ASUS has released BIOS updates for all of its LGA 2011 X79 motherboards that add support for Intel's upcoming Ivy Bridge-E processors. The update enables enthusiasts to upgrade from their existing Sandy Bridge-E CPU to an Ivy Bridge-E model which adds marginal improvements in performance and power efficiency. Supported processors include the Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition, Core i7-4930K, and the Core i7-4820K. According to benchmarks by Tom's Hardware, the top-end Ivy Bridge-E i7-4960X exhibits up to 30% improvements in performance per watt along with being slightly faster in multi-threaded performance than SB-E. Of course, single threaded performance was shown to be similar to that of Sandy Bridge-E but slower than Haswell.
All of ASUS' X79 boards (including the ROG Rampage, TUF, and P9X79 series) will be getting a BIOS update which will be made available for download on the company's support website or via the individual motherboard product pages. The following chart indicates the motherboard and associated BIOS version number that adds support for IVB-E.
| Motherboard | BIOS Version Supporting IVB-E |
| ROG Rampage IV Extreme | 4206 |
| ROG Rampage IV Formula | 4004 |
| ROG Rampage IV Gene | 4206 |
| TUF Sabertooth X79 | 4104 |
| P9X79 Series | 4104 |
To grab the update, head over to the ASUS support site and type in your motherboard model name to get the appropriate BIOS file.
Will you be upgrading your LGA 2011 rig to Ivy Bridge-E?
I upgraded from i7 920 to a
I upgraded from i7 920 to a new 3930K just recently; after seeing what IB-E is bringing to the table I didn’t think it would be worth the wait. I’m happy with what I have now, I think my SB system at home will get an upgrade to Haswell-E w/e that comes out. But I’ll be skipping IB-E and Haswell all together at this point.
Yeah I generally upgrade my
Yeah I generally upgrade my platforms every other architecture (testing/tweaking not included).
Bought Core (Conroe/Yorkfield) -> Skipped Nehalem (Nehalem/Westmere) -> Bought SandyBridge (SandyBridge/IvyBridge) -> Going to skip Haswell/Broadwell -> Going to get Skylake
So I will be getting/upgrading my SandyBridge-E to a IvyBridge-E when they roll around, but skipping Haswell and Haswell-E all together, so it will be what, 2015 before Skylake, lol.
I think the other issue is
I think the other issue is most PC stuff is ‘fast enough’. If SB 2600K still goes just fine with 680’s in SLI why would I push to IVB or Haswell for quite a bit of money and little to no tanagable performance increase. Sure 10/20% is great and all, but day-to-day I’m not going to see anything much. A couple watts less power not super important given the upgrade cost. With gfx cards being on a 2yr recycle rate with little gains again and prices going up, then I see why the DIY crowd is getting smaller and smaller. Unless you’re coming in fresh or from something really old you’re not getting much for your money. Better to get an SSD or a new LCD than put money into a ‘new’ PC.
Good to see the current X79
Good to see the current X79 boards get IvyBridge-E support but where are the new boards? I love my SabertoothX79 but two Intel Sata3 ports just don’t cut it anymore.
Well, there was thar rumored
Well, there was thar rumored X79 refresh but I have not heard anything about it recently.
Yes! Finally someone writes
Yes! Finally someone writes about office depot.