ASUS ROG STRIX X299-E Gaming Review

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When Intel announced their new LGA2066 HEDT platform at Computex 2017, it came as a surprise to many since the company wasn't expected to unveil their new X299 chipset and mix of Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors until much later in the year. And they certainly weren't expected to announce any 12, 14, 16, and 18-core processors this generation. While only one of those high-core count models has been released, what we do have is a bunch of interesting X299 motherboards and some potent processors like the ten-core Core i9-7900X and the high frequency quad-core Core i7-7740X.

ASUS has currently revealed seven LGA2066 motherboards spread across the PRIME, TUF, and ROG product lines. The STRIX X299-E GAMING model that are reviewing today represents the most affordable entry into the Republic of Gamers X299 family with a retail price of about $345 USD / $420 CAD. This price point places in behind both the overclocking-focused Rampage VI Apex and the extravagant Rampage VI Extreme. In fact, you could say that the X299-E is the only 'normal' ROG X299 model available right now.

When it comes to specs, this model has an 8-phase CPU power design, three PCI-E x16 slots, two PCI-E x4 slots, one PCI-E x1 slot, two M.2 x4 slots, and eight SATA 6Gb/s ports. Basically, the key fundamentals are well accounted for. When it comes to USB connectivity, there are two high speed USB 3.1 Gen2 ports on the rear I/O panel, one Type-A and one Type-C, as well a USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C header that can provide up two ports to the front of the case. There are also four USB 3.0 ports, two internal USB 3.0 headers, two USB 2.0 ports, and one USB 2.0 header for a grand total of twelve possible USB ports.

When it comes to networking, there is one Intel-powered gigabit LAN port and an onboard Realtek-based 802.11ac Wi-Fi solution with Bluetooth 4.2. As you would expect from an ROG model, the onboard audio duties on this model are handled by a SupremeFX solution. This implementation is based on the familiar Realtek ALC1220A HD audio codec, but also features two dedicated Texas Instruments headphone amplifiers and audio-grade Nichicon capacitors. The codec has its own electromagnetic interference (EMI) cover and it is also protected by a PCB-level isolation line, which helps keep noise out of the audio signal. Another benefit of SupremeFX is compatibility with the ASUS audio software suite that consists of Sonic Studio III and Sonic Radar III. Unlike most gaming-oriented motherboards, the audio section on this model doesn't have any illumination, but this model does have two lighting zones as well as three RGB LED headers that form the overall AURA lighting feature.

When it comes to little extras, we appreciate the onboard thermal sensor header and included thermistor cable, the Q-Code debug LED, the BIOS Flashback button that allows you to flash the UEFI without powering on the system. The onboard power button is hugely handy for those with test benches, but the lack of a reset or even clear CMOS button is disappointing, especially the latter since it forces us to make due with an old school jumper. There are seven total fan headers, all of which are four-pin PWM/DC capable and are fully controllable from within the UEFI and the Fan Xpert 4 utility. Two of those seven fan headers are dedicated towards AIO and water pumps, and there's even a M.2 fan header for those who want to print themselves some kind of bracket and make use of the onboard 3D Mounts.

At first glance, this motherboard look promising, but we are going to do a deep dive and determine how capable it actually is. Of particular interest is going to be the automatic overclocking features - especially given that we are dealing with two different CPU types - which is one area that ASUS have historically proven themselves to be a cut above the competition. Let's find out if that is still the case.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Packaging & Accessories

Now that we have gone over the STRIX X299-E features and specifications in the introduction, it is time to examine the packaging and then crack open the box to take a look at the bundled accessories. Let's check it out:

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While this motherboard is part of the Republic of Gamers series, the STRIX models don't ship in same black and red packaging as the usual ROG motherboards. Instead they have a largely all black theme and with some rainbow colored graphics that subtly highlight the onboard RGB LED lightning. On the back of the packaging, you will find quite a bit of information regarding all of the interesting features that have been packed onto this model, as well as a handy rear I/O panel diagram and an abbreviated specifications list.

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When you open the packaging you are greeted with the motherboard wrapped in an anti-static bag. ASUS have also managed to shoehorn an accessories box on the left side. The bottom half of the packaging holds the remainder of the accessories, the manuals, the installation DVD, etc. The user guide (which has the DVD inside) is sandwiched between the two side compartments that secure the accessories. As you will see below, this model ships with a very respectable quantity of accessories.

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The accessories box nestled on top of the motherboard actually contains the sleek new dual-band 2T2R Wi-Fi antenna which has 2 transmitter (T) and 2 receiver (R) components.

