EVGA Classified Super Record 2 SR-2 Motherboard Review

EVGA SR-2 Mobo Conclusion

For almost any computer enthusiast, seeing the EVGA Classified SR-2 is love at first sight. Being able to run two Intel Hex core CPUs with Hyperthreading on one system and being able to overclock them is a like a dream come true. Having a system capable of such quick and powerful processing and multi-tasking capabilities is awe inspiring!

The EVGA Classified SR-2 is the heart and soul for the biggest, baddest system you can build today. While gaming and single threaded tasks don’t see much of a benefit from adding a second processor, CPU intensive multi-tasking, rendering, and heavily threaded loads see a massive improvement. Set this beast to work converting your DVD collection to your desired format in a program such as Handbrake and it’ll chew through it in short order. Benchmarks like 3D Mark and PC Mark have built in tests to bring the CPU to its knees, but the SR-2 chugs on like it’s nothing. Folding@home performance is through the roof.

While there is no such thing as a future proof system, the EVGA Classified SR-2 is the closest thing you can get to it right now. We know that Sandy Bridge is on the horizon and due early in 2011 and that Intel plans to limit Sandy Bridge overclocking to K series SKU’s. Sandy Bridge is the mainstream line of CPUs and we wont see the LGA 1366 enthusiast/high end CPU successor until the second half of 2011. That means that for the next eight months or so, this will be the highest performing CPU configuration for multi-threaded tasks.

To get down to it there aren’t a lot of you that can actually make use of such a system, but that’s not going to stop you from wanting it! Cost is the primary hurdle for most of us wanting to build this dream machine. For what you get in this motherboard, the EVGA Classified SR-2 is quite reasonably priced at $569 plus shipping. From there the least expensive retail Intel Hex core twelve/thread CPU is the L5640 at $996 each. If you wanted just a quad core/eight thread CPU you’re looking at a minimum of $373 each. With double the CPU’s you need double the memory. You also need a power supply that can run all of this. So as you can see, the costs quickly add up and we haven’t even put a video card in the system!

One of the coolest things about the EVGA Classified SR-2 is also one of its biggest headaches; this board is massive. Finding a chassis to fit the SR-2 can be a bit of a challenge. As of this writing, EVGA has deemed just 5 chassis capable of fully containing this beast. The board and case size also mean you have to plan out which CPU coolers you are going to use. The ideal set up would be a custom water loop, which starts to get pricey, also.

One very nice thing about the EVGA Classified SR-2 is that it comes backed with a Lifetime Warranty as long as it is registered within 30 days of purchase. Little things like these are why EVGA is quickly becoming a household name in the enthusiast motherboard market.

As this board is the only one of its kind, and obviously oozing with innovation and kicking ass along the way, the EVGA Classified SR-2 is a shoo in for our innovation award.

Legit Bottom Line As is often said, you have to pay to play. The EVGA Classified SR-2 is not for every day web surfing or harvesting your crops in Farmville. Whether it is for an extreme enthusiast, world record bench marker, high end video rendering workstation, or a Folding@home fanatic, it is by far at the head of the class in performance and wow factor as the ultimate desktop computing platform for 2010.