I'm surprised the MSI X99S XPOWER (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8... isn't on your no-limits list. Spec for spec it offers the same features as the rampage V, even surpassing it in a couple of areas, while maybe lagging behind in couple of others. All that for almost $100 cheaper with better OC tools, and at least in my opinion better aesthetics.
The usual review from Ian – he doesn't even look at what he is reviewing, just copy-pasting the same phrases. "x16/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8 for 7-way compute" on Extreme11 with only 5 PCIe slots? Sure!
Also as an aside, I would really like to know the exact PCIe lane allotment for all of these boards. In-fact I would LOVE to see a PCIe lane assignment diagram standard from EVERY motherboard, it would be good to see it in the manual, especially these days as this stuff is getting more and more complex. I would like to AT LEAST see this sort of thing in EVERY mobo review. There is pretty much no excuse for not including that in a review.
Yes, you can consider dual socket systems. What you can expect in 2P systems: no overclocking (CPU or memory); Intel Xeon CPUs are lower clocked, but have larger caches for more money; very basic audio (no 5.1 or 7.1 possible) or no audio; Xeon CPUs come with no heatsink/fan; may not support SLI and CF, yet have multiple slots; no WiFi; M.2 support might be tough to find; for gaming a $300 Haswell CPU will perform better. You're getting a crazy amount of threads to play with designed to run 24/7, yet thread scaling in most apps won't help you out. You'll need Windows 8.x Pro to use the second socket. 8.x Home only supports 1 socket.
So if you wanted to medicore game and fold at home and GPU mine and run a NAS and encode some movies at the same time, then a 2P system makes sense.
I'm on my second X99 Deluxe with an Intel 5930 and I've had a lot of problems with both. Persistent over locking errors using the auto tuning feature. The boards do not recognize the proper cooling system. The entire system crashes to a white screen unexpectedly at random. Finally at reboot it often goes into a circle boot stall. I bought Asus on good recommendations and the desire to have a quality, reliable system. I finally gave up and took the system in for repair. The tech can't figure it out either. I tried the standard fixes - tested components, memory, drive, video - updated bios, drivers and reinstalled windows. Very disappointing.
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15 Comments
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2late2die - Thursday, November 27, 2014 - link
I'm surprised the MSI X99S XPOWER (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8... isn't on your no-limits list. Spec for spec it offers the same features as the rampage V, even surpassing it in a couple of areas, while maybe lagging behind in couple of others. All that for almost $100 cheaper with better OC tools, and at least in my opinion better aesthetics.Mikemk - Thursday, November 27, 2014 - link
Looking at specs, I hadn't actually realized the x99s was budget.Antronman - Monday, December 8, 2014 - link
The RoG brand name carries a lot of weight.Generation after generation, the leaders in Extreme OCing.
mbaroud - Thursday, November 27, 2014 - link
Does the Asus deluxe support the Samsung xp941?kwerboom - Thursday, November 27, 2014 - link
Will Anandtech a DDR4 Memory Roundup like either http://www.anandtech.com/show/6372/memory-performa... or http://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-... soon?Senti - Thursday, November 27, 2014 - link
The usual review from Ian – he doesn't even look at what he is reviewing, just copy-pasting the same phrases. "x16/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8 for 7-way compute" on Extreme11 with only 5 PCIe slots? Sure!extide - Sunday, November 30, 2014 - link
Yeah, I noticed that too, pretty sloppy!Also as an aside, I would really like to know the exact PCIe lane allotment for all of these boards. In-fact I would LOVE to see a PCIe lane assignment diagram standard from EVERY motherboard, it would be good to see it in the manual, especially these days as this stuff is getting more and more complex. I would like to AT LEAST see this sort of thing in EVERY mobo review. There is pretty much no excuse for not including that in a review.
domboy - Monday, December 1, 2014 - link
$476-$650? Ouch... that at least used to be the price range for a dual-socket board.Antronman - Monday, December 8, 2014 - link
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...Dual sockets are even cheaper than that, these days.
eanazag - Tuesday, December 9, 2014 - link
X99 board prices are ridiculous.Yes, you can consider dual socket systems. What you can expect in 2P systems: no overclocking (CPU or memory); Intel Xeon CPUs are lower clocked, but have larger caches for more money; very basic audio (no 5.1 or 7.1 possible) or no audio; Xeon CPUs come with no heatsink/fan; may not support SLI and CF, yet have multiple slots; no WiFi; M.2 support might be tough to find; for gaming a $300 Haswell CPU will perform better. You're getting a crazy amount of threads to play with designed to run 24/7, yet thread scaling in most apps won't help you out. You'll need Windows 8.x Pro to use the second socket. 8.x Home only supports 1 socket.
So if you wanted to medicore game and fold at home and GPU mine and run a NAS and encode some movies at the same time, then a 2P system makes sense.
SuperVeloce - Tuesday, December 9, 2014 - link
So, no integrated wi-fi for microatx? I mean, i'd like those pcie slots and m2 free for their primary intended usage (graphics and ssd).akula2 - Wednesday, December 10, 2014 - link
X99 No Limits? I chose these boards for the upcoming extreme workstations, each with 64GB DDR4 RAM:Asus X99-E WS (Xeon E5 v3; ECC)
Asrock X99 WS (5960X; non-ECC)
svan1971 - Tuesday, December 16, 2014 - link
Best X99 Motherboards: CHRISTMAS 2014 awesome...svan1971 - Tuesday, December 16, 2014 - link
Best X99 Motherboards: CHRISTMAS 2014 awesome...Billd33 - Saturday, January 3, 2015 - link
I'm on my second X99 Deluxe with an Intel 5930 and I've had a lot of problems with both. Persistent over locking errors using the auto tuning feature. The boards do not recognize the proper cooling system. The entire system crashes to a white screen unexpectedly at random. Finally at reboot it often goes into a circle boot stall. I bought Asus on good recommendations and the desire to have a quality, reliable system. I finally gave up and took the system in for repair. The tech can't figure it out either. I tried the standard fixes - tested components, memory, drive, video - updated bios, drivers and reinstalled windows. Very disappointing.