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As you would expect from such a Republic of Gamers model, the X299-E has a pretty decent accessories bundle. There is the usual User Guide and installation DVD, a door hanger, as well as some stickers that you can wrap around SATA cables to label individual connections. They have also thrown in an all-black rear I/O shield, four SATA 6Gb/s ports, a Q-connector to help connect the case wires to the front panel header, a thermal sensor cable, a vertical M.2 bracket, and some screws and standoffs for the M.2 slots. There is also one high bandwidth SLI HB Bridge, which is a very nice addition to this bundle for those who plan on running two GeForce GTX 1070's or GTX 1080's.

This motherboard has also been outfitted with the AURA RGB lighting feature, and to extend that functionality there are three onboard headers on which you can plug LED light strips. In order to do this ASUS has included two different RGB LED extension cables, one for 12V 5050 RGB LED strips and one for 5V WS2812B RGB LED strips.

 

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A Closer Look at the X299-E Gaming

A Closer Look at the X299-E Gaming

Much like the Maximus IX Hero that we reviewed earlier this year, the STRIX X299-E features a sleek black and grey aesthetic. While the black slots and black PCB are fairly uniform, there's just about every possible shade of grey imaginable found on the metallic heatsinks, the plastic shrouds, the various connectors, and there's even silkscreened grey stripes onto the PCB. Overall though, it combines into another relatively understated but good looking motherboard from ASUS.

This model is based on the conventional full-size ATX form factor - 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm / 12.0-in x 9.6-in - so there are no compatibility issues to worry about with any properly designed case. The overall layout is very well-thought-out and there are no critical shortcomings that we can point out. All the buttons and switches, numerous connectors and ports are easily accessible and free from possible obstruction. We appreciate the fact that there is a huge amount of space between two primary PCI-E x16 slots, so there won’t be any issues fitting thick dual or even triple-slot graphics cards on this motherboard. We also like the placement of the M.2 slots - one under the chipset heatsink and one vertical slot next to the memory slots - since many motherboards seem to place at least one slot directly under the primary graphics card, which is a problem because very high performance M.2 solid state drives have been known to throttle themselves when running too hot.

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Looking at the CPU socket area, we see a very wide open area. People using conventional air or liquid cooling won't have any installation issues, and those using more exotic methods can further increase the work space by just removing that plastic ROG logo below the CPU socket. When it comes to the MOSFET cooler, that heatsink is really just a block of aluminium, with minimal surface area due to a general lack of fins and no heatpipe to help wick away the heat. As we will explain below, it works adequately but a more robust solution would b preferred to help improve VRM temperatures.

After we removed the rear I/O shroud, and disconnected the cable that powers the RGB LED PCB, we were able to get a good look at this motherboard's VRM area. It features a 7+1 phase CPU power design that utilizes a Infineon IR35201 digital PWM controller that has been rebranded by ASUS as ASP1405I, and a mix of seven excellent Infineon PowIRstage IR3555M 60A MOSFETs for the CPU cores and one smaller but also excellent Texas Instruments CSD97374Q4M NexFET, likely for VCCSA.

Since Skylake-X processors - particularly the 10+ core models - require an unbelievable amount of power when heavily overclocked, ASUS have included one 8-pin CPU power connector and a supplementary 4-pin CPU power connector. This is a welcome addition since very highly overclocked processors can draw a ton of current through the 8-pin CPU power connector, enough to trip up certain power supplies with wonky over-current protection (OCP). Even if that doesn't happen, when we pulled over 450W from the 8-pin connector (otherwise known as EPS12V) it did start warming up quite a bit, reaching a peak temperature of about 66°C. That's not problematic, but there's no downside to sharing the load across two connectors if you can.

While we are on the topic of overclocking and temperatures and VRM, there really is no critical issue here. Yes, stress testing an overclocked and overvolted Core i9-7900X with the latest builds of Prime 95 can push the VRM on this (and any) X299 motherboard to start throttling due to high temperatures (105°C/221°F). However, no other program or even combination of programs comes even close to recreating Prime 95's FFTs load level. For example, we set our manual overclock and used the system for an entire week - essentially fully loaded 24/7 - with a combination of benchmarking, gaming, video encoding, and mining, and the peak MOSFET temperature that was recorded was 82°C, which is extremely hot but somewhat acceptable. If you're installing a Kaby Lake-X processor, none of this applies. You can run Prime 95 as long as you want since those chips don't support AVX-512 and they just aren't particularly power hungry.

Speaking of cooling, next to the CPU power connectors are the two 4-pin CPU fan headers, which like all five system fan headers are fully controllable via both DC and PWM fan control modes from within the UEFI and the Fan Xpert 4 utility. While the two CPU fan headers can only supply up to 1A/12W, ASUS have actually added a dedicated AIO fan header and a separate water pump header, both of which can provide up to 3A. There's also two case fan headers, and even an M.2 fan header that can be used as a third case fan, for a grand total of seven system fans. If that wasn't enough, ASUS have also added their EXT_FAN header that allows you to install their optional fan extension card (sold separately).

