Recently, I have the opportunity to play around with both the Foxconn Black Ops and the
DFI UT X48-T3RS. While I do have the Foxconn Black Ops setup on my work bench, the
DFI is currently being shipped and should hopefully arrive at the end of the week or next monday.
This is my first time reviewing a motherboard and the first time I am comparing two boards. I'll try to be as detailed as possible, but with work and tons of friends getting married this time of year, I have a feeling I won't have much time to work on this project
As a result, I'll most likely focus on stock settings and performance for the first few tests. I apologize in advance if I do not provide enough information.
I think that's about it for my excuses!
My test setup will consist of:
CPU: Intel e8500
Memory: 2gb x 2 OCZ Reaper 10666 DDR3
Hard Drive: Western Digital 7500AYYS RE2
Video Card: eVGA 9800GX2 SSC
PSU: Corsair HX1000W
So here is the Black Ops:
Packaging:
Here is the outside box. It has a nice matte finish and it doesn't look too bad but I think they could have had a better graphic, something that looks a little more professional.
Inside you'll find the motherboard and to the side, the Sonar sound card and a 120mm fan.
The motherboard does float a little bit. It sort of reminds me of the Abit IX38 Quad GT's packaging. The Abit had some sort of plastic protection cover while Foxconn does not.
Directly underneath the motherboard itself is the base plate for the Foxconn workbench. Underneath the soundcard and fan you will find the tube for dry ice and liquid nitrogen for the Northbridge chipset.
Underneath the motherboard box you'll find two accessory boxes.
One contains the
SATA cables (2 are right angle), power cable adapters, the back IO Panel, IEEE 1394 &
USB Bracket and the workbench raisers.
The other box contains the floppy cable,
IDE cable, Northbridge fan, driver
CD and floppy, a quick start manual, the user manual and dog tags!
Here is the Northbridge modular cooling system. Unfortunately, Foxconn thinks the best way to make a copper plate is to spray paint aluminum black.
When you read the box, it states that it is an all copper design. Both the box photo and the graphic support this statement. Too bad it isn't
true when you open the box.
Another problem with this board is that before you install the video card you must install the memory first. This will be annoying when it becomes time to upgrade or add more memory...
Hey an apple logo
More to come soon hopefully!
UPDATE
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Here are a few more photos of the Black Ops motherboard:
The Com and
Sata connectors:
There is a small on board speaker below the
PCI slots.
Here are the twin
bios chips:
The Power, Reset and Clear
CMOS buttons. Unlike the prototype board the power button is seperate from the group.
This is the 8 Phase Digital
PWM heatsink. Unfortunately, the graphic isn't cut to proper size. Underneath the
PWM heatsink is the backplate. Unlike the
DFI board, it doesn't look like it doubles as a heatsink.
Here is a view of the copper Northbridge module. As you can see it looks like it can be taken off. The heat pipes are placed in a canal with two flat pieces of copper on either side. Underneath the Northbridge are two screws with rubber washers that fix the Northbridge to the board. When I finish testing I'll pull it off to see if I am correct and to get some better photos
Also unlike the prototype board which featured two sets of thick copper fins, the retail board has some flimsy copper heatsink that sits inside the module. The fins are all misshapen and some are bent to the side while the fins toward the top are straight. I guess foxconn wanted to cut down on the production costs.
Tests will hopefully be coming soon!
Foxconn Black Ops vs. DFI UT X48-T3RS Comparison Review
Especially how it compares to the DFI.
Linear Mode
