Gigabyte EX58 Extreme is probably one of the most complete socket 1366 motherboards based on Intel X58 chipset (with the ICH10R south bridge chip) for Core I7 processors available on the market today, with features not found on most competitors, such as three PCI Express x16 slots with support for SLI and CrossFireX modes, 16-phase voltage regulator circuit, liquid cooling waterblock on the chipset, POST diagnostics display and several other features commonly found on Gigabyte's high-end motherboards, such as passive heatsink with heatpipes for the chipset and voltage regulator transistors, solid aluminum capacitors and ferrite chokes. Let's take a look in the motherboard and see what you should expect from it.

We have published a detailed article about Intel high-end motherboard based on X58 chipset for Core I7 processor, DX58SO "Smackover" and other about ASUS P6T Deluxe OC Palm Edition, so a comparison between the EX58 Extreme and these two is inevitable.

 
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Figure 1: Gigabyte EX58 Extreme.