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Since Skylake-X chips feature a quad-channel memory interface, this motherboard has eight DDR4 memory slots, with each bank of four slots being fed by a 2-phase power design. When a dual-channel Kaby Lake-X processor is used only the right bank of memory slots are supported. ASUS have validated the X299-E for overclocked memory frequencies up to DDR4-4133 for both chip types. Skylake-X processors can support up to 128GB of system memory, while the Kaby Lake-X parts top out at 64GB. ASUS have as usual implemented DRAM overcurrent protection (OCP) and short circuit damage prevention, so you will be able to push your DDR4 modules as hard as you want without worrying that the power delivery will let you down.

Regrettably, there is no MemOk! button on this model. We generally appreciate that feature since it initiates a memory compatibility tuning process if there are memory issues preventing a system from booting up. However, there are diagnostic LEDs in the top-right corner, and they can be used to diagnose CPU/RAM/GPU/Boot device issues during boot up.

Like on all ASUS motherboards, this model features the handy Q-DIMM memory slots, which prevent any clearance issues that can arise between conventional memory clips and the back of any nearby expansion card. As always, the 24-pin ATX power connector is in its usual spot.

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Next to the 24-pin ATX power connector is a vertical M.2 slot, which might look weird but is a great alternative to placing an M.2 slot under the primary graphics card. Placing an M.2 slot directly under a graphics card is a problem because very high performance NVMe solid state drives have been known to throttle themselves when running too hot. This is a full-speed PCI-E 3.0 x4 slot, with a theoretical maximum bandwidth of 32Gb/s, and support for SATA, PCI-E, and PCI-E NVMe M.2 solid state drives. It also supports Intel's Optane Memory SSDs and RAID 0/1 in coordination with the other M.2 slot.

To the left of the M.2 slot is a USB 3.1 Type-C front panel header. Those with newer cases that support this latest USB standard will finally be able to direct all of that speed to the front USB 3.1 ports. This capability is courtesy of a brand new ASMedia ASM3142 USB 3.1 Gen2 host controller that supports transfer rates of up to 16Gb/s. This header shares bandwidth with the PCI-E x1 slot, so both cannot be used at the same time.

To the left of the USB 3.1 Type-C header is an angled USB 3.0 header that is powered by the X299 chipset, it can provide two USB 3.0 ports to the front of your case.

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This little plastic doodad - that is located in the old school northbridge position - is really more of an aesthetic touch, since there is not much under it aside from some small electrical components. While it's hard to properly represent in pictures, the ROG logo is laser etched into a plastic crystal-like material, and there's a holographic effect due to a mirror that is placed under the clear plastic. There are also RGB LEDs integrated into this contraption, and it looks pretty darn cool when all lit up.

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This motherboard features eight SATA 6Gb/s ports, all of which are supplied by the X299 PCH and as a result support RAID 0/1/5/10 plus Intel Rapid Storage Technology 15. Keep in mind that if you use the second PCI-E x4 slot, that will disable four of the eight SATA ports. Likewise, if you install a SATA M.2 SSD in the M.2 slot under the PCH heatsink, you will lose access to one SATA port.

We are quite pleased that ASUS chose not to include a U.2 port, since that interface can be added by the user via a ASUS Hyper Kit M.2 to Mini SAS HD adapter. Instead, they have focused their efforts on designing a cool chipset heatsink that serves double duty as a cooler for a M.2 solid state drive. While similar concepts have had mixed results, this piece of aluminium is large enough that it can absorb quite a bit of the SSD's thermal emissions before getting heat soaked. We actually noticed a general 4-5°C improvement in temperatures with this heatsink on our Samsung 950 PRO. More critically however, it also serves to protect the SSD from the heat that would radiate from any graphics card installed in the second PCI-E x16 slot.

Much like the vertical M.2 slot, this one features a full-speed PCI-E 3.0 x4 link, with a theoretical maximum bandwidth of 32Gb/s, and support for SATA, PCI-E, and PCI-E NVMe M.2 solid state drives. It also supports Intel's Optane Memory SSDs and RAID 0/1. It can even handle extra-longer 22110 M.2 drives, which are 110mm long compared to the 80mm length of conventional 2280 drives.

If you paid attention during Computex 2017, you may have noticed that Intel and the various motherboard manufacturers were really touting the Virtual RAID on CPU (VROC) feature. This new concept allows multiple M.2 PCI-E drives to run off of the CPU's PCI-E lanes and form a bootable RAID array. RAID 0 is the default mode, and if you want other RAID modes you need to purchase a physical VROC Key. Although there is a VROC Key header on this model, neither the hardware VROC Key or the multi-M.2 PCI-E adapters are being sold at this time. Also, the fact that VROC requires a Skylake-X processor and only supports Intel SSDs is another issue, one that makes this entire feature rather pointless given the sorry state of Intel's current M.2 NVMe offerings (ie: the 600p).

