ASUS ROG STRIX X99 GAMING
Asus brings entry-level X99 gaming to the masses
IF BROADWELL-E HAS shown us anything, it’s that Intel is really starting to champion HEDT as being an accessible platform for gamers. And it’s with good reason. For the longest time, the mainstream Intel Core i5s and i7s were the epitome of what we’d consider a good gaming processor. At least, until the launch of Haswell-E. It was a slow transition, but with the introduction of the Intel Core i7-5820K, we began to see an affordable high-end six-core processor available to the masses. And as the gap continued to close between the highest of high-end Skylake processors and the lowest-end X99 chip, it was only a matter of time before the Core i7-6800K was finally placed right in the sights of those looking for a more powerful gaming processor. This is something that Asus is capitalizing on with the launch of its A-II, and now with the ROG Strix X99 Gaming variant, as well—both aimed at those who like a little more pizzazz with their system.
In its overall layout and specifications, the Strix is essentially a reskinned Asus X99 A-II ($250), identical to the one we reviewed last issue. It still comes with support for 128GB of DDR4 up to 3,333MT/s, still has the same number of PCIe slots, still has a single M.2 slot and U.2 connector, and still has those funky LED PCIe lights. Even the fan headers are the same. There has to be something different, though, right? Especially considering the dramatic price jump for the ROG. Well, you lose out on two SATA 6GB/s ports (although, to be fair, if you’re using all 10, something’s amiss here anyway), but you do gain access to 802.11ac Wi-Fi, with 2x2 dual-band 2.4/5GHz antennas. And there’s a slightly improved audio solution, too.
IN THE PINK
Then we come to the aesthetic design decisions. Yep, we’re talking RGB LEDs here. You get one little extra strip along the top of the board, under the rear I/O cover. This strip, in combination with the PCIe LEDs, works in conjunction with Asus’s Aura software to give a wide variety of different lighting effects. And then there are the stickers. How could we forget the stickers? As you may notice, our board is a lovely shade of pink. As standard, the motherboard comes with orange stickers, but you can swap these out to either green, pink, or a silvery gray, to better colormatch the rest of your build. Alas, this swap is a one-time affair, and although they’re a thick foil design, they can stain very easily, especially once you’ve pulled off the clear plastic cover.
As for performance, the Strix X99 is quite impressive. Whether it’s down to Asus’s tomfoolery with its Enhanced Turbo Ratio settings in the BIOS, or thanks to a rethink and redesign of the overall MOSFETs supporting the overclocks, the Strix Gaming absolutely stomped over our TUF Sabertooth in testing. At stock, it outclassed that long-toothed kitten by 2.5fps in x264, and over 100 points in Cinebench; even overall memory latency was lower. As usual, gaming made little difference, short of the processor struggling to keep up in Fire Strike with the newer board. And as far as overclocking was concerned, we managed to pinch an increase of 100MHz over both the A-II and the TUF Sabertooth ($307), hitting 4.4GHz at 1.35V on our Intel Core i7-6950X.
So, should you buy this board? It depends how much you need that “gamer” feel. It’s got the looks and performance to back it up, especially if you intend to run it at stock, but if you’re after the best bang for your buck, with the latest and greatest of Intel’s HEDT processors, you’d be far better off going with the A-II instead.