Foxconn Blood Rage - If Looks Could Kill (UPDATE)
by Rajinder Gill on January 2, 2009 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
First Impressions
We've only been using this board for a few days and although there are some issues, there's nothing fatally wrong that can't be fixed with some BIOS updates. In fact, this is the only BIOS we've had so far from Foxconn. That might sound bad to you, but compared to what we've seen from everyone else over the past two months it's incredible they've got the board to this point so fast on a couple of beta-grade BIOS releases. Foxconn confirmed to us they are working on a new BIOS that they are testing in-house rather than pushing it out to the users for immediate beta testing.
The big problem for enthusiast type overclockers at this point is that they may have to use the "Force Reset" option to an extent that prevents the board from being suitable for placement inside a closed PC case. If you are not experiencing this issue, please let us know. Out of the three boards we've tested in our labs, we have not found a combination of parts that gets around it.
Other than that, the AEGIS panel needs to work as advertised. We installed everything to the letter and found ourselves at a dead end for making voltage adjustments with it. We're not sure if it's a simple fix, as OS level incompatibilities seem to be too diverse and inconsistent for logic at times. Without these tools working consistently or support from third parties, this board may never realize its full benchmarking pedigree. Pushing processors way out of spec often leads to mandatory operating system level parameter adjustments, so there's no point in having the brawn without the means to use it.
In terms of peripherals, we've had no problems plugging in and using USB devices, SATA HDD/Optical drives, graphics cards, audio cards, or anything else of that nature. Further testing is ongoing and will be discussed in the full review if we find anything problematic.
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We'll sum up by saying that there's no doubt the Blood Rage has some of the finest components we've ever seen used on a motherboard. The specifications for the CPU and memory power supply are so outlandish that you'd expect the board to be able to run dual processors and double the supported amount of memory with relative ease. Some spit and polish to the software side of things is what's needed to justify those component choices though. Don't get us wrong, it's far better to have an over-engineered product that needs a little work than it is to have an under-engineered product needing any kind of work at all.
While we're hopeful fixes will be forthcoming, speed is of the essence. There are competitor boards available at a similar price point with the promise of just as much overclockability for air- and water-cooling users. Not to mention that the masses want out of the box functionality over anything else. Anyone who can find additional headroom or a consistent edge in those departments while simultaneously satisfying the needs of benchmarking fanatics will be a real winner. Recent in lab tests comparing several boards have shown that the final 2-5% of Nehalem overclocking comes down to all important Uncore voltage scaling when using the i7 920 class of processors. If you're looking at teaming Intel's cheapest Nehalem offering with a 2000MHz memory kit, you'll want a board that can provide scaling at the lowest possible Uncore voltages. While there are processors out there with better IMC's than others, we've found that the boards do play a part in unleashing the full potential of a Nehalem CPU. We'll find out this month if this board will be the one to provide headroom that users will expect in this price bracket, although it appears that DFI will have something to say about it.
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davekozy - Saturday, January 3, 2009 - link
Asus is already releasing version 2 of the P6T Deluxe less than 2 months after the first was released. From what I've read the main difference is the loss of the SAS connectors. Companies with good product support release bios fixes as often as needed. There are 4 bios updates for the first P6T Deluxe or about one every two weeks since release. There have been 8 so far for my 6+ month old Asus P5Q. Evga has 7 bios updates already for their X58 board. That's almost one a week! There are a lot of issues the beta-testers aka early adopters (including AT) have helped resolve.gemsurf - Saturday, January 3, 2009 - link
Sorry if I let the dogs out Rajinder and I hope it is all taken in context. We don't have the voice that this site does and thru you maybe some of this can improve? We have all trusted Anands for a very long time and I certainly hope he is reading these comments as well. Thank You all for what you do!Rajinder Gill - Saturday, January 3, 2009 - link
Not at all. The reason I did not sensationalize the issue is becasue many others are not experiencing the problems. It's still random. I plugged in an OCZ Pro Xstream today and the board works fine. The variables involved in parts mismatches, batch changes, underhood revisions are so numerous. In the end I felt it better to highlight the possibility. Might not have been what you wanted to see, but the point was there regardless, and from my perspective understood too.later
Raja
Scott66 - Sunday, January 4, 2009 - link
Another website had to switch to a different power supply as their usual benchmarking one did not cold boot the system.kilkennycat - Friday, January 2, 2009 - link
Have you noted that there is a recession? Core i7 is nowhere near mainstream, the current version of Core i7 is not optimised for desktop, being too power-hungry, and the motherboards and memory are ridiculously-priced. Maybe I am "all wet", but it might be very revealing to generate a survey of Anandtech readers with regard to their computer-system purchase intentions within the next 3-6 months.Why 3-6 months? The current bunch of Core i7 motherboards are very obviously first-generation beta-phase efforts. It takes somebody with a whole bunch of money and an "early-adopter" mentality to have the fortitude to buy any of them. It is going to take 3-6 months for Core i7 to be considered mainstream and by that time Anandtech is going to have to update a whole bunch of these X58 motherboard reviews. Meanwhile, there is a huge price/performance sweet-spot in the Penryn and Phenom domains with some incredibly comprehensive offerings out there. For just one little example, it is disappointing that the full Anandtech review of the MCP7A/9300/9400 motherboards has continued to be delayed, presumably by the pressure of completing these "bleeding-edge" X58 reviews.
ssj4Gogeta - Saturday, January 3, 2009 - link
I'm probably going to wait until Westmere.LoneWolf15 - Friday, January 2, 2009 - link
Yep.After having to purchase a board unexpectedly this week, and some thought, I've decided on Gigabyte's GA-EP45-UD3P.
Current reviews almost seem to make it look dated, despite it being a relatively recent board. But considering I'm going from an Intel BadAxe2 (when I buy a board, I want a good board that will last a few years), a P45 chipset is quite new. System also supports DDR2; quality DDR2 is still half the price of DDR3, and it supports faster processors than I need (including my existing Q6600). Add that it also has ICH10R for RAID, firewire, and a ton of ports, and I can save a lot of money over getting an i7 that is certainly cool, but beyond what I need. All for under $150 shipped.
Paulywogstew - Friday, January 2, 2009 - link
In the Board & Features overview you state its a socket T 775 interface???Kroneborge - Friday, January 2, 2009 - link
IMO, bios revisions for better performance etc are ok, and to be exptected. Bios revisions to get basic functionality working are not.When you make a purchase you expect it to work as advertised or it's going back. If you can't get a bios ready by then, then delay release. Develop a repuataion for rock steady performance, and people will beat a path to your door to develop your product, EVEN if they have to wait a extra month or two too purchase.
JonnyDough - Friday, January 2, 2009 - link
Agreed. Every time I took that brief AMD survey upon a visit to their site I always put that I looked for STABILITY in drivers. Why would I want to get 300fps in a game if it's going to crash on the last level and not let me win?