Directly below the M.2 slot is a 3D Mount standoff, so those with 3D printers can make some type of new or different M.2 cover/shield/shroud. We aren't exactly sure who would want to do this, but if interested you can read up on what ASUS has to say about it.

 

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A Closer Look at the X299-E Gaming pt.2

A Closer Look at the X299-E Gaming pt.2

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In the lower-right hand corner of the motherboard, there is the front panel header, the CPU Overvoltage jumper, the 5V RGB LED header, one case fan header, one water pump header, the single USB 2.0 header, and one of two USB 3.0 headers. Next to the SATA ports you might also notice the M.2 fan header which is effectively just a case fan header, the VROC Key header, the temperature sensor header (there's a temperature probe included), and the clear CMOS header. We really do wish that there was a clear CMOS button or switch instead of a an old-school header, but alas. There is also another 3D Mount standoff next to the PCH heatsink for those who want to 3D print something to add some extra flair to the motherboard.

The bottom edge of the motherboard is where you will find the EXT_FAN header if you need more fan headers and are willing to buy the Fan Extension Card, the power-on, the power button, the Q-Code LED display, a COM header, and one of two 12V RGB LED headers where you can plug in any 12V/2A 5050 RGB LED lighting strip and have it fully powered by the motherboard and controlled by the Lighting Control utility. The aforementioned 5V header supports individually addressable RGB WS2812B LED strips with a power rating of up to 3A and a maximum of 60 LEDs, and it is also fully controllable from within the UEFI or included software.

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The X299-E features an interesting assortment of three PCI-E x16 slots, one PCI-E x4 slot that operates at x4, one PCI-E x4 slot that operates at x1, and one PCI-E x1 slot, all of which are PCI-E 3.0 capable. Surprisingly, all of these slots are also functional no matter if you install a 44-lane or 28-lane Skylake-X processor or a 16-lane Kaby Lake-X one. However, the transfer rates will obviously vary significantly since the limited number of PCI-E lanes need to be judiciously carved up by the clever ASMedia ASM1483 PCI-E 3.0 switches. For example, in a simple dual graphics card configuration, a 44-lane CPU can support x16/x16 operation, while a 28-lane CPU is limited to x16/x8, and a 16-lane processor tops out at x8/x8 like on the mainstream LGA1151 platform. When three graphics cards are installed, the 44-lane CPU can support x16/x16/x8, while the 28-lane and 16-lane CPUs are basically crippled since they drop to x16/x8/x1 and x8/x8/x1, respectively. Having said that, x1 is perfectly fine for mining if that's of interest to you. However, if you have your eye on SLI or CrossFire, definitely take a moment to check out the STRIX X299-E Gaming's specifications page.

As we have come to expect from quality motherboards, this model features steel reinforced full-size PCI-E slots, which means steel sleeving and additional anchor points for the slots likely to hold graphics cards.

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As we have come to expect from every new ROG generation, the X299-E features a new variation of the SupremeFX onboard audio. While there is an EMI shield covering it, we know that this audio solution is based on the Realtek ALC1220A codec. The difference between the ALC1220A and the more common ALC1220 is that the A version is missing the I2S (Integrated-Interchip Sound) bus interface that is used to transfer digital data to a DAC. Since this motherboard has no third-party DAC, I2S is obviously not needed.

What's impressive about this SupremeFX implementation is that it features two headphone amplifiers, which means additional power and impedance sensing for both the front and rear headphone outputs. One of the headphone amplifiers is a very common Texas Instruments R4580I op-amp (for the front panel), while the other is a higher-end Texas Instruments OPA1688 op-amp (for the rear panel). This latter component is part of the Burr-Brown Audio product series and it is EMI hardened.

As we have come to expect from just about every quality motherboard, Nichicon Gold audio-grade capacitors are used in the audio subsystem. There is also a PCB isolation line that surrounds the audio section and protects it from external electromagnetic interference (EMI). All of this serves to help to preserve the signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio and thus ensure the highest possible sound quality.

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This X299-E model has pretty decent connectivity on its rear I/O panel, but we would haven't minded two additional USB ports, even USB 2.0 ports. Starting from left to right, we have the BIOS Flashback button, two USB 2.0 ports, one gigabit LAN port, four USB 3.0 ports, one USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A port, one USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port, the WiFi/Bluetooth antenna ports, and the five analog audio jacks plus the S/PDIF output. The lack of PS/2 port is an interesting omission, but not one that we will lose sleep over as it's such a super niche interface at this point.

