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Software & Firmware

Asus' Aura software now controls a variety of things, from onboard lights to LED strips to RGB memory. It's known for its nearly universal support of anything that would connect to its motherboards' RGB interfaces.

Asus' Sonic Studio 3 modifies the audio output to make things either easier or more enjoyable to hear. It has Smart Volume to help reduce changes in volume level, Voice Clarity to increase the volume of dialogue and virtual surround sound.

Asus' Sonic Radar 3 adds a video overlay to 3D games that indicates the direction and distance of noises, which is useful in determining the position of moving adversaries.

The company's AI Suite 3 comprises its Dual Intelligent Processors 5 manual overclocking, TPU automatic tuning, Turbo App application prioritization, EPU efficiency optimization, Fan Xpert 4 fan tuning, Digi+ VRM CPU voltage regulator controls, PC Cleaner trash utility and a shortcut for its EZ Update application. The bottom bar of its application hosts additional status menus, along with adjustments for its system warning alerts.

Clicking the highlighted 5-Way Optimization button allows the board to run its full CPU and Fan optimization routine, which produced a 4.3GHz fixed clock on our hardware, along with a variable voltage of 1.17 to 1.24V under heavy loads. Manual tuning options allowed us to reach 4.4GHz at a fixed 1.15V CPU core setting.

Asus' EZ Update polls its servers for updates to included applications and drivers, GameFirst IV allows network prioritization to put game packets first, Ramcache II sets aside a hidden partition of memory to cache frequently accessed files, and Clone Drive adds drive-imaging to the impressive software mix.

Firmware

The Strix X299-E Gaming's firmware opens to an Advanced Mode GUI, where the My Favorites menu holds frequently accessed settings and can be reconfigured in a Setup Tree Map activated by a keyboard’s F3 function. We accessed deeper overclocking functions within the Ai Tweaker menu, where we pushed our Core i7-7900X to 4.40 GHz at the low 1.15V setting required to prevent throttling under the AVX-heavy Prime95 small-FFT’s stress test.

CPU voltage remained consistent under shifting loads using the Level 6 CPU Load-line Calibration setting from the External Digi+ Power Control menu. More surprising was that the DRAM voltage had a maximum variation of +5mV as measured at the DIMM, in an industry where many boards set 15mV or more beyond what the user desires. We have placed a hard cap of 1.355V on DRAM voltage in our overclocking tests to prevent cheating.

How many DRAM settings does the most advanced overclocker really need? The Strix X299-E Gaming has enough to fill 18 pages of screenshots. Our DDR4-3866 kit reached DDR4-3912 at its XMP-defined timings.

The Strix X299-E Gaming supports both PWM (pulse width modulation) and voltage-based fan control on all seven headers. You can also control three additional headers of an Asus Fan Extension card, should you choose to buy one. The Qfan Tuning option lets the board test every fan to find its minimum operating speed and adjust automatic curves accordingly, but users can also set their own curves mathematically or use the keyboard’s F6 function to access a menu with a three-point graphical mapping interface.

You can upgrade firmware from the firmware GUI by accessing Asus EZ Flash 3 from the Tools menu. Secure Erase didn’t function with our NVMe drive and we didn't test it on a SATA drive. You can save eight complete firmware settings as profiles and/or import/export to/from a USB drive from the Asus Overclocking Profile menu, and the SPD Information tab brings up a short page of memory module readings.

Users confused by too many options can enter EZ Mode using the keyboard’s F7 function, which reduces options to boot order, XMP activation, fan profiles and two levels of automatic overclocking. Entering Advanced Mode shows what those overclocking apps produced, with Fast Tuning pushing our CPU to 4.5 GHz non-AVX, 4.3GHz AVX and 4.2 GHz AVX 512 loads at 1.17 to 1.27V. The Extreme Tuning option increased AVX and AVX 512 loads to 4.4 and 4.3 GHz, respectively, at 1.20 to 1.27V. Both tuning algorithms selected DDR4-3200 at 1.35v for our memory.

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How We Test

Additional cores create additional thermal and power loads that can push other hardware to its limits, yet the parts we’re hoping to push to their maximum are all on the motherboard. Intel’s 10-core, 20-thread Core i9-7900X CPU is a great product for stressing the voltage regulators of various X299 motherboards, particularly under our full-AVX-load overclocking stability test.

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

The tremendous heat the Core i9-7900X produced required we use nothing less than the award-winning Fractal Design S24 liquid cooler system. Getting its fans to blow sufficiently over each motherboard’s voltage regulator required additional design consideration: Of the cases we had on hand, Cooler Master’s HAF-XB had the best layout.

Comparison Products

ASRock X299 Taichi

Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 3

MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

Similar pricing pits the ROG Strix X299-E Gaming against the AsRock X299 Taichi, Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 3, and MSIs X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC. Each of these is designed for overclocking, and the feature sets of all four are also designed to attract similar buyers.

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark-driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark-driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark-driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark-driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1080, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, Very High Quality, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmark Results & Final Analysis

Synthetic Benchmarks

Boring synthetic benchmarks are the best indication that nobody is cheating, and we’re happy to say that the Strix X299-E Gaming’s edge in 3DMark is too slight to prompt an investigation.

Sandra Arithmetic is the best indication that none of the comparison motherboards has noticeably overclocked the CPU. One of the competing boards had an odd result in Sandra Multimedia, but that difference didn’t show up elsewhere.

Sandra Cryptography typically favors more memory bandwidth, and the tightening of advanced memory timings is one place where we haven’t really focused on vendor-specific optimizations even though the competing MSI motherboard’s bandwidth lead is somewhat compelling. The Strix X299-E Gaming performed slightly better than average in two Compubench GPU-accelerated metrics, but competitors edged it out in two others.

3D Games

The Strix X299-E Gaming hit a nearly perfect average in gaming performance, whereas a couple competitors were hit or miss. The X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, for example, has a premium audio software program that, when enabled, forces it to lose around 32 percent of its Talos performance. That’s because Talos is the only program compatible with that software, and enabling its features adds overhead (hollow bars show that board’s performance with the added software disabled).

Timed Applications

The ROG Strix X299-E Gaming stumbled in at least one application of each timed run chart, with noticeably longer completion times for Handbrake, Adobe Illustrator and PowerPoint. So, we changed some settings and retested. Several retests did not reveal the source of the minor setback. We discuss those retests in the Power, Heat & Efficiency section below.

Power, Heat & Efficiency

At default settings, the Strix X299-E Gaming throttled back to 3.40 GHz under the heavy AVX load of Prime95 small FFTs, saving 33W compared to the charted value. Changing its Long Duration and Short Duration firmware power settings to their maximums allowed it to run that test at 3.60 GHz, bringing it to par with the X299 Taichi and pushing its loaded wattage to 251W. After that, changing its CPU Integrated VR Current Limit firmware value to its maximum value allowed the board to run Prime95 small-FFTs at 4.00 GHz while consuming 326W. We ran our benchmarks three ways and determined that those applications weren’t stressful enough to produce noticeably different encoding times or frame rates. Since 11 of the 16 X299 boards we’ve reviewed consumed around 250W and ran at 3.60 GHz at full load, we decided to use this data.

The Strix X299-E Gaming runs a little cooler than its closest competitors, beating even the lower-powered X299 Taichi.

We looked at more than just the four boards presented in our small charts. We’re using all 16 previously reviewed boards in our overall performance and power calculations. It took a few small hits in our productivity benchmarks, but the Strix X299-E Gaming came out a mere 0.8 percent below the average of every X299 board we’ve tested in performance and produced a seven percent above-average efficiency number

Overclocking

Though a few of our four-module boards have pushed our memory past DDR4-4000, the Strix X299-E Gaming’s DDR4-3912 is a very respectable overclock compared to other eight-DIMM boards. Its 4.40 GHz CPU overclock is less noteworthy since 14 of the previous 16 boards have reached that limit, and it’s still better than the 4.5 to 4.8 GHz reported by people who don’t run 20 threads of Prime95 small-FFTs. When we say full load, we mean it!

The point of overclocking memory is to get more performance, and the Strix X299-E Gaming did that spectacularly as seen in the above chart. On the other hand, we’ve seen similar results from half of the last 16 boards we've tested. As usual, price similarity is the factor that limits the range shown in our comparison chart.

Final Analysis

The Asus ROG Strix X299-E Gaming is slightly cheaper than Gigabyte’s X299 Aorus Gaming 3 and slightly more expensive than the other two boards in our comparison chart. That price-to-performance comparison isn’t adjusted for features, however.

It’s impossible to run 3-way SLI on a 16-lane CPU, but if you’re a buyer hoping to do so on a 28-lane CPU, you can cross the Strix X299-E Gaming (and X299 Aorus Gaming 3) off your list. The same factors apply to the use of the third slot to host a PCIe x8 NVMe drive adapter to that third PCIe x16 slot, so it’s not just people running outdated graphics configuration who’ve been impacted by these design decisions. Ouch.

Builders who purchase a case with a 10Gb/s Type-C connector will want an interface for the Gen3.1 front-panel cable, and they’ll only get that from the Strix X299-E Gaming or the MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC. Those boards are also the only ones in the compared price range to include an 867Mb/s Wi-Fi solution.

A look at the complete features list shows that the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC does nearly everything for $20 less than the Strix X299-E Gaming, yet builders of show PCs will note that Asus’s ROG light box logo looks great and that its lighting software is universally recognized for ultimate stability and compatibility. The Strix X299-E Gaming also runs cooler and edged out the MSI board in our overclocking chart. Since buyers of 44-lane processors need not worry about the limitations of the Strix X299-E Gaming’s slot configuration, it’s at least worthy of their consideration.

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ASRock X299M Extreme4: Micro ATX Sweet Spot

Thomas Soderstrom — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 13:00:00 +0000

Features & Layout

ASRock surprised us by adding dual Gigabit Ethernet to the Micro ATX version of its Extreme4 series X299 board, ostensibly one-upping the feature set provided in its ATX version. That appears at first blush to put the X299M Extreme4 head-to-head against the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC from rival MSI, though the MSI board also includes a high-end Wi-Fi solution, a front-panel USB 3.1 Gen2 port, manually switched dual-BIOS, and a Port 80 diagnostics display. That feature difference is reflected in a $65 price delta that puts the value ball back in ASRock’s court.

Specifications

Socket	LGA 2066
Chipset	Intel X299
Form Factor	Micro ATX
Voltage Regulator	11 Phases
Video Ports	✗
USB Ports	10Gbps: (1) Type-C, (1) Type A 5Gb/s: (4) Type A; (4) USB 2.0
Network Jacks	(2) Gigabit Ethernet
Audio Jacks	(5) Analog, (1) Digital Out
Legacy Ports/Jacks	(1) PS/2
Other Ports/Jack	CLR_CMOS I/O-Panel Button
PCIe x16	(3) v3.0 (@44: x16/x16/x4) @28: (x16/x8/x4) @16: (x16/x0/x4, x8/x8/x4)
PCIe x8	✗
PCIe x4	✗
PCIe x1	✗
CrossFire/SLI	2x / 2x
DIMM slots	(4) DDR4
M.2 slots	(2) PCIe 3.0 x4 / SATA* (*Consumes SATA Port 0, 1)
U.2 Ports	✗
SATA Ports	(8) 6Gb/s (Ports 0, 1 shared w/M.2)
USB Headers	(1) v3.0, (2) v2.0
Fan Headers	(5) 4-Pin
Legacy Interfaces	✗
Other Interfaces	FP-Audio, TPM, (2) RGB-LED,VROC, Thunderbolt AIC
Diagnostics Panel	✗
Internal Button/Switch	✗ / ✗
SATA Controllers	Integrated (0/1/5/10)
Ethernet Controllers	WGI211AT PCIe, WGI219V PHY
Wi-Fi / Bluetooth	✗
USB Controllers	ASM3142 PCIe 3.0 x2
HD Audio Codec	ALC1220
DDL/DTS Connect	DTS Connect
Warranty	3 Years

The reason the Micro ATX Extreme4's second network port came as a surprise is that the Extreme4 series reflects ASRock’s reduced-price line of products for performance enthusiasts. The name implies that we’ll get SLI capability (even with 16-lane processors), a high-end audio codec, a fairly sturdy voltage regulator capable of pushing the air and water cooled limits of most processors, a high-end audio codec and, currently, a pair of USB 3.1 Gen2 ports on the I/O panel. As with the full-ATX version, all those features are found on the Micro ATX X299M Extreme4, in addition to its dual Gigabit Ethernet.

The X299M Extreme4’s I/O panel has a gap where you’d expect to find a Wi-Fi controller on higher motherboard models, with a CLR_CMOS button next to that gap. Competitor MSI justifies more of its price difference by including a Flashback button to enable updating firmware without a compatible CPU or RAM. This requires an additional ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) that the X299M Extreme4 doesn’t have.

Panning out reveals that the X299M Extreme4’s enormous voltage regulator heat sinks are completely focused on cooling, lacking any of the integrated RGB lighting of its competitor. The board instead has only a few LED’s beneath the perimeter of its X299 PCH (platform controller hub) heat sink, and those all flash the same color at once--so no chase sequences or other flashy effects. We also find three x16-length PCIe slots, where the two fed by the CPU are metal-reinforced. The third slot, in black, gets only four PCH lanes.

Looking down from the top, we see that ASRock uses the same M.2 slot placement as its rival, with the first of the two slots located between the 24-pin primary power connector and forward DIMM slots. We also see two 8-pin EPS12V connectors to power the CPU, which seems a little redundant on a board this small. Yet things get a little strange from here, as there are ten two-port PCIe switches between the main PCIe slots, and no indication of what the other six switches do. We’re only told that the silver slots are configured with 16 lanes with our 44-lane CPU, 16 and 8 lanes with a 28-lane CPU, and switches from 16/0 to 8/8 lanes when a second card is added to a 16-lane CPU.

Speaking of the recently end-of-life 16-lane Kaby Lake-X processors, installing one of those dual-channel CPUs will also deactivate two of the board’s four RAM slots. Micro ATX has as much depth as ATX, yet it appears that no motherboard manufacturer has considered using that space to include the eight slots often found on the ATX versions of these boards.

The bottom edge includes a second HD-Audio front-panel header that faces downward to ease cable routing around the bottom edge of the board, a TPM connector, a jumper header that’s supposed to activate the Turbo Mode settings also available in firmware, one of the board’s two RGB LED strip headers, a VROC module connector (which adds RAID firmware to CPU-connected NVMe cards), two of the board’s five fan headers, a five-pin header for Thunderbolt add-in cards, an Intel configuration button/LED front-panel header, and an extra front-panel header with PC (beep code) speaker and three-pin-spaced power LED connection. Also found above that are six of the SATA ports, facing forward to help with tucking cables behind long graphics cards. The two additional SATA ports that point outward are located above the top expansion slot to avoid the card conflict.

The X299M Extreme4 includes cables for four of its eight SATA ports, an I/O shield, a high-bandwidth SLI bridge, a cable badge, a driver/application disc, and multilingual installation guides for both the hardware and included software.

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Software & Firmware

Offering most of the same software as its Z370 and even Z270 boards, ASRock’s X299 software suite hasn’t changed since we first covered it last year. Useful tools such as Reboot to UEFI and an ASRock-branded version of the cFos network prioritization utility remain, though software revisions have made new hardware compatible.

For example, we’re sure we wouldn’t have been able to see an illustration of the X299M Extreme4 on an older version of the software. The image shows the one onboard lighting zone, which sits under the PCH heat sink, in addition to the two RGB LED strip headers.

ASRock’s A-Tuning app still provides a software link to firmware overclocking profiles, which requires a reboot to save the firmware setting. The Auto Tuning algorithm doesn’t work with this motherboard model, likely because it uses a feature the X299M Extreme4 lacks: an external BCLK generator. Without the added part, we’re stuck at 100MHz.

Manual tuning works, though frequency is limited to CPU ratios. Voltage changes are appropriately reported on the System Info menu, though our meter shows DRAM voltage readings are slightly lower than those measured at the slots.

A-Tuning’s Fan-Tastic Tuning menu includes the ability to set your own fan profile, or allow the system to alter its baseline profile using the minimum detected fan speed.

Firmware

The X299M Extreme4's firmware opens to its Advanced Mode GUI, where the OC Tweaker menu allows users to choose between factory-programmed overclocking profiles, a default 100MHz overclock, and manual configuration. “Optimized” overclocks range from 4.20 GHz at 1.15V (using our Core i9-7900X) with a 200 MHz reduction for AVX loads, to 4.8 GHz at 1.35V.

We said there’s a default 100 MHz CPU overclock, and that’s because the firmware's default “Performance Mode” is “CPU Ratio +1”, which is plus 1 times the 100 MHz base clock. This is an alternative to the “Multi Core Enhancement” setting that most performance-oriented boards enable by default, which causes a CPU to run at its maximum frequency regardless of how many cores are loaded. By Intel spec, our Core i9-7900X is supposed to run at 4.50GHz when one or two cores are loaded, 4.1 GHz when three or four cores are loaded, and 4.0 GHz when more than four cores are loaded.

Our CPU reached 4.40 GHz at 1.15V under Prime95, a frequency that’s limited by a voltage that pushes our CPU’s thermal throttling threshold. We simply started off with the Turbo 4.40 GHz setting, disabled AVX offsets, and then set the fixed voltage ourselves.

The X299M Extreme4 pushed our DDR4-3866 memory to DDR4-4000 with a simple change in multiplier and voltage. Specifically, we had to turn the voltage down to reach the 1.35V slot-measured setting we picked to make overclocking comparisons fair.

The DRAM voltage setting, along with the CPU Load-Line Calibration setting needed to keep our core voltage stable under insane loads, are found within OC Tweaker’s Voltage Configuration menu. The X299M Extreme4 set our memory to its own 1.35V setting, even with XMP-mode disabled, and our voltmeter showed that the DIMM slots were in fact receiving 1.372V. Setting both controls to 1.330V got our voltage down to the 1.35 to 1.355V range we use for testing consistency.

OC Tweaker’s FIVR menu addresses voltage regulators that are built into the CPU, including core voltage. The 1.150V setting dropped only to 1.49V with level one CPU Load-Line Calibration set on the main voltage menu. That’s far better stability than most boards offer.

ASRock’s RGB LED firmware menu is found under its “Tool” main menu, and allows users to configure the PCH lighting and dual LED strip headers without loading a separate Windows application.

Four of the X299M Extreme4’s five fan headers support Voltage Control Mode in addition to PWM mode, and all four of those also have an increased 1.5A rating, compared the CPU fan header’s 1.0A baseline. The Fan Tuning menu enables a test to determine minimum fan speed and adjust automatic curves accordingly, while the Fan-Tastic Tuning menu adds the manual configuration option.

The keyboard’s F6 function key toggles between Advanced and EZ mode users interfaces, the later offering nothing more than a “TUBO” overclock which corresponds to the “Turbo 4.2GHz” profile of Advanced mode.

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How We Test

Additional cores create additional thermal and power loads that can push other hardware to its limits. But the parts we’re hoping to push to the limit are all on the motherboards here. Intel’s 10-core, 20-thread Core i9-7900X CPU is a great product for stressing the voltage regulators of various X299 motherboards, particularly under our full-AVX-load overclocking stability test.

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

The tremendous heat produced by the Core i9-7900X required us to use nothing less than our award-winning Fractal Design S24 liquid cooler system sample. Getting its fans to blow sufficiently over each motherboard’s voltage regulator required additional design consideration: Of our leftover case review samples, Cooler Master’s HAF-XB had the best layout.

Comparison Products

ASRock X299M Extreme4

MSI X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC

ASRock X299E-ITX/ac

The less common Micro ATX form factor pits ASRock's X299M Extreme4 against MSI's X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC. Our only other reduced-size board, ASRock's X299E-ITX/ac helps fill out the charts, while its full ATX X299 Extreme gives us additional perspective on the ATX/Micro ATX debate.

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark-driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark-driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark-driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark-driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1080, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, Very High Quality, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmark Results & Final Analysis

The X299M is set to run 100 MHz higher than standard by default. We disabled that feature to make today’s comparison fair, since overclockers do their own overclocking. We also maxed the CPU current limit after finding that the board throttled the CPU under our power tests but not under the performance tests of our performance-to-power calculations.

Synthetic Benchmarks

The X299M Extreme4 appears to boost 3DMark performance out of the gate, but the impacted score is for the graphics card, and those scores fell back as we progressed to other tests. We’re considering the likelihood that this was simply luck-of-the-draw, since it’s not a CPU or DRAM metric.

Remaining synthetics show the X299M Extreme4 with average performance, which is great only because anything else would indicate a problem.

3D Games

The X299M Extreme4 produced slightly above-average performance in its first game test, the High Details setting on Ashe's of the Singularity. It falls back to average in remaining tests, with the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC getting a larger-than-expected benefit in F1 2015 from its improved memory performance.

The Talos Principle showed hollow bars where the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC’s performance would have been if we only measured it with its Nahimic Audio Solution disabled. The Talos-compatible software, which adds features such as virtual 3D and visual mapping of opponent noises, is considered an important-enough feature to MSI that we used the lower FPS score that shows its overhead. The X299M Extreme4 is unaffected.

Timed Applications

The X299M Extreme4 performed slightly worse in 7.Zip, and slightly better in Adobe InDesign, compared to other boards. In the average of all timed tests, it settles comfortably in the middle of the competition.

Power, Heat, & Efficiency

The X299M Extreme4 drew slightly more energy than its ATX sibling at full load, but both boards had remarkably low idle wattage.

Surprisingly, the X299M Extreme4 also ran a little cooler than its ATX sibling. More importantly, it beat the rival MSI board, though the MSI design likely compromises a little voltage regulator cooling thanks to its additional RGB-lit voltage regulator sinks.

The balance of performance and power yields to ASRock, even though the X299M Extreme4 falls behind other ASRock boards in efficiency.

Overclocking

The X299M Extreme4, X299 Extreme4, and X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC all lack an external clock generator, yet only the MSI board has active BCLK multiplier control in firmware to allow users to set 100, 125, and 167MHz base-clock “straps”.

The X299M Extreme4, X299 Extreme4, and X299M had other things in common: All three pushed our CPU to a Prime95 stable 44x multiplier at 1.15V with all 20 threads running an AVX load, and all three kept our DDR4-3866 stable at a 20x multiplier (40x data rate) using 1.35V as measured at the DIMM slots.

The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC started off with better bandwidth at the DDR4-2133 defaults of our benchmark comparison, and that advantage scaled upward with the increased data rate. The X299M Extreme4 appears to beat its full-ATX sibling, though this could be due to its newer firmware.

Final Thoughts

Performance per dollar is exactly the formula implied by its name, taking no cues from advanced features. In other words, it’s a great chart that cheapskates can use as a shield against builders who brag about their advanced feature sets.

The above chart does leave us with a few questions, such as why the X299M Extreme4 costs $30 more than the bigger ATX X299 Exteme4, even though its circuit board is smaller and its second network controller is, at best, a $15 feature? We’ll count it as $10 and assume that ASRock is attempting to make up the other $20 on volume, since setting up a production line and paying a design team have relatively fixed costs regardless of the length of the production run.

The next question is, how does MSI justify its $65 price premium compared to the X299M Extreme4? We can start with its Intel 8265 Wi-Fi controller, which is worth around $15 bare, add its front-panel USB 3.1 Gen2 controller, which came out as an approximate $10 feature when comparing other boards to each other. And we consider the advanced overclocking features such as onboard buttons and a Port 80 diagnostics code display to get to around $35. We’ve heard that a flashback ASIC costs around $20 to implement, but we’re not sure that the thousands of buyers who don’t need it should pay that much to help the dozens of buyers who might. Our conservative estimate is that apart from its added onboard RGB lighting, the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC is worth $45 more than the X299M Extreme4. Maybe MSI is making a similar calculation concerning the added per-unit cost of reduced volume and assuming that it will sell even fewer of its costlier product?

The biggest value losers will obviously be buyers of the X299E-ITX/ac. And before we start counting features, we should start with the notion that Mini ITX builders are accustomed to paying a premium for convenience. The X299E-ITX/ac is, in fact, the best value in Mini ITX boards for LGA 2066, thanks to it being the only LGA 2066 board in that form factor. Sturdier voltage regulator components are required to deal with the heat of its tight confine. Riser boards are needed to deal with its lack of mounting space, and performance is the only truly fair way to compare it.

And that brings us back to the X299M Extreme4. It's a slightly lesser value than its full-ATX sibling, a slightly better value than its better-equipped Micro-ATX competitor, and a fair better value than its Mini ITX alternative. That’s a nice niche to own.

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Best Laptop Memory Upgrades: 8 DDR4 SODIMM Kits Tested & Compared

The Editors of Tom's Hardware — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 12:40:00 +0000

Introduction

Although the average high-end notebook comes equipped with 16GB or 32GB of basic DDR4-2133 memory, gaming-notebook manufacturers are always looking for ways to boost their specs versus the competition's. Nowadays, main system memory is no exception.

In the case of laptop memory, those memory modules are known as SODIMMs, physically shorter in size than their desktop equivalents. The organization that sets DDR4 standards, JEDEC, has gone two steps better than the typical DDR4-2133, with DDR4-2400 and DDR4-2666 both being current SODIMM options, and both operating at the same 1.20V DDR4 standard. Plus, some notebook makers have gone past that, bringing their machines support for gaming-minded memory modules that support XMP memory-overclocking profiles.

We got our hands on some of the latest single SODIMM modules and twin-SODIMM kits to see how much additional performance we could uncover, and whether upgrading to one versus the other (assuming you have the choice to do so) might be worth the differences in price among them. Given the ramp-up in RAM prices at the time we published this, the case for upgrading purely on speed grounds is harder to make than ever. But let's get to quantifying.

Patriot Viper 2666 1x16GB

Transcend 2400 1x8GB

Super Talent 2400 1x8GB

The Single DIMMs We Tested

Most notebooks are based on dual-channel memory architecture, but some thin-and-light notebooks have only a single channel of memory filled, along with a single DIMM slot open and available for upgrades. Because running two sticks in dual-channel mode provides more performance, all else being equal, in that upgrade situation most users will get the greatest performance benefit by matching their "additive," second upgrade module to the memory that’s already installed.

As a result, if that describes you, you might be in the market for a single-DIMM memory kit. We snagged three DDR4-2400 and DDR4-2666 kits to do some comparison testing. Let's take a brief look at each of our single-DIMM contenders...

Patriot Viper 2666 1x16GB (PV416G266C8S)

The only 16GB module we received for testing and available near its low MSRP ($170 for 16GB), Patriot’s PV416G266C8S is great for maximizing RAM in laptops with limited slots.

In addition to the obvious capacity benefits versus 8GB, 16GB DIMMs (including SODIMMs) are always organized as "dual-rank," which—though it’s a little complicated to explain in an overview like this—results in improved memory-controller performance.

Patriot adorns these modules with a heat spreader that’s slightly thicker than the foil-backed stickers on typical DIMMs, even though the added thickness could lead to fitment issues in laptop memory-slot arrangements where modules are tightly stacked or overlapping one another. DDR4-2666 CAS 18 timings are available through both standard SPD programming and a 1.20V XMP profile.

Patriot Viper 2666 1x16GBView Deal

Transcend 2400 1x8GB (TS1GSH64V4H)

Transcend’s TS1GSH64V4H is a standard DDR4-2400 SODIMM with typical JEDEC SPD timings of 17-17-17-39 at 1.20V.

This DIMM differs from our other single-module DDR4-2400 sample in that it’s dual-rank, having the requisite eight ICs per side.

Transcend 2400 1x8GBView Deal

Super Talent 2400 1x8GB (F24SA8GM)

Super Talent’s single-rank F24SA8GM has fewer ICs and a lower price than the above Transcend module. That said, it's still rated at the same JEDEC-standard DDR4-2400 data rate, with 17-17-17-39 timings at 1.20V.

This particular kit is sold in single modules only, and Super Talent validates these in fours to ensure multi-channel stability. So, theoretically, you should be able to pair any two or four modules together without issue.

Because we received several of these, we have tested them in both single- and dual-DIMM configurations. We also used them as the baseline memory for our recent DDR4 quad-channel SODIMM kit review.

Super Talent 2400 1x8GBView Deal

The Dual-Channel Kits We Tested

Buyers who can afford to replace all their memory at once, or who are ordering from a company that builds completely custom laptop configurations, can get their best performance benefit by installing matching module pairs. In this regard, SODIMM-equipped mini gaming desktops can be treated the same way as gaming notebooks that are based on desktop processors. (In systems like these, support for higher-frequency memory and XMP modes is more common.)

Below, let's run through the dual-DIMM kits we looked at. One thing you'll notice: a profusion of mostly similar G.Skill Ripjaws kits. Why? We tested four sets at differing RAM speeds to get a sense of the ramp-up when going from one speed to another in a given SODIMM family.

G.Skill Ripjaws 3800 16GB (2x8GB, F4-3800C18D-16GRS)

Pulled from the toothsome grip of G.Skill’s same-speed quad-channel kit, the Ripjaws F4-3800C18D-16GRS dual-channel kit came in at an MSRP of $229 (a while back, anyway; more on that in a moment). The DDR4-3800 data rate and 18-18-18-38 timings come from its single 1.35V XMP profile, whereas its standard 1.20V SPD values top out at DDR4-2400.

The thing is, in the time between our tests and our writeup here, this kit has become very hard to find. Our tester did find a kit for sale below MSRP before these mostly vanished from the Internet, so you may have to do some concerted searching before you can land one. At this writing, alas, we couldn't find a set for sale online, but that may change by the time you read this.

G.Skill Ripjaws 3800 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

G.Skill Ripjaws 3000 16GB (2x8GB, F4-3000C16D-16GRS)

Bearing the same $229 MSRP as its fastest kit (but selling for well above that at this writing), G.Skill’s F4-3000C16D-16GRS supports two DDR4-3000 XMP profiles (16-18-18-43, and 18-18-18-43) to aid compatibility with a variety of XMP-capable notebooks. Three SPD codes are also available, using basic JEDEC timings: 2400, 2133, and 1866.

All configurations use the DDR4 standard of 1.20V. Our testing was done at the DDR4-3000 CAS 16 XMP setting.

G.Skill Ripjaws 3000 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

HyperX Impact 2666 16GB (2x8GB, HX426S15IB2K2)

Boasting a friendly $194 MSRP, HyperX's Impact model HX426S15IB2K2 also boasts enhanced timings at DDR4-2666 (15-17-17-35), DDR4-2400 (14-16-16-32), and DDR4-2133 (12-14-14-28). Each of those timing sets is two CL cycles quicker than JEDEC-standard, and the highest bandwidth setting is repeated in an XMP table to ease compatibility with XMP-capable systems.

On this kit, all frequency and timing sets use the 1.20V DDR4 standard to improve both compatibility and notebook battery life.

HyperX Impact 2666 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

G.Skill Ripjaws 2666 16GB (2x8GB, F4-2666C18D-16GRS)

With an MSRP of $229, G.Skill’s model F4-2666C18D-16GRS runs at JEDEC DDR4-2666 standard 18-18-18-43 timings and 1.20V. With eight DRAM ICs per side, its dual-rank design is its chief advantage over competing modules in this test set.

