Foxconn Quantum Force X79 Motherboard (Final) Pictured by VR-Zone.com
Here are the first pictures of the Foxconn Quantum Force X79 in a form that’s almost ready for market. Quantum Force is Foxconn’s brand that targets the “gamer-overclocker” market, the same one that ASUS’ Republic of Gamers, Gigabyte’s G1.Killer, and ASRock’s Fatal1ty Professional motherboards target. Foxconn also has a knack of surprising some (pleasantly) with the pricing of these boards compared to others in the segment. An example of this was the company’s Quantum Force boards based on the X58 chipset.
The LGA2011 socket supports upcoming Core i7 “Sandy Bridge” processors. Foxconn is using a 14-phase CPU VRM design for this board, with 2-phase VRM for the memory. There are four DDR3 DIMM slots on this board, two on either sides of the socket, one per memory channel. Expansion slots include four PCI-Express x16, among which three are wired to the CPU. The red slots are PCI-Express 3.0 x16 capable, the bottom-most slot is PCI-Express 3.0 x8 capable. The second black slot is electrically PCI-Express 2.0 x8, and is wired to the X79 PCH, so the board is optimal for 3-way SLI and CrossFireX.
There are eight internal SATA ports, four of these (color coded red) are SATA 6 Gb/s, two of these (top) are driven by the X79 PCH, the other by an ASMedia-made controller. The black ports are SATA 3 Gb/s, wired to the PCH. There are two eSATA ports on the rear-panel, driven by a JMicron-made SATA 3 Gb/s controller.
In terms of general connectivity, you’ll get 8+2 channel HD audio with optical and coaxial SPDIF outputs; four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear-panel, two via standard header), powered by Renesas-made controllers; two gigabit Ethernet connections, one controlled by an Intel-made controller, the other by Realtek-made one; and other common ports such as USB 2.0 and PS/2.
The Quantum Force X79 looks to be packing quite a few features that benefit overclockers. To begin with, there is redundant BIOS stored in three separate, socketed EEPROM chips, consolidated voltage measurement points that let you manually measure voltages (using a multimeter), onboard OC tuning switches, onboard power/reset switches, clear CMOS switch on the rear-panel, and POST code speaker.
Pricing is unknown, but it’s likely that the Foxconn Quantum Force X79 will be a part of the first wave of motherboards for Sandy Bridge-E.
Foxconn Quantum Force X79 Motherboard (Final) Pictured
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