Ultimate DIY Performance PC: EVGA & Intel Infused

Performance Summary: The performance of the EVGA Classified SR-2, when powered by a pair of Intel's flagship Xeon 5680 processors, is nothing short of impressive, for the most part. In synthetic tests and multi-threaded benchmarks that can exploit all of the processor resources afforded by the platform, the EVGA Classified SR-2 / dual Xeon 5680 combo put up some excellent numbers, that nearly doubled the performance of the current top-of-the-line Core i7 980X. In applications that can't fully tax the platform, however, much of the power of the EVGA Classified SR-2 / dual Xeon 5680 combo is untapped and performance, while still good, isn't that much better than a powerful desktop PC that's powered by a single CPU.

If there's one thing we really like around here it's high performance. And in the current PC landscape, you can't do much better than a 2P platform designed for Intel's flagship Xeon processors built around the company's premiere chipset. Couple that with the fact that EVGA has pulled out all the stops and equipped the Classified SR-2 with numerous overclocking and performance-tweaking related features, as well as having integrated the latest IO technologies like USB 3.0 and SATA 6G; from a technological standpoint, it's difficult to not be enamored by the the board. The EVGA Classified SR-2 is geek-porn personified.

Yes, that's 24 CPU "cores" in Task Manager

There are some major drawbacks to such a beast, however. First, the sheer size of the EVGA Classified SR-2 severely limits the number of cases users can choose from. In fact, to date, there are only a handful that can accommodate the board's HPTX form factor, from Mountain Mods and, of course, Lian Li. There are also additional complexities to consider when assembling a dual CPU-powered system and we can't forget about cost. The EVGA Classified SR-2 commands a hefty $599 price. In light of many enthusiast-class desktop motherboards, that's a huge pill to swallow. And it also makes the SR-2 one of the most expensive Intel 5520 based boards on the market. Intel's Xeon processors also of course carry a huge premium over their similarly-clocked desktop counterparts and you'll need six memory stick to wring the most performance from the platform. If you want to play in the 2P space, you'll definitely have to pay--value be damned. 

EVGA's Classified Super Record 2, or SR-2

With that said, as small as the niche may be, we know there are those willing to drop big coin to build an ultra-powerful system like the one we tested; take a quick gander at EVGA's forum and you'll see a number of users showing off their SR-2 based rigs and benchmark scores. If you're one of the lucky few that have the means to assembled such a beast, or if you're a workstation professional type that simply must have copious amounts of processing bandwidth, the EVGA Classified SR-2 is simply an awesome product. There are no other 5520-chipset based motherboards currently available (that we can find, at least) that offer the kind of features and flexibility that the SR-2 does. This board is rock-solid stable in its default configuration and offers extensive performance tuning capabilities that would please even the most hard-core overclockers and performance enthusiasts. It's obviously not the best value out there, but in terms of performance, features, and wow-factor, it doesn't get much better than this.