I've been considering build a new computer for a while and am pretty convinced by build will be targeting the new X99 platform. However a lot of different factors have been a barrier towards pulling the trigger:
Everything holding me back is a combination of sharp increase in DDR4 prices compared to the previous generation and the confidence in the new platform components.
Reviews on Amazon and Newegg seem the be super hit or miss on most new motherboards that I've been looking at, like the ASUS X-99 Deluxe and other upper mid range X99 motherboards.
Anybody have any good or bad experience, advice, something worth sharing?
There are indeed a few issues with some X99 boards.
Msi X99S Sli plus, is realy a board, that i would not recommend. This board seem to have some serious quality issues, i have readed allot of issues with it. some even burned out. THe X99 Gaming 7 also seem to have some issues with the bios, and overclocking.
Gigabyte X99 boards had bios issues, their early bios crashed allot. But i assume that its allready fixed with latest bios updates.
Asus had some issues with some particular ram kits, if i remember it right. But they allready have released a few new biosses. I did not read any issues with the Asus X99-A which is a bit strange. Most issues seem to be occure with the deluxe board.
Asrock boards seem to be decent, did not read anything bad about them. Asrock did realy opt their game with the X99 series. great onboard audio, and decent components. Also a great thing is that they have a fully intel southbridge, so NO 3rd party controllers for sata and usb.
The only con with some Asrock boards is, the way the pci-e lanes are configured. Some boards cannot do triple Sli with 5820k.
I like Asus motherboards over anything else, no bios is more clear and easy. I got the X99 E-WS, pretty expensive board but worth the money in my opinion. My PC has been up for 3 weeks now and not a hiccup!
I should be receiving my X99-A in a few days. It looks like a great board, and I can't wait to build my rig around it. Look at the X99-A as if it were a Deluxe minus the bells and whistles. It has the OC socket, it supports three way sli and xfire, it has M.2, it can over clock just as well as the Deluxe, and the BIOS looks amazing.
Using an MSI X99S MPOWER right now. Can't complain about stability. OC functions are well fleshed out but not nearly as precise as the ASUS ROG boards. Still though, 4.4GHz on the i7-5820k was not difficult to achieve, and 4.7GHz is where I stopped just to be safe (only using an H80i and I didn't want to push it past 80C, otherwise it would have gone a bit higher.)
The X99S MPOWER has lots of USB 3.0, a nice PCI-E arrangement, M.2 AND SATA Express which both will work off the same bus without conflicting.
I got it for $50 off retail at $249.99, which is really the most I was willing to spend on a brand new platform for fear of stability issues. After a couple months using it I can say it'd be worth $270, but not the full $300. It's a good board, but much cheaper boards like the Socket 1150 ROG Maximus VII Hero ($220 suggested) feel like much better deals, especially if you run DDR3-2400+ on them.
All in all, my experience with X99 is good. My specific board works flawlessly and I do recommend it, but at a slightly reduced price. Hope all that helps somewhat.
Was primarily looking at the X-99 Deluxe, possibly the Pro now that it's out.
Not sure if I want to chalk up early sub par reviews to poor BIOS. It seems like most of the feedback from the last 60 days has been significantly better then when the boards first released.
It's a bit frustrating that reviewers praise a board based on a review unit they'd use for about a day, and say it gets their stamp of approval because the numbers on the box are good.