ASRock X99E-ITX/ac Mini-ITX Motherboard Review

The push for small yet powerful computers has been evident over the past few years. Many enthusiasts are no longer happy with an ATX motherboard and full tower chassis to house their single graphics card and pair of storage drives. Instead, budding aficionados are challenging themselves to create smaller and smaller systems without compromising on performance. Other than the personal novelty of housing a powerful system in a chassis not much bigger than a desktop printer, functional benefits of the mini-ITX eco-system include greater portability and reduced space requirements. Aiming to offer an entirely new level of performance which has previously been out of reach for the small form factor (SFF) scene, ASRock offers up the most powerful mini-ITX motherboard ever to reach consumer marketplaces. Can ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac motherboard prove that you don't need to go big to go X99? Every iteration of Intel's High-End Desktop (HEDT) platform sees enthusiasts question the possibility of a mini-ITX motherboard sporting the chipset. And each time the questions are posed on various forums, the common conclusion is that the gargantuan HEDT CPU socket seems simply too big to fit on a 17x17cm footprint and optimise it for consumer use. Clearly, cramming the HEDT platform and its armada of features into a 289cm2 PCB area was a challenge that ASRock's engineers licked their lips at. The X99E-ITX/ac cuts the number of DIMM slots to a pair and uses the LGA 2011-3 CPU socket with narrow ILM mounting holes. But that's pretty much where compromise ends. A host of SATA 6Gbps connections, USB 3.1 ports, dual NICs, 802.11ac WiFi, 32Gbps M.2, and a full-speed PCIe expansion slots render the word 'compromise' irrelevant. Oh, and don't worry about overclocking capacity; ASRock removes the frequency-pushing shackles by means of a comprehensive UEFI and healthy power delivery system. Is ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac the go-to motherboard for a no-comprise SFF powerhouse? Or when it comes to Intel's HEDT platform, does size really matter? Features: ASRock Super Alloy Supports Intel® Core™ i7 and Xeon® 18-Core Processors Family for the LGA 2011-3 Socket X Series OC Socket, Digi Power, 6 Power Phase design Supports Dual Channel DDR4 3200+(OC) 1 PCIe 3.0 x16, 1 Vertical mini-PCIe for WiFi + BT Module 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec), Supports DTS Connect Intel® Dual Gigabit LAN with Teaming Function 6 SATA3, 1 eSATA, 1 SATA Express, 1 Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3) WLAN: 2T2R Dual Band 802.11ac WiFi + BT v4.0 Module, ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antenna 2 USB 3.1 Type-A 10Gb/s, 6 USB 3.0 (2 Front, 4 Rear), 4 USB 2.0 (2 Front, 2 Rear) Free Bundle : CPU Cooler, Water Cooling Mounting Plate, ASRock U3 to U2 Converter Supports ASRock Full Spike Protection, APP Shop, A-Tuning, Full HD UEFI ASRock ships the X99E-ITX/ac motherboard in the company's usual style of packaging. Specifications and features are outlined on both sides of the box. The accessories bundle consists of: Two SATA cables Rear IO shield USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 header adapter Screw for the M.2 slot Wireless equipment - the mini-PCIe WiFi card, two aerial cords, mounting hardware, sticky tape for securing the antenna box, and the box housing two antennas. A bracket for AIO water cooling compatibility. Two SATA cables seem meagre for a board of this price range - throwing in an extra pair would not have gone unnoticed. ASRock should have also included some form of front panel header block (like Asus' Q-connector and MSI's M-connector) in order to make attaching the small cables a simpler procedure. The dual-band, 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi + BT 4.0, half-height mini-PCIe card is manufactured by AzureWave and uses a Broadcom BCM94352HMB chipset. It is rated for 2T2R operation with a maximum link speed of 867Mbps. The card alone seems to retail for around £30, making it a healthy addition to the board's bundle. The AIO mounting bracket is used to convert a standard liquid cooling pump/waterblock unit into one which can be mounted on the motherboard's narrow ILM socket. ASRock explicitly states compatibility for the Cooler Master Seidon 120V/120V Plus CPU coolers with the AIO mounting bracket, however other units may work - we used a Corsair H100i, but more on that later. Given the relative scarcity of narrow ILM-compatible CPU coolers on the consumer market, ASRock has included a small heatsink and fan unit. The 400g Dynatron R24 cooler is rated for up to 160W of heat dissipation by using a 7,000rpm (yes, you read correctly) fan. While this is a positive gesture to ensure out-of-the-box compatibility, I would prefer to see the few dollars this unit costs invested into additional brackets for more widespread AIO liquid cooler support. Most people opting for the X99 platform are going to understand its cooling requirements. Even those choosing a Xeon chip that doesn't overclock may value quieter operation or simply better cooling performance offered by a different CPU cooler. The heatsink has four heatpipes and a direct touch base. Clearly ASRock is happy enough with the cooler's performance to include it with a motherboard designed for up to 160W TDP Xeon chips, however given its dimensions similar to a 4.7" smartphone, I would not feel comfortable increasing voltages with this unit. You may be able to squeeze a