 1 x reset button
17. 1 x PWM frequency switch
18. 1 x onboard voltage measurement module
19. 1 x 4G Ready button
20. 1 x OC Gear button
21. 1 x CPU BCLK Down button
22. 1 x CPU BCLK Up button
23. 1 x CPU Ratio Down button
24. 1 x CPU Ratio Up button
25. 1 x BIOS switch

Back Panel Connectors

1. 1 x PS/2 keyboard port
2. 1 x PS/2 mouse port
3. 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
4. 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
5. 1 x RJ-45 port
6. 3 x audio jacks (Line In/Mic In/Line Out)

I/O Controller

1. iTE IT8720 chip

H/W Monitoring

1. System voltage detection
2. CPU/System temperature detection
3. CPU/System fan speed detection
4. CPU overheating warning
5. CPU/System fan fail warning
6. CPU/System fan speed control
7. * Whether the CPU/system fan speed control function is supported will depend on the CPU/system cooler you install.

BIOS

1. 2 x 16 Mbit flash
2. Use of licensed AWARD BIOS
3. Support for DualBIOS™
4. PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.0, SM BIOS 2.4, ACPI 1.0b

Unique Features

1. Support for @BIOS
2. Support for Q-Flash
3. Support for Xpress BIOS Rescue
4. Support for Download Center
5. Support for Xpress Install
6. Support for Xpress Recovery2
7. Support for EasyTune
8. * Available functions in EasyTune may differ by motherboard model.
9. Support for Smart 6™
10. Support for Auto Green
11. Support for eXtreme Hard Drive (X.H.D)
12. Support for ON/OFF Charge
13. Support for Cloud OC
14. Support for Q-Share

Bundle Software

1. Norton Internet Security (OEM version)

Operating System

1. Support for Microsoft® Windows® 7/Vista/XP

Form Factor

1. ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 26.4cm

Remark

1. Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors’ website or 3rd party website.
2. Most hardware/software vendors may no longer offer drivers to support Win9X/ME/2000/XP SP1/SP2. If drivers are available from the vendors, we will update them on the GIGABYTE website.