ASRock X99E-ITX/ac Mini-ITX Motherboard Review

1. Introduction2. ASRock X99E-ITX/ac: Packaging and Bundle3. ASRock X99E-ITX/ac: Board Layout and Features4. ASRock X99E-ITX/ac: Component Installation and Build5. ASRock X99 UEFI6. ASRock X99 Software7. Testing Methodology8. Tests: System-related9. Tests: Processor-related10. Tests: Gaming-related11. Tests: Motherboard-related12. Overclocking: Frequencies13. Overclocking: General Performance14. Technical: Power Consumption15. Closing Thoughts16. View All Pages

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.

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