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Packaging for the ROG STRIX X99 Gaming fully exploits the Republic of Gamers branding and colour scheme, something that has become synonymous with innovation and performance in the enthusiast market. The illustration of STRIX in a multi-coloured LED-style format alludes to the RGB feature of this motherboard.
On the rear of the packaging ASUS calls out 5 key areas that the motherboard excels in – RGB Lighting, Networking, Audio, connectivity and build quality. The AURA RGB feature is also being introduced on ASUS graphics cards for the new Nvidia GTX 10X0 series so any ASUS product that also bears the “AURA” branding should work well with this motherboard. In related news KitGuru recently published its review of the ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1080 AURA RGB-enabled graphics card, which you can read here.
Accessories are plentiful, as you might expect for a motherboard of this calibre. Included are – SATA cables, an LED strip extension cable, a WiFi antennae for the built-in rear I/O module, an SLI bridge, a CPU installation tool, cable ties, a front panel connector tool (Q-Connector), cable labels, different colour heatsink attachments, documentation and a driver & utility DVD.
While the board is RGB equipped it isn't a single colour so including interchangeable heatsink stickers is a nice touch to help coordinate colour schemes – the colour range is limited to red (default), pink, green and grey/black.
Couple of questions first is why isn’t Asus throwing in a mobo speaker at this price point it should be included. Second is I have my setup but haven’t booted still waiting on one more ram kit. Which CPU fan header should be used based on the manual it suggests CPU/w or with Pump but I have seen some threads that suggested the users were having issues with fan speed and cpu cooling. Im running the Strix w/ the i7 6800 appreciate any guidance on which is the proper fan header.
For 1 fan, the CPU_FAN, for 2 fans, CPU_FAN & CPU_OPT, for 2 fans and a pump, CPU_FAN, CPU_OPT and W_PUMP (though in most coses it is fully recommended to use SATA power and just run the pump @ 12 volts all the time, particularly if its an AIO, but if you have a SATA and fan header connection for your pump, you can plug both in so that the fan header cable gives you an RPM read-out [the H100i has this]).