G.Skill Ripjaws 2666 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

G.Skill Ripjaws 2400 16GB (2x8GB, F4-2400C16D-16GRS)

A step down the family tree from the G.Skill model above, the company's JEDEC-standard DDR4-2400 model F4-2400C16D-16GRS has an MSRP of $185 and runs at the 1.20V DDR4 industry standard.

G.Skill Ripjaws 2400 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

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How We Tested and Benchmarked DDR4 SODIMM Kits

To run our SODIMM tests, we needed a platform that met three criteria. First, it would allow for easy changes in DIMM configuration; that is, swapping modules in and out quickly. Second, it would support both XMP and SPD timings. And third, it would approximate the highest possible performance available in a notebook.

The need to make easy changes in our DIMM configurations, paired with the need to simulate powerful laptops along the lines of boutique models that take desktop parts, forced us to deploy a desktop motherboard and a matching six-core processor for our testing. To approximate the memory bandwidth of the latest Core i7-8700K-based gaming notebooks that use desktop CPUs, we limited the maximum memory configuration to dual-channel mode. Here's a look at our setup...

CPU	Intel Core i7-7800X 3.5GHz to 4.0GHz, 8.25MB L3 Cache, LGA 2066
Motherboard	X299E-ITX/ac
Graphics	Asus Turbo Series GTX 1080 Ti
Power	be quiet! Straight Power 10 500W

Toss in a few bandwidth-affected benchmarks, and we’re ready to go!

Benchmark Suite
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613 Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21 Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth, Memory Latency
Application Tests & Settings
Adobe CC	After Effects v 13.8.0.144; Photoshop v 20160603.r.88 x64, InDesign Build 11.4.0.90 x64, Illustrator v 20.0.0 (64-bit)(PCMark-driven routine)
Microsoft Office 2013	Word, Excel, PowerPoint (PCMark-driven routine)
Game Tests & Settings
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, Rain 3840x2160 resolution, No AA, No AF Ultra Low, Low, Medium, High, Ultra High Presets
Software
OS	Windows 10 64-bit
Graphics Drivers	GeForce 388.13

Sandra Memory Bandwidth and Cache & Memory Latency benchmarks are great tools to verify that memory is reaching anticipated performance levels regarding bandwidth and latency. Latency is measured in clock cycles, so that both shorter cycles (faster frequencies) and fewer cycles between operations will improve real-time performance. Similarly, because the bandwidth benchmark sends multiple data packets, lower latency settings increase the number of packets per second to improve bandwidth.

The "real-world" Adobe and Microsoft benchmarks mentioned above include timed applications, where less time to complete the task equals more performance, and in the single game (F1 2015), more FPS means more performance. The balance between tests that are greatly affected and less affected by memory performance is meant to represent a wider range of user experience.

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Single-DIMM SODIMM Laptop Memory Kits - Tests and Benchmarks

A note on the performance-result tables to follow: We organized the tables by highest total capacity, followed by highest data rate.

A comparison of the Transcend and Super Talent modules shows that, when scoring overall value (the "Performance Per Capacity Per Dollar" table), a lower price has a bigger impact than any meaningful improvement in performance does.

Digging a little deeper into our Overall Performance chart, we find that games are the best place to see the dual-rank Transcend DDR4-2400 outpacing the single-rank Super Talent DDR4-2400, and that the Patriot Viper's combination of dual-rank design and higher data rate is best.

Our timed workloads (Adobe CC, Microsoft Office) were barely affected by our test kits' variances in data rate or module design, apart from the fact that PCMark's heavy workload for Photoshop is optimized for more than 8GB of DRAM. Sandra's bandwidth-dependent Cryptography bench, meanwhile, is a near-perfect reflection of bandwidth in these single-channel configurations. You can see the clear stepping from 2400 to 2600 modules.

Following from these tests are our individual assessments of the three single-DIMM kits we tested. In short, the Patriot kit is a fine performance pick if all you have to work with is a single SODIMM slot, and your target laptop can handle the timings; the Super Talent makes sense if all that you're after is capacity.

Patriot Viper 2666 1x16GBView Deal

Transcend 2400 1x8GBView Deal

Super Talent 2400 1x8GBView Deal

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Dual-Channel SODIMM Laptop Memory Kits - Tests and Benchmarks

The fastest memory in our test, the Ripjaws DDR4-3800 in its 1.35V XMP configuration, barely outpaced its stock-voltage DDR4-2666 sibling in overall performance. Digging deeper, we find that our game testing illustrated the biggest performance variances, and that the Ripjaws DDR4-2666 won that round. The major differentiating factor was in the number of DRAM ICs, illustrated best by G.Skill's DDR4-2666 kit: It uses 16 ICs to fill two ranks of DRAM per SODIMM.

Digging still deeper into the charts, we find that the “Photoshop Heavy” benchmark in our Adobe CC test suite makes the strongest case for using DDR4-3800 in real-world applications. This 3800 G.Skill set, the fastest module kit in our test lot, also has the least latency, because latency is set in cycles (and faster cycles take fewer nanoseconds). The extra bandwidth available from high data rates also helped the fastest modules cruise through Sandra Cryptography, and Sandra Memory Bandwidth shows us the peak available performance that most real-world applications are incapable of extracting.

Don't forget, however, that games are the tests in which fast memory matters most, and that G.Skill's dual-rank DDR4-2666 won that round without the need for XMP. So, to reiterate: The presence of dual-rank trumped other concerns in that test.

Here's a look at the five individual kits we tested...

G.Skill Ripjaws 3800 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

G.Skill Ripjaws 3000 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

HyperX Impact 2666 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

G.Skill Ripjaws 2666 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

G.Skill Ripjaws 2400 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

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What to Consider Before Updating Your Laptop Memory

On the preceding pages, we walked you through our benchmark tests for eight SODIMM kits and an overview of each product, starting with the single-DIMM results and followed by the dual-DIMM ones. You can dig into the details there on a product-by-product basis, but here's our bottom line: Buying SODIMMs is way more about what you can install than what you might want to install. As a result, you generally shouldn't obsess over maximizing SODIMM speed, except under certain very narrow circumstances.

The money you might spend maximizing RAM speed isn't likely to make a huge real-world difference. That's generally true in the desktop realm, as well, except when playing PC games on integrated graphics, as we saw in our AMD Raven Ridge memory scaling story, AMD Ryzen 5 2400G Tests: How Much Does Memory Impact Gaming? Given that most gaming-focused laptop users will almost certainly have a dedicated graphics chip, maximum memory speed isn’t going to make a major difference.

In the end, once you’ve whittled down the memory modules that will work with your system, if you’re looking for the best balance of performance and price, our advice is (obviously) to make sure you’re running at least two SODIMM sticks (if at all possible) for the extra bandwidth that comes from doubling your memory channels. Then, to nudge the performance needle a little further forward, consider dense dual-rank kits with lots of integrated circuits, to increase the bandwidth even more.

Beyond that, if you want to splurge on high-speed, overclockable memory and your system supports it, you certainly have options. But given the high price of memory these days, and the diminishing returns of expensive RAM with all the possible megahertz, we’d suggest saving that money for other upgrades (say a faster/roomier boot drive) or saving your cash for a future laptop or SFF desktop. Perhaps, by the time you have enough for a new machine, memory prices will have fallen, and new and better graphics chips will be available. We can only hope, but hoping for a better hardware tomorrow might just be a better bet than overspending on expensive RAM today that doesn’t give you much (if any) noticeable benefit.

OK, But I Still Want to Upgrade. Which of These Kits Are Best?

Of the eight kits tested here, to a certain extent the "best" kits are the ones you can install, or whose timings your laptop supports.

Also, let's take the most common upgrade situations.

Some folks are limited by the vagaries of an existing installed module. They're just trying to match the one they have installed as best they can to boost RAM capacity. Their "value" calculation is limited by what they already have installed. They may have to match their existing memory since the installed module is not easily accessible (i.e., they can't swap it out), or their budget precludes swapping out the existing memory; they simply need to augment, not replace.

Others have just one SODIMM slot to play with, and are aiming to swap out an existing lesser-capacity module in that single slot with a bigger-capacity one. Of course, they are working within the spec limitations of the laptop, and that limits their choice pool. Their sole objective is to buy a bigger module than what they had installed before (and maybe one that is faster, too, if their system supports it).

Other upgraders may have two slots to play with, and mean to fill both slots with new modules. That's a similar objective to the previous upgrader's, but again limited by what the system supports.

So, What To Do?

To make sense of these disparate upgrade and/or install situations, we have to split up our recommendations.

If you are in a situation where you have the flexibility to install high-speed RAM, the subset to consider is way different. Assuming you can use it, we like the 2666 Ripjaws kit for its balance, as well as the HyperX...

G.Skill Ripjaws 2666 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

HyperX Impact 2666 16GB (2x8GB)View Deal

That said, most of the modules tested here offer solid value to laptop users who simply need more memory capacity. And the single modules could be particularly useful in those upgrade situations where you have only a single slot to work with. For these users, Super Talent DDR4-2400’s lower price--assuming it stays low, relative to the rest--will be a big draw.

Super Talent 2400 1x8GBView Deal

That said, none of these modules raised a red flag on performance. And indeed, the sheer benefit of more RAM capacity than you had before should outweigh the mild performance differences among specific apps, assuming you choose a suitable kit within the limitations of your laptop's memory support.

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ASRock X299 Extreme4 ATX Motherboard Review: Making Core-X Affordable?

Thomas Soderstrom — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 01:00:00 +0000

Features & Layout

Similar prices between Intel’s Core i7-7800X and Core i7-8700K haven’t gone unnoticed by value-seeking performance PC builders. Both have six cores and 12 threads, but the i7-8700K is clocked higher and has more cache. The top processor in the mainstream segment looks like a clear value leader, until we consider the 7800X’s extra PCIe lanes. SLI can go more ways. CrossFire can be made faster. More drives can interface the CPU directly, rather than going through the chipset’s shared four-lane interface.

Yet just when you start to think that Core-X might be the way to go, you’re slapped with the reality of $300 motherboards. Maybe you can’t afford it? ASRock thinks it can help!

We can’t exactly say that the $200 X299 Extreme4 will fill all of your Core-X-pectations, however, as one of the ways ASRock kept cost down was to reduce the number of PCIe pathway switches, compared to these previously mentioned $300 rivals. Core i9s shed 12 onboard PCIe lanes, and the 78xx models four lanes, just to maintain slot compatibility with those low-end Kaby Lake-X processors we’d just as soon forget about. Rather than rant about Intel’s decision to produce Kaby Lake-X, let’s see what the board can do with the remaining lanes!

Rather than lose any storage pathways when connected to a Kaby Lake-X processor, the X299 Extreme4 ties both M.2 slots to the chipset. Users who would rather have faster storage than SLI can use an adapter such as ASRock’s Ultra Quad M.2 Card to add up to four NVMe drives to a single x16 slot. ASRock will tell you that you’ll need a 44-lane (Core i9) processor to get 16 lanes to its second PCIe x16 slot, but what it didn’t say is that users of 28-lane CPUs can alternatively put their graphics card in the second x16 slot and operate it with eight pathways, while using the first x16 slot for storage. ASRock even provides the settings to address the four storage cards independently in the top x16 slot...

The above settings worked perfectly for us, and that our graphics card lost only around 5% in the transition from x16 to x8 mode. We also found that PCIe 1.0 was the default mode for a single graphics card mounted in the second x16 slot, so that manual configuration was necessary to reach the card’s performance potential. Having shown that the first x16 slot can be used for storage (to enable 4x4 NVMe configurations on 28-lane processors), we’re ready to treat the X299 Extreme4 as a true High-End Desktop platform and get back to the pretty pictures!

A VROC interface at the top of the board’s front edge allows builders to essentially add RAID firmware to the CPU-based PCIe lanes, enabling RAID mode for multi-M.2 adapter cards such as the one mentioned above. Other high-speed storage options include eight SATA 6Gb/s ports at the front of the board, Type-A and Type-C USB 3.1 Gen2 ports on the I/O panel, and two M.2 interfaces above and below the top PCIe x16 slot. A third M.2 interface near the board’s back edge uses the PCIe/USB interface of Key-E for full compatibility with notebook-based Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo cards.

We’ve been proponents for the retention of USB 2.0 as a keyboard/mouse interface ever since Intel introduced flexible HSIO interfaces for PCIe, SATA, and USB 3.0. Those resources are a little scarce, and there’s no need to waste any on a keyboard and mouse. ASRock takes resource conservation to the next level by having two USB 2.0 plus two PS/2 ports, none of which needs an HSIO pathway. Other I/O-panel items include five analog and one digital optical audio interface, four USB 3.0 and two USB 3.1 Gen2 interfaces, and a CLR_CMOS button.

While expensive boards typically preserve I/O resources by using a hub for some of their USB 3.0 ports, ASRock gets around that problem by not having a second USB 3.0 front-panel header. This also makes sense, since each header serves two ports, and most cases have only two USB 3.0 front-panel ports.

Layout oddities include a top PCIe x16 slot that aligns to the case’s third expansion slot, and a front-panel audio connector that’s pushed forward from the traditional corner by about an inch. While the audio-header placement is beneficial to those whose cables might otherwise come up a little short, pushing a graphics-card slot southward while maintaining three slots of separation (for improved graphics cooling) means that the second PCIe x16 slot aligns to the case’s sixth position. Due to the thickness of most graphics-card coolers, CrossFire and SLI users will typically find the third x16-length slot inaccessible. And remember what we said about 28-lane CPUs requiring the top x16 slot to host ASRock’s Ultra Quad M.2 Card? Moving a single graphics card to the second x16 slot will also effectively block the bottom x16-length slot. In that configuration, the only remaining expansion slots are the PCIe x1 and M.2 Key-E slot. And, since PCIe x1 and M.2 Key-E share a lane, using one of those interfaces excludes using the other.

In addition to its favorably positioned front-panel audio header, the X299 Extreme4’s bottom edge has a TPM header, one (of two) RGB headers, a CLR_CMOS jumper, a Thunderbolt add-in-card header, two (of five) fan headers, two USB 2.0 front-panel headers, a header for a Performance Mode/Easy OC switch set (not included), an Intel-style front panel LED/Switch group, a four-pin PC (Beep-code) speaker header, and a second power LED header for three-pin-spaced cables.

The X299 Extreme4 includes a driver disc, documentation, four SATA cables, a high-bandwidth SLI bridge, an antenna cable bracket, the I/O shield, and a case badge. The antenna bracket makes sense given the PCIe plus USB requirements of Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo cards: While users could install a PCIe x1 adapter in the top slot and drape its USB cable all the way down to a header at the bottom of the board, they could alternatively remove the module from such a card, install it in the M.2 Key-E slot, and connect the card’s antenna cables to the X299 Extreme4’s bracket.

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Software & Firmware

ASRock’s RGB software interface is unchanged from recent reviews, but the image always reflects the motherboard model used. In this case, it shows that the X299 Extreme4 only has circumferential lighting under its PCH sink, plus RGB headers.

ASRock EZ OC mode for A-Tuning is based on manufacturer-programed firmware overclocking profiles, which we’ll get to within the firmware section in paragraphs below. Manual tuning worked within our ability to test it, which included changes to the CPU multiplier, CPU core voltage, and DRAM voltage.

A-Tuning’s System Info provides a realistic reading of temperatures and voltage, and its Fan-Tastic tuning allows users to pick cooling profiles or have the board use its own algorithm to determine an optimized ratio of temperature-to-noise.

Firmware

The X299 Extreme4 firmware opens to ASRock’s Advanced Mode GUI, where the OC Tweaker menu prominently displays factory-programmed overclocking profiles of 4.2GHz at stock core voltage, 1.90V CPU input voltage, and incredibly high -2/-9 AVX/AVX3 offsets for the CPU multiplier, 4.4GHz at 1.90V input and -4/-11 offsets, 4.60GHz at 1.26V CPU core / 2.00V input voltage and -6/-13 AVX offsets, and 4.80GHz at 1.32V core / 2.10V input and -8/-15 AVX offsets. No thanks!

The OC Tweaker menu also offers storage for five user-programmed overclocking configurations, a utility to export and import those using a USB flash drive, and several submenus from which users can make their manual overclocking adjustments.

We reached 4.40GHz with full AVX stability and no AVX offset, using only 1.15V CPU core and no increase in CPU I/O voltage. The CPU would go farther if not for the problem of extracting heat from all 10 cores when running 20 threads of Prime95 small FFTs: As with every other X299 board we’ve tested, the additional voltage required to reach higher clocks causes CPU thermal throttling under that load.

The X299 Extreme4 offers a complete set of primary, secondary, tertiary, and even quaternary timings, in addition to other memory settings intended to help users find the fastest stable data rates at the quickest stable timings. Using standard XMP voltage and timings, the board stably pushed our DDR4-3866 to DDR4-4000.

The DRAM Tweaker submenu simply displays timing tables taken from a module’s SPD IC.

ASRock divides its voltage menus by motherboard-based and CPU-integrated controllers. DRAM voltage is controlled by the motherboard, and our voltmeter showed a 25mV discrepancy between set voltage and actual voltage. Most manufacturers do similar things to achieve better stability, yet it has lead to a vicious cycle where the fastest memory often requires more voltage than it is rated at, simply to reach its rated settings. We like to compare our overclocks using the same voltage on every board tested, and 25mV is at the upper range of these cheats. On the other hand, ASRock is at least honest enough to report the actual voltage in its H/W Monitor.

The X299 Extreme4 did an excellent job of maintaining our desired 1.15V CPU core setting, using its “Level 2 Load-Line Calibration” setting.

The X299 Extreme4’s “Advanced” menu has a setting where users can change the default GUI from “Advanced Mode” to “Easy Mode.” This is also where users will find the important PCIe controls discussed on page 1 of this review.

ASRock’s “Tool” menu includes an RGB control interface identical to that of its software, an email-sending client for tech support, an “Easy Raid Installer” (it’s supposed to copy files from the motherboard’s support DVD to a USB flash drive, but it didn’t read the files on this support DVD), a firmware-flashing utility that reads files from a USB flash drive, and a utility that polls ASRock servers for new firmware and downloads it to a USB flash drive.

The X299 Extreme4’s H/W Monitor page includes fan settings, where we found that only two of the headers could be switched from PWM to voltage-based controls. Its “Fan Tuning” algorithm creates custom temperature-to-speed slopes supplemental to factory programming, and its FAN-Tastic Tuning menu allows users to create their own custom fan slopes.

If those settings seem a little elaborate to you, feel free to punch the keyboard’s F6 function key and go to Easy Mode, where simple things such as XMP-enable, boot order, and fan settings can still be accessed.

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How We Test

Additional cores create additional thermal and power loads that can push other hardware to its limits, yet the parts we’re hoping to push to the limit are all on the motherboards. Intel’s 10-core, 20-thread Core i9-7900X CPU is a great product for stressing the voltage regulators of various X299 motherboards, particularly under our full-AVX-load overclocking stability test.

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

Comparison Products

ASRock X299 Extreme4

Asus Prime X299-A

MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

Close price matches to the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC include ASRock's X299 Taichi, Gigabyte's X299 Aorus Gaming 3, and Asus' Prime X299-A. We've added MSI's X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC and ASRock's X299E-ITX/ac for a more-entertaining ATX-to-MicroATX-to-Mini-ITX comparison

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark-driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark-driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark-driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark-driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1080, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, Very High Quality, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmark Results & Final Analysis

We test motherboards with all the power savings features enabled and any factory overclocks disabled, including the disabling of “enhanced turbo” modes that most manufacturers now use to force the highest Intel Turbo Boost ratios regardless of the number of cores loaded.

Synthetic Benchmarks

By focusing on specific system components, synthetic benchmarks are a great tool to determine if a manufacturer is cheating, or if a component is misconfigured. 3DMark and PCMark show the X299 Extreme4 to be within the normal performance range.

The X299 Extreme4 stays close to the high end of the previously defined performance range though Sandra, Cinebench, and Compubench.

3D Games

We would love to say that something stood out about the X299 Extreme4’s gaming performance, but the only real deviation we saw was a Talos performance deficit in the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, where the board’s Nahimic 3D-positioning software imparted overhead when it encountered a game with which it was compatible. And MSI users can disable that software to boost Talos FPS, if they choose.

Timed Applications

Nothing is easier to explain than mundane numbers. Intel has done such a great job of integrating functions that there are few ways other than overclocking for a single board to get ahead. Oh, there is the X299 Extreme4’s slight miss in our PowerPoint bench, but a difference that small might have occurred by happenstance.

Power, Heat, & Efficiency

There’s really nothing to explain about the X299 Extreme4’s power numbers either, as it falls in line with an Asus and an ASRock board from previous reviews. The higher MSI and Gigabyte numbers are caused by poor power management and/or CPU core over-voltage.

The X299 Extreme4 has a large voltage regulator heat sink to keep those temperatures reasonable, and its loaded CPU temperature is close to the average of the two other boards of similar energy use.

Who would have thought that the three boards that consume similar wattage would have similar efficiency scores? But there could be an important point to be made about all these ordinary findings, since the X299 Extreme4 has around two-thirds of the price of the other products in this comparison.

Overclocking

The X299 Extreme4 reaches the same ultimate CPU frequency as other solid boards, with only one of its competitors falling behind. Moreover, it allowed our memory to run at DDR4-4000 settings. On the other hand, one of the ways ASRock reduced the cost of this board was to rely on integrated BCLK control, rather than a discrete clock generator, so that the BCLK couldn’t be altered whatsoever.

The extra DRAM clock came with extra DRAM bandwidth, dispelling the notion that ASRock might have gotten there by lengthening its timings. This could have been a great board for memory comparisons, if only it had an external clock generator to enable the fine adjustments required in those comparisons.

Final Thoughts

A few things that really stuck out about the value-priced X299 Extreme4 were that it performs as well as an expensive board, it overclocks our heat-sensitive CPU as well as an expensive board, and that its expansion slot configuration is far less flexible than any more-expensive board.

People love to talk about performance-per-dollar, a.k.a. bang for the buck, even though such charts don’t make concessions for added features. With none of its M.2 interfaces tied to the faster CPU-based PCIe controller, the X299 Extreme4 forces builders to choose between two graphics cards or a single card plus fast storage. Three-way CrossFire isn’t even a consideration when the third slot is only one space away from the second.

But the X299 Extreme4 is only $200, and anyone who wanted to run just a single graphics card and a PCIe x16-to-four-way-M.2 adapter will find it suitable. On the other hand, gamers choosing between the Core i7-7800X and Core i7-8700K will have a hard time justifying the use of a slower-clocked 7800X, since both platforms will restrict at least one card to x8 mode.

2018 brings us one award option, Editors' Choice, and if we had only $200 to spend on an LGA-2066 motherboard, the X299 Extreme4 is the only board we could choose.

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MSI X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC Motherboard Review: MicroATX to the Max

Thomas Soderstrom — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 13:00:00 +0000

Features & Layout

Buyers trying to decide between ATX and Mini-ITX have our complete sympathy, as the larger form factor is beyond the needs of most enthusiasts. Hardcore gamers typically run one or two ultra-high-end graphics cards, and even power users typically have only four DIMMs, a single high-end graphics card, and no more than two other high-bandwidth devices. Going ATX means buying all the huge pieces that support it, which seems like a terrible waste of space to users who only wanted a couple more DIMM slots and a slightly larger CPU voltage regulator.

Conceptualized to support the low-energy processors of set-top boxes, digital signage, and office terminals, Mini-ITX was never intended to have those things. AMD tried to address the conceptual flaws of the Mini-ITX “godbox” in its 9.6”-deep DTX initiative, whereupon experienced builders mostly asked “why” and didn’t stick around to hear the answer.

Yet another compact form factor that applies all the fixes to satisfy most enthusiasts has been with us all along:

Within the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon lies the capability for gamers to install two full-size graphics cards in full PCIe 3.0 x16 mode. Power users can just as easily stuff a workstation card in one x16 slot, a 4x4 M.2 storage adapter in the other x16 slot, and the x8 card of their choice in a third slot. The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC offers most of what we liked about its full-ATX sibling, but in a smaller MicroATX package.

Specifications

We did say that the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC supports most of that features of its larger sibling, but a few key things are missing besides the two lower expansion slots. First, the board doesn’t support 16-lane (Kaby Lake-X) processors. (Then again, neither did most of us.) The U.2 connector is also missing, though users who need to move their NVMe storage off the board are free to use an M.2 slot adapter.

The MicroATX version also has one fewer USB port on the I/O panel than the full-size X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, yet the smaller board gains a second network port, along with the associated controller (Intel’s i211AT). Both use the same PCIe 3.0 x2-based ASM3142 to feed Type-C and Type-A USB 3.1 Gen2 ports, both have the same 867Mb/s Intel 8265 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module, and both provide CLR_CMOS and USB BIOS Flasback buttons on the I/O panel. That last feature allows users to flash firmware from a USB flash drive using an onboard ASIC, regardless of whether a compatible processor and RAM have been installed.

The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC keeps all eight SATA ports, donating only one to each of the M.2 slots when SATA-based drivers are installed there. Yet in spite of each M.2 slot’s PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe capability, the MicroATX board faces the same M.2 bandwidth-sharing limitation of the ATX version, due to the four-lane DMI of Intel’s X299 PCH. The quest for ultimate drive performance points to the 16 lanes of the second slot and the eight lanes of the third slot, since certain interface adapter cards can break those out to four-lane M.2 drives. Half of those lanes are disabled when using a 28-lane (Core i7-78xxX) processor, but x8/x4 without DMI restrictions is still a great bit better than what the chipset offers.

As far as we can tell, upper M.2 slot placement is the primary reason that MSI put four DIMMs on the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC, unlike its eight-DIMM big brother. Yet putting it there also limited space around the USB 3.1 Gen2 front-panel connector, so its dedicated ASM3142 controller was moved to the back of the board. The MicroATX board also loses the larger board’s second USB 3.0 header, though it keeps both USB 2.0 connections.

Software RAID from the CPU’s PCIe controller requires an add-in module, and the necessary VROC module header is located in the front lower corner, right between the USB 2.0 headers and the last pair of SATA ports. Power and Reset buttons are located above it. To the left of (i.e., behind) the USB 2.0 headers you'll find the front-panel switch/LED group, a dual-ROM BIOS selector switch, a TPM header, a button to enable “Demo Mode” for the onboard RGB controller, a power input for demonstrating LED modes in an uninstalled board, two (of the board’s five) fan headers, an RGB LED output, and an HD Audio front-panel header.

The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC does not include a high-bandwidth SLI bridge. The flexible bridge makes sense from the standpoint of enabling users to configure SLI using either the second or third slot, but leaving the low-cost OEM part out of the package when aftermarket pieces are quite pricey seems stingy. We still get a very nice pair of magnetic-base antennas, four SATA cables, an 80cm RGB LED splitter cable, two alternative top plates for the decorative I/O connector cover, a case badge, and some stickers, along with the required documentation, a driver and application disc, and the I/O shield.

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Software & Firmware

As indicated by the nearly identical screen shot, the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC includes the same software suite described in our X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC review. That said, we can focus on the minor differences in how these applications work on the newer, smaller model.

For example, MSI’s normally solid Command Center software suite still has most of its features, but BCLK overclocking doesn’t work, and neither does Game Boost. The first problem comes down to a lack of BCLK fine tuning as of BIOS version 1.40. As for Game Boost, it was only able to set our CPU to a -3 offset for AVX loads.

The problem with Game Boost might have something to do with a crash that preceded our attempt to enable it in software. The setting is firmware-based, and a previous attempt to engage it from firmware caused the system to hang continuously.

Mystic LED worked on its home screen, but nothing we tried could bring up its advanced settings menu. As such, monochrome lighting patterns and sticky color changes were the only settings we could reach. Die-hard builders will note that the software isn’t completely necessary, since the onboard Demo LED button allows users to cycle through all lighting and color modes.

Firmware

MSI Click BIOS 5 opens to its EZ Mode GUI only upon first entry, after which it “remembers” the way it was exited the previous time. EZ Mode allows users to enable XMP memory and Game Boost factory-programmed overclocks, set boot order, access fan settings, and so on. Pressing the F7 keyboard function gets users to the more tuner-friendly Advanced GUI.

As with big boards, the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC easily pushed our 10-core CPU to 4.40GHz under 20-thread AVX loads using only 1.15V for the CPU core. That voltage is ultra-important, because Prime95 Small FFTs will push our CPU to its thermal threshold when attempting greater overclocks at higher voltage. Yet while the big MSI boards typically lack manual “boot strap” adjustment, the “CPU Base Clock” setting of this MicroATX model is nothing but boot strap. Users can only select 100MHz, 125MHz, or 166MHz.

Our DDR4-3866 easily reached DDR4-4000 without hesitation, using the board’s 1.340V setting. That again is important, because our voltmeter measured 1.3549V at that setting. We use the “1.355V rounds up” math rule to guide our voltage limit, because most manufacturers try to win overclocking comparisons by adding more voltage than the system reports.

Memory tweakers are welcome to chase down higher overclocks at looser timings, or better performance with tighter timings, as the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC supports a full range of primary through tertiary latency adjustments.

The DigitALL Power menu includes CPU Loadline Calibration, otherwise known as “vdroop compensation,” to hold up the CPU core voltage as it begins to sag under heavy data loads. Mode 3 kept our overclocked CPU just below its thermal throttle limit.

Other submenus of the OC Menu allow users to view CPU and memory specs, and enable or disable various performance-enhancement and power-saving features.

The firmware M-Flash button instructs the system to reboot to a special flashing mode for firmware updates.

There’s enough extra room on each firmware ROM to support six custom configurations. Users can also export and import these profiles using a USB flash drive.

All five fan headers can be switched between PWM and voltage-based control modes, using either factory-programed or user-defined temperature-to-RPM slopes.

MSI Board Explorer shows where things are plugged in, making it easy for a user to see whether a component is being detected at POST. Moving the mouse pointer over each connector prompts the GUI to display additional information.

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How We Test

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

Comparison Products

MSI X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC

ASRock X299E-ITX/ac

MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

Close price matches to the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC include ASRock's X299 Taichi, Gigabyte's X299 Aorus Gaming 3, and Asus' Prime X299-A. We've added MSI's own X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC and ASRock's X299E-ITX/ac for a more entertaining ATX-to-MicroATX-to-Mini-ITX comparison.

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark-driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark-driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark-driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark-driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of the Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1080, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, Very High Quality, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmark Results & Final Analysis

While a few X299 motherboards will attempt to hold the Core i9-7900X’s rated 4.00GHz Turbo Boost setting for 10-core loads and report a TDP of over 200W under the heft of Prime95 small FFTs, even fewer will attempt to keep the CPU within Intel’s original 140W TDP by clocking all the way down to around 3.4GHz. Most samples we’ve tested allow the CPU clock to drop to 3.60GHz, and report a TDP of somewhere between 160W and 190W, and the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC counts itself among these.

