Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/8797/asus-x99-a-motherboard-review



X99 and Haswell-E, due to the price, the performance and the feature set, ends up being very expensive compared to the mainstream. It is an odd state of affairs in the self-build arena when a reviewer states that the budget end of a spectrum is sub-$300. In this space we find the ASUS X99-A at $275 MSRP. This motherboard is the topic of our review today.

When considering the motherboard market as a whole, in all except in the server market, the $300 level usually represents the premium level marker. There are very few motherboards on the Z97 chipset that pass this barrier for example, and those that do are usually the cream of the crop. As a result, with Z97 the $250-$300+ range really aims for the higher mainstream performance and functionality. In X99, the $250-$300 level is the base. One of the reasons for this is that due to the prosumer nature of the market, where every motherboard has a lot of features which do not come cheap. There's very little demand for a stripped system outside of the OEM market.

So as a result, the budget end of the market for X99 is still feature packed, even with the X99-A. For comparison we reviewed the $400 ASUS X99-Deluxe when the chipset first launched, and it came with almost everything apart from the kitchen sink. The Deluxe was ASUS' main product for the X99 launch focus, and the X99-A arrived a few weeks later. At $275 it represents a cut down version of the Deluxe.

ASUS X99-A Overview

One new feature that crosses over from the Deluxe is the EZ XMP switch on the board, allowing users to apply their high speed memory profile without even touching the BIOS. My last trip to a LAN event resulted in anecdotal findings of high speed memory kits being used at JEDEC speeds, so something as simple as this should help let users get the most out of their memory.

For gaming or PCIe coprocessor use, this board is aimed at tri-GPU setups with a full PCIe 3.0 x16/x16/x8 layout. One potential benefit of this rather over focusing on full-bandwidth four-way arrangements is that the three-way version saves some build cost by avoiding the additional timing circuits needed for full bandwidth when using four cards. There is an additional PCIe 2.0 x4 slot from the PCH in the middle of the main PCIe slots for Thunderbolt or additional cards. This is situated as to not interfere with dual slot PCIe configurations.

As with most X99 boards there is full access to the 10 SATA ports from the PCH - six of which are RAID capable and the other four which are not as they are from the secondary AHCI controller. For good measure there is also a SATA Express port and a M.2 x4 Gen 3.0 port, with the SATA Express getting RST privileges. The SATA Express shares bandwidth with the PCIe 2.0 x4 slot whereas the M.2 is switched with the final PCIe slot. There are 10 USB 3.0 ports total which come as five from the PCH (two headers and a rear IO port), three from an ASMedia hub (rear panel) and two from an ASMedia controller (also rear panel). An interesting deviation in design is that the ASMedia ASM1074 hub used on the board is a 1-to-4 hub but only three ports are used. This is most likely due to the rear panel design, where a set of three USB ports doesn't really exist.

In terms of performance the system does not implement Multicore Turbo, meaning that stock performance is down compared to some other products but a simple click on the TPU switch avoids this with a small 3.9 GHz overclock. ASUS' strengths on X99 remain the audio performance, with the POST times and power consumption being ballpark for the chipset. ASUS also bundles in their BIOS and software combination which both hit the higher notes in terms of the competitors.

At the time I started writing this review the ASUS X99-A was only $240 at Newegg, making it a really nice price, however it has since gone back up to $275. The other X99 motherboard from this price range we have reviewed scored quite highly and the X99-A gives it a run for its money for sure.

Visual Inspection

Part of the initial appeal of the X99-Deluxe was the style in which it was presented – the white and silver livery gave it a streamlined look, and the protective cover over the rear IO and audio section of the motherboard added to that effect. The X99-A retains some of this styling, although it is limited in effect due to it only being on the three heatsinks. These heatsinks are also not joined to each other, which might reduce the effect of the aesthetic.

Nevertheless the motherboard itself feels a little busy, with lots of components having the white border around them for the SMT machines for placement. The socket area is fairly busy in that regard, and the CPU has access to five of the fan headers – two 4-pin CPU headers in the top right, two chassis headers to the bottom left of the DRAM slots near the rear panel, and another just below the 24-pin ATX header. The final fan header is below the SATA ports, with a FAN_EXT header for fan extension cards on the bottom of the board near the rear audio port. Each of these fans is 4-pin and can support PWM and DC fans.

