Conclusion

Enthusiasts will enjoy the logical layout, debug LED and power buttons whilst also appreciating the dual Gigabit LAN and, like Asus, an M.2 slot connected to the CPU via a x4 PCIe 3.0 interface.

ASRock addresses the Intel X99 micro-ATX market with two solid boards. The better of the two is the Fatal1ty X99M Killer, priced at £185, and offers a sensible mix of features and solid performance.

Enthusiasts will enjoy the logical layout, debug LED and power buttons whilst also appreciating the dual Gigabit LAN and, like Asus, an M.2 slot connected to the CPU via a x4 PCIe 3.0 interface. The BIOS is a copy of the board, that is, sensible and logical, so there's a lot of good here.

If we're being critical, the third PCIe graphics slot is run at just x4 and should be located in the middle, rather than the bottom, enabling two cards to have adequate airflow between them. But that's a minor complaint for an otherwise good motherboard that should certainly be on your radar if Intel's X99 platform and small-form-factor PCs appeal to you.

The Good		The Bad
Very good layout Debug/power buttons User friendly BIOS Excellent build quality Decent overclocking potential Runs memory at 3,000MHz		Third PCIe is x4 No additional USB 3.0 High-bandwidth PCIe close together

ASRock Fatal1ty X99M Killer

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The ASRock Fatal1ty X99M Killer is available to purchase at Scan Computers*.

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At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.

*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.

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Bit strange…

Good point: Good layout

Then listed in the bad points is part of the layout, the PCIe being too close together.

Certainly looks good from a figures standpoint but something in me just overlooks Asrock every time

“If we're being critical, the third PCIe graphics slot is run at just x4 and should be located in the middle, rather than the bottom, enabling two cards to have adequate airflow between them.”

STUPID CRITICISM: What is the point of buying a mATX board than. If you would use 2 cards with air cooling and want 3 slot space waste on a matx board for adequate air cooling, you are crazy. Your double slot second card will pop out of motherboard. It may not fit in or can end up with worse airflow in some cases. Oh i forgot, not everyone intends to use a mini ATX board on a large case meant for larger boards with huge space under it. If you can afford multi graphics cards and want better cooling, go for water cooling, dont blame a logical layout on motherboard.

mgstraze
“If we're being critical, the third PCIe graphics slot is run at just x4 and should be located in the middle, rather than the bottom, enabling two cards to have adequate airflow between them.”

STUPID CRITICISM: What is the point of buying a mATX board than. If you would use 2 cards with air cooling and want 3 slot space waste on a matx board for adequate air cooling, you are crazy. Your double slot second card will pop out of motherboard. It may not fit in or can end up with worse airflow in some cases. Oh i forgot, not everyone intends to use a mini ATX board on a large case meant for larger boards with huge space under it. If you can afford multi graphics cards and want better cooling, go for water cooling, dont blame a logical layout on motherboard.

You know you don't have to be so douchey in pointing out a logic mistake.

But you're right, the reason they don't leave a gap is because it would negate the point of an mATX board if the second card was hanging off the end

Killer NIC, meh. The X99M Extreme4 would do just as well. I just wish Asus would do a Rampage V Gene.

I noticed Gigabyte are using the killer nic too :(