The power-management behavior of various boards and even firmware revisions is something to keep in mind when we get to the power and efficiency ratings at the bottom of this page, yet none of our regular benchmarks can hold so high a demand on the processor for so long that throttling becomes necessary.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Anyone hoping to see something special in 3DMark or PCMark might be disappointed, but we are happy to report that the MicroATX design has no significant impact on the results of these benchmarks.

The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC has a slight lead in Sandra Memory Bandwidth, and the improved memory performance also has a slight impact in a few other benchmarks, but there’s no differences large enough to set off any alarm bells.

3D Games

The slight memory-bandwidth advantage mentioned above pays dividends at our lowest setting of F1 2015, but it’s not like anyone who owns such otherwise-unrestricted hardware would need to use those low settings. Ashes is the game where some may claim they’ve no FPS to spare, and the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC produces on-par performance in that title.

Both the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC and its ATX sibling are delivered with Nahimic’s audio solution, for which Talos is the only compatible game we’re using. Using it imparts a moderate FPS impact. We retested it with the software disabled, and the performance gain is shown as the empty bars of each chart.

Timed Applications

The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC produces on-par overall performance in our mixed workloads, where less time means better performance.

Alas, today’s test subject had a small performance stumble in our PowerPoint test. But that’s only one test...no big deal, right?

Power, Heat, & Efficiency

The X299M falls right to the middle of our power chart, hampered slightly by what appears to be an inability to reach its lowest idle power state while still active (i.e., not suspended or sleeping).

Heat is another concern for the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC, as its voltage-regulator sink is too far from the fans of our test system and too low-profile to catch much of the remaining airflow. That’s not a MicroATX issue, though, and those who would claim otherwise should go back to Page 1 and look at the pictures so that they can see that MSI had plenty of room to increase heatsink size. Perhaps the designers had the top-mounted fans of liquid-cooled tower cases in mind with this design?

The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC ends our test 0.9% below average, even after the big hit it took in Talos with its Nahimic audio solution enabled. Those who don’t want the software are welcome not to install it, but some users really like it. Moreover, its efficiency is 3.7% above average.

Overclocking

The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC beats its larger sibling in CPU overclocking, but that’s probably because the larger board used early firmware. The ability to use a DDR4-4000 data rate setting was also a nice bonus, and we probably could have taken it even higher if BCLK fine adjustment had been available.

We continue to validate the performance gain of memory overclocking, since some manufacturers were using bad timings to boost O/C capability on past boards. The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC has none of those problems, and it tops our bandwidth chart with an excellent 74GB/s.

We'd even like to use this board for DRAM testing, if only it had BCLK fine adjustment capability. The only purpose we have for that setting is to determine winners in overclocking tests, as we’d be very happy with the simple 4.4GHz CPU clock and DDR4-4000 settings if we were using this in an ultimate-performance PC.

Final Analysis

Testing boards of vastly different price levels leaves nothing of credible value in our Performance Per Dollar chart, yet we were pleased to have three competing boards of similar price in the ASRock X299 Taichi, Aorus X299 Gaming 3, and Asus Prime X299-A for today’s charts. The other two comparison boards, the X299E-ITX/ac and the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, show Mini-ITX and ATX alternatives to the MicroATX form factor.

From a features standpoint, the more expensive boards are the closest matches here to the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC. Both have the same premium Wi-Fi adapter as the MicroATX sample, the smaller board has the same dual Gigabit Ethernet configuration, and the ATX board has the same dual USB 3.1 Gen2 configuration. Boards in the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC’s price range come up even shorter, with the ASRock X299 Taichi offering only a low-end Wi-Fi controller and single USB 3.1 Gen2, the Aorus X299 Gaming 3 having only single Ethernet, a single USB 3.1 Gen2 controller, and no Wi-Fi, and the Prime X299-A having both USB 3.1 Gen2 controllers but no Wi-Fi. (Of course, all the ATX boards have eight DIMM slots and additional PCIe expansion.)

The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC thus meets all of our criteria for an award, but in 2018 the only award we issue now is an Editors' Choice. As this is the only X299 MicroATX model that any manufacturer has been willing to submit, we have to reserve a verdict on that score; but we’d love to put it in either a dual-card gaming rig or a productivity PC. BCLK fine-tuning is esoteric for most buyers, after all, and the onboard feature set is excellent. Unfortunately, the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC does not include one of those low-cost OEM HB-SLI bridges, and we really can’t bring ourselves to pay 10 times as much to get a flashy-looking one out of retail channels. Ah, for the want of a nail.

Like many of its high-end forbearers, the X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC proves that MicroATX should be the ideal form factor for most enthusiasts, if not for a few elder advice-givers who associate the entire form factor with the cheapest boards of the 1990s. We’d love to remind our senior readers that relying on 20-year-old experiences can lead to opinions that are 15 years obsolete. The X299M Gaming Pro Carbon AC is your proof, if you’re open-minded enough to try it.

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Gigabyte X299 Designare EX ATX Motherboard Review: Solid OC, Plus Thunderbolt 3

Thomas Soderstrom — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 13:00:00 +0000

Features & Layout

Intel refers to the X299 platform as “High-End Desktop” (HEDT), but the term "high-end" means different things to different people. A gamer might think the top mainstream parts are better because they support higher overclocks, while a power user would scoff at that platform’s lack of connectivity. The overlap continues as the cheapest HEDT components don’t even have any of the features called “high end” when placed on a mainstream platform.

Conversely, some boards far exceed "high-end" expectations. And the X299 Designare EX’s feature set places it among these elite parts.

Since its metal parts are painted the same aluminum color as its plastic parts, we should probably start off by mentioning that all of the sinks and M.2 covers are aluminum. Likewise striking is an I/O shield mounted to the board and designed to press up against the edges of the hole in the back of a case, rather than snap into that hole, a feature normally reserved for OEM system components.

Specifications

The best news is that Gigabyte took nearly every criticism we leveled against its Aorus Gaming 7 and used it as an opportunity to build a board, basically, for us. That should make it a shoo-in for our highest award. Yet the X299 Designare EX is not a variation of the Aorus Gaming 7 despite design similarities, and this model must still stand on its own merits.

The headline upgrade is on the I/O panel, where we see not one but two Type-C connectors. And just when you were about to say, “So what, the Gaming 7 had 10Gb/s Type-A and Type-C ports,” you should probably notice the inputs next to those ports. Gigabyte equipped the X299 Designare EX with Intel’s latest JHL6540 Thunderbolt 3 controller, providing up to 36Gb/s of PCIe bandwidth, plus DisplayPort pass-through. Users with the right equipment get to choose whether to pass all 40Gb/s through a single cable or through two. Or you can just connect a couple of USB 3.1 Gen2 devices, with each at its full 10Gb/s bandwidth. Choices, choices…

The X299 chipset still has the same HSIO restrictions as the Z370, so the extra lanes required for the Thunderbolt 3 controller must come from somewhere. Gigabyte substitutes two USB 2.0 ports for the previously reviewed model’s USB 3.0, and that’s fine with us, since it’s the standard for keyboards and mice. More concerning to those who need a bunch of USB 3.0 is that all four ports are connected to a single chipset port through a hub. The chipset’s remaining 25 HSIO connections go to six SATA ports, a PCIe-based 2-port SATA controller, two front-panel USB 3.0 headers (four ports), a PCIe 3.0 x2 controller for front-panel USB 3.1 Gen2, an M.2 Key-E based Wi-Fi controller, the second Gigabit Eithernet controller, an M.2 NVMe slot, and two four-lane PCIe expansion card slots. But wait, doesn’t this board have three NVMe interfaces?

The first, third, and fifth expansion slots are served by CPU lanes, allowing a 44-lane CPU to support three graphics cards in x8/x16/x8 mode, a 28-lane CPU to support three graphics cards in x8/x8/x8 mode, and a 16-lane CPU to support two cards in x8/x8 mode with the third slot disabled. The second PCIe slot shares four lanes with the middle M.2 interface, so that builders can choose whether to install an NVMe drive on either interface (but not both). And the third M.2 slot takes all four HSIO resources from SATA, shutting off ports 4 through 7, so that we can’t count one without excluding the other. The fourth PCIe slot is permanently connected to the X299 PCH, but most SLI and CrossFire users will lose access to that slot when it’s covered by the graphics cooler of the card above. We’re still not sure why Gigabyte would choose to keep that slot active at all times, rather than the second slot, but trace-routing optimization probably had much to do with its decision. And we’re not sure why Gigabyte couldn’t have shared that slot with the third M.2 rather than a bunch of SATA, but ditto on what we said a sentence ago.

Apart from a usually-exposed slot being disabled for the sake of M.2 while an often-covered slot remains always-on, the X299 Designare EX has a great set of features. The bottom edge of the board is lined with front-panel audio, S/PDIF-out, digital LED, one (of two) RGBW, TPM, dual USB 2.0, two (of eight) PWM/voltage switchable fan, one (of two) thermistor, one (of two) USB 3.0, and VROC module headers. We also find a button to enable the board’s programmed 4.7GHz O/C, a reset button, a power switch, a two-digit status code display, the front panel LED/switch group header, and a CLR_CMOS button. Our greatest concern, that the USB 3.0 header will be nullified by a bottom-mounted graphics card, is small since most cases don’t have four USB 3.0 headers. And our least concern is that the front-panel audio cables of some cases won’t reach all the way to the bottom-rear corner header: Such poorly specified cables typically come up less than an inch short, and most case companies have solved that issue.

Appealing to users of open platforms and frame-style cases, Gigabyte covers the back of its X299 Designare in a steel plate that’s covered in the same aluminum-silver paint as the aluminum heat sinks and plastic trim.

On one hand, it was very thoughtful of Gigabyte to include an M.2-to-U.2 adapter in the X299 Designare EX installation kit. On the other hand, it reminds us that putting the card in the lower M.2 slot will disable four of the SATA ports. Other pieces include a cable bundler for front-panel switch and LED connections, six SATA cables (if you can use them), two RGBW splitters, two Velcro cable ties, two thermistor leads, a Wi-Fi antenna, and a high-bandwidth SLI bridge.

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Software & Firmware

Gigabyte APP Center remains the launching point for most Gigabyte apps, which we described back in our X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Review. Differences in appearance are limited to the new default color scheme, and the board even has the same Creative SoundBlasterX 720° audio suite.

The layout hasn’t changed for Gigabyte’s RGB Fusion app, but we took a few screenshots anyway, since each board has its own set of lighting zones. Lacking any LEDs for the expansion or memory slots, the X299 Designare EX has only a single zone for onboard RGBs, and a second zone for its RGBW outputs. We didn’t have any compatible peripherals to test.

EasyTun remains familiar, and the good news is that the 4.7GHz O/C, which is programed into the board’s firmware, works well. The reason we won’t be reporting a 4.7GHz “max stable O/C” in our charts is that it uses a 1.25V setting, causing our CPU to reach its thermal limit and throttle back to 4.3GHz at 1.20V when running 12 threads of Prime95 small FFTs. Since most workloads aren’t so demanding as Prime95, most users can get a mostly consistent 4.7GHz setting using Gigabyte’s method.

That’s not to say there weren’t any hiccups. Switching to ECO mode when running Prime95 caused the PC to crash. And while ECO mode did work if set before staring the Prime95 workload, switching back to Default mode caused our CPU to “stick” at 4.5GHz and 1.25V CPU core. Once again it would throttle back under Prime95 small FFTs, reaching a full 472W power consumption (from the wall) before doing so! Rebooting corrected the issue.

The Advanced CPU OC menu provides Windows access to the firmware’s full range of voltage and ratio settings. It works perfectly, at least within our ability to monitor changes (i.e., BCLK, CPU multiplier, CPU core voltage).

The DRAM ratio and XMP settings work too, but they require a reboot. DRAM timing menus are inaccessible.

Advanced Power settings are limited to CPU VCORE Loadline Calibration, better known as “vdroop compensation” in overclocking circles.

Users can also save Easytune overclocking configurations and assign hotkeys to enable these.

Clicking the little gear icon on the main EasyTune interface brings up the Hardware Monitor menu on the right edge of the screen, the image of which I split and placed side-by-side for easier viewing within this article’s format. Clicking the leftward arrow on the Hardware Monitor menu takes users to Gigabyte’s System Information Viewer fan-tuning app.

Firmware

X299 Designare EX firmware opens to the M.I.T. menu of its Classic mode, providing submenu links for overclocking, system monitoring, and fan control.

Our super-tough validation test combines with the mediocre thermal interface of Intel’s Core i9-7900X to thermally constrain our overclock to 4.4GHz at 1.15V. Higher voltage is tolerated at lower clocks, but the additional voltage needed to sustain a higher clock causes our CPU to reach its thermal limit and throttle back. The X299 Designare EX is one of several boards we’ve tested to provide a stable-enough voltage to reach the CPU’s limit.

None of the LGA 2066 processor range supports the half-ratios needed to get our CPU to its rated DDR4-3866. The X299 Designare EX treats it as DDR4-3800, and a little extra tuning proved these settings stable up to a 102MHz BCLK (DDR4-3876).

Gigabyte’s “Memory Timing Modes” include a Manual mode that adjusts all channels together, and an Advanced Manual mode for per-channel configuration. Primary through tertiary timing adjustments are available, along with channel-to-channel settings.

The Advanced Voltage Settings submenu is a launching point for another set of submenus to control CPU Loadline Calibration, CPU core voltage, Chipset, and DRAM voltages. Our CPU operated best using the firmware’s “Turbo” mode “Vcore Loadline Calibration” in conjunction with its 1.15V CPU core voltage setting.

There was an approximate 5mV bias between the front and rear DRAM voltage regulators. Two channels operated at approximately 25mV above our setting, and the other two at around 20mV above our setting. Most motherboards push more voltage than a user manually sets, to ensure stability when used with the most-inflated RAM specs. Some memory manufacturers have responded to the inflated voltage by producing RAM with even more-inflated specs, thereby requiring the use of boards with over-spec voltage. Not willing to play those games, we check the slots with a voltmeter.

The X299 Designare EX’s PC Health Status menu shows our memory operating at 1.356V when using the 1.325V and 1.330V settings. There’s a slight error in that report, as the monitor appears to read DIMM voltage only in 12mV increments.

All eight fan headers can be switched between voltage and PWM speed control. Gigabyte says that the board supports one 3-amp pump, but it doesn’t say which of the two pump headers supports it.

Found within the Peripherals menu, the firmware version of RGB Fusion allows only a single mode for all devices.

A popup menu at the bottom of the Classic Mode screen allows users to jump to Easy Mode, where basic settings such as XMP profile, boot order, and fans are still adjustable.

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How We Test

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

Comparison Products

Gigabyte X299 Designare EX

Asus Prime X299-Deluxe

MSI X299 XPower Gaming AC

Four comparison boards were chosen based on market proximity, with the $390 ASRock board treated as a discounted member of the $400+ price class. A quick look at firmware settings shows that all five boards have similar overclocking adjustments, leveling the field for that portion of today's comparison.

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks & Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests & Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark-driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark-driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark-driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark-driven routine
Game Tests & Settings
Ashes of the Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1090, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, Very High Quality, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmark Results & Final Analysis

We start with synthetic benchmarks, which are typically used to diagnose performance problems or the benefits of specific hardware changes. Intel has standardized its platform to the extent that the fairest comparison will yield unnoticeable performance differences.

Synthetic Benchmarks

The X299 Designare EX slides through our synthetic tests without missing a beat, coming out completely average in a suite where standing out is usually a bad thing.

3D Games

The F1 2015 test revealed one stand-out result, which isn’t unusual except that on the X299 Designare EX, that high result wasn’t offset in the averages by a low result. At this point, it appears the game’s Ultra setting occasionally produces outliers, and the newer Gigabyte board is simply the surprise beneficiary.

The X299 Designare EX is otherwise unexceptional, which again is usually a good thing when all the underlying hardware (CPU, DRAM, GPU) is unchanged. The X299 XPower Gaming AC fell behind in Talos due to the overhead of an included program that’s Talos-compatible, and its review produced a chart that shows its performance with the same program disabled.

Timed Applications

The X299 Designare EX looks as average in our timed applications as it has in the other benchmarks. So, how does an honest board look in power, heat, and overclocking?

Power, Heat & Efficiency

The X299 Designare EX allowed our complete system to consume 246W fully loaded by default, appearing to follow the standards of voltage-regulated efficiency set by the Asus X299 Deluxe and the Fatal1ty X299 Gaming i9. Yet Intel XTU showed current limit throttling to 3.6GHz, where the competing boards were hitting 4GHz, and changing the firmware’s “Package Power Limits” from the default 140W to anything higher didn’t appear to have any effect. (Core Current Limit is already maxed by default.) Overclocking disabled this feature, but to get “stock” readings at 4GHz, we had to manually key the stock Turbo Boost multipliers for our CPU into the firmware.

While manual configuration of “CPU default multipliers” got us back to the same full-load frequency as the other boards, it also caused power use to increase from 246W to 324W. The CPU core temperature also climbed from 39 to 57°C and the voltage regulator from 49 to 59°C, over ambient. No wonder these companies don’t want us to use Prime95 small-FFTs!

Thanks in part to the presence of a similar board, the X299 Designare EX falls mid-pack in efficiency (our overall performance and power numbers are an average of all X299 motherboards tested, including those not used in today’s charts).

Overclocking

When we started testing X299 motherboards, we didn’t have enough products to compare additional boot straps. Those results were attained but not used until today. I personally didn’t know that they’d ever be relevant to the majority of overclockers. Without those numbers, the X299 Designare EX looks like a completely competent overclocker. So if the higher boot straps aren’t important, why bring them up now?

The X299 Designare EX became unresponsive while trying to overclock using the 1.66x boot strap, and “CLR_CMOS” didn’t fix it completely. It booted into Windows but hung. I tried everything including the slow drain and reflashing to different firmware revisions to get the board stable. The next time I was able to enter Windows, Gigabyte’s firmware flashing utility popped up. Since the system still wasn’t completely stable, I gave that a go. It hung at the point where it said “Rebooting in 5 seconds”. Windows wouldn’t load after that, and even Windows PE would crash. Fortunately, I found the solution.

You’re not going to believe this. Thinking that a part of the firmware that wasn’t being cleared was probably retaining some of the wrong settings for the 1.66x boot strap, I keyed a 101MHz BCLK into the board’s M.I.T. menu. The board made all the necessary changes for a 101MHz BCLK, and everything was stable once again. Remember, the crash had caused the system to hang even at firmware defaults, and only a manual overclock would force it to choose the right complimentary settings on its own. FYI for anyone who encounters the same bug: You're welcome.

Performance is the point of overclocking, and the X299 Designare EX takes second place out of five high-end boards in overclocked DRAM performance.

Final Thoughts

Gigabyte’s X299 Designare EX is the only comparison board to include Intel Thunderbolt 3, so a price-to-performance comparison might not even be justified within its own price class. On the other hand, the last time I checked, an onboard Thunderbolt 3 controller was roughly a $40 feature, and the Designare EX costs only $50 more than the Gaming 7.

Alternatively, the Aorus Gaming 7 includes two more of ASMedia’s high-end USB 3.1 Gen2 controllers. And the last time I checked, one of those PCIe 3.0 x2 to dual-port USB 3.1 Gen1 controllers onboard was approximately a $20 feature. That’s probably why I questioned the lack of Thunderbolt 3 on the Gaming 7.

So, the X299 Designare EX is a fine board from a features standpoint and a solid overclocker worthy at least of an informal stamp of approval. Would I choose this over MSI’s X299 XPower Gaming AC? That would probably depend on whether or not someone handed me a bunch of Thunderbolt 3 devices...

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Asus Prime X299-A Motherboard Review: Primo Value for Core X?

Thomas Soderstrom — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 13:00:00 +0000

Specifications & Layout

December 2017 saw emerge what was the one of the most remarkable values in high-end desktop (HEDT) motherboards: The original $260 discount price for Asus’ Prime X299-A dropped to a mere $200. That put the board in Z370 territory, and with added features that would have done a $200 Z370 board proud.

Now, those add-ons are in addition to the benefits X299 offers high-end desktop (HEDT) buyers, including a range of high-core-count processors that boast up to 2.75x the PCI Express (PCIe) lane count. Nobody who is truly serious about building out a high-end PC wants to live within the confines of the Z370 platform’s 16 CPU lanes and four-lane chipset link, and that discount created an opportunity for many buyers to step up to the big leagues of X299.

The short-lived $200 price is history, and we’re not even sure if the $260 price will ever make a comeback. (At this late February 2018 writing, it was hovering in the $275 to $300 range from a variety of notable resellers.) Does the Prime X299-A remain our X299 "value" choice at current pricing? Let's dig in.

Front-panel USB 3.1 Gen 2 is the primary standout on the Prime X299-A’s specifications list. Driven by a second high-end ASM3142 controller, the Prime X299-A is the least expensive X299 board we’ve tested to include it.

Motherboard companies tend to rely on a single circuit board to address lower market segments by leaving off specific controllers and connectors, so we’re surprised to see no solder points within the gaps of the Prime X299-A I/O panel. Since USB 2.0 doesn’t require any of the PCH’s limited HSIO resources, yet is still adequate for keyboards and mice, we're happy to see two of those ports for a keyboard and mouse, in addition to the four USB 3.0 ports, the two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports with Type-A and Type-C connectors, a USB BIOS Flashback button, the five analog audio jacks, and the single optical S/PDIF output. The digital audio output is bolstered by Asus’ inclusion of DTS Connect, which allows the ALC1220 to combine live multichannel streams to a single output. Without that technology, users of digital receivers would be forced to choose either stereo output for games and multichannel for pre-encoded recordings (such as movies), or resort to a bunch of analog cables.

We need to throw up a caution flag to anyone excited by the Prime X299-A’s slot arrangement: Examine the details in the manual before making any assumptions. For example, the x4 slots: According to Asus, the first x4 slot supports only one lane, and is available with either a 44-lane CPU or if the bottom x16 slot is disabled. (That’s partly because the third x16 slot is x8 only when paired with a 44-lane CPU, whereas both the first x4 slot and the third x16 slot share a lane from the PCH when paired with a 28-lane or 16-lane processor.)

The second x4 slot gets four lanes from a 44-lane CPU. Lacking that, it converts HSIO resources that were previously reserved for SATA to PCIe lanes. That means that users of 28-lane or 16-lane CPUs must choose between using it, or using SATA ports 5 through 8. We’re not sure why the two x4 slots are “swapped” in this manner, but the practical implication is that even users of 44-lane processors can’t use all 44 lanes to feed three double-slot graphics cards and a slot-mounted PCIe x4 SSD, as the slot with four lanes will be covered up, and the uncovered x4 slot will have only one lane. We urge readers likely to push the limits to pore over the motherboard’s documentation.

A portion of the PCH heat sink comes off to reveal the primary M.2 slot, which, unlike the vertical slot at the top of the board, supports SATA mode in addition to the expected PCIe x4 mode. Also shown in this closeup are “3D Mounts,” meant for printable covers for which Asus hosts the models, two thermistor headers, the VROC interface (which enables software RAID for PCIe drives connected to the CPU), a header for a Thunderbolt upgrade card, and an AC97-style front-panel LED and switch section. The latter has four additional pins set to the right for PC Speaker and AT-style power LEDs. Also heer: three of the board’s seven four-pin fan headers, the solitary USB 2.0 header, one of the two USB 3.0 headers, a five-pin header for an Asus fan extension card (sold separately), an onboard power button, a Port 80 diagnostics display, a legacy serial COM port, and one of the two RGB headers.

The Prime X299-A comes with four SATA cables, a support for a vertical M.2 drive mount next to its primary power connection, an HB-style SLI bridge, and a front-panel extension block that makes it easy to unplug and re-plug the switches and activity LEDs simultaneously. Also in the box: an I/O shield, a driver disc, the manual, and a coupon code for cablemod.com.

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Software & Firmware

The Asus software suite is carried over from our Prime X299-Deluxe review, though this less-expensive model doesn’t have the “Live Dash” display for which the Deluxe version had additional software. Even the “Dual Intelligent Processors 5” tuning suite is unchanged, though the Aura interface appears slightly different when paired with the connectors of this model.

Both models featured DTS connect, DTS Headphone X, and DTS Audio for External Speakers, but we’ve added a few screenshots missing from the earlier review.

Firmware

The reason we’re so happy that the software suite was already detailed in the earlier X299-Deluxe review? The Prime X299-A’s firmware requires a large load of screenshots. It opens to EZ Mode for amateurs. It doesn’t show the actual clock settings here, but you do get XMP and boot-priority selection, along with popup menus for fan control and monitoring.

Pressing the keyboard’s F7 key brings users to the Prime X299-A’s Advanced Mode menus. Here, things like overclock and power settings are accessible. Users will also find a setting to change to Advanced Mode as an initial entry point during consecutive boots.

Our test CPU is thermally constrained to overclocking at no more than 1.15V CPU core, and it typically reaches 4.4GHz at that voltage. The Prime X299-A got us there without any additional fuss. DRAM voltage was a smidge less consistent, as we noted a 5mV bias between banks where one ran around 14mV and the other around 19mV higher-than-set, as revealed by a voltmeter rather than the internal reading.

The Prime X299-A supports a full set of manual adjustments for primary, secondary, and tertiary memory timings. We test motherboards at XMP-3866 default timings, and the board reached only DDR4-3696 without throwing up memory errors under extended testing.

The Prime X299-A includes memory submenus for ODT Control, Skew Control, IO Control, and TRL IOL Control. Testing these settings could have added weeks to the review time, but we’re sure someone with the right head and heart for the task will find some of these menus useful.

CPU Load-Line Calibration allows users to offset “vdroop” by telling the board to dial up CPU core voltage as it sags under load. The “Auto” setting was perfect for our CPU sample and overclocking voltage.

We didn’t have to manually set maximum power to achieve our overclock, but did it anyway out of habit.

Still within the Ai Tweaker overclocking menu, the Asus Tweaker’s Paradise submenu provides additional clock and voltage controls.

Though a fan-menu popup is also available via hotkey, the settings are included at the bottom of the Prime X299-A’s Monitor menu. All seven fan headers can be switched between PWM and voltage-based fan control as desired, and the board also has automatic mode detection.

The “Tool” menu includes an integrated firmware update utility, eight spaces to store custom firmware settings as user profiles, and a handy tool to display information stored on the SPD IC of memory modules. EZ Flash 3 now includes a working function for polling Asus servers for new updates, and Asus Overclocking Profile adds the ability to transfer profiles to a USB flash drive.

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How We Test

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

Comparison Products

Asus Prime X299-A

MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

ASRock X299 Taichi

A quick look at firmware settings shows that all four boards in today's charts have similar overclocking adjustments, leveling the field for that portion of today's comparison.

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks & Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests & Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark driven routine
Game Tests & Settings
Ashes of the Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1090, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFxUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, Very High Quality, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmark Results & Conclusion

The Asus Prime X299-A, like its “Deluxe” sibling, exhibited some low power-use numbers under Prime95 with small-FFTs. The reason it appears so much lower than typical boards is that Asus adheres to Intel’s stated 140W TDP for our Core i7-7900X test CPU. The problem that leaves us with is that this causes the CPU to throttle back under Prime95 more than any other program, down to 3.4GHz, complicating any efficiency calculations.

Disabling that limit, though, is as easy as changing “Overclock Mode” from “Auto” to “Manual”. Doing that without actually picking an overclock resulted in the CPU reaching 3.6GHz under full load, which is similar to other boards we've tested. Intel XTU is no longer able to detect the TDP in this configuration, and some performance benchmarks are slightly boosted.

Here, we'll present the X299-A in both configurations, affixing the label “W/O 140W TDP” to the tests that have “Manual OC Mode” enabled without a set overclock. As with the other boards, both settings have all of the CPU’s other power-savings features enabled and turbo-boost “enhancement” disabled.

Synthetics Benchmarks

The Prime X299-A is roughly on par with its competitors across 3DMark, though the difference between its stock 140W TDP configuration (at the top) and its competition-matched power setting (at the bottom) is more pronounced in PCMark.

The Sandra Memory Bandwidth benchmark, meanwhile, drops a little with the stock TDP limit disabled, in spite of the benefit seen in Cinebench.

3D Games

There’s scant benefit to disabling the 140W stock TDP setting in games, though the difference is at least measurable in Ashes and F1 2015.

The odd Talos results for the competing X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC are due to the game's compatibility with its Nahimic software, which imparts some overhead. Disabling the software would have put that board in first place.

Timed Applications

Our Blender CPU rendering and 7.Zip tests both benefitted from disabling the Prime X299-A’s default 140W TDP, which was also supposed to be the default for our CPU. Since the other boards don’t have such strict TDP limits, the alteration is necessary to put the board on equal performance footing.

Though the altered power setting did not make the Prime X299-A consistently faster, it helped noticeably in Adobe Illustrator.

Power, Heat & Efficiency

Now it’s time to come clean: Power measurements are taken after the system has “settled into” its workload, as spikes are otherwise too inconsistent to provide meaningful results. The reason that’s more important in today’s discussion is that the Prime X299-A would spike to 246W at its default settings, before its 140W TDP would pull it back. Intel says that’s supposed to happen. Without that restriction, it climbs only to a steady 247W, matching the X299 Taichi.

The 140W TDP is supposed to prevent the CPU from overheating, but our cooling configuration is so large that the difference was only 4°. The voltage regulator ran 6° warmer. Gigabyte’s sample had a cooler voltage regulator, ASRock’s voltage regulator ran hot, and MSI’s pushed CPU temperature through the roof. So this board keeps things modest.

The Prime X299-A defaults cause the CPU to throttle down primarily during our power test, so the numbers shown at the bottom are closer to being fair. Even then, it’s far more efficient than the MSI and Gigabyte samples, and further edges out the ASRock board.

Overclocking

The Prime X299-A does what it’s supposed to with CPU overclocking, surpassing here the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC. Conversely, the Asus board had the lightest memory overclock in this test set.

Performance, though, is the whole reason for overclocking, and the X299-A has the best overclocked memory performance of the four boards shown. Perhaps Asus was aiming for best performance rather than best data rate? That’s completely achievable using nothing more than secondary and tertiary timings, but those tighter timings usually limit overclocking.

Value

At its current price, the Prime X299-A competes against the X299 Taichi from ASRock. That board has the advantages of a second Gigabit Ethernet controller and a cheap Wi-Fi module, but it lacks the Prime X299-A’s front-panel USB 3.1 Gen2 connection.

On the whole, the board lacks any key flaws, and value parity makes the Prime X299-A eligible for a stamp of approval high-five. Had it remained at $200, it would have vied for our top award, Editors' Choice. Like any other shopper, we would always love to spend less money, and even back when the board was priced at $260 (or even better, at $200 in late December), it was a fine value.

It would still be our choice had the $260 price stuck, but choosing it has become a more of a coin-toss at current pricing, given that other X299 boards fluctuate in pricing all the time, too. Still, we approve of this board, and given the vagaries of X299 board prices on any given day, it ranges from a good to a potentially excellent deal. Just watch the comparison pricing at your favorite reseller.