small speed boost out of your Haswell-E CPU with the cooler, but if you plan on overclocking (or quiet operation, for that matter), it would be wise to invest in a new CPU cooler. If you don't fancy going down the AIO liquid cooler route, Noctua has a range of narrow ILM-capable CPU coolers, including the ~£50 NH-U12DX14. The standard affair of documentation, drivers CD, and case sticker is included. Central to the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac mini-ITX motherboard is its gargantuan Intel LGA 2011-3 CPU socket. Despite ASRock's uses of narrow ILM mounting holes, the CPU socket still spans a large proportion of the motherboard's total surface area. Just like its bigger brothers, ASRock outfits its mITX offering with a light blue and black colour scheme. Both heatsinks and the DIMM slots offer a light blue contrast to the dark PCB and remaining ports. A six-phase power delivery system feeds the LGA 2011-3 CPU socket. ASRock offers support for both consumer - Core i7 - and professional - Xeon E5 v3 - processors that use the LGA 2011-3 socket. That gives users the opportunity to install a Xeon processor with up to 18 cores for a powerful portable workstation, or the venerable eight-core 5960X for market-leading consumer performance. Given the compatibility with Xeon and Core i7 chips, it is no surprise that the motherboard also supports non-ECC (consumer) and ECC (professional) memory. Up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM can be installed in the board and frequency support is provided for over 3200MHz data rates, with the aid of overclocking (using non-ECC, consumer memory). It is worth pointing out that ASRock does not implement any hardware or software limitations on overclocking. Provided your CPU supports overclocking (i.e. not a Xeon), the X99E-ITX/ac provides access to all of the trademark overclocking options that you would expect to see on a full-sized ATX motherboard. The X99E-ITX/ac is ASRock's first motherboard to use the company's 'X Series OC Socket' implementation. This is effectively ASRock's way of catching up with Asus' OC Socket design that uses additional pins (in the region of 2083) to provide greater overclocking capacity, rather than the standard 2011. Asus' OC Socket motherboards have shown that the additional pins are particularly useful for opening up higher CPU cache frequencies. On the power delivery side of the board, an Intersil ISL6379 controller manages the six-phase VRM. Six Fairchild FDMF5821DC 60A driver MOSFETs (marked DE28AD 5821DC) are used for power switching. The units are more of an integrated solution than a simple MOSFET - that is, they integrate the high- and low-side MOSFETs, the driver IC and Schottky diode, and a thermal monitor onto the single package. This solution, which shows similarities to International Rectifiers' IR355x packages, helps ASRock save valuable PCB space. Six 60A chokes and a mixture of flat-caps and Nichicon 12K Platinum-rated capacitors complete the main components of the CPU power delivery system. It wouldn't be too much of a sweeping statement to say that the design is essentially that used on ASRock's 12-phase boards chopped in half. Using ASRock's same calculations, the system may be good for up to 650W, although 400-450W (6 x 60A x 1.3V - losses) seems a far more reasonable estimation, assuming one can cool such a thermal load. ASRock positions the 24-pin power connector along the motherboard's upper edge. While this may seem like an illogical move, truly compact mini-ITX cases do not follow the same motherboard-upright convention that typical ATX alternatives do. That said, it did take a lot of effort and a 24-pin extension cable to manage neat routing in the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX chassis. There is very little room between the pair of single-latch DDR4 DIMM slots and the CPU socket. I would recommend installing memory before mounting an overhanging CPU cooler. And on the topic of DIMM slots, the X99E-ITX/ac motherboard's pair is a noticeable step down from X99's typical four or eight. Using full-sized DIMMs, ASRock was simply unable to fit four locations on the mITX PCB. As our test results will show, however, stepping down to dual-channel memory may not offer as much of a performance hit as one may have assumed. Until we see widespread availability of SO-DIMM DDR4 modules on the consumer market, two DIMM slots is about as good as it gets for mITX X99 motherboards. Along the motherboard's right-side are the 8-pin CPU power connector, all three 4-pin fan headers, the USB 2.0 and front panel headers, and four SATA 6Gbps ports. The right-angled orientation of the SATA ports may cause problems for some users with miniature cases; however they do make cable management more aesthetically pleasing in a vertical mITX chassis. ASRock uses a small heatsink to cool the MOSFETs and another low-profile block of metal to remove heat from the chipset. Both heatsinks are separated, however I would have liked to see them connected via a heatpipe in order to give the MOSFET cooler a great effective surface area in the low airflow, mITX environment. This could have then led to a low profile fan being installed on the chipset heatsink to further enhance heat transfer away from the loaded MOSFETs. While some readers may gasp at the sight of somebody contemplating the addition of a small chipset fan, that typically brings an annoying whine with it, the LGA 2011-3 CPUs genuinely stress a motherboard's VRM and force considerable amounts of heat through