The gigabit LAN port is powered by the ubiquitous Intel I219-V controller. This port is protected by a LANGuard surge protector and it can be managed using the ASUS GameFirst IV utility.

The onboard Wi-Fi module supports both dual-band 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.2. Although it is not mentioned anywhere in the official literature, the Windows Device Manager reveals that this module features a Realtek RTL8822BE chip. This is a 2x2 802.11ac Wave2 controller that supports MU-MIMO. This 2x2 solution supports maximum wireless transfer speeds of up to 867Mbps, and although we personally haven't yet made the leap to the 802.11ac standard, our 802.11n connection was rock-solid courtesy of the brand new 2T2R antenna that ASUS has included in the accessories bundle. While we would have preferred to see an Intel-based Wi-Fi solution due to superior OS compatibility, this Realtek chip is supposed to be fully supported in the upcoming Linux 4.14 kernel.

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What's powering all these ports and other key motherboard functions? Well starting from the top left there is an Intel I219V ethernet controller, a brand new ASMedia ASM3142 USB 3.1 Gen2 host controller, a Nuvoton NCT6796D Super I/O monitoring controller, an STMicroelectronics STM32F072C8T6 is responsible for the AURA feature, a Turbo Processing Unit (TPU) is responsible for the automatic overclocking feature, while the ProClockII chip is a dedicated baseclock generator responsible for improving BCLK overclocking.

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When we take a look at the back of the motherboard, there's really not much there aside from one or two small ICs. When we removed the rear-mounted backplate we expected to see some additional CPU VRM components, but there's really nothing but some but some SMD capacitors.

While the PCB isolation line that surrounds the audio subsystem is quite visible, there are no LEDs mounted on the rear (or front) of the motherboard since the audio section is surprisingly not lit on this model.

 

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Hardware Installation

Hardware Installation

In the Hardware Installation section we examine how major components fit on the motherboard, and whether there are any serious issues that may affect installation and general functionality. Specifically, we are interested in determining whether there is adequate clearance in all critical areas.

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Since it has such an unobstructed CPU socket area, installing any type of cooling on this motherboard should be a breeze. No matter if we install it in the East-West or North-South orientation, our Prolimatech Mega Shadow cooler and its numerous bits of mounting hardware had no issues physically clearing the capacitors or the MOSFET heatsinks.

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With the heatsink installed in the traditional North-South orientation, we surprisingly did not have any show stopping clearance issues when it came to installing or removing the memory modules. Having said that, as on all quad-channel motherboards, our cooler's fan clips did make slight contact with the nearest memory module, but simply installing the clips after the RAM prevented any problems. Those using a heatsink that is wider than 122mm (with fans) or memory modules that are taller than 44mm will want to be careful, assuming a similar fan clip setup.

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There is a decent amount of room between the back of the graphics card and the memory slots, and RAM installation is further aided by the clip-less Q-DIMM memory slots. The 24-pin ATX power connector and the 8-pin and 4-pin CPU power connectors are ideally placed in their common locations, so that helps make assembling and disassembling the system just a tad easier.

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The M.2 bracket for the vertical M.2 slot is easy to install with two metal screws, and it really doesn't interfere with any other part of the installation process. It might look weird, but it is an ingenious solution for increasing the number of M.2 devices that can fit on a motherboard. You will want to install this bracket and the M.2 drive before placing the motherboard in a case, since otherwise installation could get a little tricky.

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This board will hold two or three dual-slot graphics cards without issue. The cards overhang the motherboard, but the edge-mounted SATA connectors and various headers are still easily accessible. As on all motherboard, if you install a dual-slot expansion card in the bottom PCI-E x16 slot it will block the headers at the very bottom of the motherboard and make access to the various buttons difficult if not impossible.

The eight 90-degree SATA ports are obviously accessible no matter how many graphics cards are installed.

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Installing an SSD in the bottom M.2 slot is relatively simple. You simply need to unscrew the top cover of the heatsink, plug in and screw down the drive, and remount the cover. You shouldn’t need to remove your CPU heatsink, but you will have to remove any expansion card installed in the second PCI-E x16 slot.

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Much like on previous LGA2011 motherboards, this new LGA2066 model comes with its own CPU backplate, so there is really nothing to worry about back there.

 

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UEFI Explored

UEFI Explored

This new generation of X299 motherboards has the same familiar UEFI bios layout that we have some on all ROG models for the last few years. Although fundamentally similar to past versions, this latest implementation has obviously been tweaked with a handful of new Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X oriented features. As we have come to expect from ASUS, this is a very smooth and responsive UEFI BIOS, and it's a pleasure to use. As in previous iterations, this UEFI BIOS is divided into two distinct modes. The EZ Mode is simplified and features a mouse-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) for basic tasks, while the Advanced Mode has all the settings, options, and features that you could ever want. From within the EZ Mode you can switch to the Advanced Mode by pressing F7, and vice-versa to get back to the EZ Mode.