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Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro Motherboard Review

Thomas Soderstrom — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 14:00:00 +0000

Features & Layout

Manufacturers like Gigabyte have made great strides in the X299 market in the six months following the Skylake X launch, but a lingering problem has been what they should do about the old reviews that used under-developed firmware to produce atypical performance and power data. Retesting previous samples can easily snowball into continuous retests with no further new product reviews as we attempt to be fair to everyone, but manufacturers do have a workaround: Release revised hardware under a new model name. Welcome the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro.

Adding the word “Pro” to the model name gets buyers an amped-up voltage regulator (60A x 12 phases), a new set of heatsinks to cool it, two additional M.2 heat spreaders, and all six months of firmware advancement out of the box. In other words, the new model has everything that many potential buyers felt was missing during the original model’s review.

Specifications

Buyers still get five x16-length PCIe expansions slots and are still limited to 3-way SLI at most when using a 28-lane CPU at least (ie, Core i7-7800X and above). That configuration typically requires an eight-slot case, since the third 8-lane slot is at the bottom of the board. Crossfire can go more ways, but only if single-slot cards are used. Most of the SLI restrictions won’t matter at this market level since the top cards don’t support 3-way, but the second slot’s sharing of PCIe lanes with the middle M.2 connector could be an issue for any buyer who was hoping to use it. Though we’d have preferred the shared pathways be directed to a less-useful slot position (such as the fourth slot, where it’s more likely to be blocked by a graphics cooler), Gigabyte likely designed the layout for optimized trace routing.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro also retains the previous version’s excellent I/O panel port selection, with ASMedia’s high-bandwidth ASM3142 two-port controller driving a Type-C connection from one port, and a four-port hub from its other port. While that means all four of its connected Type A ports share bandwidth, any one of these could still operate at or near the peak rate of a single port.

Four USB 3.0 ports (aka USB 3.1 Gen1) are also present, one marked in white for Gigabyte’s Q-Flash Plus updater, which can automatically update firmware from a flash drive if both on-board firmware images are corrupted or incompatible with a newer model CPU (when it didn’t automatically initiate on a previous model, we forced initiation by removing the CPU). It seems a little wasteful to us to exclude USB 2.0 entirely in favor of USB 3.0, since the former supports all keyboards and mice, while the later does so while also requiring additional resources at one HSIO pathway per port. HSIO pathways are also able to feed PCIe lanes or SATA ports, and evidence of this shortage has already been discussed in the PCIe slot vs M.2 pathway sharing mentioned above.

One of the two I/O panel gigabit Ethernet ports is controlled by Intel’s PHY, the other by a Killer E2500 PCIe-based network IC. The latter is paired with the Killer 1535 Wi-Fi controller to enable Killer DoubleShot Pro bandwidth and packet optimization.

Even the analog audio jacks are enhanced with gold-plated connectors, an ESS SABRE 9018 DAC, and Creative’s Sound BlasterX 720° enhancement software.

You may have heard most of this before, but it’s worth repeating for those who haven’t that the Aorus Gaming 7 Pro’s front-panel USB 3.1 Gen 2 header is located next to its USB 3.0 header, a fan connector, the 24-pin power connector, and another fan header within the upper half of the board’s front edge. The lower half of the same edge features eight SATA ports, which all face forward so that attached cables will fit underneath the leading edge of long expansion cards.

The bottom edge has a front-panel audio header and two-pin S/PDIF output, an RGBW header, a digital LED strip connector with 5V/12V selector, buttons for ECO and OC modes, Reset and Power, two USB 2.0 headers, two four-pin fan and a two-pin thermistor headers, a debug code port, a second USB 3.0 header, the front-panel LED/switch group, a CLR_CMOS button, and a VROC module connector for adding RAID to NVMe drives that interface the CPU’s PCIe controller.

The top edge features three fan headers, a second RGBW header, two EPS12V connectors, and an I/O connector for the I/O panel shield’s lighting. An eighth fan connector is positioned above the rear edge of the top slot for easier cabling to the rear fan of most cases, and all eight fan connectors support both automatic detection and manual selection of PWM/voltage fan control modes.

The X299 AORUS Gaming 7 Pro motherboard installation kit includes a driver disc, user’s manual, quick installation guide, four SATA cables, two RGBW LED strip extension cables, two thermistor cables, an HB-SLI bridge, an I/O Shield, a dual-channel Wi-Fi antenna, two Velcro cable ties, a G-Connector front-panel cable end bundler, a Wi-Fi antenna retention cover, and an M.2 screw kit.

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Software & Firmware

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro’s software suite hasn’t changed significantly from its non-Pro predecessor, and still includes that board’s Killer network suite with DoubleShot Pro functionality and Creative’s Sound BlasterX 720° in addition to Gigabyte utilities launched from its App Center menu. Without new features to discuss, we’ll look for changes in how the overclocking software works with the new hardware.

EasyTune still offers Core i7-7900X users a 4.7 GHz factory-programmed overclock, and that overclock crashes instantly under Prime95. The PC didn’t even stay up long enough to measure idle and load voltage levels.

Gigabyte’s AutoTuning app pushed our CPU even higher, to 4.80 GHz at 1.27V idle and 1.29V load. This could be an attempt for 1.30V, but again the system crashed before further analysis. Part of this is caused by our CPU’s inability to expel heat quickly enough to run full-AVX loads at CPU core voltages over 1.15V. Shouldn’t the load testing of Gigabyte’s AutoTuning algorithm be harsh enough to make that determination?

EasyTune’s Advanced menu provides CPU frequencies and voltage levels consistent with the board’s limitations, which can also be found within its firmware settings. Aggressive overclockers will sometimes use tuning software to make on-the-fly changes that exceed the board’s cold-boot capabilities.

Timing adjustments are disabled in EasyTune’s Advanced DDR OC menu, and frequency or XMP-mode changes require a reboot. Clicking “apply” will then initiate a persistent reboot popup.

The Advanced Power menu provides CPU VCore Loadline Calibration, which reduces the amount of core voltage “droop” that occurs under heavy loads.

EasyTune allows users to save custom overclock settings as profiles, and its “Hotkey” menu allows users to configure shortcuts to apply these.

Users are also welcome to download a smartphone app to control their overclocks externally.

Firmware

X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro firmware opens to Advanced mode, where its M.I.T. menu is the launch point for various overclocking and fan control menus.

Since our core can’t expel heat fast enough to use voltage settings beyond 1.15V, its limited to 4.40 GHz at full AVX load. The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro gets us there, but so did the non-pro. We’d probably need to de-lid our CPU before we could push enough current through its core to take advantage of this newer motherboard’s beefier voltage regulator.

We only reached DDR4-3636 at 101 MHz BCLK on our DDR4-3866 at its XMP timings. Additional menus allow users to choose either per-channel or combined latency adjustments for primary, secondary, and tertiary timings.

The Advanced Voltage Settings submenu is yet another launching point for a group of submenus.

Our CPU stayed at our chosen 1.150V core despite changing loads after setting “CPU Vcore Loadline Calibration” to “Turbo” mode.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro exhibited a 10mV bias between the rear and front banks, measuring between 1.350 and 1.355 volts at 1.325 and 1.335 volt respective settings.

Fans can be set to numerous manufacturer-defined RPM-to-temperature curves or custom adjusted, using either PWM or voltage control mode. Users can even select which temperature sensor the board should use to control a specific header.

Gigabyte’s RGB Fusion firmware control is found within its “Peripherals” menu, and provides a simplified version of the lighting controls also available in software.

Anyone scared off by the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro’s numerous advanced-menu settings can tap the F2 keyboard key to enter Easy Mode, where boot order, XMP, and energy savings features are still accessible.

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How We Test

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

Comparison Products

Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro

Asus Prime X299-Deluxe

MSI X299 XPower Gaming AC

A quick look at firmware settings shows that all five boards in today's charts have similar overclocking adjustments, leveling the field for that portion of today's comparison.

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1090, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFxUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, VeryHigh Quality, VeryHigh Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmark Results & Conclusion

Manufacturers scrambled to deal with the unrealistic 140W TDP of Intel’s Core i7-7900X for a brief period before and after the X299 platform launch, with the early Asus Prime X299-Deluxe firmware getting closest to the target and the early X299 Aorus Gaming 7 farthest away. As the market starts to normalize, the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro’s current firmware likely represents the new normal.

These power numbers are important because they regulate the amount of performance available under extreme CPU loads. Lower TDP settings frequently cause the CPU to throttle back in applications as harsh as Prime95’s small-FFTs, and large differences in allowed power can even affect real-world benchmarks.

Synthetic Benchmark Results

Synthetic benchmarks can identify problems, but we don’t see anything that really stands out until we get all the way down to Sandra Multimedia. Differences there appear to point to a variability in the benchmark itself, since no other set of results is so widely varied.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro takes middle position in Sandra Memory Bandwidth. Memory timings are one of the few places where manufacturers can play with performance without overclocking the CPU.

3D Games

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro outpaces its predecessor in F1 2015, but other benchmarks are close enough to fall within the normal variation between consecutive runs.

The one standout in Talos, MSI’s X299 XPower Gaming AC includes Nahamic software that, because of its compatibility with this game, adds overhead. Disabling the software would have put it in first place.

Timed Applications

Less time means more performance in timed applications, where the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro again falls to the middle of the pack.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro edges out its predecessor in MS Office, but the difference is still rather small.

Power, Heat, & Efficiency

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro is certainly more miserly than its predecessor, but that still puts it only mid-pack in power consumption.

Fortunately, that lower power use also allows significantly lower CPU temperature.

Combining a miniscule performance gain with noticeable power savings compared to its predecessor, the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro climbs to second place in efficiency.

Overclocking

Thanks to our CPU’s hard thermal barrier at relatively low voltage levels, nearly every board can push it to 4.40 GHz. That’s unfortunate because it doesn’t allows the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro’s improved voltage regulator to shine.

Despite its meager memory frequency, the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro is roughly tied for second in overclocked memory performance. This is where the X299 XPower Gaming AC really shines.

Final Thoughts

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro is a great looking board packed with features, but so was the X299 Aorus Gaming 7. Improvements include an upsized voltage regulator, two additional heat spreaders for M.2 drives, and firmware updates that eliminate the poor efficiency of the X299 Aorus Gaming 7’s early review. Builders can still get firmware updates for the earlier board though, so we’re really looking at a price difference of around $50 to purchase a couple chunks of aluminum and a few voltage regulation components.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 earned our stamp of approval in spite of a couple flaws, which were its inability to set a 0x AVX offset and its poor efficiency. Since firmware updates have addressed both issues, we’re still left to consider whether the new voltage regulator is still worth the extra money. If your CPU is thermally constrained such as ours, it probably isn’t. Yet if you’re de-lidding your CPU to eliminate such constraints, it probably is. The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Pro is either a better or lesser value depending on what you’re planning to do with your CPU, so it gets our same nod of approval.

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ASRock X299 OC Formula Review

Thomas Soderstrom — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Layout & Features

Many of our readers have told us that they’re sick of useless gadgets on their high-end motherboards. Everything from excess USB 2.0 ports to Wi-Fi and RGB lighting has been derided as a waste of money by people whose primary goals include performance, compatibility, and overclocking. Although we typically suggest lower-priced models to those buyers, overclocking is often a sticking point. So, what do we get if a manufacturer treats overclocking as a primary feature?

Former overclocking world champion and current ASRock employee Nick Shih has been pouring his time into the X299 platform to deliver optimal results from an ASRock motherboard, and the firm’s latest OC Formula is the result. Onboard RGB lighting is limited to the PCH sink and two cable outputs, just to please those who still want to light up their case. Resource shares are limited to the placement of SATA M.2 modules that steal SATA ports, since hardly anyone would limit their M.2 slot to SATA anyway.

Specifications

The OC Formula has many visible similarities to ASRock’s mid-priced X299 boards, but going by visual cues is like comparing the AC Ace to the Shelby AC/Cobra. A quick look at the missing memory slots and additional PCIe slot are your first clues to the serious changes underneath, and the I/O panel gap where you might expect to find a Wi-Fi card doesn’t even have solder points on the X299 OC Formula.

That’s not to say the I/O panel is sparse, as it still uses an ASM3141 USB 3.1 Gen 2 controller to serve up a Type-C and Type A port from two PCIe 3.0 lanes, in addition to its four USB 3.1 ports, legacy USB 2.0 and PS/2 ports for your keyboard and mouse, dual Intel-based Gigabit Ethernet ports, CLR_CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons, digital optical out, and five analog audio jacks.

Function buttons and switches are moved up to the top front corner, adding overclocker-specific features such as BFG (boot failure guard, aka safe boot mode), BCLK +/-, boot retry, and a “Menu” toggle button to change from BCLK to CPU or cache ratio, to the more-traditional power and reset button. Extra switches are also there for overclockers, including for switches to disable graphics cards if one of them causes the system to hang (from overclocking, of course), a “Slow Mode” switch that can help LN2 users get past “cold bug” boot problems by clocking the system down, and an LN2-mode button that’s supposed to allow firmware to handle the latter task automatically during the boot process. While we’re staring at that corner, we’d might as well mention the VROC connector that allows RAID firmware modules to be added to the CPU’s integrated PCIe controller.

Since both M.2 slots use the chipset’s controller, the VROC connector is only useful with devices that mount in traditional PCIe slots. The X299 OC Formula adds a 4-lane, open-ended slot that might be useful for storage, but that slot only functions when 44-lane CPUs are installed. The middle slot might be even more useful for storage, with its x8 interface, but that slot also requires a 44-lane CPU. 28-lane processors “make up” for the fact that they aren’t 32-lane by dropping the bottom slot to x4 mode, and 16-lane processors lose the second x16-length slot in addition to the center slot and x4 slot.

Since the bottom slot drops to x4 mode with 28-lane or 16-lane CPUs, 4-way SLI is limited to 44-lane CPUs. CPUs with 28 lanes can run 4-way CrossFireX or 3-way SLI, and while 16-lane CPUs can run either SLI or 3-way CrossFireX, the latter requires the third card to take the slow path from the chipset. The total of 18 2-lane pathway switches located between the various slots can thus be attributed in part to Intel’s decision to add a 16-lane CPU to an X299 platform that shouldn’t have been designed for such constraints. Those 16-lane Kaby Lake X processors also have but two memory channels, reducing the X299 OC Formula to two functional memory slots.

All eight of the X299 OC Formula’s SATA connectors face forward to avoid card interference, even the two that are located above all the cards. A front-panel USB 3.1 (10Gb/s for Type-C ports) header is found just above the centerline of the top card, just below the USB 3.0 front-panel header, which is just behind a forward-facing PCIe power connector. The purpose of that last connector is to feed extra power to PCIe slots, although few cards need it. Another noteworthy header is the second front-panel audio output, which is connected in common with the first, but turned 90° towards the bottom edge for improved cable management.

The X299 OC Formula includes a 4-way SLI bridge, two 3-way SLI bridges at different slot spacing, an HB SLI bridge, an I/O shield, four SATA cables, and even a socket backplate that makes it possible to use an ancient LGA-1366 cooler with this LGA-2066 motherboard. That last item may be important to LN2 users who haven’t updated the mounting hardware of their favorite pot.

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Software & Firmware

There haven’t been any major changes to ASRock’s software suite since our Gaming i9 review, although the X299 OC Fomula doesn’t include the Gaming i9’s Creative audio software. A minor update has added firmware compatibility to ASRock’s RGB LED software application. Users can set the heat sink light to several colors, including rainbow cycles, and patterns that include breathing and strobing. The two RGB outputs can be set either synchronously or asynchronously depending on the user’s taste.

Formula Drive replaces F-Stream and A-Tuning applications of ASRock’s other motherboard series, although these are essentially different names for the same application. The application was not able to access firmware-based overclocking profiles, but its manual tuning worked as expected. Maximum settings are shown based on the limits of firmware.

Firmware opens by default to the advanced UEFI interface, where the “Main” page has a section that allows users to store favorite settings.

Moving over to the OC Tweaker menu, we find Nick Shih’s LN2 profiles, ASRock’s regular “Optimized CPU OC” settings, and several submenus to control overclocks.

Every Nick Shih OC is based on a 50x CPU ratio at 1.45V CPU core, with other voltage levels varying with CPU model. For example, the 7800X through 7900X configurations use a 2.3V CPU input, while the 7920X through 7980EX use 2.45V.

“Optimized” overclocks are far more limiting, with the 4.2 GHz setting having negative core multiplier offsets of 2x for AVX2 and 3x for AVX3 mode, and the 4.8 GHz setting offsetting the core multiplier by 8x and 15x, respectively. We like to test the core at a true maximum load, and found that the AVX setting of “Auto” gave us no AVX offset whatsoever.

Using the same heat-determined 1.15V CPU core as we’ve used on other boards, we reached the same 4.40 GHz overclock at 10-core, 20-thread, Prime95 AVX load. Additional setting changes were not required, as the OC Formula’s default power and thermal limits fully supported this processor at those settings.

The X299 OC Formula reached a super-high DDR4-4122 overclock at full four-DIMM stability, proving the usefulness of its single-DIMM-per-channel slot layout. Users who want to tweak their memory beyond basic SPD or XMP timings will find the full range of settings farther down the DRAM Configuration submenu.

Merely changing the CPU ratio mode from “Auto” to “Manual” causes the X299 OC Formula to change its CPU Input voltage from “Auto” to “2.10V Fixed.” Since several of the “Optimized” settings were based on a 1.90V fixed input, I simply changed this value back to “Auto.” The “Level 2” load-line calibration produced the expected stability and thermal values we’ve previously seen when overclocking this CPU, and the 1.35V DIMM setting produced a measured 1.353V at the DIMM slots.

The “Advanced” menu of UEFI’s “Advanced” mode includes a setting (near the bottom) to change the UEFI boot interface back to “Easy” mode. One can also get into “Easy” mode from “Advanced” mode by pressing the keyboard’s F6 function key.

The “Tools” menu of UEFI contains everything mentioned in our Gaming i9 review, including an RGB menu identical to that of ASRock’s software application. The software application operates by changing the value in firmware.

Only two of the X299 OC Formula’s headers can be switched from PWM to voltage-based fan control, and those same two headers are tagged for use with pumps up to 1.5A. The other headers have a 1.0A limit. You can set compatible fans using various programed profiles within the FAN-Tastic Tuning submenu.

Although the X299 OC Formula can be set to open its “Easy Mode” interface by default, that setting is found within “Advanced Mode.”

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How We Test

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

Comparison Products

ASRock X299 OC Formula

Asus Prime X299-Deluxe

MSI X299 XPower Gaming AC

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1090, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFxUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, VeryHigh Quality, VeryHigh Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmark Results & Conclusion

Intel specified a 140W TDP for our Core i9-7900X CPU, but the CPU can’t operate within that limit at both full speed and full AVX load. While companies that make heat-constrained units such as servers may be stuck with the inevitable performance drop, the firm hasn’t been so finicky with the way retail motherboard makers treat enthusiast models. Of the boards we’ve tested, only the Prime X299-Deluxe from Asus stayed within Intel’s stated limit.

Given the X299 OC Formula’s target market, we were a little surprised to see it come in second place in TDP. It also takes second place in our measurement from the wall socket, though that metric is impacted by additional components, as even a 4W Wi-Fi controller can force a position swap. The X299 OC Formula consumes only 3W more power on average than the Prime X299-Deluxe, but also has far fewer on-board controllers to feed.

Yet our power measurements were taken with all CPU-integrated power-saving technologies enabled, and the target market for the X299 OC Formula is likely to disable most, if not all, green features. Doing so drastically alters the power needs of any motherboard, and would thereby negate the following benchmarks. On the other hand, it’s always nice to have a “stock” baseline, no?

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics used to be a great way to catch people cheating, until everyone started cheating by various degrees. It’s still a good way to look for problems, though.

PCMark shows a slight deficiency in the Creative scores of both the X299 OC Formula and X299 XPower Gaming AC. Will this have an impact on real-world-based Creative Suite and MS Office task completion times?

The two most-miserly boards (Asus and ASRock samples) also had the lowest Integer x32 throughput in Sandra Multimedia. Let’s see if we find matching deficiencies in any of our real-world benchmarks!

3D Games

Though it looks great in Ashes, the X299 OC Formula falls behind at our medium preset of F1 2015. That setting is normally affected by memory performance, yet there weren’t any deficits detected in Sandra Memory Bandwidth.

The X299 OC Formula also comes up a little short in Talos. The MSI XPower Gaming AC’s performance was impacted by inclusion of Nahimic Audio solution, and a look at its original benchmark chart shows how it leads when that software is disabled.

Timed Applications

The X299 OC Formula and Prime X299-Deluxe fell slightly behind in Handbrake, commensurate to their power savings and Sandra Multimedia deficits.

The X299 OC Formula took significant losses in both Adobe CC and MS Office timed tests, which are both driven by PCMark. These losses are also spotted in one of eight game tests, and appear to have something to do with memory. After examining both benchmarks, all firmware settings, the PCMark suite, and even the F1 2015 test, the best guess I could come up with was that the Beta BIOS 1.11 may need further development. I normally refrain from using Beta firmware, but this is the only version ASRock has made public, and I always put public firmware first.

Heat & Efficiency

We saw at the top of the page that the X299 OC Formula consumes barely more energy than the miserly Prime X299-Deluxe, and those low power numbers produced low temperatures to match.

Big advantages in energy consumption are offset slightly by performance deficits to put the X299 OC Formula in second place, behind the Prime X299-Deluxe for efficiency.

Overclocking

Overclocking is the X299 OC Formula’s purpose, yet our CPU can’t transfer heat fast enough from its core to its heat spreader to take advantage of the extra voltage needed for a high core O/C. What it can do is drive ultra-fast memory, and the X299 OC Formula obliges with a record-pace overclock. Remember, this memory is “only” rated at XMP-3866.

Overclocking may be the purpose of the X299 OC Formula, but performance is the purpose of overclocking. The problem for ASRock is the MSI’s X299 XPower Gaming AC already set a bandwidth record at a mere DDR4-3838, and the OC Formula’s DDR4-4122 isn’t able to break that record.

The X299 XPower Gaming AC also costs more than the X299 OC Formula, which is a hard pill to swallow given the OC Formula’s already-high $400 tag. Yet all of the competing boards have additional features, and even people who don’t want those features must admit that they cost something. I could go through a list of the features you may not want, such as premium Wi-Fi on all three competitors, enhanced RGB lighting on all three competitors, the thermistors for remote heat monitoring included by all three competitors, the included PCIe x8 to 2x PCIe x4 M.2 adapter card offered by MSI . . .

And the X299 XPower Gaming AC wasn’t even the cheapest premium board. That honor belonged to the Gigabyte sample. On a features basis, ASRock’s own Fatal1ty Professional Gaming i9 would be the board to beat these three competitors. Indeed, that sample already received my recommendation.

The only award the X299 OC Formula could apply for is Editor’s Choice, but the only thing I’d probably choose it for is to reach the highest-possible memory overclock. I may still do that. Yet without a performance benefit for that added clock speed, I’m left wishing that the OC Formula was also a better value in overclocking. To get there, it would need to cost around 10% less.

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Core i7-8700K Review: Coffee Lake Brews A Great Gaming CPU

palcorn@outlook.com (Paul Alcorn) — Thu, 05 Oct 2017 13:01:00 +0000

Intel Brings More Cores

Intel’s Core 2 Quad processors debuted with four cores in 2006. Although six-core models landed four years later in the high-end desktop space, the company’s most accessible chips topped out in quad-core configurations for more than a decade. The Coffee Lake era begins with Intel upending its mainstream line-up by adding two more cores to Core i7, i5, and i3 families. Call this a much-needed improvement, cleverly timed to stave off AMD's core-laden Ryzen assault.

Of course, while Intel's accelerated Coffee Lake-S launch makes it look today's unveiling is a direct response to heated competition, in reality, the long incubation period for new processors means it’s more likely the result of 10nm manufacturing delays.

Just last year, Intel announced a new process-architecture-optimize cadence designed to deliver smaller transistors every third generation. That's a profound departure from the glory days of Intel’s tick-tock model. The latest 14nm++ process is the fourth outing of the 14nm node, which originally debuted with Broadwell back in 2014. So, it appears that PAO is already falling by the wayside. In the days of tick-tock, we'd also be talking about a new architecture right now. But Coffee Lake employs the same Skylake design as Kaby Lake before it. We also get the same fundamental integrated graphics engine found in the previous generation. To be sure, Coffee Lake is another iterative update.

But there’s nothing mundane about adding more cores. Intel claims Coffee Lake offers up to 25% more gaming performance and up to 45% more “mega-tasking” performance. Given similar price points versus Kaby Lake, we're almost certainly looking at a huge step forward in value.

This is obviously a busy year for Intel. But as if the company's product stack wasn't already confusing, its eighth-generation portfolio draws from three separate architectures, including 14nm+ Kaby Lake-R (refresh), 14nm++ Coffee Lake, and 10nm Cannon Lake, which should land next year.

Intel Core i7-8700K

Core i7-8700K serves as this generation's flagship, sporting six Hyper-Threaded cores. Already, that's a big increase from Kaby Lake's 4C/8T maximum. It features the company's highest clock rates, accelerating up to 4.7 GHz via Turbo Boost. The -8700K does sacrifice some base frequency in exchange for a higher core count, though. Its 3.7 GHz specification is 500 MHz lower than the -7700K, offsetting the increased power consumption and heat generated by a 6C/12T configuration.

The -8700K's Coffee Lake design utilizes a 14nm++ process, which Intel claims offers 26% more performance and 52% less leakage power than first-generation 14nm manufacturing. Those advances enable the higher Turbo Boost bins and reduce consumption enough to carve out room for extra cores. A more complex die does necessitate a TDP rating of up to 95W. But that's only 4% higher than Core i7-7700K. And as we've seen before, Turbo Boost allows the CPU to operate beyond its rated TDP as long as current, power, and temperature fall below specified limits. As you might imagine, then, the impact of two additional cores is felt under load.

The top 4.7 GHz Turbo Boost bin should help improve performance in lightly-threaded applications. But Core i7-8700K also includes aggressive multi-core bins to help chew through threaded workloads. Because these CPUs employ Intel's Skylake architecture, we aren't expecting any speed-ups attributable to IPC throughput. All gains come from core count and clock rate alone. Intel isn't officially disclosing a die size or transistor count, but early delidding efforts indicate a ~151mm² area. That's naturally larger than Kaby Lake's ~122mm², reflecting the additional execution and cache resources. Intel confirms that Coffee Lake continues to employ its ring bus, rather than Skylake-X's mesh topology.

Active Cores	1	2	4	6
Intel Core i7-8700K	4.7 GHz	4.6 GHz	4.4 GHz	4.3 GHz
Intel Core i7-7700K	4.5 GHz	4.4 GHz	4.4 GHz	-

Intel also adds 50% more cores to its Core i5 family, and doubles Core i3's core count. But it pulls Hyper-Threading support from Core i3 in the process. Nevertheless, we expect gamers to realize palpable gains moving from dual-core Hyper-Threaded platforms to inexpensive quad-core setups.

Core i5 and i7 also support speedier DDR4-2666 transfer rates, up from Kaby Lake's DDR4-2400 spec. Core i3 remains limited to DDR4-2400, though. This could just be Intel's attempt to segment its line-up, or perhaps the Core i3s are really just quad-core Kaby Lake designs transplanted onto a 14nm++ process.

	Intel Corei7-8700K	Intel Corei7-8700	Intel Core i5-8600K	Intel Core i5-8400	Intel Core i3-8350K	Intel Core i3-8100
Socket	LGA 1151	LGA 1151	LGA 1151	LGA 1151	LGA 1151	LGA 1151
Cores/Threads	6 / 12	6 / 12	6 / 6	6 / 6	4 / 4	4 / 4
Base Frequency	3.7 GHz	3.2 GHz	3.6 GHz	2.8 GHz	4.0 GHz	3.6 GHz
Boost Frequency	4.7 GHz	4.6 GHz	4.3 GHz	4.0 GHz	N/A	N/A
Memory Speed	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2666	DDR4-2400	DDR4-2400
Memory Controller	Dual-Channel	Dual-Channel	Dual-Channel	Dual-Channel	Dual-Channel	Dual-Channel
Unlocked Multiplier	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
PCIe Lanes	x16 Gen3	x16 Gen3	x16 Gen3	x16 Gen3	x16 Gen3	x16 Gen3
Integrated Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1200 MHz)	Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1200 MHz)	Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1150 MHz)	Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1150 MHz)	Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1150 MHz)	Intel UHD Graphics 630 (up to 1150 MHz)
Cache (L2+L3)	13.5MB	13.5MB	10.5MB	10.5MB	9MB	7MB
Architecture	Coffee Lake	Coffee Lake	Coffee Lake	Coffee Lake	Coffee Lake	Coffee Lake
Process	14nm++	14nm++	14nm++	14nm++	14nm++	14nm++
TDP	95W	65W	95W	65W	91W	65W
Price (per 1K Unit)	$359	$303	$257	$182	$168	$117

Unfortunately, Intel still doesn't enable Turbo Boost on its Core i3 CPUs. So, we could see a performance dip in lightly threaded workloads due to Coffee Lake's lower base frequencies. You do get 100% more cores in exchange, though. Physical cores are always preferable to logical ones, so the new implementation of Core i3 should come out ahead in most of our benchmarks.

As expected, most models continue to wield 2MB of L3 and 256KB of L2 cache per core. As a side effect of its higher core counts, then, Coffee Lake processors enjoy the benefits of more cache. Core i3-8100 is the lone exception with only 6MB of L3 cache.

PCIe connectivity remains unchanged; you get 16 lanes of third-gen PCIe from the CPU's controller. Intel reminds us, though, that it offers up to 40 lanes when we add the platform controller hub's 24.

You'll need a Z370-based motherboard for Coffee Lake processors. The 200-series chipsets are not compatible. And in a clear indication that Intel really hurried its launch schedule, less expensive B- or H-series chipsets won't be ready until next year. Paying a premium for Z-class core logic isn't much of a surprise for enthusiasts, who need the higher-end chipset to support unlocked multipliers. But it's a little bit overkill for everyone else.

Coffee Lake	Intel Corei7-8700K	Intel Corei7-8700	Intel Core i5-8600K	Intel Core i5-8400	Intel Core i3-8350K	Intel Core i3-8100
Cost Per Core/Thread	$59.83 / $29.92	$50.50 / $25.25	$42.83 / $42.83	$30.33 / $30.33	$42 / $42	$29.95 / $29.95
Kaby Lake	Intel Core i7-7700K	Intel Core i7-7700	Intel Core i5-7600K	Intel Core i5-7400	Intel i3-7350K	Intel i3-7100
Cost Per Core/Thread	$84.75 / $42.38	$75.75 / $37.88	$60.50 / $60.50	$45.50 / $45.50	$84 / $42	$58.50 / $29.95
Ryzen	Ryzen 71700X	Ryzen 71700	Ryzen 51600X	Ryzen 51500X	Ryzen 51400	Ryzen 31300X
Cost Per Core/Thread	$49.88 / $24.94	$41.13 / $20.56	$41.50 / $20.75	$47.50 / $23.75	$42.25 / $21.12	$32.50 / $32.50

We're using Intel's 1K unit pricing for comparisons to the Kaby Lake models and AMD's MSRP for price-equivalent Ryzen chips. We may see higher prices on Intel's CPUs at retail, while AMD models routinely sell below MSRP.

