Overclocking and Conclusion

Overclocking

To give a feel for the overclocking performance potential of the X99-M WS motherboard, we attempted to push it to known CPU-supported performance parameters with minimal tweaking. The board was challenging to get dialed in with full stability achieved by locking the base clock at 100MHz. With the 100MHz base clock, we were able to get the CPU stable at 4.3GHz with 3.5GHz ring bus and 3200MHz memory speeds. All attempts to push the memory speed any higher failed with this board (the memory used has a known top speed of 3466MHz). All overclocking sessions remained stable for over 4hrs. System stability was tested running the AIDA64 stability test in conjunction with EVGA's OC Scanner X graphical benchmark running at 1280×1024 resolution and 8x MSAA in stress test mode. Note that 16GB (4 x 4GB) of Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200 memory modules were used for the overclocking tests.

100MHz Base Clock Stats with 3200MHz Memory

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Note that this is is meant only as a quick preview of the board's performance potential. With more time to tweak the settings to a greater extent, pushing to a higher base clock and ring bus speed may have been achievable, in addition to an overnight stability run without issue.

Performance

The X99-M WS motherboard was a stellar performer at stock settings with board overclocking being a bit more challenging than expected. However, the board was able to take our CPU to a respectable 4.3GHz and able to run with 3200MHz memory speeds.

Pricing

As of January 05, the ASUS X99-M WS motherboard was available at Amazon.com for $277.99 with Prime shipping. The board was also available from Newegg.com for $275.99.

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Conclusion

The X99-M WS is another quality product from ASUS with a high quality board layout and design, and enough features packed into its mATX form factor to give some full-sized boards a run for their money. As part of ASUS' Workstation line, the board comes with all the power bells and whistles you've come to expect from that series – 12k-rated capacitors, Beat Thermal chokes, and Dr. MOS MOSFETs. Further, ASUS jammed the board with eight SATA ports, an M.2 port, dual Intel GigE ports, and a tri-antenna 802.11ac adapter to name the highlights.

The board size does lead to some interesting port placements on the board. ASUS chose to place the M.2 port below the PCIe x1 port, blocking access to the port with a video card seated in the primary PCIe x16 slot. Further, the M.2 port is only PCIe x2 capable, rated at 10 Gbps, limiting the performance of any high power (read PCIe x4) M.2 SSDs you may with to pair with this board. The overclocking dial-in challenges were more of a minor annoyance as the board did stabilize eventually.

Strengths

  • Stock performance
  • Board aesthetics
  • Board design and layout
  • CPU socket layout and spacing
  • UEFI BIOS design and usability
  • SLI and CrossFireX support
  • CMOS battery placement
  • Performance of Intel GigE NICs
  • Performance of 802.11ac controller
  • CMOS reset jumper
  • Price

Weaknesses

  • Inclusion of PCIe x2 M.2 port
  • Placement of M.2 port
  • Difficulting of overclocking dial-in and performance
  • Lack of integrated CMOS clear jumper
  • Exposed VRM circuitry in close proximity to CPU socket on board underside
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