Alongside the DRAM on the right hand side is the MemOK button, useful for recovering from failed POST due to memory issues. Beneath this is the 24-pin power connector and a fan header, followed by two of the SATA ports. These are RAID/RST compatible, along with the next four in grey, but the following four in black are not as they are from the secondary AHCI controller on the chipset. The middle two grey SATA ports are part of the SATA Express connector, and between all of these is one of the USB 3.0 headers.

In the chipset area of the board, below the heatsink is the M.2 x4 Gen 3.0 slot, supporting 2242 to 22110 sized drives. Underneath is our EZ XMP switch, EPU and two-stage TPU.

Along the bottom of the board, from right to left, is the front panel header, two USB 2.0 headers, a USB 3.0 header, a TPM header, the two-digit debug LED, power and reset buttons, a COM header, the fan extension header and the front panel audio.

The Crystal Sound 2 audio solution is an upgraded ALC1150 configuration featuring PCB separation, an EMI shield and filter caps for the front panel audio. Also in this area the PCIe arrangement gives a PCIe 3.0 x16, 2.0 x1, 2.0 x4, 3.0 x16, 2.0 x1 and a 3.0 x8. This gives x16/x16/x8 for GPUs when a 40-lane PCIe CPU is used, or x16/x8/x4 when a 28-lane CPU is used. Unfortunately that means that the i7-5820K will not be able to use three-way SLI. Also worth noting is that when the M.2 slot is in use, the final PCIe slot is disabled due to bandwidth switching.

The rear panel gives the USB BIOS Flashback button, a combination PS/2 port, four USB 2.0 ports, an Intel I218-V network port, six USB 3.0 ports and the audio jacks. The six USB ports are split such that those under the network port are from the controller, the next two to the right are from the hub, and the final two are split between one from the PCH and one from the hub.

Gallery: ASUS X99-A

Board Features

ASUS X99-A
Price US (Newegg)
Size ATX (305 x 244 mm)
CPU Interface LGA2011-3
Chipset Intel X99
Memory Slots Eight DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB
Up to Quad Channel, 2133-3200 MHz
Video Outputs None
Network Connectivity Intel I218-V
Onboard Audio Realtek ALC1150 via Crystal Sound 2
Expansion Slots 2 x PCIe 3.0 x16
1 x PCIe 3.0 x8
1 x PCIe 2.0 x4 (default x1)
2 x PCIe 2.0 x1
Onboard Storage 6 x SATA 6 Gbps, RAID 0/1/5/10
4 x S_SATA 6 Gbps, no RAID
1 x SATA Express
1 x M.2 x4 Gen 3 for 2242 to 22110
USB 3.0 2 x Headers for 4 Ports (PCH)
1 x Rear Panel Port (PCH)
2 x Rear Panel Ports (ASMedia controller)
3 x Rear Panel Ports (ASMedia hub)
Onboard 10 x SATA 6 Gbps Ports
1 x SATA Express
1 x M.2 x4 Gen 3
6 x Fan Headers
2 x USB 3.0 Headers (PCH)
2 x USB 2.0 Headers
Thunderbolt Header
COM Header
TPM Header
EZ XMP Switch
DirectKey Header
MemOK Button
Thermal Sensor Header
TPU/EPU Switches
Power/Reset Puttons
Overvolt Header
EXT_Fan Header
SLI/CFX Switch
Front Panel Header
Front Audio Header
Power Connectors 1 x 24-pin ATX
1 x 8-pin CPU
Fan Headers 1 x CPU (4-pin)
1 x CPU_OPT (4-pin)
4 x CHA (4-pin)
IO Panel USB BIOS Flashback Button
Combination PS/2 Port
Four USB 2.0 Ports
Five USB 3.0 Ports via ASMedia
One USB 3.0 Port via PCH
Intel I218-V Network Port
Audio Jacks via Realtek ALC1150
Warranty Period 3 Years
Product Page Link


The BIOS and software for the X99-A is near identical to that of the X99-Deluxe, which reviewed back at the launch of the X99 platform. Our analysis is provided here for completeness with a few minor changes for how the X99-A differs.

