Motherboard choise: Asus x99-A or Asus X99-S ?

[Ukaz]

Hi !
I will build a haswell-E system and i want to know if the Asus x99-S motherboard offers more features beside the M.2 port ? I talk about overcloking feature, etc... Or if the overclock will be more stable with the Asus X99-S ? Thanks

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Hi !
I will build a haswell-E system and i want to know if the Asus x99-S motherboard offers more features beside the M.2 port ? I talk about overcloking feature, etc... Or if the overclock will be more stable with the Asus X99-S ? Thanks

I'm not sure where the ASUS X99-S fits into their X99 model-line. I'll look that one up.

However, for an "-A" board, I suggest if you want to do any serious overclocking that you find a board with a substantial phase-power design. I'm only guessing (at the moment, but I'll check on it myself) -- that the X99-A board has either an 8-phase or 4+2 (6) design.

Look for a board that has 10 or 12. Then, choose what features you want, and what you can live without.

If you're not so keen on overclocking for 24/7 use and longevity, I can tell you I have a Z77-A board here in our house that is working just fine. I'm just not going to run up the Mhz on the processor for a board with 4+2. That is to say -- I "did it" just to see what was achievable, and was able to get 4.7 Ghz stable. But the board isn't really made for it. In the future, we might overclock it to 4.2 or 4.3, but that's as much as I want to do with that board.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

OK. Usually if this factor isn't reported in the specs you might find at some reseller like Newegg, it is because it isn't something to boast about.

Given the fact that the board is made for Haswell-E processors, I'd expect the phase-power-design on even the less expensive boards to be more substantial than for -- say -- a Z97 board.

Here's a HardOCP review:

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/12/08/asus_x99a_lga_2011v3_motherboard_review#.VXMZ_sLbKUk

5th paragraph on that page.

Let's look at something like the ASUS X99-Deluxe:

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/X99_DELUXE/

Uh-huh . . . 12-phase or 8+4.

Parting thought -- added later: The Asus X99 Deluxe board is the one chosen by the maker of the Origin PC Genesis, featured in Maximum PC of a recent month. The verdict -- with a score of "9" -- "too aggressively overclocked" as it ships from the factory. What that means, in pros and cons, I can't say.

 

[i7Baby]

Asus X99-S?

See http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2383165/motherboard-tier-list-x99-chipset.html - NOT LISTED

or MSI X99S?

 

[eton975]

I'd get an ASRock X99 Extreme4 instead.