Just  three weeks back we reviewed one of the most expandable X58 mainboards on the market today.  

The article has had many thinking about new modes of system configuration and upgrade paths as the Supermicro X8SAX mainboard really has got the complete remit.

The article covered many areas the professional graphic's end-user would be looking for within the 32-bit mode and it was stated at the time an update on 64-bit mode would follow on swiftly.  

More end users are switching over to 64-bit mode as models demand more memory bandwidth and as you will recall this board has plenty of it; supported with a maximum capacity of 24GB of memory. 

Today no less as within this sort update sees just how much grunt lays within the X8SAX in 64-bit.   A single socket CPU mainboard that has the power of some dual Xeon systems.   

But before we move any further forward let’s take a swift recap at what this mainboard actually has to offer the demanding end user.

  

Test System
Our “in house” test systems are growing but to maintain a sound and stable platform for tests of this magnitude the Supermicro X8SAX stays firmly in the box, supported by Intel's magnificent i7 CPU and Crucial's efficient DDR3 validated for the mainboard.    This will ensure for future outs a platform which will give total reliability for all that we throw at it within the single socket CPU scenarios.

NOTE 1.  Additional supplies of the 2GB Variant where not available at the time of test.   Therefore to test out a theory we ran with the appointed 3 X 1GB Modules within the secondary memory channel to see how the mainboards QPI would react.  This is not a standard protocol we would validate or recommend, as stipulated, purely a test of theory to pump as much memory onto the mainboard within the supported operating system from Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64-bit.

Benchmarks and Software Used 64-bit Mode
       
Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64-bit SP2
MAXON CINEBENCH 10 64-bit Mode
SPECviewperf 10 ® 64-bit Mode

Each set of tests has been applied on the clean system hard drives shown above to ensure that no residue drivers were left installed with all updates/patches applied.   A test/render has been completed many times over different periods of the system uptime.   Maintaining the fair play rules of SPECviewperf®  we did not manipulate any of this mainboards functionality and left it at its default settings in which it was supplied.   Tests have been conducted at 1280 X 1024 @ 60Hz in 32 bit colour.   Results that have been shown within this review are from the application/benchmarks first run in accordance with the SPECviewperf® fair play rules.  Not an average of three runs as some reviewers seem to think is right. 

The results speak very clearly for so there is no need for a running commentary of the results gained from each system.  “Run Logs” the SPECviewperf®  tests are available to those of you who wish to see them.  



The results shown took us totally by surprise in the CB X CPU test therefore to ensure that this was to be no fluke run we rebooted the system and ran the test twice over.  The results below clearly show how close each run was and there can be no confusion at all - the results shown are extremely accurate.
 









SPECviewperf 10 ® 64-bit Mode





You will notice that the results are pretty near as that of the 32-bit tests undertaken just three weeks ago. This clearly demonstrates ATI's aggressive move in producing robust driver sets covering all operating systems.
 
Conclusions
Most system builders look to a single socket Xeon based system with the reliability of ECC memory for complete security, for those who cannot afford to the full impact move and leap upwards to these boards.   Here is where the cost can be cut without any impedance of overall performance.  A win - win for all parties concerned.   Supermicro and Intel have most certainly done their sums right.  Roll on the Dual Nehalem CPU boards as these will  certainly have  intimidating computational power.

Sadly there are insufficient 64 bit tests means so we have to look at these results as keystone markers.   In the not too distant future,  this will change and much more will come from the SPEC organisation.  For example  the next version of SPECviewperf will jump up to 11, instead of 10.1 as originally planned.   The move reflects major revisions, including measurement of power consumption, new viewsets, Perl scripting, a new user interface, and updated screen sizes. SPECviewperf 11 is expected to debut in the summer of 2009.    SPECapc is getting busy on a wide range of new and updated benchmarks. New benchmarks for Lightwave, Maya, 3ds max and others are expected in the first half of 2009.  

The results shown have to be some of the fastest 64 bit professional graphic scores we have ever seen.   The Multi CPU test within Cinebench 10 bears testament to this - less than 45 seconds to complete the render from a single socket CPU is a spectacular achievement.   The extra memory inserted  shows how well the QPI controller copes upon the mainboard interacting fully with the CPU.   One sits in awe wondering how this mainboard will react with a full complement of 24GB of memory installed will bring. 

It goes without saying that a system of this magnitude functions with the aid of carefully chosen peripherals.   The test system parts shown within are all readily available from various suppliers, therefore you as the end user can have that all important high-speed computational box for approximately $4,000, £2,450  and the same in Euro land.   The lower end 940 and 920 i7 CPUs will produce good sound productivity output and it means that tight deadlines can be easily met.  However with today’s technology bringing to the fore better and exceedingly fast output, to the smart customer this can only mean that they are more demanding in getting the final output to them quicker.  

64 bit mode  normally sees a slight hit in performance in the graphical field of approximately 5% - 8%.  Today we do not see this, as the carefully constructed driver from ATI nearing full maturity is hitting home hard and fast and the power of the FirePro V8700 is coming to the fore.    The leap upstairs to 64-bit mode has been very interesting indeed and will have many thinking. 

Supermicro has ultimately shown how that it has advanced the train of thought on how influential this chipset is going to be within the professional arena. The results shown here unequivocally show that this is a mainboard to be seriously looked at by many system builders.  It was stipulated on our first outing that this is the gold standard - the bar has now been raised. X