ASUS X99-A BIOS

The ASUS BIOS for X99 is going to closely mimic that for Z97, given the close proximity of the launch of the two. The main difference will be catering for the X99 specific features, such as eight DIMMs and the dual AHCI controllers in the chipset. While I would assume that very few users are upgrading from Z97 to X99, those that coming from the 9-series or 8-series motherboards should feel at home. Users coming from the latest X79 builds will notice a slight change towards something more user friendly. First screen up is the EZ mode:

Due to the increased info placed in this first screen, the font size has been reduced slightly, especially when detailing all the DRAM and SATA slots ports that are connected. In this front screen we are told the name of the motherboard, the CPU used, the speed of the CPU, where the DRAM is populated and how much, only with the speed and options for XMP. The CPU and motherboard temperatures are here, with the CPU getting a graph in real time showing how the temperature changes. Voltages and fan speeds are here as well, with a point-to-point graph showing the fan profile of the CPU fan. On the right hand size is an EZ System Tuning icon for performance or energy saving modes as well as a Boot Priority list. On the top of the screen is an option for the EZ Tuning Wizard.

For the fan profiles, selecting QFan Control allows the user to adjust the three point fan gradient:

Each of the fan headers can be controlled by in either DC or PWM mode, with several presets at the bottom and a choice of fan headers on the right. This is the most interactive fan control system within a BIOS to date, however I would suggest a couple of add-ons: a button that sets all the fan profiles at once (otherwise you have to adjust each of them individually), and text showing the current fan speed of the fan selected along with the temperature associated with that fan. In future iterations, perhaps a button to simulate a CPU load (1 core/2 core/4 core) to manually test the fan response might also be considered.

The EZ Tuning Wizard at the top is the new auto tuning mechanism in the BIOS to apply overclocks. As with Z97, this system detects the current outlay, asks what cooling is being used and what the system is for, and then goes back into its internal database to suggest an overclock. This overclock can then be applied automatically:

So here the system is suggesting a 32% overclock, from 3.0 GHz to 4.1 GHz when I selected that I had not-sure cooling. The reason why the system asks about different types of intended use should come down to single core turbo modes – users interested more in day-to-day responsiveness will want a high single-core turbo, whereas gamers and media editors will want all the cores boosted to the maximum.

Alongside the EZ Mode, the ASUS BIOS offers its characteristic Advanced Mode:

Options here are a little more in-depth and clinical, although ASUS has taken on board suggestions and added both an information section at the bottom and a list of information on the right hand side telling the user what the current state is. Users jumping into X99 from very old systems might be interested in the My Favorites menu, which allows users to select certain options from the BIOS for a custom menu interface. With the Setup Tree Map we can select which options to have in My Favorites, which in my case ends up looking like this:

My Favorites is aimed more at overclockers than anything else, allowing these enthusiasts access to frequent settings while bypassing others that are present but might not make a difference in line with the overclocking skill of the individual.

ASUS still keeps the full-fat overclocking menu on hand, giving a full set of options for CPU, DRAM, DIGI+ Power, voltages and power management.

The Advanced Menu gives the usual array of CPU, PCH and Onboard Devices set of configuration menus. A few changes from previous platforms are worth mentioning, such as individual core selection for overclockers:

Because not all cores are created equal, the new topology allows users to select specific cores for frequency records.

The onboard devices configuration menu gives the option for adjusting the bandwidth between the controllers onboard that share data paths:

By default the enhanced battery charging of the ASMedia USB 3.0 ports is disabled, and the PCIe 2.0 x4 slot is set to Auto mode.

The Monitor tab gives all the temperature and fan speed data, along with options for the fan headers in a less-interactive but classic implementation:

Users can select different modes for each header (PWM or DC), different preset profiles (Standard, Silent, Turbo), adjust which temperature sensor is relevant or adjust a two point gradient manually. The QFan Tuning option provides insight into the workings of each fan by detecting the low-end dead points.

The rest of the BIOS is the standard array of booting options, fast boot options, BIOS flashing tools, OC profiles and SPD information. There is one last feature to mention, the GPU Post screen:

This shows each of the PCIe slots, what is installed and at what speed they are running.