the electronic components. Some form of actively-cooled protection for overclocked or consistently-loaded chips would have been welcomed, even if users choose to tweak the fan profile for low noise operation. The solitary PCIe expansion slot is fed by sixteen Gen 3 lanes from the LGA 2011-3 CPU. Given the HEDT platform's lack of integrated graphics, the vast majority of users will be installing a graphics card in this slot, unless the motherboard is used for a remotely-accessed machine. Directly above the PCIe x16 slot is the motherboard's SATA-Express connector. Its positioning will force a user to destroy their cable management efforts if they use the 10Gbps, chipset-fed connector or the pair of SATA 6Gbps ports. However, in many SFF builds, where multiple drives are required in a tight space, cable management proficiency may not be of great concern. Above the SATA-Express connector is the motherboard's chipset-fed USB 3.0 header. Its positioning makes cable management a challenge for users who are trying to build an eye-candy mini-ITX system. This port can be converted to provide a second USB 2.0 header by using ASRock's bundled adapter. Next to the USB 3.0 header is the single socketed BIOS chip. ASRock's Ultra M.2 connector can provide up to 32Gbps of bandwidth by way of four PCIe 3.0 lanes from the CPU. Alternatively, a SATA-fed M.2 drive can be installed in the slot. ASRock provides mounting positions for 42-, 60-, and 80-mm long M.2 devices. I would have liked to see another M.2 slot on this motherboard. I know that sounds like harsh feedback for a mITX offering that crams so much hardware in so little space, but ASRock has plenty of CPU PCIe lanes and chipset SATA connections spare. The additional connector may have been able to mount its drive over the existing slot, on the motherboard's rear, or even vertically. This would provide extra flexibility for high-speed or cable-free storage. Audio hardware consists of Realtek's popular ALC 1150 codec in an unshielded mount, a Texas Instruments NE5532 operational amplifier, and four dedicated Nichicon Fine Gold audio capacitors. The system is similar to ASRock's and competing vendors' offerings on other X99 motherboards, however it does cut the capacitor count. Minimising path length, the front panel audio connector is directly beneath Nichicon's capacitors. All three 4-pin fan headers reside along the X99E-ITX/ac motherboard's right edge. One header is allocated CPU fan duties while the others are controlled as chassis fans. Thanks to the rear-mounted Nuvoton NCT6791D chipset, all headers are given precise control and monitoring capability through ASRock's UEFI and OS utility. Screw heads on the motherboard's rear side show that the chipset and VRM heatsinks are easy to remove. Perhaps a watercooling manufacturer will lock on to this point and provide a full-cover waterblock for the motherboard, CPU, and VRM. We have seen Bitspower offer such a contraption for Asus' mITX Maximus motherboards. The healthy set of rear IO ports consists of: 2x USB 2.0 1x PS/2 1x Clear CMOS button 1x eSATA 6Gbps connector (from the X99 chipset) 2x Intel GbE NICs (I218-V and I211-AT) 4x USB 3.0 (from the X99 chipset) 2x USB 3.1 Type-A (from an ASMedia ASM1142 PCIe 2.0 x2 chipset) 1x Optical SPDIF output Audio jacks Star of the rear IO show is the pair of USB 3.1 Type-A ports which are differentiated by their aqua blue colouring. These are provided via ASMedia's ASM1142 controller and support up to 10Gbps transfer rates. They will not support the enhanced power delivery capabilities that the USB 3.1 Type-C implementation can theoretically provide. The pair of Intel NICs support teaming which could make them potentially useful to users wanting to build a network-based workstation. ASRock leaves a gap above the eSATA connector so that the WiFi aerial ports can be screwed into the rear IO shield. Installing the vertically-mounted WiFi card is a simple procedure. ASRock supplies a mounting bracket that can be screwed to the card and then fastened to the motherboard. We pointed out earlier in the review that Corsair's H100i CPU cooler (and units which share a similar waterblock design) function with the narrow ILM bracket that ASRock provides. Installation is not completely straightforward, though. Tubing connecting to the pump blocked access to the lower right hold-down screw, so we had to make-do without it. There was also noticeable movement from the waterblock, which resulted in loss of contact with the CPU heatspreader. As such, I decided to improvise some spacers in order to force the waterblock into contact with the CPU. Whilst I would not recommend using folded pieces of paper as cooling spacers for 24/7 usage, the improvisation did not cause any issues throughout our testing. CPU temperatures remaining below 80°C even under a 1.3V, 4.4GHz overclocked load on our 5960X chip. The VRM components get particularity hot when an AIO liquid cooler is being used due to the distinct lack of airflow over their miniature heatsink. I recorded temperatures as high as 68°C for the rear-PCB section beneath the chokes and MOSFET locations. We pointed an Antec Spot Cool fan at the MOSFET heatsink to provide extra airflow, and would highly recommend that considerations are made for cooling the VRM when an AIO cooler is used. There's a unique sense of satisfaction to be had when such a great deal of computing power is crammed into a 289cm2 PCB area. Some of the fastest consumer hardware on the market, such as Samsung's SM951 M.2 SSD and Intel's Core i7 5960X, can