Ya would be nice. third RMA and still USB3 on my board still just does not work... I have to use the extra USB2 risers for more devices. 
 

Johnny_Utah

Here's another:  If this X79 has all the issues fixed, how about EVGA sends out this board to all original X79 owners that have bum boards? 

Thanks for the positive comments everyone.

I knew my Patience would pay off. .  Jacob, how come I can't Find you guys on the CES site this year??  Where do I put my order in< :P

In looking more closely at the picture, I am starting to worry that there will be clearance issues in using the bottom PCIe slot. Is that right-angled 6-pin PCIe connector on the bottom of the board going to get in the way of having a card in the slot? I can't see anyone not noticing that when designing the board so I am going to assume there won't be issues, but it looks like a tight fit.
 
Can you comment Jacob?

I don't think EVGA can give an exact timeframe for release so I'd guess about Q2 or Q3 of 2013. Keep your eyes on the EVGA website for any new info.
 

firerx

rjohnson11

firerx

I knew my Patience would pay off. .  Jacob, how come I can't Find you guys on the CES site this year??

If memory serves last year they had their display at a hotel so maybe this year it's the same venue or similar.

Thank RJ. 

Any time frame on availability of the x79 Dark?

how about a bios update?

jaafaman

willdearborn

In looking more closely at the picture, I am starting to worry that there will be clearance issues in using the bottom PCIe slot. Is that right-angled 6-pin PCIe connector on the bottom of the board going to get in the way of having a card in the slot? I can't see anyone not noticing that when designing the board so I am going to assume there won't be issues, but it looks like a tight fit.

Take a really close look - it'll be no more of a problem than the CAP sitting right beside it...

 
You are right, it's probably just the way it looks in the picture. I was more referring to the protruding angled pins than the connector itself. But I'm sure it's fine. I highly doubt they would overlook something like this.

willdearborn...I was more referring to the protruding angled pins than the connector itself. But I'm sure it's fine. I highly doubt they would overlook something like this.

I'm hoping they're covered, though - or turned with the ground side up. Hate to drop anything across a live 12 V straight to the MoBo in a short...

The Intel NIC is a step in the right direction. I would like to also see the following:
 
- Fix USB 3.0 support
- Add support for all 40 CPU lanes with x16/x8/x16 or x16/x8/x8/x8 slot configuration similar to what the RIVE and RIVF supports.
- Fix PCI-E 3.0 negotiation issue. With my FTW, slot 4 negotiates at 3.0 and then intermittently downgrades to 2.0 link speed. This has been more of an issue with NVIDIA cards than AMD cards. I have not been able to reproduce the negotiation issue on other manufacturer X79 boards.
- Improve overclocking support. With my FTW, I have to set excessively high Vcore for stability with mild overclocking. The EVGA x58 boards were great for overclocking and I would like to see similar overclocking functionality for the EVGA X79 boards.

willdearborn

linuxrouter

The Intel NIC is a step in the right direction. I would like to also see the following:

- Fix USB 3.0 support
- Add support for all 40 CPU lanes with x16/x8/x16 or x16/x8/x8/x8 slot configuration similar to what the RIVE and RIVF supports.
- Fix PCI-E 3.0 negotiation issue. With my FTW, slot 4 negotiates at 3.0 and then intermittently downgrades to 2.0 link speed. This has been more of an issue with NVIDIA cards than AMD cards. I have not been able to reproduce the negotiation issue on other manufacturer X79 boards.
- Improve overclocking support. With my FTW, I have to set excessively high Vcore for stability with mild overclocking. The EVGA x58 boards were great for overclocking and I would like to see similar overclocking functionality for the EVGA X79 boards.

^^^ These are necessities as far as I'm concerned. If these issues aren't taken care of, this board will be just like the rest of the EVGA X79 series. If I have to pump extra Vcore into my chip to get the same OC as other boards, then this board is useless. And the other stuff is a no-brainer. Don't bother releasing the board unless these things have been fixed.

 
Quoted again for absolute truth.  I wish EVGA the best of luck with this board, however until my problems are fixed, I don't believe it is in any way logical to purchase another board from them.
 

doorules
How many pcie lanes, 32 like the rest of evga x79 mobo's or 40 like other oem's?

Biggest clue: The X79 chipset itself is just 7W TDP (if all ports and controllers are being taxed) and doesn't need a beefy heatsink, so there must be at least one PLX bridge chip under there to guarantee at least 3-way x16 (40 real lanes and 8 phantom).  If there were two, I'd start laughing (4-way SLI via 40 real lanes and 24 phantom).

mwparrish

Johnny_Utah

willdearborn

linuxrouter

The Intel NIC is a step in the right direction. I would like to also see the following:

- Fix USB 3.0 support
- Add support for all 40 CPU lanes with x16/x8/x16 or x16/x8/x8/x8 slot configuration similar to what the RIVE and RIVF supports.
- Fix PCI-E 3.0 negotiation issue. With my FTW, slot 4 negotiates at 3.0 and then intermittently downgrades to 2.0 link speed. This has been more of an issue with NVIDIA cards than AMD cards. I have not been able to reproduce the negotiation issue on other manufacturer X79 boards.
- Improve overclocking support. With my FTW, I have to set excessively high Vcore for stability with mild overclocking. The EVGA x58 boards were great for overclocking and I would like to see similar overclocking functionality for the EVGA X79 boards.

