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
Asus' X99-A shows positive performance in the system-related 3DMark and Sandra benchmarks. A 3DMark physics score of 14,490 puts the X99-A firmly at the top of our performance chart. The same chart-leading performance is carried through to Sandra's processor arithmetic test.
Memory bandwidth of the X99-A is marginally lower than the numbers displayed by MSI's similarly-priced X99S MPower.
Luke, fantastic review. I am interested in two things.
Firstly, is the M.2 slot physically blocked by a second graphics card. For example, 2x4GB EVGA GTX 980? This card extends the whole width of this motherboard and I suspect the second card would occupy the third PCIe slot (PCIEX16_3 on the schematic). Due to the thickness of the card, I am worried that the M.2 slot is obscured.
Secondly, what benefit would I or other readers experience in your opinion by upgrading to the x99 Deluxe motherboard given the following components:
> Intel Core i7 5960X Haswell-E 8 Core
> 2x 4GB EVGA GTX 980
> 8x8GB Corsair DDR4 Vengeance
> 250GB Samsung 840 EVO Basic SSD SATA III
Thanks for your thoughts.