The X299 chipset is Intel's latest HEDT (High-End DeskTops) solution. It sports the new LGA 2066 socket, which supports Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X processors, with between four and 18 Hyper-Threaded cores. The X299 chipset features 24 PCIe 3.0 lanes and 10 USB 3.0 ports, which is a notable improvement over the outgoing X99 chipset's eight PCIe 2.0 lanes and six USB 3.0 ports. SATA III support is somewhat reduced on the X299 chipset when compared to X99, but this is offset by the more important inclusion of Intel Optane support. Intel also implemented a DMI 3.0 connection between the CPU and chipset, which provides twice as much bandwidth as the DMI 2.0 interface used on X99.
Intel's X299 trades blows with AMD's competing X399 chipset. AMD gains an advantage here by incorporating native support for two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, but it suffers from its more limited PCIe controller, with only two PCIe 3.0 and eight PCIe 2.0 lanes. Threadripper's plethora of 64 PCIe lanes helps to offset this, as the CPU itself far surpasses Skylake-X's and Kabylake-X's maximum of 44 PCIe lanes.
Intel X299 Motherboards
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Selecting an X299 motherboard will likely take more thought than you'd put into a lower-end board. Because of their rich featureset, these boards are often more expensive. Plus, you'll likely have a specific need for all that horsepower. Perhaps you are interested in the system purely for gaming or compute purposes, in which case you'll want to pay close attention to the spacing of the PCIe x16 slots to ensure you can fit two, three, or even four GPUs in. Alternatively, if you need lots of fast storage, you'll want a board with plenty of M.2 Key M slots and SATA III ports. Most X299 motherboards will have ample amounts of both, but the point remains: you want to shop for your specific need above all others.
In general, there are only two factors that everyone should pay attention to on X299 motherboards. The first is that the PCIe layout matches the specific processor you've chosen, since Kaby Lake-X processors only have 16 integrated pathways while Skylake-X has either 28 or 44 (depending on the model). Some motherboards achieve greater drive bandwidth by using CPU rather than chipset lanes for M.2 slots, and combining the wrong processor with the wrong motherboard layout can result in some of your required interfaces being disabled. Another major feature of the X299 platform is its support for quad-channel memory, which allows Skylake-X processors to support a total of eight possible DIMMs. Meanwhile, Kaby Lake-X only supports four, so motherboards that have four slots leave Kaby Lake-X owners with only two functioning. Even if you won't use all slots now, an eight-slot motherboard opens the door for potential upgrades down the road.
The other key area you want to focus on is the power delivery system. This gets a bit tricky with high-end motherboards of this caliber, as the additional four DIMM slots typically invade the area traditionally reserved for power regulation hardware. Nonetheless, the last thing you want is your new PC to throttle due to an insufficient number of phases or inadequate cooling. Ensure the motherboard you pick has plenty of both.
EATX Intel X299 Motherboards
If you’re in the market for a 3-way CrossFire or SLI rig and also want three M.2 drives served at x4 mode by the CPU, competitors leave you little choice but to buy MSI’s X299 XPower Gaming AC.
MSI X299 XPower Gaming AC
ATX Intel X299 Motherboards
Buyers who hate well-lit boards and love 10GbE will find exceptional value in the Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9 motherboard. Buyers who hate well-lit boards and don’t care about 10GbE can save $100 with ASRock’s X299 Taichi, which is based on the same PCB.
ASRock Fatal1ty X299 Professional Gaming i9
The X299 Taichi’s CPU-fed M.2 slot is likely the biggest competitive advantage of the three LGA 2066 motherboards tested thus far. Though the way its extra M.2 slot is connected precludes SLI when used with Kaby Lake-X, the X299 Taichi is cheap enough to offset the cost of a Skylake-X CPU upgrade.
ASRock X299 Taichi
Had the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 included a Thunderbolt 3 controller, it would have easily won a higher award. Were we more concerned with energy efficiency, the X299 Aorus Gaming 7 wouldn’t have won any award. The X299 Aorus Gaming 7’s upscale components are probably worth the extra money for many buyers.
Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 7
Gigabyte’s X299 Aorus Gaming 3 is a solid performer and a good value for $280 or less. It does sacrifice a few features, like extra networking controllers, to reach this price point, however.
Gigabyte X299 Aorus Gaming 3
If bragging rights are the point of overclocking, the X299 OC Formula may be your perfect companion. If program performance is the point of overclocking, the X299 OC Formula is easily matched. On balance, a lower price may have earned this model an award.
ASRock X299 OC Formula
If we could only choose between the Prime X299-Deluxe and today’s alternative competitor, we’d pick Asus.
ASUS Prime X299-Deluxe
The MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC is, like our comparison board, slightly too new and . . . evolving. We'll continue to examine its performance as we visit other X299 products. However, we can say that the X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC comes in at a more affordable price (so far) for this category, even if it's lacking some of the higher end features.
MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