be installed on the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac motherboard with ease. We took the opportunity to build a powerful mini-ITX system based around ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac motherboard. While Phanteks' Enthoo Evolv is not the smallest of mITX cases, it does allow for installation and comfortable cooling of market-leading hardware, such as AMD's R9 295x2 and the Core i7 5960X. The small Dynatron R24 looks completely out of place next to any sort of sizeable gaming graphics card. Users serious about building a powerful gaming, content creation, or multi-purpose mITX system with the X99E-ITX/ac would be wise to look into acquiring a higher-performance, quieter CPU cooling solution. Firstly, we are pleased to report that our NZXT Avatar S mouse worked to its usual standard in the ASRock X99 UEFI. We’ve found our NZXT Avatar S to be the most troubling mouse with UEFI support so when it functions correctly in the interface, that is usually a good sign for overall mouse support. ASRock's X99 UEFI is consistent across its motherboard line-up. There are subtle differences between the versions, the most notable of which is a different background colour depending on the motherboard's series. The interface uses a 1920x1080 display resolution. We recycle some of the screenshots from our previous ASRock reviews where the UEFI page is identical. The Main page displays information about the system components. There is a My Favorite section that gives users quick access to their most desirable settings. The OC Tweaker page controls access to the board's numerous overclocking-related sub-sections. I like the way that ASRock has split its main overclocking sections into separate folders. This keeps the interface clean and makes the desirable settings easy to find. It also proves that ASRock is listening to feedback and taking steps to improve its UEFI user experience. Pre-tuned overclocking profiles take the form of a 3.8GHz CPU-only boost in addition to a 4GHz CPU and XMP setting. Despite being included and selectable, the overclocking pre-sets failed to function with our test system. Up to five customised user profiles can be saved to the board's internal memory. I feel the five profiles are sufficient for a motherboard that is not intended for competitive overclocking. A USB flash drive can be used to transfer profiles to and from the board. The standard set of parameter and ratio settings are provided under the CPU Configuration section. ASRock also adds a CPU TJ Max input which is a unique setting allowing users to change their processor's thermal throttling temperature. Approach this setting with caution and appreciation for the involved risks. There is a strong range of memory overclocking settings provided in their specific sub-section. Users can adjust their DRAM frequency and voltage in addition to viewing their kit's rated, and applied, timings. Given this motherboard's intentions, it comes as no surprise that pre-set memory overclocking profiles are omitted. Settings relating to the Haswell-E processor's Fully Integrated Voltage Regulator (FIVR) are given their own section. Here users can apply the primary voltage settings that will deliver their quick-and-easy overclocked settings. Moving over to the Voltage Configuration section is where users can fine-tune the parameters to squeeze even more frequency out of their components (or optimise the voltage and heat output for a SFF system). ASRock typically allows users to opt for automatic, manual, or adaptive voltage configurations. The Chipset Configuration section can be used to control the board's trio of networking options. Storage interfaces and their installed drives can also be controlled. ASRock includes a number of convenient tools in its UEFI. Users can rapidly apply a number of system configurations and drivers can also be downloaded via the interface. Instant Flash, ASRock's simple BIOS updating tool, scans through one's USB flash drive to search for the relevant BIOS file. While this sounds good, with the tool's ability to scan all the way through your flash drive until it finds the relevant BIOS profile, users with a large amount of data on their drive could find the search time to be in the order of minutes. There's nothing wrong with a manual folder search. System Browser is a convenient tool that displays which components are connected to the motherboard. The tool is particularly useful for troubleshooting purposes; if, for example, a memory stick is faulty, it will not show up in the System Browser window. ASRock includes a set of voltage, temperature, and fan speed readings on its HWMonitor page. This is where the Nuvoton SuperIO chipset proves valuable. There are two ways of setting fan speeds in ASRock’s UEFI. Users can either select from pre-defined profiles, or they can fine-tune their own custom fan speeds. There’s the old way of doing this – by selecting the relevant choices from multiple drop-down lists. Or there’s ASRock’s modern FAN-Tastic Tuning visual tool. I was very impressed by the capabilities of the FAN-Tastic Tuning tool (the cheesy name, on the other hand…). The five-point curve can be adjusted to an individual’s preference with a large range of freedom; a CPU temperature as low as 30°C can be set, while the fan can run at 0% or 20-100% in 1% increments. And what is particularly impressive is the board’s ability to completely shut-off a controlled fan below a user-defined temperature threshold. The level of control that FAN-Tastic Tuning provides