Introduction
Contents
Intel has released two motherboard models for the new socket LGA2011 platform, the DX79SI and the DX79TO, targeted to the most high-end processor Intel offers for desktops today, the Core i7 “Sandy Bridge-E” models. Let’s take a look at the DX79SI, which comes with three PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots.
To better understand the differences between the two socket LGA2011 motherboards released by Intel, we compiled the table below.
| DX79SI | DX79TO | |
| Form Factor | ATX | ATX |
| Memory Sockets | 8 | 8 |
| PCI Express x16 | 3 (x16/x16/x8) | 2 (x16/x16) |
| PCI Express x1 | 2 | 3 |
| Standard PCI | 1 | 1 |
| SATA-300 | 4 | 4 |
| SATA-600 | 2 | 2 |
| eSATA-600 | 0 | 0 |
| USB 2.0 | 14 | 14 |
| USB 3.0 | 4 | 2 |
| FireWire | 2 | 0 |
| Gigabit Ethernet | 2 | 1 |
| Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g/n | Yes | No |
| Bluetooth 2.1 | Yes | No |
| Price | USD 280 | USD 230-250 |
In Figure 1, you see the Intel DX79SI motherboard.
Figure 1: Intel DX79SI motherboard
