ASUS X99 Deluxe Review

👤by Richard Weatherstone Comments 📅27-09-14
Introduction


Product on review: ASUS X99-DELUXE
Manufacturer & Sponsor: ASUS
Street Price: £299 / $398.99

ASUS have ever been a benchmark brand to look towards for new component platforms, and so we have been extremely keen to look at their take on Intel’s high-end X99 Express platform for Haswell-E processors. The first may well be one of the best as it sits at the top of the ASUS consumer range; yes, we have the ASUS X99-Deluxe.

The X99-Deluxe sits atop a range comprising the X99-A, X99-S and X99-Deluxe. The range as a whole caters to consumers looking to spend between £190 and £300 on the motherboard alone, with the high-end Deluxe model increasing the amount of value-added constituent parts. Nonetheless, all share the core functionality of Intel’s X99 chipset in addition to any which ASUS deems essential to their product range. For those curious, the Republic Of Gamers sister brand pitches their Rampage V Extreme slightly higher even than the X99-Deluxe.



The X99-Deluxe differentiates itself from the rest of the mainstream range in a few subtle but important ways. The first and most obvious is the inclusion of an on-board 802.11ac wireless module, antenna and Bluetooth support, a rarity in the mainstream outside of compact form factors which have few expansion slots. Dual-Gigabit LAN also makes an appearance, as do a couple more USB 3.0 ports. Finally, there will be no scrabbling around for cables as ASUS bundle in eight SATA and an ASUS 2/3-way SLI bridge. Essentially, it’s as feature complete as you could want.

Also present on the X99-Deluxe and the rest of their X99 motherboard range (including the ROG Rampage V Extreme) is their OC Socket. This patent pending design is compatible with all LGA 2011-3 CPUs but interfaces with additional contact pads on the bottom of the Haswell-E CPU, unlocking access to deeper and more nuanced control over the platform as a whole. ASUS claim greater voltage stability, higher attainable DDR4 frequencies, and lower voltage requirements for equivalent CPU speed. We’ll discuss this feature in more detail later, but suffice it to say that ASUS deem it so important to their performance advantage of the competition that they have applied to patent the design.

About ASUS
ASUS takes its name from Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology that symbolizes wisdom and knowledge. ASUS embodies the strength, purity, and adventurous spirit of this fantastic creature, and soars to new heights with each new product it creates.

Taiwan’s Information Technology industry has grown enormously over the last few decades and the country is now a dominant force in the global market. ASUS has long been at the forefront of this growth and while the company started life as a humble motherboard manufacturer with just a handful of employees, it is now the leading technology company in Taiwan with over 12,500 employees worldwide. ASUS makes products in almost every area of Information Technology too, including PC components, peripherals, notebooks, tablets, servers and smartphones.


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