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The EZ Mode makes pretty good use of the graphical user interface (GUI) and was designed to be used with a mouse. It obviously does not have all the functionality of the Advanced mode, but it is not meant to. It simply gives novice users an easy way to visualize and alter some of the most common settings. The Q-Fan Tuning feature can be found in both BIOS modes, but fundamentally it gives you full manual or preset-based control over the systems fans. The EZ Tuning Wizard is particularly interesting since it brings overclocking to an even simpler level. Basically, the wizard asks you how you generally use your system, what kind of CPU cooler you have installed, and based on your answer it comes up with an appropriate tuning level for your respective system. It worked perfect during our short time toying with it, and the fact that it never actually mentions "overclocking" should help alleviate some of the fears less knowledgeable users might associate with the word. The EZ Tuning Wizard can also be used as a very user-friendly way of setting up a RAID array.

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The My Favorites tab allows you to have all your most useful or most used settings in one place, so you no longer have to search through the whole bios to find what you need time and time again. My favorites used to come as a blank page, but now ASUS have included what it believes are the most used BIOS settings. You can obviously edit this selection, and add or remove any settings that you want.

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The next tab in the BIOS is the Main section, which displays the standard storage devices and some basic system information. This System Information section lists some rudimentary specification info, including the BIOS date & version, the type of processor and the amount of memory installed. You can also set the system language, and an administrator and/or individual user password.

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Next up is the Extreme Tweaker section, which is where all the fun happens. Once the manual option is selected in the Ai Overclock Tuner setting, the BIOS opens up to reveal all of the essential system clock control options: CPU multiplier with an all-core and per-core option, BLCK frequency, CPU strap, memory frequency, memory timing options, and all the voltage options.

The OC Tuner feature allows novice users to automatically overclock their systems without having to mess around with clocks speeds, multipliers, and voltages. The are two options in this feature, a multiplier-only tuning mode or a multiplier and BCLK tuning mode. You can read more about this automatic overclocking feature in our Overclocking Results section.

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As its name suggests, the DRAM Timing Control section is where you will find all the memory-related settings. Within this section you can select and change all the memory settings, and each memory channel has its own section, from which you can alter the primary and secondary timings. It has just about every memory modifier that an enthusiast or overclocker would need to fine-tune their modules. There's really an overabundance of options and it is quite impressive.

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The DIGI+ Power Control section has a whole slew of advanced power regulation settings for the CPU cores, CPU VTT and VCCSA (system agent/memory controller), and DRAM channels. This motherboard is setup well enough so that you should never actually have to tweak any of these settings though, unless you are really pushing the limits with phase-change or LN2 cooling. The exception to this is obviously Load-Line Calibration (LLC), which is a worthwhile feature that eliminates droopage on the CPU vCORE, and which we will take a closer look at in our Voltage Regulation section.

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The Internal CPU Power Management section is where you can enable or disable all the CPU-specific features like SpeedStep and Turbo Mode, as well as setting the Turbo limits. ASUS have really bolstered this section with an overwhelming array of CPU power tuning settings.

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The Tweakers Paradise sub-menus has a ton of fairly obscure settings that should come in handy in the hands of experts top-level overclockers. There's really nothing here that your average user should concern themselves about.

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Occupying the middle to bottom section of the Extreme Tweaker are the prodigious voltage options. As you would expect, all the key system voltages are present and accounted for, as far as bunch of other voltage options that we have frankly never even seen before. For some of the key voltages like the CPU Core voltage and the CPU Cache voltage, ASUS have allowed four separate entry modes. The Auto and Manual modes are self-evident, the Offset Mode allows you to specify how much higher (or lower) the voltage should be in reference to stock level, so something like +0.10V or +0.15V. The Adaptive Mode allows you to set both a base voltage and higher Turbo Mode voltage that is enabled under heavy system loads. This helps minimize the amount of voltage running through an overclocked processor when it's not under load.

Usually we would now say that we wish there were more drop-down menus in this section. Although can manually type in whatever you want, but that is not particularly useful when you don't know or don’t remember what the default voltages are. Thankfully, ASUS have thought about this, and they have included real-time voltage read outs next to all the key system voltages. This is an fantastic addition and we couldn't be happier to see it here.

 

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UEFI Explored pt.2

UEFI Explored pt.2

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The Advanced tab is where you can tweak countless settings and enable or disable all of the motherboard's components. The CPU Configuration sub-menu is where you can manipulate all the CPU-specific features like the Thermal Monitor, Hyper-Threading, Virtualization, Enhanced SpeedStep, Turbo Mode, C-States, etc.