There is one aspect where ASUS is lagging behind the other manufacturers, although GPU Post is part of the way there. ASRock and MSI now implement a ‘Board Explorer’ type function that shows a 2D representation of the motherboard and tells the user what is installed at each point. ASUS should think about this going forward, although it is worth noting that the X99-A uses 128 Mbit BIOS chips rather than the usual 64 Mbit ICs, suggesting that the BIOS is now getting bigger (and double-sized BIOS chips add cost).



ASUS X99-A Software

The software stack comes under the AI Suite 3 naming convention, where ASUS’ main play in this area comes from the Dual Intelligent Processors 5 (DIP5) interface. The dual intelligent processors part refers to the onboard EPU and TPU ICs which are an ASUS custom designed IC for monitoring and adjusting both the energy and turbo parts of the system. The 5 at the end of the name refers to both the version and the number of sub-apps within the DIP5 interface.

The five sub-apps are the TPU, Fan Xpert, DIGI+ Power Control, EPU and Turbo App. Alongside these is the 5-Way Optimization option that provides a series of settings to help users perform automatic overclocking.

The TPU part of DIP5 offers the CPU overclock settings for ratios, base frequencies, and voltages in terms of offsets and base values. The graphs showing how the voltage adjusts with the CPU ratio are nice touches as they provide direct feedback to the user based on what they are changing.

The fan settings allow users to apply a bulk fan mode to all the fans or go in and adjust them manually. The Fan Tuning button on the left provides a way for the system to analyze the characteristics of each fan attached by applying different fan power levels and measuring the RPM.

The digital power controls are for enthusiasts willing to push the system a little further. The automatic overclock options also adjust these settings slightly, giving extra CPU load-line calibration or placing the power phases into extreme performance mode. There are digital power options for both the CPU and the DRAM on hand.

The EPU part of AI Suite allows the user to adjust what is enabled when the system is in a low power mode. This includes a target power consumption for the CPU by reducing clocks and voltage, but also by disabling fast-charging USB ports and turning down CPU fan speeds.

The final part of 5WO is Turbo App, which is the newest addition to the interface. This allows the user to adjust overclocks and settings depending on what software is currently loaded. This means for a linear workload, a user can have the fans turned down but the single thread speed high, or when a game is played we have a full-core overclock with fast fans and LAN priority for the game in question:

The interface allows each program to be adjusted for importance, so if two software packages are opened and both have a Turbo App profile, the settings of the more important one will take precedence.

The rest of AI Suite is similar to previous generations on the mainstream platform:

Ai Charger: Gives USB 3.0 charging to BC1.1 compliant devices.
USB 3.0 Boost: Gives a Turbo mode to compatible USB devices.
EZ Update: Online updating software, although still has issues.
System Information
USB BIOS Flashback:
Arrange a USB for BIOS Flashback.
USB Charger: Allows charging from certain USB ports in sleep, hibernate or shutdown mode.
Push Notice: Synchronize a tablet or smartphone to receive notifications if system parameters (temperature, fan controls) go beyond a specified range.

One element of the software is TurboLAN, which is a reskinned version of cFos that implements software priority over the network:

ASUS has preinstalled settings for VoIP, Media, Games or File Sharing, although users can adjust these as required.

One point I would like to request from ASUS is for the Update software to receive an update. As far as it has been part of the ASUS software ecosystem, from the UK it has only ever worked once for me. This is a system that MSI had solved a while ago, with ASRock and GIGABYTE implementing their own systems that work. ASUS is still far behind in this regard.

The software package also comes with CPU-Z in order to identify the system:

As well as Boot Setting to allow for easy entry into the BIOS or enabling Fast Boot modes:



ASUS X99-A In The Box

So far from our X99 motherboard bundles it has been rather reassuring that for the high initial cost of the parts that the manufacturers are willing to bundle enough to focus on gaming and storage. The ASUS X99-Deluxe did this with a couple of M.2 additions, a protective cover for the left hand side of the board and a bundled fan extension PCB. However the inclusions in the box from ASUS in the X99-A might come across as pricing down to a point. We get the following:

Driver CD
User Manuals
Rear Panel
Four SATA Cables
Q-Connectors
Flexi SLI Bridge

Despite there being a focus on three-way GPU configurations, only one SLI bridge is provided. Having the right size for three-way would be a help here. Four SATA cables is two fewer than almost all other X99 boards as well - this should satisfy most users trying to use X99 on the cheap.

