Testing Configuration and Benchmarks Used
To verify that the motherboard works as advertised, the board was run through our standard benchmark suite. In most cases, the results are presented for the motherboard under review as well as a different similar-class motherboards for performance comparison purposes. The benchmark tests used should give you a good understanding of the board’s capabilities for both office and gaming use so that you, the reader, can make a more informed purchasing decision.
| Test System Setup | |
| Motherboards | Intel X99-based systems ASUS Rampage V Edition 10 GIGABYTE X99P-SLI ASUS X99-E WS ASUS X99-A Intel Z170-based systems ASUS Z170-A Intel Z97-based system ASUS Z97-Pro |
| CPU | Intel X99-based systems Intel Core i7-5960X (3.0GHz CPU and Ring Bus, 30 x 100MHz Base Clock) Intel Z170-based system Intel Core i7-6700K (4.0GHz CPU and Ring Bus, 40 x 100MHz Base Clock) Intel Z97-based system Intel Core i7-4770K (3.5GHz CPU and Ring Bus, 35 x 100MHz Base Clock) |
| Memory | Intel X99-based systems Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 modules (2133MHz, 15-17-17-35-1T, 1.225V) Intel Z170-based system Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 modules (1600MHz, 16-18-18-35-1T, 1.225V) Intel Z97-based system Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 modules (1600MHz, 9-10-9-27-1T, 1.525V) |
| Hard Drive | Intel 730 240GB SSD Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA III HD |
| Sound Card | On-board sound |
| Video Card | NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB |
| CPU Cooling | XSPC Raystorm Koolance CPU-360i Corsair Hydro Series™ H100i Extreme Performance CPU Cooler |
| Video Drivers | NVIDIA 353.62 |
| Power Supply | Corsair HX750 |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Pro x64 |
Test Setup Explanation
The 64-bit Windows 10 based test bench used for Intel X99 LGA2011-V3 board testing includes an Intel Core i7-5960X CPU, 32GB of DDR4-2666 memory, an NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB video card, and an Intel 730 240GB SSD drive. For Intel Z170 LGA1151 board testing, an Intel Core i7-6700K processor, 16GB of DDR4-2666 memory, an NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB video card, and an Intel 730 240GB SSD drive were used in the test system. For the Z97-based board testing, an Intel Core i7-4770K CPU, 16GB of DDR3-2400 memory, an NVIDIA GTX 780 3GB video card, and an Intel 730 240GB SSD drive were used in the test system. Using the selected components gives us the ability to demonstrate the motherboard's capabilities rather than that of the components themselves.
Benchmark Tests used for evaluation:
- SoftPerfect Research NetWorx Speed Test v5.41
- LanBench v1.1.0
- ATTO Disk Benchmark v3.05
- SiSoft Sandra 2015 SP2b (v2015.07.21.42)
- Intel Linpack Benchmark v11.3.0.004
- Maxon Cinebench R15
- PCMark 8 v2.4.304
The Spec sheet indicates Z170
The Spec sheet indicates Z170 chipset. I believe this is for the wrong board.
Now it shows X99 chipset. Go
Now it shows X99 chipset. Go figure???
Yeah, fixed it quick. A case
Yeah, fixed it quick. A case of mixed up tables….
Also, on page 2:
“The Intel
Also, on page 2:
“The Intel Z170 chipset is cooled by a low-profile black heat sink…”
The NH-D15 really looks like it’s touching the GPU in the first PCIe slot in the cooler fit test. Is it just too close for the gap to show in the photo?
Detailed and thorough review. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to justify a ~$600 motherboard.
Thanks for the heads up on
Thanks for the heads up on page 2, fixed.
As for the cooler to GPU proximity, its a trick of the shadows. There is a bit of a gap in between it and the card back. However, in that type of config, you'd be a fool not to run with a backplate on your video card…
What this MB needs is
What this MB needs is glasspacks
Would you say this review
Would you say this review suited Pro rampage V ED10 vs other x99 2011 boards, vs z170 boards or it stands on its own. Asking because the charts seem to say this board is very much in line with the performance of other good to better x99 boards. What features make this board a gold award winner? thx.