[Judas]

Some recent shots i came across of the New Socket 2011 Asus Board..

here are a few shots..








Look at that socket lol... seems giagantc...

nice big motherboards though.... definitely fill a mid-large case easily.

[Judas]

I'm a bit disapointed.... doesn't look like they are using a Realtek Audio chip on it guess i'll be skipping this specific board

(EDIT:.. i think i found the realtek chip.. but can't see the number clearly enough...)...

Also there is no Coax Digital audio out NOR is there an HDMI audio out..... i'm really surprised they haven't made HDMI a standard for audio output.. (lossless 5.1-7.1 or better PCM output capabilities)

[Takaharu]

Why the heck are they still using USB 2? Good to see USB 3 headers but as it's due to be an established technology they should have more than one.
The two 4-pin fan connectors at the top and the side of the board look promising; they look suitable for twin PWM fans.

Other than that it looks like it'll be a huge HSF as Judas said. Will one (or more) or the Windows 8 builds support 32GB RAM?
2011 seems like it'll be insane for workstations.

[Judas]

Well one of the promises not kept was the fact that they said initially that they would be making usb3.0 native..... apparently that's been postponed until the next gen chipset for the 2011 socket. maybe even 2.

I was hoping to see better SATA III support too.... we'll see how this new SSD thing fairs...

but irriguardless.... i'm most likely to get this 2011 system at launch..... and i'll be moving the 1366 system i have over to my sisters.... moving her 775 into a 2nd hand machine someone may be interested in.. if not.. to my other sisters... we'll see...

[Takaharu]

Given your current system, what's gotten you so fired up about 2011?

[CJLMTLCA]

I'm gonna be screwed with my X-Fi as there are less and less boards with PCI slots, but it's a nice board. Don't know if i would go with the blueish colours again and nice to see more 4 pin fan headers. Don't know if i'll make the jump to 2011 though. Although that SR3 looks tempting...

[Neshi]

it only says USB 2 for the mouse and keyboard holes.. which is fair enough, you don't need USB 3 for that..

[drwho]

Maybe someone can clear up something that is confusing the heck out of me. Is this new socket 2011 for SB-E or Ivy Bridge?

[kris23]

Sandy Bridge-E

[Judas]

AND ivy... both the 1155 and 2011's will have both generations of cpu's.. of course with sandy leading first. Rumor mill is stating that the ivy's for 2011 socket will be available about 6 months give or take after the 2011 sockets and sandys launch

[Tipstaff]

Judas, t's running the Realtek ALC892 chip (thanks Asus for actually responding to my email).

I'm actually considering upgrading to this when it comes out. I've been sitting on the fence up until now as the only CPU that would be an "upgrade" to my current gaming rig is the i7-2600, but I just couldn't justify buying a new mobo and CPU just for an upgrade that I could get simply by overclocking my current setup.

BTW, you should see the ROG Rampage IV Extreme board. Sweet board.

@ CJLMTLCA, don't fret, my friend, you are SAVED! Gigabyte is putting out a board (which is considered a low end model, the GX-X79A-UD3, which has 5 PCIe 16x slots (2 run in full 16x, 1 in 8x, the other 2 in 4x), but it's very very last slot.. it's PCI. Of note, it's also got 16 SATA ports (12 by Intel, 2 + 2 eSata by a second controller chip). It's only got 4 RAM slots too.

[blibbax]

Originally Posted by CJLMTLCA

I'm gonna be screwed with my X-Fi as there are less and less boards with PCI slots, but it's a nice board. Don't know if i would go with the blueish colours again and nice to see more 4 pin fan headers. Don't know if i'll make the jump to 2011 though. Although that SR3 looks tempting...

You can trust Asrock to put PCI slots on things.

Originally Posted by Tipstaff

@ CJLMTLCA, don't fret, my friend, you are SAVED! Gigabyte is putting out a board (which is considered a low end model, the GX-X79A-UD3, which has 5 PCIe 16x slots (2 run in full 16x, 1 in 8x, the other 2 in 4x), but it's very very last slot.. it's PCI. Of note, it's also got 16 SATA ports (12 by Intel, 2 + 2 eSata by a second controller chip). It's only got 4 RAM slots too.

That too, then :P

I thought this chipset was only capable of 6 SATA3 ports without additional controller chips? Will extra SATA ports have full performance and access to chipset features like raid?

It seems to me that this platform will be fairly pointless for people who don't need the extra cores vs. 2700k. You can get Z68 boards with most of the extra connectivity and per core performance isn't improved if early benchmarks are anything to go by (Sandy Bridge-E: More Speed On The Desktop, But A Bigger Deal To Servers : Intel Core i7-3960X (Sandy Bridge-E) And X79 Platform Preview).

[CJLMTLCA]

Originally Posted by Tipstaff

@ CJLMTLCA, don't fret, my friend, you are SAVED! Gigabyte is putting out a board (which is considered a low end model, the GX-X79A-UD3, which has 5 PCIe 16x slots (2 run in full 16x, 1 in 8x, the other 2 in 4x), but it's very very last slot.. it's PCI. Of note, it's also got 16 SATA ports (12 by Intel, 2 + 2 eSata by a second controller chip). It's only got 4 RAM slots too.