is excellent, especially when a fan can be set to stop spinning in order to provide a particularly quiet system. UEFI Summary In the latest motherboard platform launches, ASRock has worked hard to improve its UEFI. The company has moved to a Full HD - 1920x1080 - resolution, the layout has been re-ordered, the styling has changed, and new-and-improved tools have been designed. ASRock now has a UEFI that I would deem to be right on the heels of Asus' solution, making it the second best interface on the market (in my opinion). And there are some clear areas where ASRock's interface trumps that of Asus' (System Browser, for example). What is equally positive is that ASRock has clearly listened to user feedback that said the UEFI layout needed improvement. The interface is well laid-out, easy to use, and full of relevant user-customisable parameters. I struggle to see any clear-cut negatives for the interface. ASRock A-Tuning ASRock's A-Tuning software for the X99E-ITX/ac is practically equivalent to the A-Tuning software found on other motherboards. There are three system modes designed for different operating scenarios. We opted for the Performance mode. ASRock includes a number of tools in its A-Tuning software suite. Overclocking settings and parameters can be tweaked via the software, in an OS environment. Readings relating to system parameters such as voltages, frequencies, and fan speeds are outlined in the System Info page. The health and other general statistics relating to a storage drive can be read via one of ASRock's tools. ASRock also puts its convenient Board Explorer tool in the A-Tuning software package. XFast RAM can be used to create RAM drive, while XFast LAN gives users the opportunity to control their network bandwidth allocation (much like Killer's Network Manager software). ASRock App Shop App Shop can be used to download new software, including some pieces from external companies, such as Google. I was surprised to see NBA 2K13 available for free, which is a kind gesture. ASRock also includes 1-year subscription to Orbweb.ME (worth $50) which will be welcomed by users who opt for cloud storage. We will be outlining the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac motherboard's performance with the Core i7 5960X CPU at its stock frequency (3.5GHz due to forced turbo). Overclocked performance will be outlined later in the review. Despite the mITX build photographs, our usual X99 motherboard test system is used to keep comparisons as fair as possible. The only variation from the test configuration used for competing motherboards is the forced application of dual-channel memory, rather than quad-channel. We opted for two 8GB 2400MHz DDR4 sticks from G.Skill's Ripjaws4 memory kit that we used here. Multi-core turbo (MCT) is not applied automatically when XMP is enabled on ASRock’s motherboard. This is good for users who want Intel-standard Turbo Boost profiles and bad for those who want the maximum speed without overclocking. We had to manually enable MCT, forcing our 5960X to a constant 3.5GHz operating frequency, in order to keep comparisons with other motherboards as fair as possible. ASRock's MCT settings are well-tuned for rapidly adjusting processor and cache frequencies and voltages in order to reduce power consumption. This has the added benefit of throwing less heat into the SFF system when only moderate levels of load are applied. I continue to be impressed by ASRock's use of a ~1.07V CPU VCore with MCT enabled. This is one of the lowest MCT-enabled VCore levels used by any of the board vendors. X99 Motherboard Test System: Processor: Intel Core i7 5960X ES (3.5GHz forced turbo). Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) G.Skill Ripjaws4 2400MHz CL15 DDR4 @ 1.20V. Graphics Card: Asus R9 280X Matrix Platinum 3GB. System Drive: 500GB Samsung 840. CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i (with ASRock narrow ILM conversion bracket and modified spacers). Case: NZXT Phantom 630. Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum 1000W. Operating System: Windows 7 Professional with SP1 64-bit. Compared X99 Motherboards: ASRock X99 OC Formula (BIOS v1.16) - with 16GB (4x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 2800MHz @ 2666MHz 16-18-18-44 DDR4 1.25V ASRock X99 Extreme11 (BIOS v1.00) - with 16GB (4x4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws4 2666MHz 15-15-15-35 DDR4 1.25V. ASRock Fatal1ty X99 Professional (BIOS v1.50) - with 16GB (4x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 2800MHz @ 2666MHz 16-18-18-44 DDR4 1.25V Asus TUF Sabertooth X99 (BIOS v0216) - with 16GB (4x 4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws4 2666MHz CL15 DDR4 @ 1.20V. Asus X99 Deluxe (BIOS 0801) – with 16GB (4x4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws4 3000MHz 15-15-15-35 DDR4 1.35V. MSI X99S Gaming 7 (BIOS V17.3B1) – with 3.56GHz CPU and 16GB (4x 4GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 2800MHz CL16 DDR4 @ 2800MHz 1.20V. Software: ASRock X99E-ITX/ac BIOS v1.20 (latest). Catalyst 14.9 VGA drivers. Tests: 3DMark 1.3.708 - Fire Strike (System) SiSoft Sandra 2014 SP2 - Processor arithmetic, memory bandwidth (System) Cinebench R15 - All-core CPU benchmark (CPU) WinRAR 5.10 - Built-in benchmark (CPU) HandBrake 0.9.9 - Convert 4.36GB 720P MKV to MP4 (CPU) ATTO - SATA 6Gbps, USB 3.0, M.2 transfer rates (Motherboard) RightMark Audio Analyzer - General audio performance test (Motherboard) Totusoft LAN Speed Test - WiFi speed test, 100MB file transfer to wired 'server' computer (Motherboard) Bioshock Infinite - 1920 x 1080, ultra quality (Gaming) Metro: Last Light - 1920 x 1080, high quality (Gaming) Tomb Raider - 1920 x 1080, ultimate quality (Gaming) 3DMark We used 3DMark‘s ‘Fire Strike’ benchmark which is designed to be used on gaming PCs. We opted for the Normal setting, NOT the Extreme mode. Sandra Processor Arithmetic Sandra Memory Bandwidth 3DMark starts the set of benchmarks by giving ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac a small points penalty for using 2400MHz dual-channel memory, rather than the 2666MHz quad-channel kit used by comparison motherboards. The last-place finish is only a narrow one, though. The use of dual-channel memory results in a little over 50% of the memory bandwidth that the quad-channel kits offer. Almost 29GBps of memory bandwidth is similar to the levels seen on the Z97 platform with a similarly-clocked set of memory. The reduced memory bandwidth numbers may not translate into a real-world performance hit, though. Sandra's test proves that the X99E-ITX/ac motherboard's CPU performance is as good as we would expect from any other LGA 2011-3 motherboard. Cinebench We used the ‘CPU’ test built into Cinebench R15. WinRAR WinRAR’s built in benchmark and hardware test can help us outline the performance differentials between each motherboard. We record the amount of data processed after a 30-second run. Handbrake Conversion We measured the average frame rate achieved for a task of converting a 4.36GB 720P H.264 movie (in the MKV container) to one in the MP4 container. All three of the processor-related benchmarks are also sensitive to memory bandwidth and frequency. The use of dual-channel memory positions ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac motherboard in bottom place for the trio of tests, however the margin by which it consistently loses is very slim (consistently less than 1%). Just stepping up to the 2666MHz memory frequency used by the comparison boards would probably regain a 1% performance margin. Stepping back and putting the performance levels into perspective, it is easy to be pleased with the numbers shown by ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac-based system. Rendering, archival, and media conversion performance is a smidgen slower than ATX-powered X99 systems, but the ASRock board is able to be housed inside a tiny chassis that can be transported with relative ease. You simply cannot get anywhere near this level of performance from any other equally portable system that uses consumer hardware. Bioshock Infinite We used the Bioshock Infinite demanding ‘Ultra’ setting and a 1920x1080 resolution to push today’s gaming hardware. Our data was recorded using a section of the game, not the built-in benchmark. Metro: Last Light We used a 1920x1080 resolution and the Metro: Last Light built-in benchmark set to ‘High’ quality to offer an intense challenge for the gaming hardware while also making playable frame rates a possibility. Tomb Raider We used a 1920x1080 resolution and the Tomb Raider built-in benchmark set to ‘Ultimate’ quality. If gaming is one of your requirements from ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac motherboard, you have no need to worry about its performance. The mITX motherboard holds its own in our Metro: Last Light and Bioshock Infinite tests. We have observed Tomb Raider's liking for memory performance in the past, and that is observed again with the small performance hit handed to ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac motherboard and its dual-channel memory. M.2 connector We use Plextor's fast M6e 256GB M.2 SSD to test the speed of a motherboard's M.2 connector. We reviewed the 512GB Plextor M6e (and its PCIe x2 adapter card) HERE. Unfortunately we do not have access to a PCIe 3.0-based SSD to fully test the M.2 connector's performance limits. The 32Gbps-capable Ultra M.2 connector has no problem providing ample bandwidth for our PCIe 2.0 x2 Plextor M6e SSD. SATA For SATA 6Gb/s testing we use a Kingston HyperX 3K (SandForce SF-2281) SSD. SATA 6Gbps performance is as one would expect from ports fed by the X99 chipset. USB 3.0 We tested USB 3.0 performance using the Kingston HyperX 3K SSD connected to a SATA 6Gb/s to USB 3.0 adapter powered by an ASMedia ASM1053 controller. ASRock's USB 3.0 performance from the X99 chipset's ports is what we would expect. Without a UASP-activating tool for Windows 7 (such as USB 3.0 Boost that Asus uses), the transfer rates stay below the 350MBps mark. Windows 8.1 users should be able to enjoy transfer rates of around 400+MBps thanks to the operating system's built-in UASP driver. We will be taking a closer look at the performance of ASRock's ASM1142-fed USB 3.1 ports in an upcoming article. Audio We use RightMark Audio Analyzer (RMAA) to analyse the performance of the motherboard’s on-board audio solution. A sampling mode of 24-bit, 192 kHz was tested. Audio hardware consists of Realtek's popular ALC 1150 codec in an unshielded mount, a Texas Instruments NE5532 operational amplifier, and four dedicated Nichicon Fine Gold audio capacitors. RMAA rates the general performance of the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac motherboard's audio system as "Excellent". Particular strengths are the frequency response performance and noise level. ASRock's decision to use an unshielded implementation of the Realtek ALC 1150 audio codec seems to have paid off. Strong performance from the on-board solution is critical, given the mini-ITX motherboard's limited expansion