ASUS X99-Deluxe LGA2011-v3 Motherboard & Intel X99 Chipset Review

ASUS X99-Deluxe Intel X99 Motherboard

It’s finally here, the day we’ve been waiting for! Intel has now officially launched the latest LGA2011 platform on the new Intel X99 chipset! That’s not all though, they are also launching the Intel Core i7-5960X, Intel Core i7-5930K, and the Intel Core i7-5820K! While all that is exciting, right now I have the pleasure of showcasing the first of the Intel X99 motherboards to come across my bench, the ASUS X99-Deluxe! The ASUS X99-Deluxe is currently the lowest cost Intel X99 motherboard from ASUS at only $399! ASUS is also launching their Republic of Gamers Rampage 5 Extreme which will hit the shelves at $499 and the X99-E WS motherboard will cost $519.

One of the key features on the ASUS X99-Deluxe is the Dual Intelligent Processors 5 that ASUS is implementing with this series of motherboards. The DIP5 is a 5-way optimization that is capable of tweaking the entire system. The DIP5 consists of the TPU, EPU, DIGI+ Power Control, Fan Xpert 3, and the Turbo App. Each of the various pieces of the puzzle will work together optimizing their particular piece of the system.

Within the advanced menu for the 5-way optimization are a handful of new options. From within the advanced menu you now have the ability to overclock the processor from it’s default ratio and even tweak the CPU Vcore. When you’re done adjusting those new options you can load up a AVX stress testing routine to see if the system is stable.The Fan Xpert 3 can set the fans to quiet, performance, all depending on what you want

Earlier in the year ASUS unveiled a shiny new look to their UEFI BIOS, and that new look and features has made its way into the new Intel X99 motherboards. The ASUS UEFI BIOS has been my favorite since the initial UEFI launch with the Intel P67 platform way back when, and ASUS has only improved on it!

The Intel X99 platform is the first to run the latest DDR4 memory modules, and while it’s not clear what frequency kits will be hitting the market right off the bat, overclocking looks promising. Above ASUS is showing off a kit of Corsair DDR4-2133 CMV4GX4M1A2133C15 running at an impressive 3000MHz! That’s a memory kit running at 867MHz faster than the JEDEC setting!

The block diagram for the Intel X99 chipset shows off how the system works. Coming directly off of the processor we have the four memory channels (hence quad-channel). Each of the channels is rated for up to 2133MHz, but each of the boards will be supporting various speeds through memory dividers and XMP profiles. The ASUS X99-Deluxe states that it will support up to 3000MHz (O.C.). The Intel Core i7 processor is rated for up to 40 PCIe lanes, all of which are PCIe Gen 3. Though there are also eight PCIe lanes from the X99 chipset that are PCIe Gen 2.0. The Intel X99 chipset supports a total of 14 high speed USB ports. Of the 14 available USB ports, six of them are SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and eight of them are USB 2.0. We can also see above that the Intel chipset has direct lines for both the Intel Integrated gigabit ethernet, as well as the audio codec.

ASUS X99-Deluxe Intel X99 Motherboard Specifications
CPU	New Intel Core i7 Processors on LGA 2011-v3 Socket
DRAM	8 x DIMM, max. 64GB, DDR4 3000(O.C.)/2800(O.C.)*/2666(O.C.)* /2400(O.C.)*/2133 MHz, non-ECC, un-buffered memory XMP 1.3 Supported
Optimize System	DIP 5 (5-Way Optimization – DIGI+ Power Control) DIP 5 (5-Way Optimization – TPU) Turbo APP Turbo LAN USB 3.0 Boost Direct Key connector HW Fast Boot Support
Network	Intel I218-V Intel I211-AT Bluetooth v4.0 3T3R Dual BandWi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with Wi-Fi GO! & Wi-Fi Engine
Expansion Slots	PCIex16 (Dark Gray@x16) PCIex16 (Black@x16/x8) PCIex16 (Black@x8) PCIex4(Black@X4/x1)
BIOS	USB BIOS Flashback with USB BIOS FlashbackWizard EZFlash2 AI Suite III (EZ Update) Crash Free BIOS 3 New UEFI EZ mode featuring friendly graphics user interface and Wizards All fan available to tune with DC and PWM mode Wizard for Simple OC and RAID New user friendly interface for My Favorites & Shortcuts Boot Logo Size Adjustment SATA Port Renaming F12 BIOS Print
Power Solution	Digital 8 Phase Power Design with Asus CPU Power Utility & FIVR Control 2+2 Phase Digital Power Design with Asus DRAM Power Utility 9 Steps Load-Line Calibration Real-time adjustment Anti-Surge Protection ESD Protection DRAM Protection DIP 5 (5-Way Optimization) with EPU switch
Mass Storage	12 (4 grey via native PCH controller1, 4 black via native PCH controller2, 2 via SATA Express PCH native, 2 via SATA Express ASM106SE ) 1x PCIE GEN3 X4M Key socket 3, supports type from 2242 to 2280 RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 via IRST 13 2TB+ RAID 14 USB 3.0 (4 front via PCH native, 10 rear via ASM1042AE and ASM1074 USB 3.0 Hub) 6 USB 2.0 (4 mid; 2 rear via native PCH)
Bundled Software	Ai Suite 3 Wi-Fi GO! (Wi-Fi Engine) Media Streamer Home Cloud Server Turbo APP Turbo LAN Crystal Sound 2
Bundled Hardware	Wireless Charger NFC Express Station
Crystal Sound 2 Audio	ALC1150 Left /Right Channel Track Separation New Audio Preset Shielding design EMI Protection Covering Audio AMP Nichicon Audio Capacitors
Debug Tools	MemOK! ASUS DRAM SPD Information Q-LED 5 Way Optimization (TPU) 2 Step TPU Switch BIOS based OC Tuner Ai Tweaker GPU Tweak O.C Profile C.P.R. Power / Reset / CLRTC / MemOK! / USB BIOS Flashback / DirectKey Onboard Buttons TPU / EPU / SLI,GFX / EZ XMP / 5-pin Thunderbolt Header / 5-pin EXT_FAN connector Onboard Switch / Header
Thermal Design	Aesthetic Streamline IO cover and Heat pipe 6 x Fan connectors: 2 x CPU / 4 x Chassis; 3x extension fan connectors via Fan Extension Card PWM/DC Auto Switching Mode support for CPU Fan Q-Fan FAN Xpert 3
Other Features	MyLogo2 ASUS HyperM.2 X 4 Ai Charger+ USB Charger+ ASUS Q-Connector ASUS Q-Slot Asus Q-Shield ASUS Q-DIMM

Now that you have the specifications above memorized, let’s move to the next page where we can take a look at the retail packaging and bundle that accompanies the ASUS X99-Deluxe!