Nice board. I like the bottom PCI slot, good if i keep my X-Fi.

Originally Posted by blibbax

You can trust Asrock to put PCI slots on things.

trust =/= Asrock

[blibbax]

Originally Posted by CJLMTLCA

trust =/= Asrock

No? I've always had good experiences with them. MSI and lower-end Gigabyte boards have generally been the problematic ones for me.

[IvanV]

So now the CPU manufacturers are starting to name their products after the release year?!

[Judas]

2011 pin.... that's a whole lot of pins to go wrong..

granted it is a bit confient number for the delayed release year

[Tipstaff]

Originally Posted by blibbax

I thought this chipset was only capable of 6 SATA3 ports without additional controller chips? Will extra SATA ports have full performance and access to chipset features like raid?

14 ports total, 10 are SATA3, and 8 of those 14 also support SAS. What goes on there though is pretty much up to the board manufacturer. I should also point out that the Gigabyte board isn't running 14 port off the Intel chipset, only 12, leaving the other 4 to be run by another chip. This could be due to the lanes being used for one or more of the PCIe slots, or because of the PCI slot.

About that PCI slot, btw. There's no mention of how it's run. Technically the chipset doesn't support PCI (at least according to Intel's spec), so how it's connected is unknown. It could that the same 3rd part chip supplying the extra SATA ports is also supplying the PCI slot, or they've figured out some other way to enable it.

[blibbax]

A lot of boards that were originally prototyped with 12 SATA ports are set to release with 6 due to reduced connectivity on the chipset. I don't know whether your favoured Gigabyte is one of them.

[reneeculver]

"Why the heck are they still using USB 2? Good to see USB 3 headers but as it's due to be an established technology they should have more than one."

Because Intel has not completed all validation testing for an on chip controller, however I think the board has USB3 with a chip on the board.

Renee

[kris23]

i refuse to buy a board without PS/2 input... i just realized that board doesnt have one...

[Judas]

why?

PS/2 is terrible and obsolete... actually i can't wait to get rid of it completely.... Abit has a good idea almost 10 years ago when they completely removed it from a few select boards and put additional USB ports in it's place... unfortunately 10+ years ago.. PS/2 was still quite common and people really dislike the lack of it THEN.... understandable...

everything today is USB now... i'm glad it's gone....

It'll be nice when the series ports are completely removed from boards as an option...

My deal back panel is HDMI(audio)/ Fiber optic/Coax/6 Analog Jacks/8-12 USB 3.0 ports/1 or 2 eSATA using the chipset and NOT a 3rd party chipset)/1 Network Adapter

can't really think of anything else required. Although in the future i'd like to even see the Analog audio jacks finally disappear as well.... or produce a high quality analog system.

[CJLMTLCA]

Originally Posted by Tipstaff

About that PCI slot, btw. There's no mention of how it's run. Technically the chipset doesn't support PCI (at least according to Intel's spec), so how it's connected is unknown. It could that the same 3rd part chip supplying the extra SATA ports is also supplying the PCI slot, or they've figured out some other way to enable it.

That is interesting. Didn't know that. Will have to wait then and see if there are any problems that arise. Or find an alternative to HW controlled volume, like a dial on the headphones themselves.

[kris23]

until they can produce boards with full NKRO that can run on USB, im sticking to PS/2

show me a mechanical keyboard that can do this and ill happily jump this sinking ship...

[Judas]

wait what?

Your saying a until they produce a keyboard that doesn't have phantom keys due to pressing say 2 or more keys at the same time.. or some weird "glitch" so to speak.. that is usb.. your never going to get one?

This is odd, because PS/2 is frequently plagued by this issue, Majority of the keyboards that are available or were available with PS/2 are even today, still unable to take an input of usually 2+ keys.... one of the frequent issues was people trying to play racing games in which putting up and right could result in it being null or something else happening... typically the computer would just refuse that anything was being pushed and some of them would even beep at you saying "stop doing that"..... more modern keyboard at that time that were of good quality allowed up to as many as 3 or 4 keys before having a fit.

Since the introduction of USB keyboards, i've never seen a single hitch/glitch of this nature.... then again i've never bothered with the cheap keyboards. I know plenty of prebuilt machines or cheap keyboards either purchased from a retailer or provided by the prebuilders that are USB and still had issues with multiple key presses or latency issues for fast typers.

I think the most keys i've ever mashed on my keyboard at the same time and they wall worked (chains and combos) was probably about 8 to 10, all of which seemed to work just fine. I'm using a Microsoft Erganomic 4000 keyboard..... they are dirt cheap now.

The Comfort Curve 2000 however couldn't do more then 5 i think before it responded in the same way.. but at the time that keyboard was less that a 1/3rd the price of the 4000.

