As for the eSATA, things are not as simple as they seem here, too. This is not an ordinary connector, but the so-called “Powered eSATAII/USB”. This is a non-standard connector combining eSATA and USB at the same time. The eSATA device connected to it doesn’t need additional power, because it receives the power from the USB. However, the USB receives not only power: it is a fully-functional connector that will work for any USB devices. It is a very interesting and smart solution. Some manufacturers, OCZ being one of the most well-known, have already started producing compact storage media with two interfaces: Powered eSATA and USB. If you use a “Powered eSATAII/USB” connector, the device receives power through this connector; if you are using a regular eSATA port, then you need to plug a power cable into a separate USB port, too. Now we just have to wait for the corresponding standard to be adopted, and in the meanwhile we can only see connectors like that on a few notebook models and ASRock X58 SuperComputer mainboard.

It took me a while to find the controller that provided support for the Powered eSATA port. I didn’t see anything resembling it near the connector panel, there was not mention of it in the technical specifications, and it wasn’t marked on the components layout either. Finally, when I saw JMicron drivers on the enclosed CD disk, I started looking for a JMicron controller and found it: JMB362 was located near the BIOS chip.

Now let's check out the USB ports on ASRock X58 SuperComputer. Let’s count USB ports on the back panel: there are six of them there. One more is employed in the combination Powered eSATAII/USB connector. That makes seven. Along the lower edge of the PCB we see HDMI S/PDIF pins, FDD connector, COM pin-connector, infrared module pin-connector, Clear CMOS jumper and, finally, USB and system speaker pins. So, the total is ten USB ports out of twelve provided by the chipset South Bridge. So where are two more ports? I was about to call it another discovered drawback, when I suddenly noticed a pair of USB connectors next to the memory DIMM slots. There was also a FireWire connector and a group of pin-connectors for front panel buttons and indicators.

Let’s count one more time: six USB ports on the mainboard back panel, one more port combined with the eSATA and five are available through onboard pin-connectors. That makes twelve.

To sum up everything we know about ASRock X58 SuperComputer mainboard, let’s use the specification chart from the official ASRock web-site:

The layout scheme from the manual will illustrate the location of the main mainboard components:

As you can see, ASRock Company continues to use a truly unique and inimitable approach to mainboard design. The new “Powered eSATAII/USB” connector is a definite advantage. Even if you don’t have a flash drive with this connector, even if it never actually becomes a standard, you will still be able to use it as a regular USB port. Other features distinguishing ASRock X58 SuperComputer from other mainboards are not so indisputable. The combination VIA VT6330 PATA/FireWire controller is OK. True, six SATA ports provided by the chipset South Bridge are enough in most cases, we don’t really need any extra ones. However, IEEE 1394 has almost become a standard. Although they couldn’t do it without an additional SATA JMicron JMB362 controller anyway.

Twice as big distance between the graphics card slots seems to be an advantage that many users of multi-graphics card configurations will like. However, it has been implemented at the expense of compatibility with large CPU coolers. I believe that there are more users out there who would be willing to install a larger cooler to improve overclocking or lower the noise than those who use multiple graphics cards, so I personally would consider it s drawback. The location of the pin-connectors for the front panel indicators and buttons as well as the fan connectors in the center of the PCB is also quite arguable. I am sure that there will be situations when the cables will just be not long enough.

Another arguable drawback is the absence of any LEDs on the mainboard PCB. I do not approve of those manufacturers who turn the board into a Christmas tree. I am usually annoyed with extremely bright or blinking LED indicators, but ASRock X58 SuperComputer doesn’t have any of them at all. I believe they could have left at least one LED indicator showing if the mainboard receives power at all.

So, as we have just seen, the functionality of ASRock X58 SuperComputer is totally up to the mark and it doesn’t yield to any other mainboard in this respect. However, as for the PCB layout, I would say it is below average, because there are too many chances that a potential user will have problems during system assembly. I have to admit that the originality of the components location is not always explicable in case of ASRock X58 SuperComputer mainboard.