Gigabyte has revealed the new X299-WU8 server motherboard for use with Intel's 7th and 9th generation processors. Unlike the company's gaming motherboards, which often feature elaborate designs and increasing numbers of RGB LEDs, the X299-WU8 features a standard design suitable for professional environments. And, of course, it has some of the features—including two PLX8747 chips—for a solid foundation.
The use of two PLX8747 chips allows the X299-WU8 to increase the number of available PCIe lanes. Two configurations are available. The first uses four x16 slots, while the second uses one x16 slot and six x8 slots. Gigabyte also highlighted the board's ability to set up four-way CrossFire and SLI configurations with compatible graphics cards.
The X299-WU8 also boasts eight DDR4 DIMM sockets that support up to 128GB of DDR4-2667/2400/2133 memory modules. It boasts just one M.2 connector, along with eight SATA 6Gb/s connectors that support RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 to handle the storage side of things. And, this being an X299 motherboard from Gigabyte, the new X299-WU8 also supports Intel Optane products to help speed things along.
Gigabyte equipped the X299-WU8 with one USB Type-C, one USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, 10 USB 3.1 Gen 1 and two USB 2.0 ports. The board also offers dual Intel GbE LAN connections. And just in case the lack of RGB LEDs got you excited, know that the X299-WU8 is still more than capable of bringing some color with its two RGBW headers supporting the typical string of multicolored lights, as well as RGBW and UV LED light strips.
The usual hardware protections (temperature detection, fan speed control, etc.) are available with the X299-WU8. Also included are Gigabyte mainstays like RGB Fusion and Game Boost. Interestingly, the board comes with a 12-month license for XSplit Gamecaster + Broadcaster, which is used to stream games. Combine that with the support for multi-GPU configurations and RGB lighting, and maybe gamers will be intrigued after all.
Gigabyte didn't reveal pricing information for the X299-WU8. However, the board leaked a day early via the company's page on a Chinese marketplace called JingDong, where it was priced at ¥4999 CNY (roughly $719/ €632). The company has not confirmed if the board will be made available in the U.S, though, its presence on the English website implies as much. We'll update this article if the company offers more details.