If NKRO that your talking about doesn't match the discription i mentioned (which maybe is possible, but a few sources all state basically the same thing)... i'll be shocked at which point you may need to actually explain yourself more.

[kris23]

that pretty much sums it, ive had problems with keys just producing weird effects when pressing a number of keys depending on the board ive used... or just stopped registering keys. the steelseries 7G i use currently has had no issues since i got it, everything registers fine and i have never had any issues when i did using a USB keyboard.

i havent gone through enough USB keyboards to tell whether or not it was a consistent problem or if it was just a defect that occurred in those.

I have no idea if there is going to be ghosting problems with my 7G if i use more keys than i can press, but some basic keyboard testing software allowed me to see all manner of keypresses with no issue. i dunno whether or not i can do the same thing on a usb board though as i don't have them anymore.

If i remember an old response from razer support monkeys correctly, anti-ghosting capabilities are generally applied to the frequently used gaming keys such as the WASD, Space bar, etc. I suppose to allow those keys to function uninterrupted while the nearby keys are being used.

with me, my gaming keys include the arrow keys, number pad (im a lefty) and nearby buttons. If the majority of keyboards follow the design described by razer, that would explain my issues with USB keyboards.

[Judas]

That should explain your problem with all keyboards AND be more prevailent in PS/2 keyboards then USB.....

So this isn't a matter of typing a post out and running into letters missing for no apparently reason... this is strickly gaming related or limited to the numpad/arrow keys only.

I've played a number of games... although terribly... using the arrow keys... never the numpad..

But i know one game that makes heavy use of the numpad for people that are left handed, Lineage II.... and even for right handed people.. that like to use the numpad rather then the top row numbers or F keys.... makes sense right?

Anyways... Like i said... i've never ran into the problem.

I've hated all the Logitech Keyboards i've used
I've hated just about all the keyboards recommended to me for numerous reasons.... either similare symptoms as your experience.. not necessarily with the same keys... but just oddities... unreliable...
And i utterly HATE Keyboards that love to fuck up the key layout (Example being a single key width backspace, a tall skinny enter key instead of a short fat one just to name a few)

I can't really suggest anything, i haven't a clue if you've ever tried a GOOD microsoft keyboard or not.

I know many years ago a Few of us, and i even recall Zardon using a Microsoft All Natural Keyboard (it was a rare one that allowed for both a USB and PS/2 connection and included a 2 Port USB Hub).... you could either the usb by itself or attach the PS/2 for backward capability. My mother currently still has that rock solid keyboard even if by todays standards it's a clicky-clacky sounding keyboard with siffer keys then that microsoft 4000 i mentioned. And really i can't say how much i absalutely love this keyboard. I would like to see a few changes/improvements to it, not much CAN be improved.. but i think the only thing they could do is make the keyboard splitable... allowing you to space the two halves any distance you wish apart. I think that'd be stellar... Specially if you could mount them to each arm of the chair.

[Takaharu]

I can't remember where I saw it but I do remember not so long ago that one of the highest benchmarking PCs in the world had the dog's bananas of pretty much everything - best GPUs, RAT 9 mouse, huge case, 990X, you get the idea. For the keyboard he was using an old 1980s keyboard that had never been swapped out for all of the time that they had owned that one keyboard. It even had an adapter to change it from the old-style fat mouse port to a PS/2.

[Judas]

yeah cause the super old keyboard.. which really they are unlikely to actually use much, using PS/2 (as it requires it's own IRQ as well and resources that are independent from any other.. not shared) removes it from the USB ports in order to make sure it's always working/guarantees he/she can get a response from it when even the USB ports stop working. Less crap on the USB ports, the more stable things are at the extreme end of the overclocks.

99% sure it's not NKRO related.

Those old keyboards are the worst for any kind of multiple key presses, even the good ones.

[kris23]

actually, ive used microsoft keyboards awhile back and now that you mention it, i never did have those same problems with microsoft keyboards that i did with their replacements but keep in mind, this was in 2003... the keyboard switches began to fail from constant use and abuse...

That actually makes me wonder how much gear that is being touted as "gaming grade" is really inferior to quality office equipment... interesting...

but really, id rather keep a mechanical keyboard, it just feels nicer for me now that im used to it... this keyboard supports USB through an adapter so if i cant find a PS/2 motherboard in the future, ill probably just use an adapter on it and see how that works out.

[Judas]

King in mind that PS/2 ~> USB adapter have a high tendency to introduce issues, as the conversion process isn't exactly refined/fine tuned...

It's easier to convert from a USB ~> PS/2 with little to no issues...

All the keyboards I've ever used have been in the $100+ range, quite expensive... specially for being ergonomic.

And I've only about 2 or 3 customers total that managed to break the 100-150 WPM boundry that have ran into "to many sequential key presses" in which the words they are typing sometimes has a letter or 2 missing due to poor keyboards... I've always set them up with either the comfort curve 2000 (recently 3000) and the 4000.... Wireless devices tend to be more problematic for this as well.. (wireless keyboards....... Bluetooth however doesn't appear to be an issue)