"AREA X79": is it on the Intel Roadmap

DMars1 · ‎04-06-2013

I specifically want to know if I place the $1,100 XEON

E5-1660 CPU into the ASUS P9X79 WS 2011 socket, because the XEON E5-1660 is not

a 22nm CPU, does this mean that this CPU, although listed as compatible with

the Asus P9X79 WS motherboard, will NOT ENABLE THE PCIe 3.0 that is advertised

as only capable of working provided the right components are used?

I have an EVGA GTX

680 FTW+ 4GB PCIe 3.0 certified Graphics Card. I have an ASUS P9X79 WS PCIe 3.0 Capable Motherboard.

I have an Intel XEON E5-1660 certified REV 3.0 capable CPU.

BUT this NEW 22nm additional requirement added to the ASUS

X79 WS, which can now be found on the outside cardboard sleeve of the box- in

the upper right hand corner of the front of box, along with Intel's insistence

that ONLY INTEL GENERATION 3 CPU's will enable true PCIe 3.0 capability, has

forced me to return TWO purchases of these motherboards.

The ASUS P9X79 WS I purchased from Amazon actually had its

listed features of the motherboard changed; reading PCIe 2.0 X 16 capable and

had removed the once mentioned PCIe 3.0. PCIe 3.0 was not to be found anywhere

in the Amazon advertisement of specs.

I brought this change to the phone representative's attention

and she checked your Asus site and matched up the discrepancies and notified

the Amazon technical team. Within one hour the specs read: PCIe 3.0 X16 as it

had before, but the very next day it was gone and replaced by PCIe 2.0.

This has forced me to sell at a considerable loss, an unused

ASUS P9X79 PRO motherboard as I kept it beyond the 30 period being told that a

resolution was coming.

I sold my Intel Sandy Bridge E 3930K CPU as I was unable to

get GEN 3 readings using utilities such as GPU-Z.

I am now looking to sell my $1,100 Intel Xeon E5-1660, which

was new and now used, as I was told it would work with the ASUS X79 PRO.

There currently is no way I can afford any more financial

loss by being told it is worth "trying" the XEON E-1660 on the Asus

P9 X79 WS motherboard. For once I open that Asus X79 WS motherboard I will not

be able to return it to the seller and avoid a restocking fee because it is

opened.

When Intel, Asus (and all X79 Intel Chipset motherboard

producers), Evga (and all NVidia based 600 Kepler graphic card producers), and NVidia

( the provider of all necessary support such as drivers), all became, by choice

or by deception, involved in creating an advertised promise that was literally

impossible to fulfill, I at this point can only do what is financially

expedient; sell as much as I can as fast as I can of any components that are

directly or indirectly tied to "Area X79".

When the Intel Roadmap disappear into what I call "AREA

X79" one thing became glaringly obvious; an entire generation of

components from motherboards to video cards, and to CPU's were all financial "interim"

money-makers supporting the weight of Moore's Law, until a justified and

sensible line of products were shipped to consumers around the world.

I have lost money on the sale of an unused but

"tested" $570 Intel 3930K CPU.

I have lost money on the sale of a brand new, but tested

Asus P9X79 PRO motherboard.

I have lost money having purchased an Evga GTX 680 Graphic

Card worth $560, as it will never run in an X79 Motherboard slot at full

potential during the entire course of what is the typical life-span of a "new

line" of graphic cards.

When the day finally comes where there is a "rebranded" X79

motherboard with a truly "Native and Functional" PCIe 3.0 X 16 slot and enough

additional other neglected promises obscured by the PCIe 3.0 mystery, such as

lots of "native USB 3.0" ports, and X79 Chipset supported SATA 6GB/sec hard

drive ports, and the disappearance of so many unfamiliar manufacturer

names who's products were substituted for

the "real thing", just what will this nearly 2 years of wasted hopes, supported

by wasted money on a wasted generation of components, in hindsight have to say?

When one of the most praised and promised future-proof 2011

socket is finally matched with what will emerge from "AREA X79"- the expected

and long-awaited Intel CPU which will contain the "mystery key", making it the

final and available necessary component for every PCIe 3.0 advertised promise, will

it be both a tick and a tock which together might be enough to restore a hope

for long-awaited magical expectations of

so many heart-broken as well as financially-broken enthusiasts, gamers, work-at-home

high-end users, and your faithful and loyal build-it-yourselves consumers?

Yes of course it will work. It is and always has been a part

of the trusted Intel Roadmap. But will it do more than just work? All of those 600 series graphic card owners

will be watching those that "stood this dance out", dropping into newer and

better rebranded X79 motherboards, a newer and better, more powerful and faster

and cooler 700 NVidia series graphic card; cards with a new architecture,

motherboar...

CVale10 · ‎07-28-2013

David,

It sounds like you have been on quite the quest. The X79 chipset will work in PCI-E 3.0 mode with the Desktop Sandybridge E products with your motherboard. Running the described patch will work, and you will get the full bandwidth that is offered for a PCI-e 3.0 hardware. Also if you plan on running VM's with also ensure your cpu part is a V2 revision. Below is the results that I found to back this up. I own 2 GTX 680 on this Asus platform with an Intel 3930k V2 and enjoy the speeds outlined in what you were/are looking for. Also after the patch you will see that GPU-z will show full pci e 3.0. At this point in the X79 saga I hope that the socket enjoys further expansion with Ivy-Bridge E parts soon. Hopefully in the variety of 8 and 12 core parts.... maybe later this year.

Best of luck!

Chase Valentine

Out of work network engineer

Although pre-launch drivers of the GeForce GTX 680 let the GPU run in PCI-Express Gen 3.0 mode on Intel's Sandy Bridge-E HEDT (X79) platforms, the release drivers limited the GPU to PCI-Express Gen 2.0 on the platform. The issue carried on with GeForce GTX 670, and other graphics cards with "Kepler" family of GPUs. NVIDIA http://www.techpowerup.com/162942/GeForce-GTX-680-Release-Driver-Limits-PCI-Express-to-Gen-2.0-on-X79-SNB-E-Systems.html cited reasons such as the platform not being PCI-Expres Gen 3.0 "certified" although it supports the 8 GT/s mode. The company assured users that it was working on getting its hardware to work on the Sandy Bridge-E HEDT platform in Gen 3.0 mode, and until it's absolutely certain about reliability, it is forcing PCI-Express Gen 2.0 mode.

NVIDIA released a patch that enables PCI-Express Gen 3.0 mode on Intel Sandy Bridge-E HEDT (X79) platforms, which lets graphics cards based on GeForce Kepler GPUs, such as GeForce GTX 680, GTX 670, etc., take advantage of 8 GT/s per lane system interface bandwidth. The mode could come particularly handy for graphics cards that are installed on electrical PCI-Express 3.0 x8 slots, as they could end up with bandwidth comparable to that of PCI-Express 2.0 x16. The patch should be installed along with the latest stable drivers. To enable the patch, run the executable and reboot the system. To undo the patch later, run the same executable with "-revert" argument in Command Prompt. Use only if stability is not absolutely paramount, or if the hardware is not operating in a mission-critical environment.