Conclusion

...this ATX platform touts eye-catching looks, RGB LEDs, a comprehensive BIOS and forward-looking storage options that include USB 3.1, M.2 and U.2.

Motherboard manufacturers are always on the lookout for new features that may entice customers, but more often than not there are outside factors that bring in the punters. A new generation of CPUs always helps, and nothing generates excitement quite like Intel's first deca-core consumer chip, the mighty Core i7-6950X.

The 20-thread beastie is going to be on the shopping lists of deep-pocketed enthusiasts, and if it's a new build you're planning, there are a wave of refreshed X99 motherboards arriving in tandem.

Gunning for ultra-high-end gamers, Asus presents the ROG Strix X99 Gaming. Priced at around £270 and introduced as a modern alternative to X99 of old, this ATX platform touts eye-catching looks, RGB LEDs, a comprehensive BIOS and forward-looking storage options that include USB 3.1, M.2 and U.2.

The Aura lighting software is still rough around the edges, and just the one PCIe SafeSlot feels stingy, yet there's enough on offer here to make the ROG Strix X99 Gaming a serious contender for a premium 10-core powerhouse PC.

The Good		The Bad
Eye-catching design Solid build quality Comprehensive BIOS Well-stocked feature set USB 3.1, U.2 and M.2 as standard MU-MIMO WiFi		Aura software needs work Only one PCIe SafeSlot

Asus ROG Strix X99 Gaming

HEXUS.where2buy*

The Asus ROG Strix X99 Gaming motherboard is available to purchase from 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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The heat-sinks on this board look pretty inefficient.

For future motherboard tests could you include a DPC latency measure? This is quite a critical measure for some people and helps show up how well written some of the drivers and extra gubbins (like software power controls) are.

Ok, this in probably a dumb question, but will an Intel Core i7-5930K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 2011-v3 CPU work on this motherboard? or do you have to use a new Haswell-E?

I purchased this board, but wanted to make sure it will work with this cpu, before opening it.

Thanks for the input….

LDFiberman
Ok, this in probably a dumb question, but will an Intel Core i7-5930K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 2011-v3 CPU work on this motherboard? or do you have to use a new Haswell-E?

I purchased this board, but wanted to make sure it will work with this cpu, before opening it.

Thanks for the input….

You should be fine. Haswell-E is Haswell-E. Same chipset, same socket. You could check the Asus pages to confirm but I can't see there being a problem.

LDFiberman
Ok, this in probably a dumb question, but will an Intel Core i7-5930K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.5 GHz LGA 2011-v3 CPU work on this motherboard? or do you have to use a new Haswell-E?

I purchased this board, but wanted to make sure it will work with this cpu, before opening it.

Thanks for the input….

Personally after attempting to use Asus support I suggest you return it and go for a better supported manufacturer.