Foxconn Black Ops - Raw, Unadulterated Power
by Rajinder Gill on July 30, 2008 11:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Maximum Fully Stable Overclocks
E8500
2x1GB Corsair 2133MHz kit @ 533x7.5 CAS 9-9-9-25 1N
 |
The Samsung based version 4.1 kit from Corsair has a stock speed of 2133MHz @ CAS 9, providing a formidable challenge for the X48 boards. We managed to get a 1N command rate stable at DDR3-2133, albeit with a very high level of VMCH (1.85V) pushing the board beyond 24/7 settings. 2N operation proved a little easier at 1.7VMCH and scaled to 537FSB, equaling the raw MHz of the Cell Shock kit at CAS 9 1N instead of CAS 8 2N (Cell Shock). Unmodified P5E3 boards can hit a stable 550FSB and 2200MHz memory speeds with this kit, so the Black Ops is trailing by around 15FSB or so in this department.
Considering the stock rating, this impressive kit from Corsair is best used with the NVIDIA 790i chipset due to its asynchronous bus clocking capability, allowing the 2133 MHz speed to be obtained at a lower processor FSB speed. We will be pushing a few boards with this kit over the coming weeks to see just how far these modules can really go. The 2133MHz stable shot shown above came in at 1.95Vdimm so there is room for more speed; we just need a board that can really do it.
2x1GB Cell Shock 1866MHz @537x7 CAS 8-8-8-25 2N
 |
Our 2x1GB Cell Shock kit managed an impressive 537FSB stable @ CAS8 2N, only a few MHz below what we managed on a modified ASUS P5E3 Premium. The chipset voltages required to run both of these kits fully stable are not recommended for 24/7 operation, but show that the Black Ops board certainly has a few aces up its sleeve. In fact, it trails only to a board that has been in the market for a while, certainly not a bad first attempt from Foxconn in the high-end market.
2x2GB Corsair 1600MHz kit @ 8.5x470FSB
 |
This is quickly becoming our favorite memory kit for everyday use. Although CAS 9 does not appear immediately attractive, the chips used on these modules (similar to the Corsair 2x1GB kit above) provide an easy load for the MCH to drive. This allowed us to run at 1880MHz or so with our E8500. If you're looking for a 2x2GB kit to team with this board, we'd suggest you look no further at this time, although we have an interesting kit from Patriot in the labs.
QX9650
2x2GB Corsair 1600MHz kit @ 8.5x455FSB
 |
The 2x2GB kit from Corsair received another outing this time with our QX9650. 455FSB was just about all the board could muster with 1.26VTT for stability. We were quite surprised that 4GB held up so well at this speed. In fact, using 2x1GB kits did not provide us with any advantage for stability so this 2x2GB kit is what we recommend for a 24/7 PC running 64-bit Vista.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
32 Comments
View All Comments
Etern205 - Saturday, August 2, 2008 - link
For those who wonder who is this Shamino person check out VR-Zoneand for those with those Asus ROG boards in the motherboard disc there is a overclocking video with him in it.
at80eighty - Saturday, August 2, 2008 - link
threadjack a hardware thread about Linux?get some sunlight! :p
sprockkets - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
Every foxconn board I've had either dies or is poorly made in software. My AMD nForce4 board could not shut down properly every so often, couldn't keep the correct time, and other things.Doesn't mean this board is bad hardware wise. But, if so many of their boards cannot keep the right time or report the right settings, that shows poor BIOS programming. Not wasting my money on the big generic OEM maker.
BPB - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
Only 6 SATA and 2 eSATA is not enough. I want at least 8 SATA for a board like this, then start talking eSATA.strikeback03 - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
ICH10R only supports 6 SATA, so not like you could have more than 6 drives in a RAID array anyway. If you really need more drives than that, why not a card?NicePants42 - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
[quote]The water-cooling top plate is anodized aluminum. Contrary to "popular belief", the chances of galvanic corrosion with this setup are miniscule and there should be no cause for concern. Galvanic corrosion can take years to manifest, and a suitable additive in some distilled de-ionized water should provide ample protection.[/quote]I appreciate that the author was astute enough to include specific information about the material of the top plate, however, the reader is left to his/her own assumptions regarding the material of the water block itself - sure, it looks like copper, but so did the cooling solution on the popular ABIT IP35-Pro.
I also find the author's defense of anodized aluminum out of place; if we are to assume (as the article seems to suggest) that only the top plate is made from aluminum, while the rest of the block is made from copper, it seems that the use of aluminum is indefensible, regardless of how technically correct the author's assertions on galvanic corrosion may be. Why, after spending all the money on high quality components, gobs of included 'extreme benchmarking' extras, and a large copper cooling solution, would the designers decide that they couldn't afford the extra dollar for a copper top plate, but would rather introduce the possibility (however remote) of slowly destroying any attached liquid cooling solution?
Galvanic corrosion can take years to manifest? For how many years have people been paying over $120 for PA120.3s? Or $40 for MCW60s? Or $75 for a D5 Vario, etc? I, for one, would think that the author would better serve his readers by questioning the use of potentially harmful materials, (especially when the use of such materials appears to be unjustified) rather than presuming to dictate the reader's priorities concerning such.
iop3u2 - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
I was waiting for a foxconn ad the last few days and you sure as hell didn't disappoint me.tayhimself - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
Who needs a $500 Mobo? I am really confused as to the people buying this stuff.NicePants42 - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
It generally helps to check Newegg before posting about price.Considering that many current X48 motherboards are selling between $250 and $300, $330 after MIR is hardly unreasonable for this board.
DigitalFreak - Thursday, July 31, 2008 - link
"extreme benchmarking"ROFLMAO! What a bunch of losers