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The Advanced Tab is also where you can enable/disable or just find all the various settings and options for all the onboard devices like the audio, LAN, USB 3.0, SATA ports, etc. As you can see, there is a bewildering and overwhelming array of settings and options here. It is pretty remarkable for those who like granular controls.

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The Monitor section contains the anti-surge setting, but is mostly dedicated to monitoring the various voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds. This whole section is really quite impressive, it has all the essential temperature and voltage readouts, as well as truly excellent and comprehensive fan control functionality.

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The Boot tab is essentially where you set storage device priority, select the boot drive, enable/disable the full screen logo, and ton of other boot settings that can help with the installation or troubleshooting of various OS installations.

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ASUS EZ Flash 3 is a built-in utility that greatly simplifies the BIOS updating process. You can easily update your BIOS from a ROM file located on your hard drive(s) or USB flash drive(s). It's quick, painless, and it takes the worry out of BIOS flashing.

The ASUS Overclocking Profile feature gives users the option to save and switch between BIOS profiles, for example an everyday profile and a benchmarking profile. Not only is this infinitely quicker than manually inserting every setting, but the profiles can be saved and shared among other X299-E owners.

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Before you save your settings and exit the BIOS, there is a handy window that lists the changes you made during this session. It's a well thought out and implemented idea. The new General Help pop-up that you can find in the top-right corner is very handy for those who can't remember all the new function key tasks.

 

[MAC]

Included Software

Included Software

Ai Suite III​

The most important and all-encompassing utility in ASUS' impressive suite of software is the aptly named Ai Suite III. Whereas ASUS used to have a handful of standalone apps for different functions, many were consolidated under the Ai Suite moniker back in 2011. This system management utility is the hub from which you can monitor system clock speeds, voltages, temperatures, and fan rotation but more importantly it allows users to do both automatic and manual overclocking from within Windows. Although it's basic UI has been established for a while, ASUS regularly adds to the capabilities to this utility, so let's check it out.

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There are six main sections that are the focus of the Ai Suite III utility, and they are all linked to the Dual Intelligent Processors 5. As a refresher, DIP5 refers to two co-processors - the TurboV Processing Unit (TPU) and the Energy Processing Unit (EPU) - that are tasked with for optimizing the system with a focus on either better performance and improved energy efficiency.

The 5-Way Optimization section is the coolest, and is where you will find the 5-Way Optimization automatic overclocking feature. There is also the Energy Processing Unit (EPU) power saving or performance profiles, Fan Xpert 3 fan speed optimization status, DIGI+ VRM optimization, awesome new Turbo App functionality, and some display-only information regarding TurboV Processing Unit (TPU). We'll go into it in-depth below.

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On the left hand side of the Ai Suite utility is an arrow that activates a pop-out menu when clicked. Here you will find features like PC Cleaner, which will scan your PC and get rid of junk files to free up disk space. The EZ Update tool allows users to update their motherboard's BIOS either directly from the internet or from a downloaded file. System Information just contains a bunch of basic system information regarding your CPU, motherboard or RAM. You can also find you can find your serial number, BIOS version, etc.

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At the bottom is a static strip that displays information on CPU and DRAM frequency, real-time voltage and temperatures measurements, as well as CPU and case fans speeds. You can also set safe thresholds for voltages, temperatures and fan speeds as well as setting alerts to warn you of any serious fluctuations. It is essentially a replacement for the Probe II utility.

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Clicking on the 5-Way Optimization button reveals the coolest part of the whole Dual Intelligent Processors 5 utility. There is a certain level of fan optimization functionality in this section, but what's really interesting is the automatic overclocking feature. You have the option of 3 different overclocking levels depending on whether you have an unlocked processor or not. We don't want to reveal too much here, so go check out the Overclocking Results section to see how well this auto-overclocking feature worked.

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The TPU (TurboV Processing Unit) tab is where you can manually adjust the BCLK frequency, CPU multiplier and Cache/Uncore multiplier. You will also be able to change the CPU multiplier, either per core or as a group. There are also an impressive eleven adjustable system voltages. You can adjust all these settings on-the-fly without having to reboot the system.

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The EPU (Energy Processing Unit) tab is you will be able to fine-tune the various selection of power saving or performance profiles. This is a versatile feature for those who truly care about maximizing energy savings.

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The DIGI+ VRM tab is where you will find the power options for the CPU, System Agent/Memory Controller, and RAM. There are adjustable settings for load-line calibration, current capability, voltage frequency, and phase control. There are different power controls for each memory channel since they are independently powered.

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The Fan Xpert 4 tab is, as you might expect, where you can fully manage and optimize your CPU and system fans. While there are now a series of four fan presets (Silent/Standard/Turbo/Full Speed), you can also manually adjust the full fan speed curve to your preferences, or simply use the fully automated Fan Tuning feature.