Intel adds a ~$20 premium to its K-series SKUs compared to their Kaby Lake equivalents. Overall, though, you pay less per core. Again, Intel removed Hyper-Threading from its Core i3s, so their price per thread remains unchanged. With the exception of Ryzen 3, AMD maintains a price advantage across its portfolio, due in part to SMT on the Ryzen 5 family. The benchmarks will give us a better idea of performance-per-dollar compared to Kaby Lake and Ryzen, though.

Overclocking headroom was one of Kaby Lake's biggest advantages due to Ryzen's limited scaling. Intel adds per-core overclocking support to this generation, but doesn't provide per-core voltage and P-state controls. It also enables live memory timing adjustments (without rebooting), along with memory multipliers up to 8400 MT/s, so you don't have to adjust the BCLK frequency to chase bleeding-edge transfer rates. Finally, enhanced GT and Ring PLL Trim controls add more granular control.

Intel makes some power optimizations to its interface that promise to extend the advantage while overclocking. However, the company continues to insist on using thermal paste between its die and IHS, rather than solder. Like all unlocked Intel models, the Core i7-8700K doesn't include a stock cooler.

Nevertheless, we have to give the big company credit for staying on its toes this year. It already introduced Kaby Lake, Skylake-X, and Kaby Lake-Refresh. Next year, we'll have new Pentium and Celeron line-ups headed our way. But for now, we're looking forward to testing what Intel claims is its best gaming chip yet.

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The Z370 Chipset & Graphics

The Z370 Chipset

Much to the dismay of enthusiasts everywhere, you can't buy a Coffee Lake-based CPU and drop it into the fancy Z270 motherboard you may have purchased a few months ago. Instead, you'll have to pony up for a 300-series motherboard. You also can't bring your Skylake or Kaby Lake processor over to a Z370-based platform, even though both sides employ LGA 1151 interfaces.

Intel makes more money selling CPUs than chipsets, so creating an upgrade path would have made sense. But the company tells us that it needed optimized memory trace routing to support DDR4-2666, and it also improved power delivery to support six-core models. It also beefed up package power delivery for overclocking.

According to Intel's specification sheet, the increased package power delivery consists of 18 pins repurposed to VCC (previously designated as reserve pins). There are also changes to the socket that reassign behaviors to some pins, such as swapping Normal Open (NO) and Normal Closed (NC) settings. Intel also improved power delivery to the graphics engine, and although the specific changes there remain undefined, that might improve HD Graphics overclocking.

The changes mean upgrading to Z370 is a technical necessity, rather than planned obsolescence. Regardless, though, AMD's planned support for Socket AM4 through 2020 makes Intel's Z370 chipset requirement appear all the more painful.

CPU-based I/O remains unchanged from Kaby Lake; you still get 16 lanes of PCIe 3.0. Again, though, the whole platform supports up to 40 lanes. The extra 24 originate from the PCH, stuck behind a four-lane DMI 3.0 connection that links the core logic and CPU. As you might imagine, this PCIe-like interconnect can become a bottleneck if enough devices (like M.2 SSDs) are working behind it.

The 22nm Z370 chipset is rated at 6W, and is mostly identical to Z270. It offers up to 10 USB 2.0, 14 USB 3.0, and six SATA 6Gb/s ports. Intel added support for Thunderbolt 3, but hasn't provided much detail on the implementation. Z370 also retains support for Intel Optane Memory. Even the ME version 11 is listed similarly on Intel's ARK, though we do know that Z370's Management Engine doesn't allow Kaby Lake processors to boot on the platform. Two memory channels support up to two DIMMs per channel and a maximum of 64GB. Intel does not support ECC on any of its models (compared to AMD, which does allow motherboard vendors to enable ECC support).

Intel offers a few unique benefits to enthusiasts, such as the XTU (Extreme Tuning Utility) and support for XMP 2.0. The Performance Tuning Protection Plan is also available, which covers damage from overclocking. The price for the warranty plan varies per SKU, and Intel hasn't provided a detailed breakdown for Coffee Lake yet. We aren't aware of any AMD-equivalent coverage.

Intel UHD Graphics 630

Intel will have an optimized graphics driver soon after launch, but we don't see any significant improvements (beyond HDCP 2.2 support for DP 1.2a) to the Gen 9 LP (Low Power) engine. We still get subslices with eight EUs each (totaling 24 EUs in a GT2 configuration), accelerated slightly by a 50 MHz maximum frequency increase across the board.

The biggest change comes from Intel's marketing department, which "upgraded" the High Definition (HD) Graphics 630 brand to Ultra High Definition (UHD) Graphics 630. Apparently, that means the company supports the same legacy VP8 and AVC codecs, HEVC 10-bit decode/encode, VP9 8/10-bit decode, VP9 8-bit encode (no support for VP9 10-bit encode), HDR, and Wide Color Gamut features. The processors now come in 6+2 (i5 and i7) and 4+2 (i3) configurations.

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How We Test

The MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

MSI continues its Z-series Gaming Pro motherboards, giving the latest implementation similar features as previous models. Pricing should also end up similar. The exact board details and specifications can be found on the manufacturer's website.

Comparison Products

AMD Ryzen 7 1800X

AMD Ryzen 5 1600X

Intel Core i7-7800X

Test Systems

We introduced our new test system and methodology in How We Test Graphics Cards. If you'd like more detail about our general approach, check that piece out.

In this case, only the hardware configuration with CPU, RAM, mainboard, as well as the new cooling system are different, so the summary in table form gives a quick overview of the systems used:

Test System and Configuration
Hardware	Germany Intel Socket 1151 (Z370):Intel Core i7-8700KMSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC2x 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4-3200 @ 2666Intel LGA 2066Intel Core i7-7800XMSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC4x 4GB G.Skill RipJaws IV DDR4-2600AMD Socket AM4 WorkstationAMD Ryzen 7 1800X, Ryzen 5 1600XMSI X370 Tomahawk4x 8GB G.Skill TridentZ DDR4-3200 @ 2667 and 3200 Intel LGA 1151 (Z270)Intel Core i7-7700K, Core i5-7600KMSI Z270 Gaming 72x 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4-3200 @ 2400 and 3200All SystemsGeForce GTX 1080 Founders Edition (Gaming)Nvidia Quadro P6000 (Workstation)1x 1TB Toshiba OCZ RD400 (M.2, System)2x 960GB Toshiba OCZ TR150 (Storage, Images)be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11, 850W Power SupplyWindows 10 Pro (Creators Update)USIntel Socket 1151 (Z370):Intel Core i7-8700KMSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC4x 8GB G.Skill RipJaws V DDR4-3200 @ 2666 and 3200 Intel LGA 2066Intel Core i7-7800XMSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC4x 8GB G.Skill RipJaws V DDR4-3200 @ 2666 and 3200 AMD Socket AM4 AMD Ryzen 7 1800X, Ryzen 5 1600XMSI X370 Xpower Gaming Titanium2x 8GB G.Skill RipJaws V DDR4-3200 @ 2667 and 3200 Intel LGA 1151 (Z270) Intel Core i7-7700K, Core i5-7600K MSI Z270 Gaming M72x 8GB G.Skill RipJaws V DDR4-3200 @ 2666 and 3200 All EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 FE 1TB Samsung PM863 SilverStone ST1500, 1500W Windows 10 Creators Update Version 1703
Cooling	GermanyAlphacool Eiszeit 2000 ChillerAlphacool Eisblock XPXThermal Grizzly Kryonaut (For Cooler Switch)
Monitor	Eizo EV3237-BK
PC Case	Lian Li PC-T70 with Extension Kit and Mods Configurations: Open Benchtable, Closed Case
Power Consumption Measurement	Contact-free DC Measurement at PCIe Slot (Using a Riser Card) Contact-free DC Measurement at External Auxiliary Power Supply Cable Direct Voltage Measurement at Power Supply 2x Rohde & Schwarz HMO 3054, 500MHz Digital Multi-Channel Oscilloscope with Storage Function4x Rohde & Schwarz HZO50 Current Probe (1mA - 30A, 100kHz, DC) 4x Rohde & Schwarz HZ355 (10:1 Probes, 500MHz) 1x Rohde & Schwarz HMC 8012 Digital Multimeter with Storage Function
Thermal Measurement	1x Optris PI640 80Hz Infrared Camera + PI Connect Real-Time Infrared Monitoring and Recording
Acoustic Measurement	NTI Audio M2211 (with Calibration File, Low Cut at 50Hz) Steinberg UR12 (with Phantom Power for Microphones)Creative X7, Smaart v.7 Custom-Made Proprietary Measurement Chamber, 3.5 x 1.8 x 2.2m (L x D x H) Perpendicular to Center of Noise Source(s), Measurement Distance of 50cm Noise Level in dB(A) (Slow), Real-time Frequency Analyzer (RTA) Graphical Frequency Spectrum of Noise

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VRMark, 3DMark & AotS: Escalation

Test Notes

We generated some odd performance results with Intel's Core i7-8700. Despite more conservative specifications and a lower price, it outperformed the flagship Core i7-8700K in some of our gaming benchmarks. We verified our numbers on motherboards from different vendors, and those vendors confirmed that they're seeing what we see.

Initially, our attention turned to Turbo Boost, based on observations from Core i9-7980XE and its unpredictable behavior. But after careful analysis with multiple utilities, we believe the Turbo Boost algorithms are working correctly for both processors.

After recording higher package and core power consumption on the 65W Core i7-8700 compared to Intel's 95W -8700K in certain situations, we also reached out to Intel for comment. Once we have some answers, you can be sure we'll post our findings.

VRMark & 3DMark

We aren't big fans of using synthetic benchmarks to measure game performance, but 3DMark's DX11 and DX12 CPU tests provide useful insight into the amount of horsepower available to game engines.

Futuremark's VRMark test lets you gauge your system's suitability for use with the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift, even if you don't currently own an HMD. The Orange Room test is based on the suggested system requirements for current-generation HTC Vive and Oculus Rift HMDs. Futuremark defines a passing score as anything above 109 FPS.

VRMark plays well to Intel's frequency and IPC throughput advantages, and despite Core i7-8700K's lower base clock rate, its higher Turbo Boost frequency helps secure a victory over Core i7-7700K. Locking both processors to the same overclocked settings yields a practical tie.

Synthetics that favor more cores, such as the DX12 Time Spy and DX11 Fire Strike benchmarks, highlight the possibly explosive performance gains we could see from Intel's six-core Coffee Lake models in heavily-threaded games. The -8700K handily dispatches its predecessor. It even beats the high-end Core i7-7800X on an expensive X299 motherboard.

The eight-core Ryzen 7 1800X proves to be a formidable match. Still, we record a smaller delta between the tuned Coffee Lake and Ryzen processors than expected, given AMD's two-core advantage. It looks like Intel's higher clock rates and superior per-clock performance help in this case.

The impressive Ryzen 5 1600X easily beats Intel's Core i5-7600K, which languishes at the bottom of the chart due to its now-stingy quad-core design. The new Coffee Lake-based i5s, wielding 50% more cores, should make that price point more interesting.

Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

Ashes of the Singularity is a heavily-threaded title that favors the Core i7-8700K's extra cores compared to Core i7-7700K.

Intel's latest outstrips the competition at both stock and overclocked settings, beating Core i7-7700K by a considerable margin in both configurations. Unfortunately, performance in most games doesn't scale linearly, so the -8700K's 50%-higher core count only adds up to a 14% lead out of the box. Nevertheless, that jump is enough for Core i7-8700K to snatch the lead away from Ryzen 7 1800X.

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Civilization VI, Battlefield 1 & Dawn of War III

Civilization VI AI Test

Our Civilization VI AI test measures performance in a turn-based strategy game, and it tends to favor high frequencies and physical cores.

The -8700K's Turbo Boost frequencies yield surprisingly good results. At stock settings, the processor essentially ties Core i7-7700K, but leads a little more definitively after tuning.

Core i5-7600K fares respectably in Civilization VI at its stock settings. But after a 5 GHz overclock, it yields a 15.1-second result (not pictured) that even beats Intel's fastest CPUs.

Civilization VI Graphics Test

The Ryzen processors are much more competitive during Civilization VI's graphics test, but Intel's overclocking headroom proves insurmountable. Compared to Core i7-7700K, the -8700K offers 3.9% more performance in stock form, and a 3% advantage after tuning. Those slim leads mean there is still good value in a Kaby Lake-based platform, particularly in light of the higher price on Coffee Lake K-series SKUs.

Battlefield 1 (DX11)

A graphics bottleneck limits the frame rates of our Battlefield 1 benchmark, so with the exception of Ryzen 5 1600X and Core i5-7600K, the differences between models are slight.

Intel's Core i7 processors lead. More specifically, though, the -8700K does beat its predecessor.

It’s easy to see the workload's more threaded nature during its opening phase, where a quad-core Core i5-7600K trails the test pool.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III

Dawn of War III scales well on CPUs with more execution resources. Naturally, then, the Core i7-8700K dominates in stock and overclocked trim.

The Core i7-7800X posts another surprisingly low score. Considering the costs associated with Intel's premium X299 platform, Skylake-X generally doesn't make much sense for gaming.

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Grand Theft Auto V, Hitman & Shadow of Mordor

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V continues to favor Intel architectures and, more generally, multi-core designs. The Core i7-8700K offers 7.6% more performance than the -7700K at stock settings. This grows to a 11.5% lead after some tuning.

Kaby Lake- and Coffee Lake-based Core i7 processors set themselves apart from the pack during our benchmark, specifically offering a 16-25% performance advantage over the Ryzen models at stock settings.

Hitman (2016)

Core i7-7800X finally shows up in the top half of our chart thanks to its effective architecture and 6C/12T configuration. It's still no match for the -8700K, though, probably due to its more conservative 4 GHz Turbo Boost ceiling.

The new -8700K offers the best performance in stock form, demonstrating a 9 FPS advantage over its nearest competitor. Meanwhile, Core i7-7700K turns the tables with a slight lead after overclocking. Given their similar architectures and manually-defined frequencies, a little variance there is expected. Consider the chips to be tied after tuning.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor

The Core i7-8700K surprisingly falls behind its predecessor at stock settings. We examined each chip's Turbo Boost behavior and discovered that the -8700K ran through at a higher frequency. But, like the -7700K, it doesn’t reach peak frequencies. Rather, it drops to lower clock rates throughout our run.

As mentioned at the outset of our performance testing, we saw higher benchmark numbers from the lower-end Core i7-8700 in several games. Coffee Lake and its Z370 platform are new, so perhaps firmware tuning will iron out some of these issues over time.

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Project CARS, Far Cry Primal & Rise of the Tomb Raider

Project CARS

There's a solid scaling trend from Intel's disappointing Core i7-7800X up through its impressive -8700K.

Core i7-8700K does offer better performance than -7700K out of the box, but as you get more graphics-bound, the two increasingly converge. That means enthusiasts specifically focused on gaming will see little benefit from upgrading, particularly if they own lower-end graphics cards.

Far Cry Primal

Far Cry Primal is another title that doesn't respond as well to Core i7-8700K as we would expect. Again, lower performance than the -7700K at stock settings implies that we just aren't getting the full benefit of Coffee Lake yet. It does gain some ground when we lock both CPUs at 4.9 GHz, but -8700K fails to completely overtake Kaby Lake.

The Ryzen processors obviously trail Intel's offerings in this game and many others. But they're still solid value plays benefiting from lower prices and more affordable platforms. One of Ryzen's greatest advantages is higher performance in threaded workloads like rendering. Coffee Lake challenges this with more cores, so our content creation benchmarks could upset the narrative we've been telling since Ryzen's launch.

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Core i7-7700K and -8700K offer strong, but similar performance in Rise of the Tomb Raider. The Core i5-7600K bests them both at stock settings, though.

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DTP, Office, Multimedia & Compression Performance

Although we usually don’t run our application benchmarks on overclocked processors, we're including the two Coffee Lake CPUs at stock and overclocked frequencies this time, since we wanted to know how Intel's architecture scales in different scenarios.

To be fair, we also added a (reasonably) overclocked AMD Ryzen 7 1800X to our results. This makes for an interesting comparison. We also included Intel’s Core i7-7800X, which represents another 6C/12T contender from Intel using its X299 platform. Skylake-X didn't seem to add anything in our gaming benchmarks; can it beat Coffee Lake in productivity applications?

DTP & Presentation

Adobe’s Creative Cloud gives us a look at real-world single- and multi-core performance. As such, it beats synthetic benchmarks as a productivity test.

After Effects CC is a classic when it comes to parallelized tasks, with the number of cores easily being more important than frequency. Core i7-8700K dominates in this one, of course.

Otherwise, in lightly-threaded benchmarks, Coffee Lake only beats its competition thanks to its slightly higher clock rate.

Strangely, Intel’s Core i5-7600K reliably beats the stock Core i7 CPUs in Adobe’s InDesign CC. We have no idea why this might be the case.

Encoding & Multimedia

Intel’s new Core i7-8700K dominates our default HandBrake benchmarks. The Core i7-7800X can’t compete.

The finishing order shifts around a bit under our more demanding high-quality test. Due to its higher core count, AMD’s Ryzen 7 1800X finishes ahead of Core i7-8700K, which, in turn, beats the Skylake-X-based Core i7-7800X.

Compression & Decompression

Core i7-8700K’s six cores, coupled with high clock rates, allow Coffee Lake to leave its competition in the dust. Again, the Core i7-7800X doesn’t even come close.

Things don’t get any better for the competition once it's compared to Core i7-8700K in our decompression metric. Core i7-7800X fares especially badly, demonstrating that the X299 platform isn't universally better just because it's more expensive.

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2D & 3D Workstation Performance

2D Workstation Performance

Our GDI/GDI+ tests are used to test two different output methods that can be found in older applications and printing tasks. Today, they, or at least a modified version of them, are commonly used to display the graphical user interface (GUI). They are also great benchmarks for direct device write throughput and memory performance when handling gigantic device-independent bitmap (DIB) files.

Synthetic 2D Benchmarks

We take a look at direct device write throughput first. The graphics driver uses the CPU heavily for this task, but doesn’t employ many threads.

There hasn’t been true 2D hardware acceleration since the introduction of the unified shader architecture, after all. Microsoft's Windows driver model provides a huge obstacle for 2D hardware acceleration as well.

We up the ante by introducing memory to the mix. This is done with the help of the only remaining 2D hardware function: generating the graphics output in memory and then copying it to the output device all at once. The benchmark’s the same as before. We just plot a bitmap in memory, as opposed to sending the information directly to the monitor. The bitmap’s copied to it only once it’s complete. This pushes the CPUs, since they’re no longer platform-bound. The results prove interesting: frequency rules, AMD can keep up, and Skylake-X brings up the rear.

AutoCAD 2016 (2D)

Even though AutoCAD does use DirectX, ultimately it just duplicates every single draw function in software. The results are exactly as expected, and IPC throughput is emphasized due to AutoCAD’s limited scaling with additional cores.

3D Workstation Performance

Most professional development applications have been optimized and compiled with Intel CPUs in mind. This is reflected in their performance numbers. Still, we include them in order to motivate developers to focus their efforts on AMD’s Ryzen processors as well. This would give users more than one choice. The same goes for an emphasis on multi-core processors, at least where that’s feasible and makes sense.

AutoCAD 2016 (3D)

Clock rate trumps core count. Intel’s Kaby Lake and Coffee Lake land fairly close to each other, with clock rate determining the winner. AutoCAD’s performance turns out to be close to that of older games, since it uses DirectX and isn’t really optimized to take advantage of multiple cores.

Cinebench R15 OpenGL

Frequency is (almost) everything in the Cinebench R15 OpenGL benchmark. However, Intel’s Core i7-7800X does better than usual.

Our overclocked Ryzen 7 1800X lands behind the stock configuration, regardless of how many times we re-run the benchmark, and we don't have a good explanation as to why.

SolidWorks 2015

SolidWorks 2015 also emphasizes clock rate. At the same frequency, Coffee Lake and its predecessor end up in the same place. This doesn’t come as a surprise though, since SolidWorks 2015 typically doesn’t use more than four cores. The exceptions are a few very specific tasks, which we’ll see tested when we get to the CPU composite score on the next page.

Creo 3.0

Creo 3.0 paints a similar picture; a high core count just doesn’t provide any benefits when it comes to drafting using real-time 3D graphics output.

Blender & 3ds Max (Real-time 3D Preview)

The Blender and 3ds Max real-time 3D previews yield similar results: frequency is everything. Of course, final rendering is a different story, and we'll get to that shortly.

The 3ds Max results aren’t based on time to completion. Rather, this benchmark generates a composite index based on CPU performance during a set time period.

Catia V6 R2012

This is one of the graphics benchmarks that has been optimized time and again (it’s part of the free SPECviewperf 12 suite). However, it still provides a fairly good measure of CPU performance, with an emphasis on clock rate. Based on the previous benchmark results, you can guess how this story ends.

Maya 2013

At the risk of beating a dead horse, our chart paints a picture we've seen several times already. The real-time 3D output numbers don’t tell a complete story, though. As we're about to see, core count reigns supreme when it comes to final rendering.

What we can say is that two additional cores don't hurt Intel's Coffee Lake-based flagship. That's good news for a six-core chip trying to prove itself against a smaller quad-core design. The test results should only get better from here.

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CPU Computing & Rendering Performance

CPU Workstation Performance

The 3D graphics performance we just measured isn’t all that matters to professional rendering software. Applications run many other tasks (like simulations, compute jobs, preview rendering) on the CPU simultaneously. The full picture’s only achievable by looking at both of them together.

Many modern suites include modules that are based exclusively on computing and simulations. This means we need to go beyond just 3D workstation performance to form our opinion of these high-end CPUs. However, software packages like SolidWorks don’t scale perfectly based on core/thread count. Consequently, even quad-core processors keep up if they run at high-enough frequencies and support SMT. We'll illustrate this by comparing Core i7-8700K to the Core i7-7700K.

Frequency is all that counts in Creo 3.0, so long as you have at least eight threads to throw at the application. As a result, Intel’s new Core i7-8700K doesn't really benefit from its two additional cores.

Clock rate and core count both matter in 3ds Max 2015, allowing Intel’s Core i7-8700K to pull ahead of the -7700K by a larger margin.

Separately, the Core i7-7800X is beaten soundly due to a combination of older architecture and lower clock rate.

The CPU composite score includes rendering, which is broken out into its own section below. There, AMD's Ryzen 7 1800X does really well. It even beats the overclocked Core i7-8700K in stock form.

CPU Performance: Photorealistic Rendering

Final rendering doesn’t require a CPU that's good at everything. Rather, this task wants efficiency and fast parallel computation.

We know big, expensive workstation-class CPUs like Ryzen Threadripper tear these benchmarks to bits. But in the -8700K's more desktop-friendly price range, it goes head-to-head with Ryzen 7 1800X in stock form. Core count matters more than frequency, as you can see comparing -8700K to -7700K.

The console version of LuxRender affirms what we saw in 3ds Max; Core i7-8700K does battle with AMD's Ryzen 7 1800X. Though it trails, remember that we're talking about six cores against eight.

Last, but not least, we take a look at Blender. The usual workload (with a sample size of 200 pixels) confirms what we saw in the preceding benchmarks. Intel’s Core i7-8700K and AMD’s Ryzen 7 1800X finish at the top of our chart. Ultimately, the winner is the CPU with more cores, though Coffee Lake keeps up by virtue of its effective architecture and high clock rate. Meanwhile, our Kaby Lake-based chips trail even the Ryzen 5 sample.

The results obtained from SPECwpc’s Blender loop look similar, even though this benchmark presents a somewhat different task consisting of more than just rendering.

With the workload's rendering portion easing up, a stock Core i7-8700K suddenly becomes more competitive.

This trend intensifies as our benchmark begins incorporating tasks other than photorealistic rendering. Core count isn't the sole determiner of performance; IPC throughput factors in as well. That's why you see older quad-core models with SMT rise through the ranks.

Now Coffee Lake enjoys a definite lead. Core count is a factor, to be sure (Ryzen 7 and Skylake-X beat Kaby Lake), but clock rate is also important.

Intel’s Core i7-8700K offers acceptable performance in semi-professional applications; it's not just a gaming CPU. Depending on the application and how it utilizes host processing resources, you'll either get modest results or a stellar experience. There's no such thing as bad.

We didn't expect such strong numbers from Coffee Lake in these benchmarks, particularly compared to Core i7-7800X. It's hard to imagine why anyone would spend $380 on that CPU and a hefty premium on an X299 motherboard.

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Scientific & Engineering Computations, & HPC Performance

For these tests, we’re using the SPECwpc benchmark suite for workstations with its wide variety of tasks. It tests a number of very different mathematical computations optimized for parallelization. They typically make heavy use of available memory bandwidth and cache, plus expose issues with latency.

Rodinia

The pre-Euler3D CFD test (Computational Fluid Dynamics benchmark) runs very well on AMD's CPUs, suggesting scaling based predominantly on core count. Intel's overclocked CPUs do pick up some performance compared to the stock configurations, but they can't keep up with Ryzen 7 1800X.

Convolution

In this benchmark, a mathematical operation is performed on two functions (convolution), which results in a third function. Performance scales according to core count. Clock rate has far less impact.

CalculiX

This test is based on the finite element method for three-dimensional structural computations. Intel’s higher frequencies help Core i7-8700K beat out Ryzen 7 1800X, though core count clearly matters as well.

Poisson's Equation

Poisson's Equation is a second-order partial differential equation widely used in physics for boundary value problems.

Intel’s new six-core processors fare well. Higher clock rates don't appear to help much, given our overclocked results.

Sequential Reweighted Message Passing (SRMP)

These are algorithms for discrete energy minimization. The workload benefits from core count, clock rate, and architectural improvements, it appears. For some reason, though, AMD's Ryzen 7 and 5 just don't show well, even though our logs show them to be fully utilized.

Kirchhoff Migration

The earth’s subsurface structure can be determined via seismic processing. One of the four basic steps in this process is the Kirchhoff Migration, which is used to generate an image based on the available data using mathematical operations.

This benchmark and its underlying computations turn out to be a great fit for AMD. Intel's Core i7-8700K only takes the top spot after aggressive overclocking, and that wouldn't be practical for everyday use. Ultimately, AMD’s Ryzen 7 1800X wins in stock trim.

In the end, Core i7-8700K performs well in almost every scenario, especially when the workload scales according to core count and clock rate. Higher frequencies help Intel fend off AMD's eight-core competition, though Coffee Lake represents a compromise in certain tasks.

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Overclocking, Cooling & Temperature

Overclocking

First, we established the Core i7-8700K’s limits by cooling the chip's IHS to a constant 20°C, side-stepping potential thermal bottlenecks imposed by Intel's unfortunate use of thermal paste between the die and heat spreader. We made it all the way to 5.0 GHz without any problems. This didn't surprise us, given our experiences with Kaby Lake. At 5.1 GHz, we booted into Windows and ran a couple of games, but the processor called it quits when we tried to run Cinebench.

We’d like to point out the possibilities enabled by manual load-line calibration. Depending on the motherboard, different levels and presets are available, or the voltages can be manually adjusted for some experimentation. In this way, the core voltage can be reduced significantly without losing a whole lot of performance (so long as your chip plays along). For the motherboard we tested, the effective voltage was between 1.18V and a maximum of 1.28V when running Prime95 at stock frequencies. This lowered the package’s temperature by almost 8°C.

Unfortunately, many memory kits run into trouble if the load-line calibration is set too low; the result is general instability. CPU quality plays a key role as well. In our particular case, this affected our 5.0 GHz overclock, which didn’t hold up over time. All of the games and some of the workstation applications ran for hours without any problems, but Creo 3.0 and some of the HPC tests crashed after a few minutes.

The 5+ GHz overclocking stories are exciting, to be sure. But remember that most of them aren't validated for long-term reliability. We'd rather drop the clock rate by 100 MHz and not have to deal with intermittent crashes.

Looking at our power consumption and performance graph, we see a bend at ~4.8 GHz. Power use continues increasing with higher clock rates, but the Cinebench score levels off. A failure to continue scaling at 5.0 GHz is a good indicator that our CPU is throttling. It simply cannot dissipate heat quickly enough.

Power Consumption

At idle, the differences in power consumption are fairly marginal. All of the processors end up just about where we'd expect based on previous reviews. AMD's Ryzen processors draw significantly more power than the Intel competition because their idle clock rate is a bit too high.

The new Intel CPU’s average power consumption in applications that combine 2D and 3D loads (like AutoCAD) is in line with the performance we observed.

The processor ends up in almost the same place during our gaming loop.

The finishing order changes dramatically once we fire up an AVX stress test with all cores running at their top Turbo Boost bins. During rendering, we were seeing the -8700K's stock power consumption at 110W, climbing to 133W under a 5 GHz overclock.

AVX without offset pushes the result as high as 170W. The Core i7-8700K at 4.9 GHz even throttles due to its package temperature. And that's in spite of our compressor cooler's efforts! Thermal paste under the IHS does us no favors.

Temperatures

Here’s the good news: unless you render or run Prime95 for hours on end, a good air cooler can theoretically handle 4.8 GHz in a well-ventilated case. Intel’s thermal interface material isn't desirable, but it shouldn't stop you from achieving a decent overclock.

The above graph shows that a closed-loop liquid cooler is able to keep an overclocked Core i7-8700K from throttling after 20 minutes of warming up. A good heat sink and fan combination should perform almost as well, again, given ample airflow.

Under our stress test, the overclocked processor gets uncomfortably hot, even under our compressor cooler.

While we're only measuring an average of 170W, thermal throttling keeps the 180W+ peaks from becoming our average power consumption result. At that point, even the most powerful coolers have to throw in the towel.

To be sure, it's surprising just how much power such a tiny processor can consume once it’s pushed to its limits. Nevertheless, Intel’s Core i7-8700K is relatively easy to cool, even on air. You'll just want to stay away from taxing rendering sessions and AVX-optimized workloads. At that point, you're best off with an all-in-one closed-loop liquid cooler.

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Conclusion

AMD’s competitive architecture, disruptive pricing, and class-leading core counts continues to turn heads. Intel responded to the Threadripper family by introducing Skylake-X-based CPUs for less money per core than we've ever seen before. Up until now, though, it showed no interest in affecting that metric with its mainstream desktop chips. This changes with Coffee Lake, which employs the same underlying architecture as Kaby Lake, but adds execution cores and cache. Improved Turbo Boost bins also help maintain performance in lightly-threaded tasks.

Intel says that its Core i7-8700K is the company's best gaming processor ever. So, we use a geometric mean of 99th percentile frame times, a good indicator of smoothness, converted into an FPS measurement, to gauge the veracity of this bold claim across our suite. Five of the games we test were released in 2016, and five are older (2014/2015). Extra cores could enable more performance as software evolves, so we also include a chart with newer games that thoroughly utilize available host processing resources. We also have price-to-performance charts that get split up to include both the price of the processor and extra platform costs. For the models that don't come with a bundled cooler, we add an extra $25 for a basic heat sink. We also add $20 if overclocking requires a more expensive motherboard (as is the case for Z370).