options, and ASRock has delivered just that. Wireless We use Totusoft’s LAN Speed Test software to measure the real-world throughput offered by the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac motherboard's WiFi solution. The test motherboard was located in close proximity to our Linksys EA6900 AC1900 802.11ac wireless router. We tested using the 5GHz frequency band and kept other network resources at a low usage level to ensure the transfer rates were not capped. A consistent wireless connectivity speed in the region of 400Mbps over WiFi is solid performance. These levels translate into transfer rates of almost 50MBps, which is a decent speed if the network is able to sustain it. A better wireless router or more preferential positioning of network equipment may be able to unlock enhanced transfer rates that the 867MBps-rated adapter should be capable of. Automatic CPU Overclocking: Despite ASRock featuring two built-in overclocking profiles (a 3.8GHz CPU-only boost in addition to a 4GHz CPU and XMP setting) we could not get either of them to work. We gave multiple attempts and made minor tweaks to the system, but neither would allow the system to POST. While it is disappointing to see some of the board's functionality not performing, the enthusiast nature of a HEDT platform user lets ASRock off the hook. The vast majority of users purchasing an X99 motherboard are going to know how to overclock their system to 4GHz with relative ease. Manual CPU Overclocking: ASRock gives users all of the overclocking flexibility with the X99E-ITX/ac that one would expect from any other one of the vendor's X99 boards. Our typical overclocking procedure was, however, slightly different to usual, presumably due to the way in which the X Series OC Socket handles CPU cache frequency and voltage. We initially opted for our standard voltage settings, which include a boost to the CPU cache voltage and locking it at a 30x multiplier. ASRock's board did not like these settings and refused to POST. So instead we opted for an even more basic overclocking procedure which saw us adjusting only the CPU VCore and Input voltages and the CPU multiplier. We increased the CPU VCore to 1.30V, and the CPU Input Voltage to 2.00V. Load-line calibration was set at level 1 to ensure consistent voltage, and the memory was manually set to 2400MHz. Using the basic voltage adjustments, we had no problem taking our 5960X processor to its 4.4GHz limit with the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac motherboard. This is the same level that all other X99 motherboards that we have tested have peaked at. We pushed for a greater CPU clock speed however the system would not hold stability above 4.4GHz. This is to be expected as 4.4GHz seems to be our chip's clear operating peak with 1.3V being fed through it. ASRock's motherboard fed our CPU with 1.3V under load, implying that the PWM controller's precision is good. The system was perfectly stable and CPU core temperatures stayed below 80°C with our H100i AIO liquid cooler running at full fan speed. A recording of the rear-side PCB area beneath the VRM components showed a maximum temperature of 68°C. The recording was taken after a short period of heavy loading and with our Antec Spot Cool fan aimed at the MOSFET heatsink. PCB temperatures in the high-60s prove that VRM cooling should be given serious consideration. As for the benefits of ASRock's X Series OC Socket and its extra pins, we gave a few quick attempts to boost CPU Cache frequency past its 3GHz stock rating but did not get any luck. We will be taking a more in-depth look at ASRock's X Series OC Socket implementation in an upcoming article. The 4.4GHz validation can be viewed here. Memory Frequency Performance: Support for high-speed memory kits has been a particularly troubling topic since the X99 launch. We test the motherboard's ability to load the 3000MHz XMP configuration on our G.Skill Ripjaws4 DDR4 memory. G.Skill's 3GHz Ripjaws4 DIMMs worked without hassle using the X99E-ITX/ac motherboard's XMP setting. The base clock was switched to 125MHz and CPU frequency was locked at 3.5GHz; however the CPU cache ran between 2750MHz and 2875MHz rather than the stock level of 3000MHz. The validation can be viewed here. We will outline the performance increases that can be obtained from using the ASRock X99E-ITX/ac motherboard to overclock our system. Our overclocked processor frequency was 4.4GHz and memory speed was set at the kit's 2400MHz rating. As a performance comparison, we have included the overclocked results from six other X99 motherboards. The maximum overclocked configuration achieved with comparison boards was a 4.4GHz processor frequency with 2666MHz memory. ASRock's mini-ITX offering shows no performance negativities when overclocked. The tiny X99 motherboard is able to keep pace with physically larger competitors even when the CPU frequency is cranked up. We measured the power consumption with the system resting at the Windows 7 desktop, representing idle values. The power consumption of our entire test system (at the wall) is measured while loading only the CPU using Prime95′s in-place large FFTs setting. The rest of the system’s components were operating in their idle states, hence the increased power consumption values (in comparison to the idle figures) are largely related to the load on the CPU and motherboard power delivery components. Stock-clocked power consumption is a positive for the X99E-ITX/ac. Intersil's ISL6379 PWM controller does a good job of reducing voltages