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The ASUS Prime X299-Deluxe is a feature-filled X299 motherboard that can add valuable assets to an eco-system built around a Skylake-X CPU.
Despite the justifiable complaints towards Intel's handling of the X299 platform, it remains a high-performance solution with numerous valuable features for prosumers. A large proportion of that value comes from motherboards such as ASUS' Prime X299-Deluxe which offers two dedicated M.2 PCIe slots, a strong power delivery solution, and Thunderbolt 3 in the bundle.
ASUS' unique way of managing M.2 SSD cooling issues is worthy of praise. The previously under-utilised chipset heatsink is put to good use by sapping heat away from a high-speed PCIe M.2 SSD. The vertical mount is also a decent option that gives flexibility with drive length.
Including an OLED screen is a bold move by ASUS but it is one that may appeal to some users. Having information such as the CPU temperature and voltage in a location that can be seen through a PC case's side panel window (CPU cooler dependant) is more than a novelty.
ASUS deserves criticism for equipping the X299-Deluxe with a poorly-designed MOSFET heatsink that is almost unfit for purpose (and may be even less desirable when higher core count Skylake-X models are released).
The PCIe slot layout is also wasteful when factoring in the movement towards 2.5-slot graphics cards from vendors which include ASUS. A pair of GTX 1080 Ti STRIX cards means that the Thunderbolt 3 AIC is left wasted when ASUS could have put the chipset on-board.
These oversights are, in some respects, made up for by ASUS' well-built UEFI and useful software suite. That's in addition to superb fan control and a solid onboard RGB LED lighting system. The supplementary 4-pin CPU power connector is another wise move that extends the realistic overclocked CPU support list for this motherboard, provided you can cool the MOSFETs.
The ASUS Prime X299-Deluxe is available at Overclockers UK for £409.99 (at the time of writing). ASRock's 10GbE-equipped X299 Gaming i9 is a particularly tough competitor at this price point but the ASUS Prime X299-Deluxe certainly has enough of its own positive points to validate its place in the premium X299 motherboard market.
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Pros:
- Strong power delivery components with a supplementary 4-pin power connector.
- Excellent fan control system with plenty of headers.
- Robust UEFI and OS software.
- LiveDash OLED display is a unique feature.
- Solid RGB LED lighting system.
- Strong WiFi solution.
- Thunderbolt 3 and U.2 support.
Cons:
- MOSFET heatsink is poorly designed for handling Skylake-X CPUs.
- PCIe slot layout is inefficient, especially with the bundled Thunderbolt 3 card.
- OLED display positioning is questionable (blocked by a large air cooler).
KitGuru says: A high-end X299 motherboard packed with features that will appeal to prosumers and all-round enthusiasts.
Awesome review…..but my heart leapt when I saw the Air 540, I still mourn the day I sold it, I can still see it leaving my street in the back of the guys car. Goodbye little ‘Sugercube’ I still miss you.
PCIE slot placement has always been a thing for ASUS or at least on every board I’ve ever owned, I remember not being able to SLI because a gpu fouled all of the headers on the bottom of the mobo a few years back. Did you try the 5 way optimisation ; ) I’m just curious knowing how generous it can be with voltages, you will get some customers who click it and just trust it knows what its doing.
“Positioned close to the 24-pin is one of the board’s two M.2 connectors. This PCIe 3.0 x4-only slot is mounted to allow for vertical orientation of an installed M.2 device. A support bracket and screws are included. Vertical mounting is good for putting the device in a direct airflow path, while also minimising the footprint taken up on the board PCB”. – Yup and is all the worst way to put one and will get snapped by any wandering hands of if some one mounts a DVD rom’s that are to log for the slot (yes ppl still use DVD roms).