Many thanks to...

We must thank the following companies for kindly providing hardware for our test bed:

Thank you to OCZ for providing us with PSUs and SSDs.
Thank you to G.Skill for providing us with memory.
Thank you to Corsair for providing us with an AX1200i PSU.
Thank you to MSI for providing us with the NVIDIA GTX 770 Lightning GPUs.
Thank you to Rosewill for providing us with PSUs and RK-9100 keyboards.
Thank you to ASRock for providing us with some IO testing kit.
Thank you to Cooler Master for providing us with Nepton 140XL CLCs.

Test Setup

Test Setup
Processor Intel Core i7-5960X ES
8 Cores, 16 Threads, 3.0 GHz (3.5 GHz Turbo)
Motherboards ASUS X99-A
Cooling Cooler Master Nepton 140XL
Power Supply OCZ 1250W Gold ZX Series
Corsair AX1200i Platinum PSU
Memory Corsair DDR4-2133 C15 4x8 GB 1.2V
G.Skill Ripjaws 4 DDR4-2133 C15 4x8 GB 1.2V
Memory Settings JEDEC @ 2133
Video Cards MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2GB (1150/1202 Boost)
Video Drivers NVIDIA Drivers 332.21
Hard Drive OCZ Vertex 3 256GB
Optical Drive LG GH22NS50
Case Open Test Bed
Operating System Windows 7 64-bit SP1
USB 2/3 Testing OCZ Vertex 3 240GB with SATA->USB Adaptor

ASUS X99-A Overclocking

Experience with ASUS X99-A

ASUS' overclocking options derive mostly from the AI Suite 3 software as part of the 5-Way Optimization tool. The software will find an overclock with appropriate stress tests for an automatic setting, or the user can manipulate the TPU or Turbo App software manually. For automatic overclocking a user can also adjust the TPU DIP switch on the motherboard itself. This switch gives 39x100 and 31x125 for setting one and two respectively. Manual overclocking is best performed through the BIOS which offers ASUS' usual extensive array of options.

Methodology

Our standard overclocking methodology is as follows. We select the automatic overclock options and test for stability with PovRay and OCCT to simulate high-end workloads. These stability tests aim to catch any immediate causes for memory or CPU errors.

For manual overclocks, based on the information gathered from previous testing, starts off at a nominal voltage and CPU multiplier, and the multiplier is increased until the stability tests are failed. The CPU voltage is increased gradually until the stability tests are passed, and the process repeated until the motherboard reduces the multiplier automatically (due to safety protocol) or the CPU temperature reaches a stupidly high level (100ºC+). Our test bed is not in a case, which should push overclocks higher with fresher (cooler) air.

Overclock Results



System Performance

Power Consumption

Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single MSI GTX 770 Lightning GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the OCZ 1250W power supply. This power supply is Gold rated, and as I am in the UK on a 230-240 V supply, leads to ~75% efficiency > 50W, and 90%+ efficiency at 250W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.

While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our test bed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.

Power Consumption: Long Idle with GTX 770

Power Consumption: Idle with GTX 770

Power Consumption: OCCT Load with GTX 770

It would seem that the X99 motherboards are filtering into several bands of peak load power usage, around 200W, 210-220W and 240W+. The ASUS fits into the low end of that middle band.

Windows 7 POST Time

Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows 7 starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.) 

Windows 7 POST Time - Default

Windows 7 POST Time - Stripped

POST Times of all X99 motherboards are around the 20-25 second mark, and on the BIOS we used we saw almost 24 seconds.

Rightmark Audio Analyzer 6.2.5

Rightmark:AA indicates how well the sound system is built and isolated from electrical interference (either internally or externally). For this test we connect the Line Out to the Line In using a short six inch 3.5mm to 3.5mm high-quality jack, turn the OS speaker volume to 100%, and run the Rightmark default test suite at 192 kHz, 24-bit. The OS is tuned to 192 kHz/24-bit input and output, and the Line-In volume is adjusted until we have the best RMAA value in the mini-pretest. We look specifically at the Dynamic Range of the audio codec used on board, as well as the Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise.

