Additional Materials

We first introduced a chapter like that in our DFI LanParty JR X58-T3H6 Review although we have touched upon the same aspects in our earlier articles as well. It doesn’t mean that each review from now on will have a part like that: sometimes there is nothing we could praise or complain about. Today the situation is a little different - we can say a lot of good things about EVGA, there are a few things we could criticize. However, I am not 100% sure that my criticism is justified from all aspects. In my opinion, the company web-site is not very convenient to work with, there is not enough product information, the search is imperfect, but maybe not everyone shares my views. Therefore, I am going to share with you my personal opinions and you will decide for yourselves, whether to agree with me or not.

Let me start with the good stuff. Unlike many other manufacturers who turn to noname programmers to create unattractive “brand name” utilities with poor functionality, EVGA chose a different approach. They use the best experienced software developers recognized worldwide to write utilities for them. For example, EVGA Precision utility is based on the engine from an excellent tool called RivaTuner. The same way EVGA E-LEET utility looks very much like famous CPU-Z for a good reason: it is based on CPUID SDK.

I think it is a very smart approach. EVGA product owners receive fully operational program versions that are very easy and convenient to work with instead of a bunch of utilities that will be removed shortly after installation.

Now a few words about several drawbacks. We ended our “PCB Design and Functionality” chapter with a list of mainboard’s technical specifications taken from the user manual. In my opinion, even this list is not ideal, but there is even less information on the official web-site. Once you’ve got the board, you can easily read the name of the integrated sound codec or network controllers, however, it would be nice to know it beforehand. Moreover, we still don’t know what controller is used to implement IEEE1394 (FireWire). The chip is covered with a heatsink and there is no mention of it neither in the manual, nor on the company web-site. If you go to the product page devoted to EVGA X58 SLI Classified mainboard, you will be offered to download a PDF-file with the product specifications, however, they are as brief as the ones on the web-site.

In the previous review of an EVGA mainboard I mentioned that I got into a really silly situation when I couldn’t find a BIOS update by choosing the mainboard model name from the menu in the “Download The Latest Drivers” section. This issue has already been fixed: now you can find the latest updates not only in the “BIOS Updates” sub-section, but also by choosing the mainboard model name from the list.

By why not go a bit further and provide a link to download a user’s manual, for example? But all manuals are singled out into a separate page of the “Support” sub-section. There is no direct link to it on the mainboard product page.

The site offers a comparison tool that seems pretty useless to me. The reason for that is again insufficient information and limited technical briefs. Since there are very few parameters and no details, it is fairly hard to see the difference between several mainboard models. Here is a good example: EVGA offers two models of EVGA X58 SLI Classified board. As you can learn on the company web-site, they have different part numbers: “141-BL-E759-A1” is the part number of our today’s board and “141-BL-E760-A1” – is a different less expensive model. What’s the difference between them? Let’s take a look at what the comparison tool tells us:

By clicking on the picture you can unfold the full list of compared specifications. I assure you, the only differences will be in part numbers and price. So what is in fact the difference between these two mainboards? It turns out you had to look at the titles, and not the specifications and features list. You can learn only from the title that our mainboard comes with EVGA ECP control panel and “true 3x16x Design”. WE already know what EVGA ECP is, but what is “true 3x16x design” and how is it different from “un-true design”?  Unfortunately, we don’t know it.

Another example of insufficient information. Since the board is equipped with an additional Nvidia NF200 controller, comes bundled with several SLI bridges, even has “SLI” in the EVGA X58 SLI Classified model name and has Nvidia 2-Way and 3-Way SLI mentioned numerous times, we all understand that it supports different Nvidia SLI graphics cards configurations. And what do you think, is it possible to build an ATI CrossFire configuration on EVGA X58 SLI Classified mainboard? It is indeed a mystery. Looks like the word “CrossFire” is forbidden for EVGA. There is no mention of CrossFire support anywhere: neither on the company web-site, nor in the user manual. There is only a modest mention in the FAQ, namely, that “the X58 motherboard will support all crossfire capable ATI cards in a crossfire configuration”.

Surprising, but it seems that EVGA Company keeps quiet about some features of their mainboard on purpose, thus limiting the number of potential buyers. Far not every user will dig through the FAQ’s before buying a board. No mention means no support, as well as no buyer: either EVGA is not concerned, or the dependence on Nvidia is way too high. Now I tend to think that they may have deliberately integrated the Nvidia NF200 controller, although they knew that it was no longer necessary. It was only for everyone’s good. It was good for EVGA, because they could boast one of the few Intel X58 Express based mainboards with an additional Nvidia NF200 controller. It was good for Nvidia who sell these chips. It was even good for power companies who would receive more money for electricity from EVGA X58 SLI Classified mainboard owners. Unfortunately, there is no real good for these owners yet. But maybe later there will be.

Users in the USA can get support over the phone. If you wish to email your question, you have to fill out a form with numerous personal information, such as home address. By the way, you have to register in order to download or update EVGA’s brand name tools and utilities. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too happy about this extra work I had to do.

Overall, I think it is a pretty unfair deal we have here. EVGA provides users with too little information, but to get even that you need submit the whole bunch of personal data first. I don’t like registering, but I am eager to do so, I can come up with a login and password and even share my e-mail address, but I can’t figure out why may EVGA need my home address? I don’t think that it matters for the answer to my question or download procedure in any way.

I can’t say that things are bad, but they are not impeccable either. Of course, there might be a different opinion, according to which EVGA’s approach is absolutely justifies. The company provides only basic info, which is enough for a mainstream user. Why overload your brain with microchip names and other excessive details. Yes, I can agree that a web-site should contain only the basic information, but there should also be detailed specifications available somewhere: in the manual, in a PDF-file, or on a separate page. Some users may find it useful, important or simply interesting to know. Sometimes, there are tiny differences between several mainboard models, but they may determine the choice of a particular product for someone’s specific needs.