^^^ These are necessities as far as I'm concerned. If these issues aren't taken care of, this board will be just like the rest of the EVGA X79 series. If I have to pump extra Vcore into my chip to get the same OC as other boards, then this board is useless. And the other stuff is a no-brainer. Don't bother releasing the board unless these things have been fixed.

Quoted again for absolute truth.  I wish EVGA the best of luck with this board, however until my problems are fixed, I don't believe it is in any way logical to purchase another board from them.

+1, Steak inbound to proclaim no issues with his board cuz he's pro in 3... 2... 

 
Nope!
 
He is busy trying to get his 100% working EVGA board working 
 
Also, he most likely is busy writing false negative reviews about ASUS and other manufactures and writing positive reviews about EVGA 
 
Trust Me! I Know! I See! I Track!
 

lehpron

doorules
How many pcie lanes, 32 like the rest of evga x79 mobo's or 40 like other oem's?

Biggest clue: The X79 chipset itself is just 7W TDP (if all ports and controllers are being taxed) and doesn't need a beefy heatsink, so there must be at least one PLX bridge chip under there to guarantee at least 3-way x16 (40 real lanes and 8 phantom).  If there were two, I'd start laughing (4-way SLI via 40 real lanes and 24 phantom).

I am hoping they did not junk it up with a PLX chip. 40 native lanes is plenty. But they could not do that on previous x79's.

Sure would like to see a screen shot of the bios also, they had massive room for improvement there, both in looks and functionality.

Which chipset you using for the USB 3.0 

Mr.HedgehogHunter

mwparrish

Johnny_Utah

willdearborn

linuxrouter

The Intel NIC is a step in the right direction. I would like to also see the following:

- Fix USB 3.0 support
- Add support for all 40 CPU lanes with x16/x8/x16 or x16/x8/x8/x8 slot configuration similar to what the RIVE and RIVF supports.
- Fix PCI-E 3.0 negotiation issue. With my FTW, slot 4 negotiates at 3.0 and then intermittently downgrades to 2.0 link speed. This has been more of an issue with NVIDIA cards than AMD cards. I have not been able to reproduce the negotiation issue on other manufacturer X79 boards.
- Improve overclocking support. With my FTW, I have to set excessively high Vcore for stability with mild overclocking. The EVGA x58 boards were great for overclocking and I would like to see similar overclocking functionality for the EVGA X79 boards.

^^^ These are necessities as far as I'm concerned. If these issues aren't taken care of, this board will be just like the rest of the EVGA X79 series. If I have to pump extra Vcore into my chip to get the same OC as other boards, then this board is useless. And the other stuff is a no-brainer. Don't bother releasing the board unless these things have been fixed.

Quoted again for absolute truth.  I wish EVGA the best of luck with this board, however until my problems are fixed, I don't believe it is in any way logical to purchase another board from them.

+1, Steak inbound to proclaim no issues with his board cuz he's pro in 3... 2... 

Nope!

He is busy trying to get his 100% working EVGA board working 

Also, he most likely is busy writing false negative reviews about ASUS and other manufactures and writing positive reviews about EVGA 

Trust Me! I Know! I See! I Track!

 
Well, Well, Well, The Big Cat Goes Away And All The Mice Come Out To Play!
 
Now, let me admit (begrudgingly) - That YES there have evidently been some minor issues (of which I have had NONE) with the EVGA X79 Series.  The only reason I believe that is I see Agent Utah's Name attached on some of these threads.  If Agent Utah says he had an issue - Then yes, I trust it actually happened and wasn't user error.  As for the rest of this nonsense - methinks though doth protest too much!
 
I see these issues with CPU Lanes and the concern for PCIE Bandwidth/PCIE Negotiation, OK fine but might I remind everyone who first supported Quad SLI Setups - With The First Motherboard And GPU To Do It - That's right EVGA.  And let's not even start on the FIASCO created by NVIDIA with PCIE 3.0 Support on Sandybridge.  Personally I am curious to see how IB-E and the 700 Series cards do - as right now we are not fully saturated anyway - it's a non issue.  Hopefully Intel & NVIDIA have this all sorted by then.
 
In fact the only real issue I see on the current boards is instability with some of the USB 3.0 Slots - I know ASMEDIA has been trying to resolve this (for those with the problem) as they have been with MANY of the OEMs.  Certainly know one can argue USB 3.0 has gotten off to a good start, and that's across the board - not just EVGA.  This has as much to do with ASMEDIA as it does with Rogue USB Devices not abiding to the USB 3.0 specification.
 
So go ahead and point fingers - yes I'm sure EVGA would like to get the USB issues resolved once and for all for everyone.  As for me, I realize that even Ferrari's have small issues once in a while - that doesn't mean I don't want one in my garage!  I'm not real concerned with a tear in the floor mat as I'm doing 150 MPH down the Highway!
 
Steak House