 

[MAC]

Included Software pt.2

Included Software pt.2

AURA

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The AURA utility is used to control the RGB LEDs that have been integrated into the rear I/O cover and the weird little heatsink placed in the middle of the motherboard. The lighting can be adjusted to any number of different colours and customized to create cool lighting effects. The presets can cause the LEDs to change shades to indicate CPU temperature, pulsate with the beat of your music, cycle through all the colours, fade in and out, flash on and off, or just statically display one colour.

ROG CPU-Z

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ROG CPU-Z is a special edition of CPU-Z especially created to match the aesthetics of ASUS Republics of Gamers motherboards. It is kept as up-to-date as the regular version, and is available at the same place: CPUID.com

Sonic Radar III

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The idea behind Sonic Radar III is simple enough, once configured in the above utility, it is basically a radar overlay that shows the positional location that sound is coming from in games. It is essentially a gaming aid, or a really useful tool for those who are hard of hearing or those who just can't have sound enabled in a given scenario (gaming at work anyone?).

Separate from Sonic Radar is a utility called Sonic Studio III, which is an audio suite that allows users control over six audio controls like Reverb, Bass Boost, Equalizer, Voice Clarity, Smart EQ (Smart Volume), and Virtual Surround. It also provides access to the Perfect Voice noise-cancellation feature and Casting Enhancer audio streaming.

GameFirst IV

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GameFirst IV is a utility designed to help reduce latency courtesy of cFosSpeed traffic-shaping technology. This utility provides users with a lot of control and monitoring capabilities over every application that is accessing the network. It displays CPU usage, NPU usage, ICMP and UDP average ping, and the network utilization of every system process and program. This tool also allows you give priority to certain applications, and throttle or block others to free network resources for other applications. It is your one-stop tool for monitoring and controlling all network traffic.

RAMCache II

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The STRIX X299-E also comes with the very simple RAMCache II utility. For those not familiar with this concept, a RAMCache utilizes a portion of your RAM in order to cache your system's most commonly accessed data. Since the read, write and latency performance of RAM is significantly faster than any conventional storage device, the use of a RAMCache can definitely speed up certain tasks. Using this utility is as simple as selecting the storage device that you want to dedicate a cache to, and then selecting the amount of system memory to allocate to the RAMCache.

Clone Drive

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Clone Drive is another simple but useful application that allows you to easily to clone or image your data to up to two other storage devices.

 

[MAC]

Test Setups & Methodology

Test Setups & Methodology

For this review, we are going to be testing the performance of the STRIX X299-E Gaming with two different CPU and three different configurations each: default settings @ DDR4-2666, with an automatic overclock applied, and with our manual overclock settings. The components and software are the same across all five configurations, and aside from manually selecting the frequencies, timings, and voltages in the manual overclock configuration, every option in the BIOS was at its default setting.

Intel Core i7/i9 LGA2066 DDR4 Test Setup​

For all of the benchmarks, appropriate lengths are taken to ensure an equal comparison through methodical setup, installation, and testing. The following outlines our testing methodology:

A) Windows is installed using a full format.

B) Chipset drivers and accessory hardware drivers (audio, network, GPU) are installed.

C)To ensure consistent results, a few tweaks are applied to Windows 10 Pro (Creators Update) and the NVIDIA control panel:

• UAC – Disabled
• Indexing – Disabled
• Superfetch – Disabled
• System Protection/Restore – Disabled
• Problem & Error Reporting – Disabled
• Remote Desktop/Assistance - Disabled
• Windows Security Center Alerts – Disabled
• Windows Defender – Disabled
• Screensaver – Disabled
• Power Plan – High Performance
• V-Sync – Off

D) All available Windows updates are then installed.

E) All programs are installed and then updated, followed by a defragment.

F) Benchmarks are each run three to eight times, and unless otherwise stated, the results are then averaged.


Here is a full list of the applications that we utilized in our benchmarking suite:

• 3DMark Vantage Professional Edition v1.1.3
• 3DMark11 Professional Edition v1.0.132.0
• 3DMark 2013 Professional Edition v2.3.3732
• AIDA64 Engineer Edition v5.92.4350 Beta
• Cinebench R15 64-bit
• FAHBench 1.2.0
• Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Benchmark
• Grand Theft Auto V
• HEVC Decode Benchmark (Cobra) v1.61
• LuxMark v3.1
• Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
• PCMark 10 v1.0.1275
• Prime95 v29.2
• SuperPi Mod v1.9 WP
• Unigine Superposition Benchmark Download v1.0
• Valve Particle Simulation Benchmark v1.0.0.0
• WinRAR x64 5.50
• wPRIME version v2.10
• X3: Terran Conflict Demo v1.0