Despite a few missteps, Core i7-8700K lives up to Intel’s claims. While it doesn't beat the -7700K by a massive margin, the Coffee Lake flagship does deliver better performance in stock and overclocked form. Of course, adding a Z370 motherboard and competent cooler knocks you over the $400 mark, so be ready to pay for that privilege.

Value-seekers have to be asking if Core i7-8700K's price tag is even worth paying, then. After all, you can get Ryzen 7 1800X-class performance out of an overclocked Ryzen 7 1700 for $300 or less. But based on our matrix, Coffee Lake gives you the best performance (furthest to the right) without getting too crazy on price. We're naturally wondering how Core i5-8600K will fare. For now, though, Core i7-8700K is the gaming CPU to own.

Whereas Kaby Lake tends to fall behind Ryzen once we jump out of the games and start looking at rendering/encoding workloads, Coffee Lake's extra cores, higher clock rates, and overclocking headroom help close that gap. Applications previously notorious for going AMD's way are now more hotly contested.

Unfortunately, you will have to buy a new Z370-based motherboard to support Core i7-8700K. Coffee Lake necessarily breaks compatibility with the not-altogether-old Z270 chipset for higher memory data rates and improved power to the CPU's package. And of course, the Z-series platform controller hub is a requisite if you want access to unlocked ratio multipliers. Lower-end B- and H-series chipsets are coming, but not until next year.

We're also disappointed that Core i7-8700K still utilizes thermal paste between its die and heat spreader. Whereas this was a significant issue during our Skylake-X evaluation, though, it's not as problematic on a 95W CPU. You can easily stave off throttling with a heat sink and fan, or dial in a respectable overclock under a closed-loop liquid cooler.

Intel has its 10nm Cannon Lake processors coming in the second half of 2018, and AMD has a Ryzen refresh cycle coming next year. Knowing this, should you upgrade now or wait for the next wave of hardware? Due to the iterative nature of most updates, we rarely recommend jumping forward one, or even two generations. However, if you routinely find yourself running productivity workloads that might be served well by Core i7-8700K's extra cores, we could see replacing a quad-core chip with six cores. Gamers interested in maximum performance or streaming also stand to benefit, though in a world of single-GPU graphics configurations, you'd be hard-pressed to bottleneck an overclocked -7700K with even a GeForce GTX 1080 Ti (particularly at the high resolutions it's meant to drive).

It's an exciting year to be an enthusiast. Intel obviously planned to beef up its line-up years back, but we can thank AMD for the accelerated timeline and competitive pricing. Competition truly is a wonderful thing.

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MSI X299 XPower Gaming AC Motherboard Review

Thomas Soderstrom — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Features & Specifications

Enthusiast-class motherboards often have a little extra, including extra room to put extra features such as extra connectors and buttons. MSI’s X299 XPower Gaming AC is the latest in the company's own oversized enthusiast-class boards, but before we get to what that extra space gives you, let’s consider for a minute what the board is—at 10.7”-deep by 12” top-to-bottom—and what it isn’t.

It isn’t 13” deep, so the EATX label doesn’t fully apply, even though MSI uses it. It isn’t XL-ATX, because those boards have an extra 0.8 to 1.3” at the bottom edge for an eighth slot. Size wise, it’s the least of these two formats. And I only stress this small fact because it fits both types of PC case, along with any ATX case that has an extra 1.1” of free space at the motherboard’s front edge.

I also avoided saying 12” high, because that would likely infuriate anyone who came into the enthusiast market from the server industry.

Without further ado, here’s what the X299 XPower Gaming AC offers:

Specifications

On the I/O panel, the X299 XPower Gaming AC gets you two extra USB 3.1 Gen 1 (aka USB 3.0) ports and an extra RJ45 network jack, the latter served up by Intel’s venerable i211AT PCIe-based Gigabit Ethernet controller. We still find Intel’s high-end 867Mb/s Wi-Fi solution, Type A and Type C 10Gb/s USB 3.1 (aka Gen2) ports, five analog audio jacks, optical S/PDIF, a PS/2 and two USB 2.0 ports for legacy peripherals (keyboards, mice, and printers), a CLR_CMOS button, and a USB Flashback+ jack for flashing firmware without the need of a compatible CPU or RAM.

On the surface we find three M.2 slots with heat spreaders, the top slot featuring MSI’s FROZR design with quick-release latch. The third M.2 takes data directly from the CPU, providing full PCIe 3.0 x4 bandwidth without the sharing issues of the chipset’s DMI pathway. This design also prevents 16-lane (Kaby Lake-X) processors from supporting SLI, since the remaining slots are stuck at x8/x4 instead of the required x8/x8 mode. Not that anyone should feel compelled to put a Kaby Lake-X on this $400 board: Skylake-X processors make full use of the board’s capabilities by providing 44 or 28 lanes, depending on the model.

There’s also an extra pair of SATA ports and a U.2 connector for off-board PCIe x4 storage. The added controller for those SATA ports shares a pathway with the PCIe x1 slot, so that users must choose which interface they want most. SATA sharing doesn’t end there, as the center M.2 slot gets its four HSIO resources for PCIe x4 mode from SATA ports 5 through 8. A SATA M.2 drive placed there consumes only port 5. And a SATA drive in the top M.2 slot consumes SATA port 1.

Generously equipped with 10 four-pin fan headers that can be manually or automatically switched between PWM and voltage-based controls, X299 XPower Gaming AC also adds a new-generation 10Gb/s USB 3.1 front panel header to its pair of USB 3.0 headers. Of these, the bottom USB 3.0 header could possibly get in the way of a four-way graphics card installation, particularly if the bottom card is more than 9.5” long. Perhaps it’s good then that hardly anyone uses the second USB 3.0 interface?

Overclockers who prefer open systems can make use of the X299 XPower Gaming AC’s overclocking buttons, with BCLK step sizes that can be altered in UEFI. A quick adjustment knob also lets those who don’t know much about overclocking use one of MSI’s factory-configured overclocking profiles. Voltage check points closer to the front edge let you detect the rail voltages of the CPU, DRAM, VSA, VCCIO, and include taps into Core and Ring voltage lines. Next to those are LEDs that indicate initialization of the firmware (Boot), graphics card, DRAM, and CPU to show overclockers which component is stopping the boot process. A Port 80 display serves the same purpose and is easier to see from a distance.

Not related to overclocking but more useful to some of my colleagues, the VRAID connector enables VROC modules for a CPU’s integrated PCIe controller.

Ironically called “Chest Plate,” an anodized brushed-aluminum plate is MSI’s solution for an ugly backside that presents itself in certain glass cases. It’s also said to reduce flex, which is likely why it spans the extra inch forward of standard ATX standoffs on this 10.7”-deep design. As a practical matter, if the X299 XPower Gaming AC’s forward edge were to be flexed far enough to touch the motherboard tray, its “Chest Plate” would prevent circuit contact.

Like most MSI motherboards, the X299 XPower Gaming AC includes a hefty load of documentation and stickers. Unlike its cheaper siblings, it also includes a significant installation pack. We find two magnetic antennas for its 867Mb/s Wi-Fi controller, an RGB Y-cable for its single lighting header, a case badge, a pack of 3D X-Mounting standoffs for custom facades that users can 3D print from available online designs, a thermistor cable that connects to an onboard header for remote component monitoring, an HB-type SLI bridge, MSI’s M.2 Xpander-Z PCIe to M.2 adapter card, and six SATA cables including three with a single right-angle connector.

MSI’s M.2 Xpander-Z adapts eight CPU lanes to two four-lane M.2 cards, and serves as another reason for buyers to choose Skylake-X (44 or 28 lanes) over Kaby Lake-X (16-lanes).

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Software & Firmware

MSI has made few changes to its software suite since we covered it in our X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC review, but we did grab a few supplemental screenshots. MSI Mystic Light changed our LED colors to red and didn’t respond to custom color changes until we updated, after which it became unresponsive to most input (even flash patterns). We’ll wait for yet another update.

OC Mode of MSI’s Gaming App still references the motherboard’s first OC profile, which is still an underclock for our processor but at 3.8 GHz rather than the 3.5 GHz of the former test subject. Other shortcuts still refer to more useful apps as described in that review.

And now for the good news: MSI Command Center has been fully updated to work with X299 motherboards. We controlled CPU clocks and core voltage with ease. On the other hand, DRAM clocks are still stuck.

The “Game Boost” setting above can be set to hardware or software mode, accessing seven different factory-programed overclocks from firmware. Since it’s purely firmware controlled, changes require a reboot.

Applets launched from the Advanced key of Command Center include advanced voltage control, system fan settings, advanced DRAM timings, and a very useful temperature monitoring schematic. DRAM timing adjustments worked without crashing the program for the first time I can remember, though these firmware-based adjustments require reboot.

The “Settings” key of Command Center launches a system event recorder, an alarm settings menu, and mobile control for MSI’s Command Center smartphone app.

Command Center’s “Information” key links its Motherboard, Memory, and CPU info applets, along with detailed HW Monitor readings.

X299 XPower Gaming AC Firmware

MSI Click BIOS 5 still opens to Easy mode by default, but now remembers the mode it exited from. That means if you press F7 to enter advanced mode, change a few things, save and exit, you’ll be greeted with Advanced mode the next time you enter UEFI.

The OC menu also opens into Expert mode by default. The Misc Setting drop-down includes Enhanced Turbo mode by default, and this must be disabled to benchmark using Intel’s default Turbo Boost ratios. That setting disappears when you manually select a multiplier.

Our CPU reached its expected 4.40 GHz clock at 1.15V, where substantially higher voltage levels that might have kept it stable at higher frequencies would have also allowed it to overheat under full load. DRAM voltage is only adjustable in 10mV increments: The 1.340V setting allowed measured voltage to exceed our 1.355V test limit, forcing us to choose 1.330V to achieve 1.348V as measured at the DIMM slot.

Memory timing adjustments are too numerous to write about, and can be set at once or split into separate A/B and C/D channel timings. The X299 XPower Gaming AC extracted DDR4-3838 from our DDR4-3866 set at XMP timings.

Since 4.40 GHz is within the standard range of our Core i9-7900X, the X299 XPower Gaming AC treated it that way and maintained certain power savings controls. The 45x multiplier brought us an unregulated 4.50 GHz, but the voltage required to maintain it caused our CPU to thermal throttle. Getting all cores to operate simultaneously at 4.40 GHz under an AVX load required setting the AVX offset to zero and setting the VCore Loadline Calibration control to “anything other than default,” whereupon we found Mode 3 to be closest to a level setting.

Additional submenus show CPU capabilities and DRAM timings.

The CPU Features menu doesn’t have very many power savings control settings. We enabled those for our performance and power evaluations, then disabled several prior to overclocking analysis.

The M-Flash button isn’t a menu, but a command to reboot into a special firmware-flashing GUI.

Six custom firmware configurations can be saved as overclocking profiles or exported to a file on a USB flash drive.

All 10 of the X299 XPower Gaming AC’s fan headers automatically detect whether or not a PWM-controlled device is attached, and all 10 can alternatively be configured manually between PWM and voltage-based speed control. Fan control profiles can be configured automatically, manually, or set to full speed.

MSI Board Explorer shows detected devices, but apparently isn’t able to detect whether USB or SATA devices are installed. It shows all internal ports occupied, though none were.

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Test Configuration

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1090, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFxUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, VeryHigh Quality, VeryHigh Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmarks & Final Analysis

We’re putting the overclocking section of today’s analysis atop the page since it’s what you want to see most. This also gives me an excuse to top the page with the firmware settings of each competing motherboard. Some readers will certainly want to jump past boring benchmark charts to the conclusion, but you never know when something weird will happen there.

Frequency And Voltage Settings

MSI X299 XPower Gaming AC

Asus Prime X299-Deluxe

Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 7

MSI’s X299 XPower Gaming AC takes third place in a hotly-contested DRAM overclocking race, where its competitors use more voltage. That’s MSI’s fault, since the voltage regulator is adjustable only on 10mV steps, forcing me to choose 1.348V rather than a test-violating 1.358V. The 5mV increments of competitors simply let me choose something between those two options.

Of course the X299 XPower Gaming AC matched its competitors in CPU overclocking, which is why I mentioned DRAM first. It also matched competitors in base-clock overclocks, but only at the 1:1 boot strap. X299 XPower Gaming AC firmware doesn’t have a boost strap adjustment, and setting BCLK to 125 MHz failed to initialize an automatic change.

If performance is the point of overclocking, we might as well end our analysis here. The X299 XPower Gaming AC has the highest memory bandwidth ever extracted from our consumer motherboards. And given that a 4.40 GHz CPU overclock performs virtually identically across all boards, that’s the one place where any single product could really stand apart from the rest.

Power Metrics

Since we assume all overclockers will want to set up clocks themselves, we take every possible measure to eliminate automatic overclocking from our performance tests. We’d hate for someone to assume that “if brand X performs Y% better than brand Z at stock, it will also perform that much better overclocked,” because this simply isn’t true. Yet enabling all available CPU-based power-saving features and disabling automatic overclocks is no longer a perfect method to achieve similar results, because Intel is allowing motherboard manufacturers to violate its stated 140W TDP on consumer-market enthusiast motherboards. The Core i9-7900X rarely runs at its full performance level at full load but is instead clocked down to stay within a power and heat envelope: Expanding beyond that envelope allows power inconsistencies that we can’t properly compensate.

Seeing that everyone but Asus uses an unlocked TDP by default, we’d like to see how much this costs us at the power plug before moving on to see how it impacts performance.

Even if we assume that the extra features of the X299 XPower Gaming AC and X299 Aorus Gaming 7 costs a few watts, both far exceed the X299 Gaming i9, and even that model appears a power hog compared to the Intel standard maintained with the Prime X299 Deluxe.

All of this means that even with all power savings features enabled and all overclocking techniques disabled, the X299 XPower Gaming AC and X299 Aorus Gaming 7 are running close to the limit of this CPU’s thermal interface. Of course, we could try to force compliance by using a 140W CPU cooler, but that’s not a realistic limitation of the enthusiast performance market. Let’s see how these things affect performance.

Synthetic Benchmarks

For all of its extra power consumption, an uncapped TDP does little to alter 3DMark and PCMark scores. The X299 XPower Gaming AC leads the closest-power-level X299 Aorus Gaming 7 through 3DMark, but that could be due to its enhanced memory performance.

It’s not until we reach Sandra Memory Bandwidth that we see just how great the X299 XPower Gaming AC’s memory bandwidth advantage is. Remember that this is at DDR4-2133 defaults, not even the XMP settings that were too high for this particular board to use.

3D Games

We expected a board with the memory bandwidth advantage of the X299 XPower Gaming AC to wipe the floor with its competitors in the memory-sensitive F1 2015 benchmark, but were surprised to see it also take a noteworthy lead at the lower test settings of Ashes. The reason it’s noteworthy isn’t that it’s visible in game play, but rather that it falls outside of the normal variation between consecutive tests.

The X299 XPower Gaming AC includes Nahimic audio solution, with its ability to virtualize 3D through headphones and help you locate your enemies in games. The only game in our suite affected is Talos, where the darker bars show how much lower the score is when Nahimic is running. Since Nahimic is a major feature, the lower numbers are used in our final tally.

Timed Applications

The X299 XPower Gaming AC burns through our mixed workloads with flair, but drops back a little in Adobe CC and MS Office workloads. In the balance we expect . . . balance.

Efficiency

The performance penalty imparted by Nahimic in one of our games offset the performance gained in F1 2015. Similarly, performance losses in Adobe CC and MS Office offset gains in mixed workloads. The 1% combined performance deficit is pitted against its 16% above-average power consumption level to produce sub-par efficiency.

Final Analysis

People like value charts that show “bang for the buck,” but added features don’t produce a performance bang. We try to make the comparison fair by comparing similarly-priced boards and then discussing feature differences.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 and X299 Gaming i9 are the boards for MSI to beat with superior features. All three have at least dual Gigabit Ethernet and some kind of 802.11ac controller, but X299 Professional Gaming i9 also adds 10 Gb/s Ethernet as a third wired network interface. That’s hard to match on the networking front, let alone beat. That same board has a weaker 433 Mb/s Wi-Fi controller, but that concession hardly puts a dent in the value of its wired interface configuration.

The Gigabyte board has five x16-length slots but can connect three cards in SLI, even when equipped with a 44-lane CPU. ASRock’s sample is wired for four-way Crossfire and SLI, but slot spacing issues limit most cards to 3-way configurations. The MSI X299 XPower Gaming AC can do 4-way CrossFire or SLI with a 44-lane CPU, 3-way with a 28-lane CPU, and . . . no-way SLI with a 16-lane CPU because four of its lanes are dedicated to M.2. Talk about a mixed bag.

Thus, while the X299 XPower Gaming AC has all the features needed to justify its price, it can’t convincingly beat its competitors in features for the money. You’ll probably buy it anyway if you need 4-way SLI in addition to its high-end features, and we might even be tempted by its high memory bandwidth. I’d even give it an award for that last accomplishment, if any of our awards were applicable. Yet as I sit here looking at its PCIe 3.0 x8 to dual M.2 adapter card, I think to myself, I can’t find one of these for sale anywhere. That’s something. And if you’re in the market for 3-way CrossFire or SLI and three CPU-driven M.2 drives, that card may be the only thing the X299 XPower Gaming AC needs to get your stamp of approval.

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ASRock Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9 Review

Thomas Soderstrom — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Features & Specifications

After noticing a few empty solder pads on ASRock’s value-awarded X299 Taichi, we said that we couldn’t wait to see the more advanced motherboard that will be based upon the same circuit board. We didn’t need to wait long. The high-end version was already in queue by the time the first review published. The Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9 adds an AQtion AQC107 10GbE controller from Aquantia, a front-panel USB 3.1 10 Gb/s header, a second ASM3142 USB 3.1 controller to support the added front-panel header, onboard power and reset buttons, and Creative’s Sound Blaster Cinema 3 audio software. It also loses the cheaper board’s DTS Connect license, since compatible receivers are generally thought of as being home-theater equipment. This is, after all, a “Professional Gaming” motherboard.

Specifications

Network cards based on the Aquantia 10GbE controller are priced over $200, yet the cheaper motherboard model based upon this circuit board costs only $100 less. That kind of math could have guaranteed the Fatal1ty X299 Gaming i9 the same value award, except that it’s competing at a different market level and we’ve already tested Gigabyte’s competing X299 Aorus Gaming 7. ASRock has a board to beat!

Thanks to its shared PCB, we’ve already extensively covered the Gaming i9’s layout in our ASRock X299 Taichi review. Highlights include the first M.2 slot getting its lanes directly from the CPU, curing the problem of shared bandwidth over the chipset’s four-lane DMI interface while simultaneously destroying the board’s ability to support SLI on 16-lane Kaby Lake-X (Core i7-7740X and i5-7640X) processors. That last part needn’t be a problem, since Kaby Lake buyers can get better value by sticking to the Z270 platforms for which it was designed.

The Gaming i9 gets its own style, with lighted power and reset buttons above the two-digit status code display, differently-shaped heat sinks with the voltage regulator’s being taller and narrower, a small heat sink over the 10GbE controller, and a completely different yet eerily familiar plastic cover over the I/O shield and several audio circuits. The Sound Blaster logo is not backlit, which is somewhat unusual within the high-end market. In fact, the only onboard lighting is under the chipset sink, though case lighting afficionados will still be pleased to find RGB LED headers at the board’s top front and bottom rear corners. Once again I refer to our X299 Taichi review for additional information regarding header and slot configuration.

The X299 Gaming i9’s minimalist installation kit includes HB and 3-way SLI bridges, Wi-Fi antennae, four SATA cables, an I/O shield, drivers, and documentation. Note that the box uses the shorter product name, though the website calls this the Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9.

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Software, Firmware & Overclocking

Like the X299 Taichi, the X299 Gaming i9 relies on downloads to install most of ASRock’s software, avoiding the install-download-reinstall process of previous products. Also like the X299 Taichi, the Live Update app includes junkware ads in its software list. Users are still welcome to use the Live Update app to poll ASRock servers for drivers and to disable auto-launch at Windows boot if desired.

ASRock updated its software, so that the non-functioning (on both X299 models) RGB LED software simply states that it’s not supported on this platform. It’s a shame that ASRock still mentions its inclusion on the product page, but the firm is likely stalling until X299 compatibility updates are complete.

The F-Stream EZ OC applet didn’t read factory-programmed overclocking configurations from firmware, but manual overclocking worked perfectly. We were even able to increase the CPU multiplier beyond stock values, which hasn’t been possible on previously-tested X299 models.

The included Sound Blaster Cinema 3 software adds features such as synthesized 3D on stereo speakers or headphones, Crystalizer to enhance fidelity in music, Smart Volume to reduce fidelity, (ahem) level audio when playing sources that have loud commercials or whatnot, dialog plus to increase dialog volume above background noise/music, and a bass boost function.

The X299 Gaming i9 UEFI automatically opens to Advanced mode, where the OC Tweaker menu is a launching point for both factory-configured and manual overclocking menus. Factory profiles include Turbo 4.2GHz at 1.90V CPU Input Voltage and AVX negative multiplier offsets of 2 (AVX2) and 9 (AVX3), Turbo 4.4GHz at 1.90V input voltage and AVX offsets of 4 (AVX2) and 11 (AVX3), Turbo 4.6 GHz at 2.00V input/1.26V Core voltage and AVX offsets of 6 (AVX2) and 13 (AVX3), and Turbo 4.8 GHz at 2.10V input/1.32V core and AVX offsets of 8 (AVX2) and 15 (AVX3). Those AVX offsets sound atrocious from our experience.

Manual configuration completely matched our previous experience with this Core i9-7900 CPU. The X299 Gaming i9 allowed us to push the core to its expected 4.40 GHz at full Prime95 loads (AVX-boosted small FFTs), where the “Auto” offsets were confirmed to be Zero.

We also pushed our DDR4-3866 samples well past their XMP values after turning the BCLK up. Advanced tweakers who completely understand timings will find the full set of adjustments as they scroll down the X299 Gaming i9’s DRAM Configuration menu.

OC Tweaker’s Voltage Configuration submenu addresses external controllers, and should always be checked when overclocking. I found that altering other settings caused the input voltage to change from auto (around 1.8V) to manual settings of 1.9 to 2.1V. The 1.330V DRAM settings measured 1.350 to 1.355V readings at the DIMM slots.

OC Tweaker gives you a FIVR to change internal CPU voltage levels, and the 1.15V setting was fairly close to spot-on for our CPU, according to power and thermal readings.

The RGB LED menu in firmware is a suitable replacement for the non-working software, and the best part is you don’t even need to use Windows to set your color scheme with this method.

Only two of the fan headers can be switched between PWM and voltage-based control. Both of those headers are also bumped up to 1.5A capacity, whereas other headers are limited to 1A. You can also select between factory programmed and user-defined speed-to-temperature slopes.

The UEFI Setup Style setting within the Advanced menu allows users who are afraid of the intricacies of the Advanced Mode interface to enter firmware in Easy Mode during subsequent boots.

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How We Test

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

Comparison Products

ASUS Prime X299-Deluxe

Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 7

MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1090, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFxUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, VeryHigh Quality, VeryHigh Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmarks & Conclusion

Firmware-default power limits continue to separate X299 motherboards into different CPU multiplier tiers, where Asus’ effort to maintain Intel’s specified 140W TDP resulted in the Core i9-7900X throttling to around 3.5 GHz when loaded with 20 threads of Prime95. Gigabyte’s X299 Aorus Gaming 7 appears to have completely ignored Intel’s stated thermal envelope, running all 20 threads at 4.0 GHz and jumping to around 240W—well past the point that many processors would encounter thermal throttling, given the CPU’s poor internal heat transfer. ASRock’s selections allow the CPU to ramp up to around 190W, but that increase only gives it a multiplier advantage of 1x above that of Asus.

Notice I said default power limits. We enable CPU power-saving features (such as C1E) and disable manufacturer-defined overclocks (so called “Enhanced” Turbo Ratios) in power tests and non-overclocked benchmarks, but we don’t manually configure TDP or current limits. Thoughts about Intel’s feelings on what various motherboard manufacturers are doing concerning power limits will be left to the rumor mill, for now.

Synthetic Benchmarks

ASRock leaps ahead in 3DMark Firestrike, though results in Sky Diver and Firestrike Extreme suggest that this was probably an odd quirk. The Gaming Pro Carbon AC likewise had a test quirk in Firestrike, though in the opposite direction.

PCMark shows odd gains for the ASRock and MSI boards in its Creative test. Perhaps SiSoftware Sandra will shed some light on this difference?

Sandra Multimedia shows ASRock trailing in its Integer x32 test, but leading in its Double Floating-Point Precision test. Conversely, MSI’s sample leads in the former and trails in the latter. The Gaming Pro Carbon AC also leads in memory bandwidth, while the Gaming i9 trails, so we really don’t see any reason for ASRock’s prior gain in PCMark.

The Gaming i9 also leads in the Multi-Core Rendering test of Cinebench, though with no clear reason why. Inconsistency is the one thing that is consistent between these tests, and it’s both easy and convenient to blame differences in default power limits.

3D Games

The Gaming i9 takes second place behind the Gaming Carbon Pro AC at F1 2015’s medium quality preset and both Metro LLR tests. The Gaming Carbon Pro AC stumbles in Talos with its Nahimic audio solution enabled, but readers are welcome to look back to its review to see how the board turned that loss into a lead with Nahimic disabled.

Timed Applications

The competing MSI sample wins more timed benchmarks than it loses, and ASRock’s X299 Gaming i9 falls in a close match with Asus. These results primarily reflect power differences, but on a smaller scale.

Power, Heat & Efficiency

The X299 Gaming i9’s excess power draw is far less excessive than that of Gigabyte or MSI samples. Asus tows the line here for the CPU’s rated TDP.

Comparing a performance disadvantage of less than 1% below the group average to a power savings of nearly 6%, the X299 Gaming i9 has 5.2% above-average efficiency. Asus gets top honors for retaining Intel’s original TDP specification.

Overclocking

The X299 Gaming i9 matches its most closely-priced rival, the X299 Aorus Gaming 7, in CPU overclocking. ASRock’s DRAM overclock is higher, but a look at the bandwidth of that overclock is needed to get the full picture.

Asus has the best overclocked DRAM bandwidth, followed by MSI and then ASRock. At least ASRock was able to beat Gigabyte in this one metric.

Final Thoughts

A basic value chart only compares performance to price, and we know that the only board we’ve tested so far in the X299 Gaming i9’s price range is the X299 Aorus Gaming 7. Those two boards are nearly matched in that chart.

Buyers who prefer RGB lighting will take a strong liking to the X299 Gaming Aorus 7, but we’ve seen plenty of proof that our readers are split on the subject. The X299 Gaming i9 only has lighting under its chipset sink, and while the LEDs can be disabled on both boards, there’s much less expense going into those of the Gaming i9.

Gigabyte also offers a slightly more configurable slot arrangement than ASRock, with one of its x16-length slots fed by the chipset and the four remaining long slots tied to the CPU. Gigabyte and ASRock are also the two competitors that offer a CPU-fed M.2 slot, but only Gigabyte offers users the option to instead feed those four lanes to a slot. The slot that Gigabyte treats as flexible regardless of CPU, ASRock disables whenever a 16-lane or 28-lane CPU is present.

Gigabyte’s X299 Aorus Gaming 7 looks from nearly every angle to be a slightly higher model motherboard, from its slot options right down to its faster Wi-Fi controller, yet Gigabyte’s board does not have the 10Gb/s network controller of ASRock’s X299 Gaming i9. ASRock added that part without even removing either the two Gigabit Ethernet ports found on the cheaper version of this board, making it a triple-Ethernet solution. Pricing for 10GbE controllers is so high right now that for network geeks, the Gaming i9 becomes a far superior value.

This is where I must make a personal concession: I’m not a network geek, but the price savings of ASRock’s onboard 10GbE, compared to a similarly-equipped PCIe card, is undeniable. While I probably wouldn’t spend $100 more to get its $300 board upgraded, I can perfectly understand why network geeks would like to save over $100 by purchasing a board that doesn’t require the extra card. To them, I say, the (fully named) ASRock Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9 is a recommended value.

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Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 3 Motherboard Review

Thomas Soderstrom — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Features & Specifications

Intel’s X299-based LGA 2066 platform, designed primarily for computing enthusiasts, lets buyers install multiple M.2 drives and graphics cards without clogging up the chipset’s lowly four-lane DMI. It does that by providing up to 44 lanes of PCIe 3.0 directly from the CPU. You can also get twice as many memory channels as found on Intel’s top mainstream Z270, and you can install twice as many modules. The words “allows” and “can” come into play because the firm also offers 28-lane and even 16-lane CPUs for this socket, and therein is the rub: The extra PCIe lane switches needed for a motherboard to support these different CPUs combines with the need for extra motherboard layers, stronger voltage regulators, and a more expensive PCH to push a price premium of around $100 compared to Z270.

Gigabyte’s X299 Aorus Gaming 3 can’t change any of those basics, but maybe it doesn’t need to. After all, you can find a well-equipped Z270 board for $180. A $280 X299 board should thus be similarly enhanced.

Specifications

The X299 Aorus Gaming 3 looks like its high-end Gaming 7 sibling in many respects, starting with a voltage regulator that Gigabyte calls nine-phase, which appears to actually be a 9+3 phase design. Competitors would call that 12 phases. If it overclocks our 10-core CPU reasonably, we’ll call it good enough.

The Gaming 3 substitutes two of the Gaming 7’s 10 Gb/s USB 3.1 ports for chipset-based 5Gb/s connections, drops to a single Intel Gigabit Ethernet PHY from the Gaming 7’s Intel/Killer combo, and loses the Gaming 7’s Wi-Fi controller. All of these reductions are completely acceptable at this price, though the competing ASRock X299 Taichi has both dual-Gigabit and wireless networking for around $20 more. The Gaming 3 keeps its sibling’s power and O/C buttons, the latter tied to Gigabyte’s EasyTune overclocking utility.

RGB lighting on the X299 Aorus Gaming 3 is limited to its Falcon logo, under-sink lighting at the CPU voltage regulator, and strip lighting above and below its two main PCIe slots. The lights can’t be fired sequentially like they can on the Gaming 7, but they can color cycle simultaneously. Additional onboard feature reductions employed to reach the Gaming 3’s reduced price include the loss of the Port 80 display, a few function buttons, and some PCIe switches.

The lack of switches between the top and bottom PCIe slots prevent the Gaming 3 from supporting three-way SLI from 28-lane processors, where it had been possible with the Gaming 7. Documentation shows that a 44-lane CPU is required for the bottom slot to work at all. The manual also shows that four of the Kaby Lake-X’s 16 lanes vanish, leaving users with x8/x4 mode for the first and third slots. We would like to think that those other four lanes connect one of the M.2 slots, but Gigabyte doesn’t document this either. Instead, we’re told that both M.2 slots are RAID-capable, without requiring the VROC module that enables RAID from the CPU-based PCIe controller.