Rightmark: AA, Dynamic Range, 24-bit / 192 kHz

Rightmark: AA, THD+N, 24-bit / 192 kHz

The X99-A performs extremely well in our audio testing, scoring some of the best results we have ever seen.

USB Backup

For this benchmark, we transfer a set size of files from the SSD to the USB drive using DiskBench, which monitors the time taken to transfer. The files transferred are a 1.52 GB set of 2867 files across 320 folders – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30 second HD videos. In an update to pre-Z87 testing, we also run MaxCPU to load up one of the threads during the test which improves general performance up to 15% by causing all the internal pathways to run at full speed.

USB 2.0 Copy Times

USB 3.0 Copy Times

USB performance was on the low end compared to our other motherboards tested.

DPC Latency

Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.

If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time.  This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.

DPC Latency

All X99 motherboards are aiming at the sub-100 microsecond category, and the X99-A fits in there with a score of 80.



CPU Performance

Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives in essence an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, memory subtimings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.

For reference, the ASUS X99-A does not implement Multi-Core Turbo.

Point Calculations – 3D Movement Algorithm Test: link

3DPM is a self-penned benchmark, taking basic 3D movement algorithms used in Brownian Motion simulations and testing them for speed. High floating point performance, MHz and IPC wins in the single thread version, whereas the multithread version has to handle the threads and loves more cores.

3D Particle Movement: Single Threaded

3D Particle Movement: MultiThreaded

Compression – WinRAR 5.0.1: link

Our WinRAR test from 2013 is updated to the latest version of WinRAR at the start of 2014. We compress a set of 2867 files across 320 folders totaling 1.52 GB in size – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30 second 720p videos.

WinRAR 5.01, 2867 files, 1.52 GB

Image Manipulation – FastStone Image Viewer 4.9: link

Similarly to WinRAR, the FastStone test us updated for 2014 to the latest version. FastStone is the program I use to perform quick or bulk actions on images, such as resizing, adjusting for color and cropping. In our test we take a series of 170 images in various sizes and formats and convert them all into 640x480 .gif files, maintaining the aspect ratio. FastStone does not use multithreading for this test, and thus single threaded performance is often the winner.

FastStone Image Viewer 4.9

Video Conversion – Handbrake v0.9.9: link

Handbrake is a media conversion tool that was initially designed to help DVD ISOs and Video CDs into more common video formats. The principle today is still the same, primarily as an output for H.264 + AAC/MP3 audio within an MKV container. In our test we use the same videos as in the Xilisoft test, and results are given in frames per second.

HandBrake v0.9.9 LQ Film

HandBrake v0.9.9 2x4K

Rendering – PovRay 3.7: link

The Persistence of Vision RayTracer, or PovRay, is a freeware package for as the name suggests, ray tracing. It is a pure renderer, rather than modeling software, but the latest beta version contains a handy benchmark for stressing all processing threads on a platform. We have been using this test in motherboard reviews to test memory stability at various CPU speeds to good effect – if it passes the test, the IMC in the CPU is stable for a given CPU speed. As a CPU test, it runs for approximately 2-3 minutes on high end platforms.

POV-Ray 3.7 Beta RC4

Synthetic – 7-Zip 9.2: link

As an open source compression tool, 7-Zip is a popular tool for making sets of files easier to handle and transfer. The software offers up its own benchmark, to which we report the result.

7-zip Benchmark



Gaming Performance

F1 2013

First up is F1 2013 by Codemasters. I am a big Formula 1 fan in my spare time, and nothing makes me happier than carving up the field in a Caterham, waving to the Red Bulls as I drive by (because I play on easy and take shortcuts). F1 2013 uses the EGO Engine, and like other Codemasters games ends up being very playable on old hardware quite easily. In order to beef up the benchmark a bit, we devised the following scenario for the benchmark mode: one lap of Spa-Francorchamps in the heavy wet, the benchmark follows Jenson Button in the McLaren who starts on the grid in 22nd place, with the field made up of 11 Williams cars, 5 Marussia and 5 Caterham in that order. This puts emphasis on the CPU to handle the AI in the wet, and allows for a good amount of overtaking during the automated benchmark. We test at 1920x1080 on Ultra graphical settings.