when the system is under low load. This translates into low idle power consumption. The stock-clocked load power consumption numbers are also as positive as ASRock's other offerings, give or take a few extra Watts for higher speed fans. Overclocked power consumption delivers a biased victory for the X99E-ITX/ac. System-wide idle power consumption numbers stay below 100W, which is impressive, however the load energy usage seems significantly lower than competing boards due to the different voltage settings applied. Other overclocked motherboards were manually fed with 1.25V on the CPU cache when overclocked, however ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac setting was not increased. The ASRock X99E-ITX/ac mini-ITX motherboard serves as proof that Intel's HEDT platform does not necessitate the use of physically larger hardware. ASRock has overcome a major engineering hurdle in tremendous style, by offering the first mITX board to be equipped with Intel's premier consumer CPU chipset, and in doing so has constrained performance losses to an absolute minimum. In general, performance numbers for ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac are in-line with what we would expect from any other X99 motherboard. The only cracks that start appearing are when workloads that scale with memory bandwidth frown upon the mITX board's dual-channel limitation. In our testing these workloads were few and far between, and did not represent major performance dividers. Perhaps the most impressive individual aspect of ASRock's mini-ITX recipe is the retention of stellar overclocking performance. You'd be forgiven for thinking that the mITX form factor constricts the motherboard's overclocking capacity when running such power-hungry CPUs, however the reality is that it doesn't. We were able to push our 5960X as far in the X99E-ITX/ac as we could in any other motherboard, while operating safe 24/7 voltages. ASRock equips the X99E-ITX/ac with a wide array of productivity and general usage features. Six SATA ports, a 32Gbps Ultra M.2 slot, two USB 3.1 connectors, plenty of USB 3.0, eSATA, enhanced audio, dual NICs with teaming, and 802.11ac WiFi are likely to satisfy even the most enthusiast of users. An additional Ultra M.2 connector would be welcomed, given the CPU's spare PCIe lane count, however finding space for it is an obvious challenge. ASRock's tried-and-tested 9-series UEFI performs adequately on the X99E-ITX/ac. The overall interface is easy to use and generally functional however, there are some glitches, such as the dysfunctional overclocking pre-set profiles. FAN-Tastic Tuning is an excellent inclusion with its graphical interface that is a clear upgrade from the mundane drop-down list alternative. As with all SFF hardware, cooling presents a major challenge for the X99E-ITX/ac. Fitting the hardware onto the 17x17cm PCB is a tough task in itself, but then adequate cooling has to be provided where it is required. ASRock includes a basic CPU cooler but I would assume that many buyers will purchase a better narrow ILM-capable offering. The included AIO liquid cooler narrow ILM-compatible mounting bracket is a fantastic addition to the bundle. ASRock would be wise to work with AIO cooler manufacturers for greater narrow ILM bracket compatibility. I would have liked to see a greater emphasis put on the MOSFET cooling system. While we did not suffer any overheating issues throughout testing, a larger MOSFET heatsink with fins would give me extra peace of mind for a VRM which can be providing over 200W to a CPU for extended periods of time. Some form of quiet, user-controllable fan may have been a worthy upgrade. This probably seems a little harsh given that we experienced no thermal problems, but SFF environments are inherently sparse of airflow, so design of the VRM cooling is critical to component longevity. Priced at around £240, ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac motherboard sits towards the middle of X99 motherboards' price range. Given the included CPU cooler, pricey WiFi card, and the development prowess that goes into such a board, I think that £240 is a fair asking price. In some respects, ASRock has done the unthinkable by offering up a consumer mini-ITX motherboard based around Intel's prized HEDT platform. The company has used a design that is nothing short of genius and cherry-picked the forced comprises smartly. If you desire the best SFF system you can build or simply want unparalleled performance in a small footprint, ASRock's X99E-ITX/ac should be sat comfortably at the top of your shopping list. Discuss on our Facebook page, over HERE. Pros: Support for the Haswell-E CPU range and up to 18-core Xeon processors on a mini-ITX motherboard. Strong overclocking performance - as good as full-sized LGA 2011-3 motherboards. Plenty of connectivity and high-speed networking options. PCIe 3.0 x4 (32Gbps) Ultra M.2 connector. Two USB 3.1 Type-A ports. Strong audio performance. Included narrow ILM bracket for (limited) AIO liquid cooler compatibility. Cons: More widespread support for AIO liquid coolers would be welcomed. Memory-intensive workloads may be hampered by dual-channel memory. KitGuru says: An engineering masterpiece that opens up an entirely new level of performance for SFF systems. Innovation at its finest - ASRock's superb X99E-ITX/ac is flying the flag for mini-ITX hardware.

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ASRock X99E-ITX/ac Mini-ITX Motherboard Review

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