YA X99 mobo question thread

[DesiPower]

So looking for X99 board for running either i7-5960X or i7-6900K, will be overclocking it a little bit but not much. will be running 2 way SLI 980ti 32GB RAM and that's pretty much it. Looking at ASRock line, have a choice of Extreme4 for $146 or Taichi for $167 or Extreme6 for $205 (all AR+Coupon) all seem to be awesome deals.

My question is how do they compare with more expensive $300+ motherboards? What is the difference? what are these missing? are these cheaper ASRocks enough for the CPUs I am looking at?

 

[Justinbaileyman]

The Asrock Taichi is the newest released x99 motherboard from there line. It has everything your looking for and more for future proofing.A 12+ Power Phase Design Premium 60A Power Choke Ultra Dual-N Mosfet, USB 3.1 type A and C ports, dual M.2 NVME,3 Steel Reinforced PCIe x16 slots,True Dual band onboard wifi,Error Code LED Display,And 2 USB 3.0 front pannel connectors.I personally just bought this board and love it to death specially with the Deal going on right now at newegg.So you know my vote. Grab one before they are all gone cause with Back to school and Christmas shopping now starting you'll be lucky to get one later.

Crap also forgot to mention it has also got dual onboard Nic's.

 

[DesiPower]

I am sold... $167 is a unbelievable price.

So (almost) all the X99 mobos have 10 SATA ports and m.2 port. But if I use m.2 port (maybe in sata port? I guess by default its PCIx mode?) do I loose 2 SATA ports?

 

[Justinbaileyman]

To be honest I am not sure how that works as I have yet to use any M.2 drives yet.

 

[lukart]

Mostly your paying alot for stuff you would probably dont need. Besides the high premium for the brand.
AR they do amazing mobos with excellent value..

 

[Justinus]

I am sold... $167 is a unbelievable price.

So (almost) all the X99 mobos have 10 SATA ports and m.2 port. But if I use m.2 port (maybe in sata port? I guess by default its PCIx mode?) do I loose 2 SATA ports?

Generally if the M.2 slots are SATA compatible they will take away certain SATA ports. You should be able to find the specs in the motherboard manual about if they are and which ports you will lose.

If you use the M.2 ports in PCI-e mode, you will lose no SATA ports.

 

[Justinbaileyman]

Op did you get a chance to buy the motherboard cause they are all sold out now. Mine just arrived this morning via fedex. I feel quite lucky I got one cause I knew they were gonna sell like hot cakes at that price.Gonna rip into this sucker first thing tomorrow morning.I would of today if I hadn't been so busy Just not enough time in a day I guess.

 

[DesiPower]

yup, snagged one yesterday, will be arriving Saturday!! However I do not have anything else besides the mobo, just getting started, next looking at memory

What memory will you be using? Is there any performance difference if I fill 4 vs 8 slots?

 

[Justinbaileyman]

yup, snagged one yesterday, will be arriving Saturday!! However I do not have anything else besides the mobo, just getting started, next looking at memory

What memory will you be using? Is there any performance difference if I fill 4 vs 8 slots?

There is no difference if you use 4 or 8 of the slots except maybe you would have more memory and be using more electricity LOL. Gives you a chance to add more memory in the future if you need it.
I am doing a white and black themed build and this is the memory I got as it was on sale for $79.99 till yesterday when the motherboards went out of stock. So I am guessing this is what every body pretty much paired with there motherboard as well since it jumped way up in price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...listix_DDR4_2400-_-20-156-083-_-Product#close
I too only have my motherboard and ram.. dont even have a cpu for testing yet,gotta wait till next week hopefully to get my 6800k or high core count Xeon after I finally make up my mind.

 

[DesiPower]

2400, why not 2800? does 2800 have any advantage on the overall performance in terms of overclockable?

Asrock page for compatibility is not working, keep taking me back to the product page, wanted to check what are the best option for ram and cpu, want to go with 8 cores as of now...

 

[Justinbaileyman]

There might be like 1% boost in performance running higher clocks in memory. besides no reason to buy expensive high clocked memory anyways.Its kind of a scam cause all crucial and g.skill DDR4 has XMP unlocked for higher clock settings built in without needing to do overclocking.So like if you buy say DDR4 2400 most brands are XMP Locked to 2133 but can get higher clocks by overclocking and over volting but Crucial and G.skill set there XMP to 2400 and leave the XMP multi unlocked allowing you to set it to said speed like if you were buying that speed. although I wouldn't chance trying to overclock such an expensive item for a 1% boost. Specially when I can just click on XMP and choose up to 3200 and doing so I dont have to futz with the NB or vrm this or that.

 

[DesiPower]

Justinbaileyman, was there any seals/stickers on the box? I was able to open the box without breaking any seals/stickers. the box looked used, didn't looked brand new. even the anti-staic plastic inside was not sealed, I was practically able to reach the mobo without having to break any seals. however, the io port had a cover taped over it and the northbridge also has a plastic over it, mobo does not look used but the packaging does... How was your experience?

 

[Justinbaileyman]

Mine came the same way.The Outer Box was not sealed and neither was the inside black box. The Motherboard was placed inside a form tray with zip ties to hold the motherboard in place and to protect it from any kind of movement so it wouldn't get damaged, then covered in a giant anti static motherboard bag.That anti static bag also was not sealed in anyway just kinda crinkled up and folded over.Mine also has plastic on the heat sink and I/O cover where it says something about Intel and audio.All my little extra's like the SLI bridges, I/O shield, and Sata cables are all sealed though.SO I would say this is normal.

 

[DesiPower]

Yeah... the small packets are all sealed for me too... guess its normal, but weird... thanks for confirming