F1 2013 SLI, Average FPS


Bioshock Infinite

Bioshock Infinite was Zero Punctuation’s Game of the Year for 2013, uses the Unreal Engine 3, and is designed to scale with both cores and graphical prowess. We test the benchmark using the Adrenaline benchmark tool and the Xtreme (1920x1080, Maximum) performance setting, noting down the average frame rates and the minimum frame rates.

Bioshock Infinite SLI, Average FPS


Tomb Raider

The next benchmark in our test is Tomb Raider. Tomb Raider is an AMD optimized game, lauded for its use of TressFX creating dynamic hair to increase the immersion in game. Tomb Raider uses a modified version of the Crystal Engine, and enjoys raw horsepower. We test the benchmark using the Adrenaline benchmark tool and the Xtreme (1920x1080, Maximum) performance setting, noting down the average frame rates and the minimum frame rates.

Tomb Raider SLI, Average FPS


Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs is a benchmarking wet dream – a highly complex benchmark that can bring the toughest setup and high resolutions down into single figures. Having an extreme SSAO setting can do that, but at the right settings Sleeping Dogs is highly playable and enjoyable. We run the basic benchmark program laid out in the Adrenaline benchmark tool, and the Xtreme (1920x1080, Maximum) performance setting, noting down the average frame rates and the minimum frame rates.

Sleeping Dogs SLI, Average FPS


Battlefield 4

The EA/DICE series that has taken countless hours of my life away is back for another iteration, using the Frostbite 3 engine. AMD is also piling its resources into BF4 with the new Mantle API for developers, designed to cut the time required for the CPU to dispatch commands to the graphical sub-system. For our test we use the in-game benchmarking tools and record the frame time for the first ~70 seconds of the Tashgar single player mission, which is an on-rails generation of and rendering of objects and textures. We test at 1920x1080 at Ultra settings.

Battlefield 4 SLI, Average FPS




ASUS X99-A Conclusion

The term 'budget build' means many different things depending on who you speak to. For a HTPC user, it will involve a small motherboard with integrated graphics. For a gamer it might be an i3 paired with a graphics card that doesn't require extra power, such as an R7 240. For an X99 user, the term is not so clear cut because there is no truly budget board in this market. The chipset has a lot of IO to play with, which manufacturers add on the basis that when a user buys the chipset, they have essentially already paid for it. This means buying enough connectors for 10 SATA ports, PCIe storage, multiple GPUs and so on.

The end result is that 'budget' for X99 means under $300 for the motherboard, paired with a $390 i7-5820K and some DDR4. In that sub-$300 range each manufacturer has least a single model to aim at this crowd (some more than one), and for ASUS this is the X99-A.

Off the top, the X99-A brings in 10 SATA ports, 10 USB 3.0 ports (5 from the PCH, 3 from a hub and 2 from a controller), three-way PCIe via x16/x16/x8, an M.2 x4 running at PCIe Gen 3.0 and SATA Express. Add in to the mix an Intel I218-V network port, an upgraded ALC1150 audio solution via Crystal Sound 2 and an EZ XMP button for good measure. ASUS' strengths also lie in the BIOS and software packages, offering an easy to use system.

Looking at the performance numbers, the X99-A hits the midfield across most of the system benchmarks, excelling in our audio tests and being very reasonable for power consumption. The lack of MultiCore Turbo affects it at stock speeds but a quick switch to position one of the TPU gives a 3.9 GHz overclock, and makes this less of an issue.

For users going budget, the X99-A is worth a look, especially when it is on offer. But ultimately I think that the X99-A creates the contrast to the X99-Deluxe. By comparison, the X99-Deluxe comes with tri-stream 802.11ac Wi-Fi, dual M.2 x4 Gen 3.0 possibilities, and add in fan controller card, dual SATA Express, 10 rear USB 3.0 ports, a styled rear panel and audio design as well as more SATA ports, another NIC and better box contents. Is that worth the $125 difference? As a budget build, the X99-A could be paired with an i7-5820K but a user would still require almost $1000 for a full system. It is hard to say if the price difference to other motherboards is worth it, depending on what the user ultimately wants to integrate (M.2, WiFi) into their experience.

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