There aren’t any big layout concerns, as the X299 Aorus Gaming 3 spaces its two main PCIe slots three slots apart to support thick graphics coolers, places both of its USB 3.0 front panel headers above the centerline of its front edge to avoid conflicts with cards, and spreads seven of its eight fan headers around its top/bottom/front edges for easier access in an installed system, and places one fan header near the back of the board for easier reach to the single rear fan most tower cases have next to the I/O panel. Some users might have trouble getting the short front-panel audio cables of their inadequately apportioned cases to reach the board’s bottom-rear corner, but I’d like to suggest buying a better-thought-out case.

Other headers include two RGBW and one D-LED, internal S/P-DIF out, TPM, two nine-pin (dual port) USB 2.0, VROC and Thunderbolt Add-In card, two thermistor connections for external device monitoring. No thermistor leads are included in the installation kit.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 3 includes documentation, a drivers and applications DVD, four SATA cables, an I/O shield, a G-Connector front-panel cable end clip, a case badge, and a large sheet of stickers. The kit lacks any SLI bridges.

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Software & Firmware

Gigabyte APP Center remains the launch point for its other applications, and while it’s set to boot automatically from the system, it does close when clicking the “close” button. Unchanged from our X299 Aorus Gaming 7 review, APP Center only shows installed apps. Gigabyte’s USB DAC-Up 2 and HW OC App aren’t supported by the X299 Aorus Gaming 3.

All the applications shown above, from Gigabyte 3D OSD to EasyTune and RGB Fusion, are unchanged from the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 suite. The Gaming 3 does not include the Creative SoundBlasterX 720° package, nor does its Intel network controller support the Killer Networking application, but those are the only deviations from the description in our previous review.

Firmware

The X299 Aorus Gaming 3’s UEFI defaults to Classic mode, where the M.I.T. menu provides submenus to reach various overclocking controls.

The Gaming 3 reached the same 4.40 GHz O/C as the Gaming 7, though I did have a few weird quirks pop up in its F6l firmware revision: When I entered all shown overclock settings at once, the CPU would only clock the first eight cores to 4.40 GHz and left the last two running at 1.20 GHz. After several attempts to find the offending value and a few at repeating the procedure, I eventually decided to enter these one at a time between reboots, and everything initially worked perfectly.

Notice that Gigabyte has also enabled the 0x AVX offset in this firmware revision, which was missing from the earlier Gaming 7 firmware. Our CPU may run at 4.7 GHz under lighter non-AVX loads, but when we say a specific frequency is 100% stable, we mean at all tested loads.

Our XMP-3866 memory ran well at data rates up to 3771 MHz, slightly up from the X299 Aorus Gaming 7’s DDR4-3734. The firmware of both boards allows users to choose either manual or advanced manual configuration to set all-channel or per-channel timings, respectively, and the board includes a complete set of primary, secondary, and tertiary adjustments.

One oddity was that when I enabled XMP, the second through tenth CPU cores dropped to 1.20 GHz. This second problem went away after resetting and re-entering the shown overclock, and the first problem (the last two cores downclocking) didn’t return either.

The Advanced Power Settings submenu is yet another launching point for deeper submenus. Our CPU was most stable using the “Turbo” Vcore Loadline Calibration setting of the Advanced Power Settings menu, and we continue to use 1.150V for the CPU core to assure a good AVX-capable overclock without overheating.

The DRAM Voltage setting of 1.340V produced 1.35 to 1.354V at the X299 Aorus Gaming 3’s DIMM slots.

Other M.I.T. submenus address voltage monitoring, a legacy 3DMark setting, and fan control.

All eight of the fan headers can be manually switched between voltage and PWM-based speed control, and the one labeled HPWR FAN Pump has a boosted 3A capacity for, as the name implies, high-power, liquid-cooling pumps.

Located within the Peripherals menu, the RGB Fusion submenu allows users to set lighting modes without software. There are no sequential lighting effects such as chase-mode on this board, but the all-at-once color cycle modes work.

Users who don’t want to see all the options available in Classic mode can get to the UEFI’s “Easy” GUI by pressing the keyboard’s F2 function.

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How We Test

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

The tremendous heat produced by the Core i9-7900X required us to use nothing less than our award-winning Fractal Design S24 liquid cooler system sample. Getting its fans to blow sufficiently over each motherboard’s voltage regulator required additional design considerations: Of our leftover case review samples, Cooler Master’s HAF-XB had the best layout.

Comparison Products

ASRock Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9

ASRock X299 Taichi

MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks & Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests & Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark driven routine
Game Tests & Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1090, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFxUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, VeryHigh Quality, VeryHigh Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmarks & Conclusion

While many manufacturers choose to disable some of Intel’s integrated power-saving features, I enable these when running performance and power evaluations. The intent is to compare boards at the same CPU frequencies and produce the highest possible efficiency from those identical frequencies. Many of our readers set manual overclocks, and we’d hate to imply that one board’s 4.40 GHz setting will vastly outperform another’s.

Motherboard manufacturers have found several ways to avoid an apples-to-apples comparison in the LGA-2066 platform, primarily by violating Intel’s stated 140W TDP. Higher power limits allow the CPU to maintain higher Turbo Boost ratios under higher loads, which is essentially an overclocking technique. Manually enabling the CPU’s power-savings features, and manually disabling “Enhanced Multi-Core” overclocks, gets the X299 Aorus Gaming 3 to an 189W power ceiling that’s close to the group average: Firmware defaults allow detected CPU TDP to climb to around 239W.

Synthetic Benchmarks

The X299 Aorus Gaming 3 produces par performance in 3DMark and PCMark. Of those tests, the PCMark storage score is the only one to be used in our final performance calculations. And that’s because it’s based on file retrieval for real-world programs.

The X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC surged ahead in Sandra Memory Bandwidth, yet fell a little behind in Cinebench R15. Of those wins and losses, the memory bandwidth score is likely to have the most impact in real-world benchmarks.

3D Games

Swapping positions with both ASRock boards in most games, the X299 Aorus Gaming 3 falls slightly behind the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC in the memory-sensitive F1 2015 bench.

The X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC drops back in Talos with its Nahimic audio software enabled. A look back at its review shows how FPS improves with that software disabled.

Timed Benchmarks

The only remarkable results in timed benchmarks appear to be the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC’s gains in Blender (CPU rendering), 7.Zip, and Handbrake. That same board registered a 30W higher-than-average TDP in our XTU evaluation, so those wins could easily be attributed to more aggressive cheating.

Power, Heat & Efficiency

The X299 Aorus Gaming 3’s power consumption is a little worse than the X299 Taichi, which is its closest competitor in features and price. A look back at the top of the page shows that its losses are nearly twice as big at the power outlet as we should have expected from the TDP reading, leading us to believe that the voltage regulator might be a little less efficient.

Efficiency ratings are based on our entire X299 review series, where the Asus Prime X299 Deluxe was the only board to stick within Intel’s TDP rating for our CPU. It’s the spoiler: Everyone else fails.

Overclocking

Our overclocking chart looks boring because our CPU is thermally limited to a relatively mild core voltage level. The cheapest board in the X299 review series, the X299 Aorus Gaming 3 falls behind competing brands only by a small amount in DRAM overclocking.

One reason some boards overclock memory so well is that they’re designed to use longer latencies (more wait time) to improve stability. The X299 Aorus Gaming 3 went in the opposite direction, maintaining tight timings to improve performance. Since improved performance is the point of overclocking, the X299 Aorus Gaming 3 turns out to be the surprising O/C winner.

Conclusion

Performance Per Dollar is a brutal way to measure a feature-laden board, but the X299 Aorus Gaming 3 isn’t feature-laden. The money saved goes directly towards a higher value score.

I know that some of you are thinking that the X299 Taichi gives you two extra network controllers and a Port 80 diagnostics display for only $10 more. Of course that’s the discount price. The X299 Aorus Gaming 3 also had a discount price, but Gigabyte didn’t make that permanent. Perhaps it will. After all, the $300 X299 Taichi fluctuated for a while before settling down at $290. And the X299 Aorus Gaming 3 was available for only $250 a week or so ago.

The X299 Taichi already won a recommended award, and that recommendation still makes sense given that its improvements are worth more than the $10 price difference. Yet the X299 Aorus Gaming 3’s stellar memory O/C performance, more elaborate RGB lighting, and lower price will certainly appeal to many buyers. A higher award would have been available had Gigabyte locked in its recent discount price, but the X299 Aorus Gaming 3 is still worth our stamp of approval at full price.

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Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 7 Motherboard Review

Thomas Soderstrom — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Features & Layout

From everything we’ve seen so far, the price for upgrading from a motherboard supporting Intel’s mainstream CPU to one that hosts its high-end desktop (aka HEDT) CPU is going to be around $100. For that, you can expect an extra layer of circuits and an extra ground layer to isolate them as PCIe lane count jumps from 16 to 44, and DRAM channels jump from two to four. That doesn’t necessarily sound like justification for the price increase, but we also have to remember that a slew of switches is needed for the same boards to support 28-lane and 16-lane CPUs without shutting off half the circuits. Oh, and even though there’s less room around the land grid for power circuitry, the combined total output needs to be around twice as high.

We’ve recently seen a $300 X299 board that was every bit the replacement for a $200 Z270. Let’s consider how (and why) the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 might be worth yet another Benjamin.

We could begin by just looking at Gigabyte’s promo images, which show that the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 has more RGB lighting than any of the other boards we’ve tested. LEDs line all five PCIe x16-length slots as well as all eight DIMM slots. But notice that we said all five x16-length slots, where competing models have had only four.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 matches its $300 rival by having an extra M.2 slot connected via CPU lanes, yet Gigabyte also gives users the option of directing those lanes to an expansion card. That just means you get either all five long expansion slots or three M.2 slots and four of those five expansion slots. Note that neither option is available on MSI’s $350 or Asus’s $490 parts, so at least we’ve found one way to narrow the field. Also, it must cost Gigabyte at least a few dollars to add the extra slot and switches to enable that option.

A higher-resolution photo of the actual board we received (click to enlarge, below) shows the I/O panel a little more clearly, with its Killer 1525 867 Mb/s Wi-Fi controller, which is a substantial upgrade from the $300 board’s old 433 Mb/s Intel part. An included Killer E2500 PCIe-based Gigabit Ethernet controller enables Killer DoubleShot Pro mode, although the use of an Intel PHY for the other Gigabit Ethernet controller excludes the widely-promoted Killer DoubleShot-X3 option.

Rear panel audio uses an ESS9018Q2C DAC, WIMA and Nichicon gold capacitors, and LME49720 op-amp, to maintain the highest possible analog output from the relatively common (but still high-end) ALC1220 codec.

Given Gigabyte’s previous commitment to Intel Thunderbolt technology, I’m personally a little disappointed to see the use of an ASM3142 controller for the USB Type-C port. That’s despite the ASMedia controller’s high-bandwidth PCIe 3.0 x2 connection. It’s fast, it’s just not Thunderbolt 3 fast.

The other USB 3.1 Gen 2 port of ASMedia’s high-bandwidth controller goes to a Realtek hub, spreading its bandwidth across all four of the red-colored Type A connectors. That won’t be a problem for people who only access one high-bandwidth device at a time, but don’t expect multiple 10Gb/s devices to operate at peak performance simultaneously.

The remaining four I/O-panel USB ports are all 5Gb/s Type 1, and rely on a different USB hub to reduce reliance on chipset resources. The white one is designated for Gigabyte’s Q-Flash Plus automatic firmware updating, but forcing an error significant enough to engage the automated update function wasn’t easy: Only after removing the CPU from the socket did it work, flashing the backup as well as the main firmware from an image that had been renamed GIGABYTE.BIN on a FAT-format thumb drive.

Many companies put handy buttons on the I/O panel for functions such as CLR_CMOS, but some builders don’t like those because they’re too easy for observers to press. If you’re paying for this much lighting you’re probably going to want to show off, so Gigabyte instead put all the quick function buttons inside the case, meaning on the motherboard’s surface. The CLR_CMOS button is even moved away from all the other buttons to the board’s forward bottom corner to prevent accidental deployment by the actual owner. And the four other buttons provide Economy mode, OC mode, Rest, and Power function. The programed O/C for our Core i9-7900X is 4.7 GHz at around 1.22V CPU core (under load).

Builders of 3-way SLI or CrossFireX will find the bottom slot most appropriate for a third card, due to the eight pathways available when using 44-lane or 28-lane processors. Unfortunately, putting a high-end card in that slot means giving up the lower USB 3.0 header, since the appropriate cables are too stiff to fold under a card. Fortunately, the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 has another USB 3.0 header just above the center of the front edge, plus a newer Gen 2 port for new generation cases that have true 10Gb/s Type-C ports.

In addition to a plethora of obvious but small feature enhancements, less obvious is the 2-amp Digital LED output, which works in concert with two RGBW headers that extend the X299 Aorus Gaming 7’s top-end onboard lighting to external components. Other not-so-obvious improvements include its provision of eight 4-pin fan headers, which are all configurable between PWM and voltage control modes, and two 8-pin (rather than 8+4-pin) CPU power connectors.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 installation kit includes a Wi-Fi antenna and retention cover, documentation, a driver and applications disc, a G-Connector bundler for front-panel LED/power/reset connectors, a case badge, two Velcro cable ties, four SATA cables, a digital LED extension cable, an RGB-lighted I/O shield, two RGBW strip extension cables, an HB-SLI bridge, two thermistor cables, and a giant sheet of stickers. There is no 3-way SLI bridge, since Nvidia doesn’t support this mode with its most recent graphics cards.

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Software & Firmware

App Center, the launching point for Gigabyte’s applications, includes shortcuts for Windows settings, a menu for installed third-party applications, and a download tool that polls Gigabyte servers for software and driver updates.

Gigabyte’s 3D OSD provides a configurable overlay of various status information that can be accessed via hotkey function.

Gigabyte @BIOS allows flashing of the main ROM IC from Windows, includes server polling for firmware updates, and allows alteration of the splash image via its Face Wizard tool.

Gigabyte AutoGreen senses the presence of your Bluetooth-enabled smart phone and can lock or unlock the PC as you approach or walk away, carrying said phone.

Gigabyte Cloud Station and Home Cloud Server is a suite of applications for sharing data between devices and using remote devices to control the computer. The HotSpot function reported that the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 doesn’t support it, even though a wireless card is present.

Gigabyte Color Temperature lets you adjust the color output of your graphics card to reduce blue glare, and USB DAC-UP 2 lets you increase USB voltage by up to 300mV. Gigabyte says the latter utility is particularly useful to reduce voltage sag when using long USB cables.

Gigabyte RGB Fusion allows users a broad variety of lighting control, including the rainbow mode seen in Gigabyte’s motherboard promotional photos. In addition to basic repetitive patterns, the utility lets you apply color to various monitors, such as showing the LEDs as red when the system reaches a certain temperature or yellow when a fan dies.

Though it also shows component status, Gigabyte System Information Viewer is the launching point for Gigabyte’s Windows-based fan control. Additional menus show system alert adjustments, a system status recorder, and even a popup for a screen side bar that shows all monitored readings.

Smart HUD is Gigabyte’s overlay program for playing videos while gaming, which could make it easier to follow a more experienced player’s progress through a game map. Other important “Smart” applications include a macro recorder, an access scheduler (to limit the time available to other authorized users), and even a hard drive backup application.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 includes Creative’s SoundBlasterX 720° suite, which adds various audio manipulation including increasing the noise of your opponent’s footsteps, and a radar app to visually indicate the direction of their approach.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7’s Killer NIC and Killer Wi-Fi entitle users to the Killer Control Center, with its various packet and bandwidth prioritization controls.

Finally, Gigabyte’s EasyTune provides overclocking control within Windows. Its AutoTuning program would run from the CPU’s minimum setting up to the point where the system locked, and rebooting the system would cause it to restart the process, wasting an hour of review time.

Manual adjustment of base clock functioned, but the some of the other settings weren’t behaving properly yet (for example, the multiplier would adjust down but not up). Any change to the DRAM multiplier requires a reboot so that the program can make the change to firmware, and even escaping out of the program causes it to reboot.

The hardware monitor popup that fills the right edge of the screen is also available in EasyTune. I chopped the image in two and placed the pieces side-by-side to fit them within this article’s view window.

Firmware is the easiest place to overclock, and the X299 Aorus Gaming 7’s UEFI opens to its Motherboard Intelligent Tweaker menu to expedite this. The M.I.T. menu is simply a launching point for various submenus that control CPU and DRAM clocks and timings along with various voltage levels and fan speed profiles.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 had zero difficulty pushing our Core i9-7900X to 4.40 GHz at 100% load, but finding the 4.40 GHz setting for our load wasn’t as easy. We use Prime95 with AVX optimization, but Gigabyte doesn’t offer a 0x offset. Unlike some other boards, the “Auto” setting of 3 (deducted) was not indicated during our overclock, leaving us to question why the board was ramping the CPU down. After finding the issue, the easiest way to get to 4.40 GHz at full load was to set 4.50 GHz with the lowest possible AVX offset of 1.

Default power saving and Turbo Boost settings weren’t automatically disabled when we overclocked, so the multiplier still fluctuated. Disabling SpeedShift, C1E, and C6/C7 states got the board to lock in our 45x unloaded, 44x loaded selection.

The X299 Aorus Gaming 7 provides full control of memory data rates and timings, with Manual mode allowing all-channel adjustment and Advanced Manual mode allowing per-channel adjustment. Firmware programming attempted to set our XMP profile of DDR4-3866 by choosing a 38x data rate (19x multiplier with DDR) and 101.7 MHz BCLK, but our memory wasn’t stable even at 38x 100 MHz. Listed as a 37.33x ratio, the lower DDR4-3733 setting worked while retaining XMP timings to aid stability. FYI, the 37.33x setting is really 14x a memory controller ratio of 4/3 BCLK (at 100 MHz BCLK, 14x 133.33MHz x 2 = DDR4-3733).

The Advanced Voltage Settings submenu brings up another group of submenus that separately address power control, CPU core voltage, chipset voltage, and DRAM voltage. I stumbled across a Vcore Loadline Calibration setting of “High,” which appeared perfect for our CPU at a 1.15V core setting. Surprisingly, the DRAM voltage setting of 1.345V produced a peak 1.354V meter reading at the DIMM: Most companies over-compensate by far more.

Additional M.I.T. submenus provide voltage readings, a legacy 3DMark setting, and temperature-to-speed slopes for up to eight fans. The X299 Aorus Gaming has a program to calculate ideal fan RPM, includes factory-set fan maps, and can be custom configured to user-selected slopes.

Located within the Peripherals main menu, the RGB Fusion submenu of firmware can be used instead of software if you’d prefer not to load the software.

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How We Test

More cores create higher thermal and power loads that can push other hardware to its limits, yet the parts we’re hoping to push to the limit are all on the motherboards. Intel’s 10-core, 20-thread Core i9-7900X CPU is a great product for stressing the voltage regulators of various X299 motherboards, particularly under our full-AVX-load overclocking stability test.

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

Comparison Products

ASRock X299 Taichi

ASUS Prime X299-Deluxe

MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

Benchmark Settings

Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAACrazy Preset - 1920x1090, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium Preset, No AFxUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AFVery High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AFUltra Preset, VeryHigh Quality, VeryHigh Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmarks & Conclusion

Intel’s latest platform has been anything but consistent concerning clocks, and that’s entirely due to the way various firmware has addressed things like multipliers and TDP limits. Of the comparison boards, the Asus Prime X299-Deluxe was the only sample to stay within Intel’s 140W guideline. Conversely, the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 hits a monstrous 239W, even with its automatic overclock (a firmware setting Gigabyte labeled “Enhanced Multi-Core Performance”) disabled. The ASRock and MSI samples fall between these extremes at 183W and 229W, respectively.

We already know that allowing the CPU to consume more power allows it to hold a higher multiplier, so this isn’t a completely fair performance comparison. Yet until Intel issues further guidance, we can still use power numbers to knock the performance leaders down a peg in our final analysis.

Synthetic Benchmarks

We see a little variation in 3Dmark and PCMark score, but nothing consistent enough to prove that more power always means more performance.

Synthetic benchmarks got even stranger in Sandra, as the ASRock sample led slightly in Arithmetic, and the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 led significantly in Multimedia. Sandra Cryptography is impacted by memory performance, so the board with the quickest advanced timings, MSI’s X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, led there.

3D Games

The MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon leads the field in games, until its Nahimic Audio Solution software kills its Talos scores. A look back at its review shows that it would have led there too, if only that software were disabled.

Timed Applications

The XTU full-load power numbers would have anyone guessing that Gigabyte might clean up on timed benchmarks, but the reality is that its only significant lead was in Blender CPU-based rendering.

Power, Heat, And Efficiency

Intel’s XTU showed a 10W difference between the Gigabyte and MSI boards, but only 6W of that were indicated at the AC supply line. As a result of that thirst, these two boards also created the most CPU heat.

MSI getting dinged in Talos puts the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 in the winner’s circle from a performance perspective, yet the tiny performance gains of these two boards can’t excuse the vast increases in power consumption.

Overclocking

The firmware of all four X299 boards satisfies the requirements of our mild-mannered overclocks, and Gigabyte’s DDR4-5800 setting looks just as unrealistic as ASRock’s 2000 MHz max BCLK.

Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 7

ASRock X299 Taichi

Asus Prime X299-Deluxe

It appears that nearly every X299 board will push this particular CPU to 4.4 GHz before thermal throttling occurs, and that’s also the factor that governed the 1.15V max I chose for that test. The X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC ran the CPU a little hot, so it got a little less voltage and a lower overclock. While the Gigabyte board tied ASRock for first-place CPU clocks, the X299 Taichi had a noticeable lead in memory overclocking capability.

Memory overclocking only makes sense if it improves performance, and Asus’ first-place bandwidth score overwhelms its second-place data rate. ASRock’s first-place data rate is nearly meaningless considering its third-place bandwidth finish. And Gigabyte’s board looks like it’s still thinking about CPU clocks.

Final Thoughts

ASRock’s X299 Taichi proved itself a supreme value in a prior review, and today’s primary question is whether Gigabyte’s X299 Aorus Gaming 7 is worth $100 more than that award-winning part. Based on a few estimations concerning component improvements from big (the Wi-Fi controller) to small (such as the extra fan headers and fan voltage controllers) it only appears to be worth around $80 more. Gigabyte’s component improvements don’t really show up in a performance-per-dollar chart.

On the other hand, I don’t know how to rate a few of its other improvements from a value perspective. The X299 Aorus Gaming 7's far more elaborate LED lighting, for example, and its RGB software works now. The X299 Aorus includes an audio software suite that’s probably worth at least $4 wholesale, and Gigabyte wouldn’t have bothered with that extra software if it didn’t think you’d want it. The smaller the detail we consider, the closer the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 appears to approach the value of the award-winning board that preceded it.

We have an award for that: Gigabyte’s X299 Aorus Gaming 7 earns our general stamp of approval for the $400 budget class.

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ASRock X299 Taichi Motherboard Review

Thomas Soderstrom — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Features & Specifications

The launch of Intel’s X299 platform hasn’t been smooth. Motherboard manufacturers were receiving important core firmware updates even up to the day of the launch. The two boards we used in our launch-day reviews were at least stable, but we still had to go back and retest them before running the new results against today’s test subject, ASRock’s X299 Taichi. Let's see what progress has been made in three weeks.

Specifications

The first thing we noticed on the X299 Taichi spec sheet was this motherboard's paucity of resource sharing. SATA-based M.2 drives still steal SATA ports, but interest in those has quickly diminished in the age of NVMe. A closer look reveals that the X299 Taichi has one more M.2 slot than its competitors, and it comes with a stealthy share: Fed by the CPU’s PCIe controller, a PCIe-based (e.g. NVMe) drive will force the graphics card slots into x8/x0/x4/x0 mode when installed alongside a 16-lane (Kaby Lake-X) processor. On the plus side, the Taichi is also the first X299 motherboard we've tested that bypasses the bandwidth sharing problem of the chipset’s DMI by directly linking an M.2 slot to the CPU.

Like the two previously-tested X299 models, ASRock’s Taichi has two 10Gb/s USB 3.1 ports on the back (one with a Type-C interface), CLR_CMOS and firmware flashing buttons, and cable connectors for a Wi-Fi controller. Matching the Asus configuration, the dual Gigabit Ethernet ports of ASRock’s X299 Taichi edge ahead of the single port provided on our MSI sample. Unfortunately, ASRock’s chosen 433 Mb/s Wi-Fi controller has the least rated bandwidth of the three samples we've reviewed.

Every X299 motherboard we’ve seen was designed to manage the weirdness of Intel’s adding a CPU with 16-lane PCIe controller (we're talking about Kaby Lake-X) to a platform designed to benefit from the added pathways of 44-lane and 28-lane processor-based controllers. The 28-lane option makes sense because it allows 3-way SLI (where the minimum allowed is eight lanes per card) while leaving four lanes for a PCIe-based storage controller. We’ve already detailed how ASRock maintained that storage focus by feeding its first M.2 slot with CPU lanes, but it’s also important to remember that this configuration excludes 2-way SLI from running on those same 16-lane processors.

Conversely, Asus' X299 Prime excluded the 3-way SLI option when using 28-lane processors, and didn’t even include CPU-based M.2. While Kaby Lake-X owners may question why ASRock didn’t add even more PCIe switches to allow the option of disabling the first M.2 slot while retaining basic SLI compatibility, a better question might be why anyone would spend the extra $100 to put Kaby Lake on X299, rather than stick with Z270.

Basic CrossFire and SLI compatibility is handled by the first and third metal-reinforced slots, providing two empty slots between cards to allow the use of oversized graphics card coolers. While ASRock claims that CrossFire isn’t possible with 16-lane processors, we’ve never seen AMD exclude an x8/x4 configuration for two cards.

The X299 Taichi supports two RGB strips at its upper front and rearward bottom edges, two USB 3.0 front-panel cables at its front edge, two USB 2.0 front-panel cables at its bottom edge, four 4-pin fans along its bottom and top edges, a fifth 4-pin fan between the CPU socket and upper PCIe slot, a VROC (RAID for PCIe storage) module between its upper M.2 connector and nearby DIMMs, a Thunderbolt Add-in card, and 10 SATA drives. All 10 SATA ports point forward to keep connectors under the forward edge of long expansion cards, as does the second USB 3.0 header above them. Users also have access to a two-digit POST code display, but the dual BIOS ICs are not manually selectable. Builders who love cases with poorly-specified front-panel cables will probably hate the X299 Taichi, as there are always a few cases on the market with FP-Audio cables that are too short to reach this motherboard's traditional bottom-rear-corner header position.

Two empty BGA pads appear to be for a 10GbE controller and front-panel USB 3.1 connector, the later guess bolstered by the missing Type-C lead located between the two USB 3.0 front-panel headers. We can’t wait to see the more advanced motherboard that will be based on this circuit board!

We no longer expect to see a large cable bundle on high-end motherboards, now that M.2 drives have taken over primary storage duty. ASRock includes four SATA cables for your storage drives, along with an HB-style SLI bridge, a 3-way SLI bridge, two Wi-Fi antennas, an I/O shield, drivers, and documentation.

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Software & Firmware

The ASRock installation disc still includes a full set of drivers, but recent versions of the disk have not included very much of ASRock’s custom software. To assure its customers that they have the latest version of various software packages, the company instead installs only a downloader application called “App Shop” that polls ASRock servers for remaining suites. Chief among these are ASRock RGB-LED Utility, App Charger modulation control software for quick charging Apple devices, A-Tuning overclocking suite, a custom interface for cFos packet prioritization called XFast LAN, and the Restart to UEFI shortcut.

App Shop will also poll ASRock servers for driver and firmware updates, if you choose. Another window lets you disable the auto run.

ASRock A-Tuning offers Windows users a variety of overclocking profiles that accesses firmware values and repeats them to the Windows interface, as well as an elaborate menu of custom settings that cover the full range of firmware capability. We found that frequency settings worked, but were unable to confirm core voltage changes.

A-Tuning’s System Info tab appears to show proper initial readings, but likewise shows no change at various core voltage settings made through the OC Tweaker menu.

Fan-Tastic Tuning also appears to have been lifted directly from motherboard firmware, in both cases allowing users to set programmed, user-configured custom, or cooling-program derived RPM to temperature slopes.

ASRock RGB LED software for Windows is a reflection of firmware settings, but didn’t function properly yet with this new X299 Taichi. The software didn’t address the board’s upper LED header, and changes to its settings caused it to quit functioning. Fortunately, the firmware menu works here.

Firmware is where the Taichi shined, but not in the easy OC section. The Turbo 4.2 GHz and Turbo 4.4 GHz setting appeared to have little impact on full-load performance, while using a danger-zone (according to Firmware) 1.90V input and no change in core voltage. The 4.6 and 4.8 GHz settings pushed input voltage even higher at 2.0 and 2.1V while increasing core voltage to 1.26 and 1.32V, respectively. Both of the higher settings caused throttling, though it’s not clear whether that was based on CPU or voltage regulator temperature, or default power limits.

(For more on this issue, read The Skylake-X Mess Explored: Thermal Paste And Runaway Power.)

Using manual settings, we found 4.40 GHz on our Core i9-7900X at 1.15V, with any higher setting causing CPU thermal throttling under a 10-core (20-thread) Prime95 AVX load. When we say “100% stable,” we mean under all loads.

Our DDR4-3866 reached a completely stable 3914 MHz data rate at the X299 Taichi’s 1.300V setting. That setting is very important, since our voltmeter showed that it produced 1.352 to 1.354V at the DIMM slot.

Two different menus address motherboard (external) and CPU (internal) voltage settings. The default Level 2 CPU load-line calibration got us to the relatively high 4.40 GHz core frequency while the fully-loaded CPU stayed just under its thermal-throttle threshold temperature.

This version of X299 Taichi firmware defaults to “Advanced” configuration menus, but the Advanced tab also allows users to set it to use “EZ Mode” upon entry.

The X299 Taichi “Tool” menu include a functioning RGB lighting control, an outgoing mail client for sending support messages, an installer that pulls RAID drivers off the installation DVD and places them onto a thumb drive to assist during Windows installation, a flash utility that pulls files from a thumb drive, and an internet utility that transfers firmware images from ASRock servers to a thumb drive.

Only two of the five fan headers can be switched from PWM to voltage speed-control, and both of those are rated at up to 1.5A output. The others are PWM-only and rated at 1A maximum output.

As with ASRock’s A-Tuning software, the X299 Taichi Firmware includes options to use several factory-programmed thermal fan-speed profiles, manual settings, or settings derived by the firmware during a fan test.

Finally, if you’d like to avoid complicated settings, an EZ-Mode menu is available by pressing F6. And, if you never want to see the advanced settings again, the menu to use EZ Mode every time is found in one of the menus of Advanced settings.

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How We Test

More cores create higher thermal and power loads that can push other hardware to its limit, yet the parts we’re hoping to push to the limit are all on the motherboards. Intel’s 10-core, 20-thread Core i9-7900X is a great product for stressing the voltage regulators of various X299 motherboards, particularly under our full-AVX-load overclocking stability test.

