Foxconn Black Ops - Raw, Unadulterated Power
by Rajinder Gill on July 30, 2008 11:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
Step aside - Foxconn coming through!
Usually we can't wait to get boards off the subzero benching station as the effort required does not justify the end result; not so with the Black Ops. We thoroughly enjoyed using this board at subzero temperatures; it runs insane speeds with relative ease, leading to a truly exhilarating benchmark experience. However, on a more realistic note, there are still plenty of quirks with this board to withhold absolute support across every scenario. These quirks include non-working or hard to use strap/memory divider combinations while higher speed 2GB memory overclocking is almost exclusively limited to Samsung-based modules or those using newer Micron ICs.
That does not mean the Black Ops will not work with older Micron chips in 2GB module designs, but simply that speeds over 1500MHz with 8GB memory may come at timings looser than stock module ratings. This situation will undoubtedly improve with time as the BIOS is tuned. Meanwhile, the balance of success lies in whether users can forgive the current quirks in return for a board that's sick fast, resolute, and does not arrive at the line panting and puffing under strain when pushed to the absolute limits.
As it stands right now, Foxconn's latest toy does require patience to reach its full potential when using conventional cooling methods. While we believe the Black Ops is an admirable choice as an enthusiast level motherboard, there are established boards like the ASUS P5E3 Premium that can provide an easier journey to overclocking in certain situations for the general enthusiast.
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So, although the Black Ops is not "Top Dog" on every front, it is worthy of accolades for being capable of doing things that no other board can out of the box. Yes, it's raw and at times ragged, but let's not forget that it's marketed as being a power product for extreme benchmarking and it delivers on that promise in an impressive manner. For the future, we are sure that Foxconn recognizes (we have reminded them repeatedly) outright sale volumes will likely hinge upon a more modest approach and that there will need to be development of products that are geared more for everyday use. Should the company be able to deliver products on both fronts while maintaining their customized support structure, we are looking at the possibility of a great success story from a company that has been firmly planted in the OEM sector.
To conclude, we are excited to present our Silver Editor's Choice award to Foxconn for the Black Ops X48 motherboard. Their execution and design of the Black Ops product certainly pushes the envelope for current motherboard technology and raises the bar for other players in this niche market. In fact, we are very excited to see what comes next from Foxconn. For now, if extreme benchmarking and power tuning is your thing, your prayers have been answered by the arrival of the Black Ops.
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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