Gigabyte GA-X99P-SLI Review

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Test Bench Hardware

Each motherboard is explicitly set to 100 MHz BCLK with a fixed 35 multiplier for all performance benchmarks. Power consumption and heat generation are tested with one 140mm fan on the liquid cooling array set to 100% while all others are disabled. Speed Step and energy saving features are enabled where possible. Windows' default "Performance" power option preset is used for every test except idle power consumption, which uses "Balanced."

Test System Configuration

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CPU Cooler Waterblock - EK Supremacy Evo (Insert 2, Jet 3)Radiator - EK CE280 and PE360Fans - EK F3-140ER (2) and EK F4-120ER (3)Pump - D5 PWM G2Reservoir - EK XRES 140 Revo (200 mL)Tubing - 13/10 DuraClear
Sound Integrated HD Audio
Network Integrated Gigabit Networking
Power Antec HCP-1200: ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold
Software
OS Windows 10 64-bit
Graphics Crimson 16.10.1 WHQL

Comparison Products

Benchmark Suite

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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 1.31.21360, 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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Eric Vander Linden
Eric Vander Linden is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews motherboards, specializing in high-end Intel chipsets.
3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • shrapnel_indie
    When I bought this board more than 2 years ago... the going price was hovering around $200 +/- $20.00, and has been for a long time. What happened that it nearly doubled in price?

    EDIT: it looks like its the price-finding linker again... Amazon's pricing looks to be where it should be.
    Also, I'd recommend using the latest UEFI BIOS version with this board.

    EDIT 2: DON"T even think of using a SATA M.2 drive with this board. the M.2 slot doesn't support SATA over M.2 in the slightest. I found out the hard way, and either chalk it up to me missing the data or it just wasn't as clear as it could be as to why.
    Reply
  • kalmquist
    The picture at the start of this review shows a box where artwork on the front mentions Thunderbolt twice. But I searched for the GA-X99P-SLI at various online retailers, and found mostly listings which showed slightly different box artwork, with no mention of Thunderbolt, and which did not mention Thunderbolt in the specifications. I don't know what the story is, but it seems to raise the possibility that if you order this board, you could receive something different than the board reviewed here.
    Reply
  • shrapnel_indie
    20007465 said:
    The picture at the start of this review shows a box where artwork on the front mentions Thunderbolt twice. But I searched for the GA-X99P-SLI at various online retailers, and found mostly listings which showed slightly different box artwork, with no mention of Thunderbolt, and which did not mention Thunderbolt in the specifications. I don't know what the story is, but it seems to raise the possibility that if you order this board, you could receive something different than the board reviewed here.

    When the MoBo was released, it didn't boast Thunderbolt, even though the Alpine controller was present. I forget exactly what it did say about Thunderbolt, it might have been something about it being Thunderbolt Ready. Well someone discovered the Alpine drivers for a Z board worked, and made an announcement about it, That was the first proclamation. Later Gigabyte did release the Alpine drivers for the X99P-SLI officially. I don't know if they updated the box art to reflect it though.
    Reply