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Graphics Driver	GeForce 382.53

The tremendous heat produced by the Core i9-7900X required us to use nothing less than our award-winning Fractal Design S24 liquid system sample. Getting its fans to blow sufficiently over each motherboard’s voltage regulator required additional design consideration: Of our leftover review samples, Cooler Master’s HAF-XB had the best layout.

Comparison Products

ASUS Prime X299-Deluxe

MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

Benchmark Suite

Benchmark Settings
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613 Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0 Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21 CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write 128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMO OpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8 Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3 Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9 Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68a BMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02 THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144 PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64 PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64 PCMark driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit) PCMark driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360 High Preset - 1920x1080, Mid Shadow Quality, 1x MSAA Crazy Preset - 1920x1090, High Shadow Quality, 2x MSAA
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, Rain Medium Preset, No AF xUltra High Preset, 16x AF
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 x64 High Quality, 1920x1080, High Tesselation, 16x AF Very High Quality, 1920x1080, Very High Tesselation, 16x AF
The Talos Principle	Version 267252 Medium Preset, High Quality, High Tesselation, 4x AF Ultra Preset, VeryHigh Quality, VeryHigh Tesselation, 16x AF

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Benchmarks & Conclusion

Now that manufacturers have had a little time to nail down their firmware, we decided to give the preceding samples a retest. Here’s how the new Prime X299-Deluxe and X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC firmware settings compare to ASRock’s X299 Taichi:

ASRock X299 Taichi

Asus Prime X299-Deluxe

MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

Unfortunately, the new results were too close to former results to shed any real light on their disparate performance and thermal results. Overclocking and power readings also changed slightly, but not by enough to invalidate our previous findings. A quick look under Intel’s Extreme Tuning Utility revealed a likely culprit:

Even with the updated firmware, the Prime X299-Deluxe maintains the Core i9-7900X’s rated 140W TDP under heavy loads. Meanwhile, the MSI motherboard maintains the CPU’s rated performance level by disregarding its 140W TDP. The X299 Taichi appears to take the middle path, but will it also have middling application performance and power consumption?

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetic benchmarks are excellent for locating performance problems, but 3DMark and PCMark probably aren’t the best options for viewing CPU performance stratification. For that, we need to jump down to SiSoftware Sandra

Sandra Arithmetic shows the Prime X299-Deluxe hanging in with the X299 Taichi and X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, regardless of its lower clock under the heavier stress of Prime95. Conversely, its Multimedia results are a good reflection of the clock differences we saw when running Prime95.

Even the Cryptography test of Sandra can’t create the stress level of Prime95, its largest differences merely a reflection of the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC’s better memory bandwidth. The only solid evidence of the power-per-performance tradeoff thus far has been in Sandra Multimedia.

3D Games

The three X299 motherboards trade blows through our first three game tests, with the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon really only standing out for its large loss in Talos. That only occurs when the game is paired with the board’s included Nahimic Audio software, however, and the gains available by disabling the software are clearly visible when comparing the solid bars to the faded bars in its original review chart.

Timed Applications

Less encoding time is more performance in timed applications, yet the differences in the way the three boards manage the CPU has produced performance that’s anything but normalized. The best we can hope for is that the averages of each motherboard for each chart might fall within a few percent of the other motherboards.

Power, Heat & Efficiency

The X299 Taichi falls between the two previously-tested X299 motherboards in power consumption, as indicated within Intel’s Extreme Tuning Utility. It’s closer to the Asus sample, though the heat measured at its voltage regulator is noticeably higher than either competitor.

The most aggressively clocked sample and worst consumer of energy, the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon is roughly 5-6% faster than ASRock and Asus samples in our mixed applications.

A small overall performance lead for the MSI sample came with a huge increase in power consumption, placing it last in efficiency. ASRock falls in the middle again, while being closer to Asus motherboard.

Overclocking

The X299 Taichi appears to be the most advanced overclocker in the mix, taking small wins in CPU, DRAM, and BCLK frequency. Unfortunately, the higher DRAM O/C appears to be due to more-conservative timings, as the bandwidth of its higher data rate still trails both Asus and MSI.

Final Analysis

Performance per dollar charts have little to do with features per dollar, and all three competitors have slightly different feature sets. Only the X299 Taichi and Prime X299-Deluxe have dual Gigabit Ethernet, for example.

On the other hand, the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC from MSI hits the middle of the networking comparison with a super fast 867 Mb/s 802.11ac controller. Maybe the controller upgrade is worth as much as a second Gigabit Ethernet controller, maybe it isn’t: Your personal needs should define your perspective. The Prime X299-Deluxe goes over-the-top with a high-priced 802.11ad solution with up to five times the bandwidth of MSI’s, but the board costs over $100 more. The X299 Taichi, with its old-fashioned 433 Mb/s solution and dual Gigabit Ethernet, is actually cheaper than either of these rivals.

In spite of its lower cost, the X299 Taichi adds a third M.2 slot, and its slot is driven by the CPU. While it's a superior connection on boards that have 28 or 44 lanes, dedicating those four lanes to a storage interface knocks the SLI capability out of 16-lane Kaby Lake-X configurations. That seems a little harsh since the least-expensive X299 motherboards and processors will likely appeal to a certain segment of gamers, but the non-shared storage bandwidth will likely appeal to anyone who doesn’t choose a Core i7-7740X or lesser LGA 2066 CPU.

Despite a comparatively low price, the X299 Taichi appears to be value-optimized for mid-tier LGA 2066 processors. Lacking any overwhelming reason not to choose it over the more expensive X299 Gaming Pro Carbon for our own high-end CPU, it would be easier for us to recommend that anyone vacillating between the top Kaby Lake-X and bottom Skylake-X buy the better processor using the money they saved with this motherboard. That certainly sounds like a value win!

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Asus Prime X299-Deluxe Motherboard Review

Thomas Soderstrom — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 01:00:00 +0000

Features & Specifications

Earlier, we reviewed the MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC. If you saw it, you've already seen some of our benchmark numbers. We'll present them again here, on page four. Where the MSI board will appeal to gamers, we think the Asus offering will find its best home with power users. Let's take a closer look.

Specifications

Features

The Prime X299-Deluxe carries forward the history Asus has of taking a bit of a kitchen-sink approach to the Deluxe-named offerings, equipping the board with dual Gigabit Ethernet and a dual-controller Wi-Fi solution that encapsulates 60GHz-band 802.11ad plus dual-band 802.11ac controllers. Yes, you get Bluetooth with that.

And if your needs are a little closer to home, the board even includes two of ASMedia’s latest dual-port USB 3.1 Gen2 controllers for its four 10Gb/s ports. You also get Type-C with that. Asus throws in a DTS license that adds live multi-channel encoding capabilities to the Digital Optical audio output, plus DTS Headphone X for synthesized 3D sound on two-speaker headphones.

The little black section in the center of the board (below the socket) is a tiny, verbose OLED display that scrolls system status messages. The Prime X299-Deluxe also includes the standard features of an enthusiast-class motherboard, such as the power/reset/CLR_CMOS buttons, which may explain why you also get the normal numeric code display along the bottom edge in addition to the verbose panel in the board’s center. We also find the normal Asus features, such as diagnostic LEDs that light up during component initialization and stay lit if that component fails to initialize. And, of course, there’s the MemOK button and EZ XMP switch that lets a builder underclock RAM if it fails to initialize, or overclock it to a manufacturer-programmed profile.

A third ASM3142 controller drives the new generation front-panel USB 3.1 Gen2 header, though users of 16-lane processors (Kaby Lake X) will find that it's shared with the second PCIe x16-length slot. Asus says not to put anything larger than an x4 card in that slot anyway due to bandwidth issues, and that’s far from the end of your woes if your CPU runs out of PCIe lanes. The fourth x16-length slot also shares its HSIO resources with SATA ports 5 and 6 when using either a 16 or 28-lane processor, and the only way to configure your legacy graphics cards for 3-way SLI is to get a full 44-lane CPU. The most recent generation of GeForce graphics cards only does 2-way SLI, and the GPUs are so much more powerful than their predecessors that anyone with the money for a 44-lane CPU will probably be using the most modern graphics cards as well.

Oh, and if you’re willing to settle for x1 slots to handle some of your non-graphics expansion needs, the HSIO resources of those two slots are shared with the Wi-Fi card’s Key-E interface and SATA port 7. Most of those sharing issues should be laid directly at the feet of Intel. From our vantage point, it would seem the company desires the potential profit of its partners selling upscale motherboards to mid-market CPU buyers, without regard for the losses sellers would surely incur as droves of customers attempted to return non-defective products. At any rate, these choices likely dissuaded Asus from using a CPU-fed PCIe hub (such as the PEX8717 switch) to drive the board’s extravagant features.

There isn’t much to complain about concerning layout, as the Prime X299-Deluxe has eight 4-pin fan headers around its edges, a regular RGB header (top edge), plus an addressable RGB header (bottom edge) for WS2812B or WS2812B based LED strips, and a U.2 port that’s disabled by default because it shares resources with the second M.2 slot. All ports and slots are tucked out of the way to avoid conflict with CPU coolers and graphics cards. The first M.2 port is stealthily concealed under a lower extension of the PCH cover, and the only real oddity is that the second M.2 slot is upright, between the 24-pin power header and USB 3.1 Gen2 front-panel header.

Builders still need to keep track of where they're putting things to maximize device support. One reason you’ll probably want to keep the middle slot open is that it makes a dandy place to put the included ThunderboltEX card, which includes both Type A and Type-C data connections and a DisplayPort input for graphics pass-through. It even includes the loop cable to connect your graphics card to its input. And since it’s on a card rather than on-board, builders can choose whether to stuff up the limited bandwidth of the PCH, or connect it directly to the CPU, depending on their graphics configuration and CPU choice.

The Prime X299-Deluxe includes a vertical M.2 screw set and bracket, driver discs, an I/O shield, six SATA cables, an Asus FanX card kit that supports four additional fans and three thermistors, an Asus Q-Connector lead bundler for front panel buttons and LEDs, HB-style and 3-way SLI bridges, a pair of antennas for 802.11ac standard and 802.11ad extensions, and the previously mentioned Thunderbolt add-in package.

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Firmware & Software

The Asus AI Suite still does nearly everything from Windows that users would like to do from BIOS, and the most amazing thing is that it worked on this hardware and firmware. Most companies require a few revisions to get custom software and firmware to work together following a major hardware change.

AI Suite also has fan tuning, energy optimizing, and even drive cleaning software, which may be even more useful when you’re done playing with performance settings. There are also a few menus that aren’t applications so much as shortcuts to other applications, including Windows settings.

Asus Aura still controls both onboard and externally-connected RGB lighting.

Asus LiveDash allows users to configure report messages for the tiny OLED display at the motherboard’s center. Unfortunately, I broke the application while overclocking.

Asus Turbo LAN is its customized interface for the cFos packet prioritization suite that most of the large motherboard manufacturers have included for previous generations of enthusiast-class motherboards.

DTS Headphone X provides a variety of synthesized 3D environments for a host of different headphones.

Firmware

Prime X299-Deluxe firmware opens to its EZ Mode GUI by default, which includes a few boot, basic fan, and XMP Enable settings. Using the keyboard’s F7 function brings up the Advanced menu, and users who frequently visit Advanced settings can set it to automatic access through its own boot settings submenu.

We started tests with the Core i9-7800X, and the Prime X299-Deluxe pushed that processor to an amazing 4.646 GHz using nothing more than a dual-fan liquid cooling kit and somewhere around 1.25V CPU core. Core voltage settings are not as simple as they appear, however, as the core voltage appeared to climb over 1.25V under extremely heavy loads no matter how low it was set.

This early version of Prime X299-Deluxe firmware wasn’t so O/C friendly to our RAM, reaching only DDR4-3733 from its rated DDR4-3866. Most motherboards produce around 20mV more measured voltage than the firmware setting implies, but the Prime X299-Deluxe was a little less aggressive at 10-15mV above our firmware setting.

We found both automatic and manual switching between PWM and voltage-based fan speed control across all eight of the Prime X299-Deluxe’s fan headers, and if eight isn’t enough, Asus includes its own four-fan breakout panel that increases X299-Deluxe support to 12.

Asus Tool Menu includes its EZ Flash 3 utility for updating firmware, Secure Erase for your drives, storage for eight custom firmware configurations as overclocking profiles, and a tool for reading SPD information from DIMMs.

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How We Test

Since the Prime X299-Deluxe was tested at the same time as MSI's sample, it gets the same extra hardware for today's comparison. The Core i7-7800X becomes the extra CPU for validating proper CPU scaling and will take a back seat to the more power hungry Core i9-7900X in future tests. The legacy platform, Asus's own Rampage V Extreme/U3.1 with Core i7-6950X, sets the baseline.

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Software
OS	Windows 10 64-bit
Graphics	GeForce Game Ready 382.53

Due to the tremendous heat of modern six and ten-core processors, I was forced to upgrade from my previous Big Air cooler to our award-winning Fractal Design S24 liquid system. We could call that “putting our money where our words went.”

I needed something to hold the cooler and that would point air towards the hot voltage regulators of each motherboard, yet I wasn’t prepared to cut open the restrictive fan grills of our previous Lian-Li platform. I found what I needed in an old review sample of Cooler Master’s HAF-XB.

Comparison Products

Asus Rampage V Extreme

MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC

Benchmark Suite

Benchmark Settings
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613 Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0 Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21 CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write 128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMO OpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8 Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3 Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9 Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68a BMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02 THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144 PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64 PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64 PCMark driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit) PCMark driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360, DirectX 12, GPU-Focused High Preset Crazy Preset
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, Rain Medium Preset Ultra High Preset
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 64-bit High Quality Very High Quality
The Talos Principle	Version 267252, 64-Bit, DirectX11 High Preset, Max Render 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, Max Render 1920x1080

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Benchmarks & Conclusion

Benchmark Results

When coupled with the Core i9-7900X, the new motherboards outperform the old X99 platform across 3DMark and PCMark just slightly. Although it's far less expensive, the Core i7-7800X can’t stand up to the prowess of a 10-core CPU in 3DMark’s Physics test.

Our hopes that the moderately-priced i7-7800X would compete directly against the previous generation’s expensive 10-core CPU are extinguished in Sandra Arithmetic. However, the Core i9-7900X beats its predecessor by an even greater amount. Better still, the boards hosting these new processors are performing consistently so far.

Minor inconsistencies between Asus and MSI motherboards creep in starting with Sandra Multimedia. MSI appears to have slightly more aggressive memory settings, but Asus leads Cinebench.

3D Games

The Asus Prime X299-Deluxe is bested by MSI's X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC across Ashes, F1 2015, and Metro. We always enable each CPU's full set of power savings features and disable non-stock turbo settings to make competitions fair, as we believe that overclockers prefer to choose their own settings. Perhaps some of Intel’s green technologies aren’t fully functioning on the MSI motherboard?

Talos rewards the Asus board, and punishes MSI, taking it down a notch due to the heavy load of its Nahimic software suite in this specific game. The faded bars show how the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC performs with Nahimic Audio Solution disabled.

Timed Applications

Less is more in timed application performance. Less encoding time means you get more work done.

The Asus Prime X299-Deluxe falls to MSI's Gaming Pro Carbon across our mixed workload, but climbs back in the lead in Adobe After Effects.

Power, Heat & Efficiency

We had suspicions about MSI’s potential power use after seeing it succeed too often in our benchmarks to call those wins coincidental, and the power chart confirms those suspicions. Full-load heat is also significantly higher.

Considering the balance, the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC’s relatively consistent lead wasn’t large, unlike its increased power consumption. A retest may be required before comparing it to any future competitors.

Overclocking

While the Prime X299-Deluxe beats the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC overclocking either processor, the reason for stopping is different. While the Prime X299-Deluxe experienced the traditional system crash when taking our Core i9-7900X from 4.3 to 4.4 GHz at 1.20V, that same CPU would throttle down its eighth core when pushed past 4.20 GHz on the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC.

Surprisingly, the Prime X299-Deluxe switches positions in memory bandwidth against the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, depending on which CPU is installed. We’ll likely find more consistency as these boards mature.

The Prime X299-Deluxe costs more and provide more features, and disregarding those features results in less performance per dollar. Perhaps I should have used a cheaper X99 motherboard as the baseline, just to knock the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC down a value peg?

Since we included several processors in these benchmarks, a processor-based adjustment reveals a little more about why a buyer who had not yet made the leap to a 6950X might be glad he or she waited for the 7900X. Value increases by nearly half when moving from the 6950X to 7900X, and by half again when scaling down from the somewhat-expensive 7900X to the mid-priced 7800X.

The value charts tell us less about the boards, since the difference in included features is vast. Including its second network controller, Thunderbolt 3 add-in card with DisplayPort cable, the additional components that make its Wi-Fi controller an 802.11ad solution, the OLED verbose status display, and even the extra fan module should add at least $100 to the price. It costs around $120 more than the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, so it should be close to par in value.

Unfortunately, both boards are slightly too immature to issue an award today. The Prime X299-Deluxe is closer to where we’d like to see an awarded motherboard be at launch, and for that it gets “the nod” in lieu of any award. And maybe a wink as well.

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MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC Motherboard Review

Thomas Soderstrom — Tue, 20 Jun 2017 13:00:00 +0000

Features & Specifications

Intel’s new X299 platform replicates what we’ve seen in its mainstream desktop advancements over the past two years, and the most amazing part of that is the age of the X99 it replaces. HEDT (High-End Desktop) users had to wait all this time for a faster DMI interface to connect various devices through the chipset to the CPU, while suffering with an old one that limited all 10 of their SATA SSDs and any attached network and USB controllers to a combined total of 20Gb/s. At 32Gb/s, even the latest iteration of Thunderbolt was too fast for the X99. So, what does all of this newfangled, mainstream tech add to the high end?

Thanks to the more recent DMI 3.0 interface, the chipset link is exactly as fast as a Thunderbolt 3 controller. Add one and fill it with multiple devices, and you’re still left with your SATA drives fighting for bandwidth. I say that in jest, knowing that most boards will get their M.2, U.2, network, and Thunderbolt 3 bandwidth over that DMI 3.0 x4 link, so that overloading any of those interfaces could make it feel like you’re still stuck on SATA. Of course, the LGA 2066 platform still has the same workaround as the LGA 2011 and 2011-v3: The CPU has up to 44 lanes. Unfortunately, Intel saw fit to add a basic dual-channel-memory CPU with 16 PCI lanes to the mix, in the form of Kaby Lake-X. For those who thought that 28-lane CPUs were stuffing up the X99, Intel decided to double down on those difficulties.

Fortunately, the CPUs are a little faster, for the most part, and the chipset’s link is twice as fast as the previous version, even if twice as fast isn’t enough. You’ve probably read the reviews that show situations where the new cores fall behind Broadwell-E, and I’ll just leave it to developers to work those pieces out as I focus on what motherboard manufacturers have accomplished in their efforts to help Skylake-X motherboards work around Kaby Lake-X restrictions.

Specifications

We're running back-to-back reviews of MSI's X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC and the Asus Prime X299-Deluxe, but we're presenting the results of both boards in both reviews, so this is a bit of a spoiler alert. The Asus motherboard review will run later today. But let's start with MSI.

Features

The X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC carries the tradition of MSI's Pro Carbon series by having only a few more than the “belly button” high end features of USB 3.1 Gen 2 and, when it’s in the name, WiFi. The X299 version gets two M.2 slots, because nearly every other enthusiast motherboard has at least that many, plus a U.2 port, a Port 80 diagnostics display, and on-board power and reset buttons to satisfy similar expectations of the enthusiast community. The few additions are the BIOS Flashback+ feature for programing a new BIOS when the CPU model you ordered is newer than the board you received, a Demo button for the LED lighting, and a “Game Boost” knob that selects between 11 overclocking profiles.

That’s not to say we’d expect the Gaming Pro Carbon AC to be priced near the bottom of the enthusiast market though, as MSI does a few things to enhance the “regular” features, such as reinforcing the DIMMs and x16 slots with stainless steel shells, gold plating its audio jacks, adding a revised USB 3.1 Gen2 front-panel connector to the improved ASM3142 USB 3.1 controller, tossing in a couple decorative covers for M.2 drives, and adding gold and silver replacements for its Carbon accent panels. While some of these could be done for spare change, they add to the expense of a high-end Intel 8265 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth module and a special ASIC that enables Flashback+.

Not that most users would want to replace the carbon fiber look with metallic silver or gold paint, but those who do will save some effort and retain MSI’s logos. Scanning around the board for fitment issues, the only conflict between slots and on-board connectors are the bottom SATA ports, which are around 8.5” forward of the rear edge, and could impact certain 3-way SLI configurations, depending on the size and shape of the card’s heat sink. The Game Boost knob also has the potential of getting in the way with its 5/8” height at an 8” distance from the rear edge.

The bottom SATA ports might not be a problem if you plan to add a U.2 drive, since it consumes the same four HSIO resources as SATA ports 5-8. Of course you could add a U.2 adapter to one of the M.2 slots, unless you think of U.2 as existing because motherboard designers run out of space for M.2 slots. And, if you need more U.2 or M.2 drives, that second x16-length slot isn’t designed with graphics cards in mind anyway: Its four lanes are perfect for hosting an M.2 drive, U.2 adapter, or even some other card-mounted drive controller. If you’re now confused about the board’s 3-way SLI capability, it comes via the first, third, and fourth x16-length slots. It goes without saying that CrossFire configurations are not restricted in these ways, but we’ll say it anyway.

Here’s where things get weird: Per MSI documents, the bottom PCIe slot gets its eight lanes from the top slot, and the third slot is locked into eight pathways…unless you’re using a Kaby Lake-X (16-lane) processor. Then, and only then, the second slot can steal four lanes from the third whenever a card is detected there. And Kaby Lake-X also gives up any connectivity whatsoever to the bottom slot. Kaby Lake-X also disables half the DIMMs: The more we consider the limitations of bottom-tier LGA 2066 processors (Core i7-7740X and Core i5-7640X), the more apt we are to recommend Kaby Lake customers stick to less-expensive Z270 motherboards.

The X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC installation kit includes four SATA cables, a driver and applications disc, an RGB extension cable, two magnetic-base Wi-Fi antennas, an HB-style SLI bridge, several standoffs for mounting 3D-printable accessory covers, a case badge, gold and silver replacements for the carbon-look accents, an I/O shield, full printed documentation, and a sheet of adhesive cable tags.

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Software & Firmware

MSI App Manager provides an inconvenient launching point for several software suites that don’t create their own desktop icon, along with a few that do. Command Center is still MSI’s tuning and monitoring suite, DPC Latency Tuner also allows overclocking, Fast Boot enables shorter boot times by skipping certain BIOS checks, GamingApp controls a few predefined overclocks, Gaming LAN Manager is a customized interface for a cFos packet prioritization suite, Live Update 6 polls MSI servers for updates of included software and firmware, Mystic Light provides RGB control, RAMDisk is a functional virtual drive utility, Smart Tool copies storage drivers into Windows installation media (USB or ISO), XBoost is designed to maintain the CPU active state, and Super Charger controls charging modes for high-current devices.

While MSI Command Center usually provides full overclocking control of integrated CPU functions, multiplier control didn’t work with this version of the software suite and a last-minute firmware update. Base clock, voltage, and fan controls still worked, as did the monitoring applets. A “Shrink” key drops the application into a configurable monitoring menu that’s particularly handy for monitoring voltage during an overclocking session.

DPC Latency Tuner worked better for CPU multiplier control, though it couldn’t retain a switch from Dynamic to Static CPU multiplier.

MSI Gaming App isn’t only an overclocking control, and that’s a good thing because O/C mode dropped our CPU from 4.0 to 3.5 GHz. It also adds system status monitoring overlay to 3D applications, provides color profiles for display output, and includes macro and mouse controls.

Not found under App Manager, MSI Dragon Eye adds streaming video overlay to 3D applications, which could make it easier for someone to follow a YouTube tutorial through a game.

Firmware

MSI Click BIOS 5 opens to “EZ Mode” the first time, but any changes to the Advanced menu causes it to select Advanced mode at the next UEFI access. Mode selection is made using the keyboard’s F7 key.

We initially received Intel’s Core i7-7800X, and the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC pushed it to 4.6 GHz at 1.25V. You’ll notice that the screen says 1.208V, which was somewhat accurate at or near idle, but the voltage climbed when loaded under Prime95.

The memory overclocked nicely to DDR4-4000, and the main reason that’s nice is because it’s only DDR4-3866 RAM. The firmware’s 1.330V setting produced a 1.35V measurement at the DIMM slot.

DRAM timings are completely adjustable, though this wasn’t required to test overclocking when using the test RAM’s modest 18-19-19-39 timings.

Mention of climbing voltage levels under load would cause most overclockers to double-check the motherboard’s CPU Loadline Calibration setting. Unfortunately, the noted climb from 1.208 to 1.250V when using Prime95 occurred at the board’s the lowest setting, and the feature couldn’t be disabled.

Various additional menus allow tuners to view the stock configuration profiles for their memory and CPU, and configure CPU power savings and current limits.

The X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC has enough space to store up to six firmware configurations as user profiles. The OC Profile application also allows these profiles to be exported to or imported from a USB flash drive.

All of the fan headers can be switched between PWM and voltage fan speed control, using default or customized slopes.

If you can’t figure out why a part isn’t working, Board Explorer will show you whether it’s been detected. Unfortunately, it can’t detect SATA or USB configuration, though other firmware menus can.

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How We Test

Our CPU reviewer initially experienced some performance issues with the Core i9-7900X on MSI firmware that weren’t present in the Core i7-7800X. MSI sent a new firmware on Friday, so I included both of these processors on both motherboards. Since I’m testing in a different hardware configuration than our CPU reviewer, the Core i7-6950X sets the baseline.

Test Hardware

Sound	Integrated HD Audio
Network	Integrated Gigabit Networking
Software
OS	Windows 10 64-bit
Graphics	GeForce Game Ready 382.53

Due to the tremendous heat of modern six and ten core processors, I was forced to upgrade from my previous Big Air cooler to our award-winning Fractal Design S24 liquid system. We could call that “putting our money where our words went.”

I needed something to hold that cooler; something that would point air towards the hot voltage regulators of each motherboard, yet I wasn’t prepared to cut open the restrictive fan grills of our previous Lian-Li platform. I found what I needed in an old review sample of Cooler Master’s HAF-XB.

Comparison Products

ASUS Prime X299-Deluxe

Asus Rampage V Extreme

Benchmark Suite

Benchmark Settings
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
PCMark 8	Version 2.7.613Home, Creative, Work, Storage, Applications (Adobe & Microsoft)
3DMark 13	Version 4.47.597.0Skydiver, Firestrike, Firestrike Extreme Default Presets
SiSoftware Sandra	Version 2016.03.22.21CPU Arithmetic, Multimedia, Cryptography, Memory Bandwidth
DiskSPD	4k Random Read, 4k Random Write128k Sequential Read, 128k Sequential Write
Cinebench R15	Build RC83328DEMOOpenGL Benchmark
CompuBench	Version 1.5.8Face Detection, Optical Flow, Ocean Surface, Ray Tracing
Application Tests and Settings
LAME MP3	Version 3.98.3Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 0.9.9Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19 GB 4k mkv to x265 mp4
Blender	Version 2.68aBMW 27 CPU Render Benchmark, BMW 27 GPU Render Benchmark
7-Zip	Version 16.02THG-Workload (7.6 GB) to .7z, command line switches "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=9"
Adobe After Effects CC	Release 2015.3.0, Version 13.8.0.144PCMark driven routine
Adobe Photoshop CC	Release 2015.5.0. 20160603.r.88 x64PCMark driven routine (light and heavy)
Adobe InDesign CC	Release 2015.4, Build 11.4.0.90 x64PCMark driven routine
Adobe Illustrator	Release 2015.3.0, Version 20.0.0 (64-bit)PCMark driven routine
Game Tests and Settings
Ashes of Singularity	Version 1.31.21360, DirectX 12, GPU-FocusedHigh PresetCrazy Preset
F1 2015	2015 Season, Abu Dhabi Track, RainMedium PresetUltra High Preset
Metro Last Light Redux	Version 3.00 64-bitHigh QualityVery High Quality
The Talos Principle	Version 267252, 64-Bit, DirectX11High Preset, Max Render 1920x1080Ultra Preset, Max Render 1920x1080

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Benchmarks & Conclusion

When paired with the directly-competing Core i9-7900X, the new motherboards slightly outperform the old X99 platform across 3DMark and PCMark. Although it's far less-expensive, the Core i7-7800X can’t stand up to the might of a 10-core CPU in 3DMark’s Physics test.

My hopes that the moderately-priced i7-7800X would compete directly against the previous generation’s expensive 10-core CPU are dashed in Sandra Arithmetic. But the Core i9-7900X beats its predecessor by an even greater amount. Better still, the boards hosting these new processors are thus far performing consistently against each other.

Minor inconsistencies between Asus and MSI motherboards creep in starting with Sandra Multimedia. MSI appears to have slightly more aggressive memory settings, but Asus leads Cinebench.

3D Games

The X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC leads the Prime X299-Deluxe across Ashes, F1 2015, and Metro. We always enable each CPU's full set of power savings features and disable non-stock turbo settings to make competitions fair, as we believe that overclockers prefer to choose their own settings. Perhaps some of Intel’s green technologies aren’t fully functioning on the MSI motherboard?

Talos kicks MSI down a notch due to the heavy load of its Nahimic software suite in this specific game. The faded bars show how the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC performs with Nahimic Audio Solution disabled.

Timed Applications

Less is more in timed application performance, as less encoding time means more work gets done.

The X299 Gaming Pro Carbon leads the Prime X299-Deluxe across our mixed workload, but falls behind in Adobe After Effects.

Power, Heat & Efficiency

I had suspicions about MSI’s potential power use after seeing it win too many benchmarks to call those wins coincidental, and the power chart confirms my suspicions. Full-load heat is also significantly higher.

Overclocking

While the Prime X299-Deluxe beats the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC at overclocking either processor, the reason for stopping is different. While the Prime X299-Deluxe experienced the traditional system crash when taking our Core i9-7900X from 4.3 to 4.4 GHz at 1.20V, that same CPU would throttle down its eighth core when pushed past 4.20 GHz on the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC.

X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC costs less for fewer features, and the result is more performance per dollar. Perhaps I should have used a cheaper X99 motherboard as the baseline, just to knock the newer boards down a value peg?

The value charts tell us less about the boards, since the difference that included features adds is vast. MSI’s board doesn’t include a second network controller, or a Thunderbolt 3 add-in card with DisplayPort cable, or the additional components that make the Wi-Fi controller 802.11ad, or the Asus motherboard's OLED verbose status displays, or extra fan module. The lack of those features means the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC also costs $120 less than the Asus motherboard, which seems on par if you tally up those features.

Unfortunately, both boards are slightly too immature to issue an award today. On the other hand, if we had to spend our own money on an X299 motherboard today, the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC is the board half of us could afford.

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