Looking for X99 Mobo Suggestions

tenjuna

tenjuna

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 22, 2006
Messages
246
I am contemplating a system upgrade to the X99 platform, and am having some difficulty deciding which way to go with the motherboard and sound. I have been using EVGA and Asus motherboards for the past 10+ years, but the offerings I have found by them seem mediocre at best, based on the reviews and comments by other users. I have also heard that sound cards in general have issues on the X99 platform, so I am thinking of just using on board sound.

Having said that, I am currently thinking:

Asus X99-A II
On board sound
i7-6800K
32GB G.SKILL TridentZ 3200
EVGA 1080 FTW
Samsung 850 EVO M.2 1TB

I am upgrading from:

Asus P8Z77-V
SB X-Fi Titanium
i7-3770K
16GB Crucial Ballistix 1800
EVGA 1080 FTW
Crucial B200 1TB

Can anyone suggest any tweaks or changes? I mainly game in WoW, CSGO, and Overwatch, but also do some light video editing and ripping discs for my Plex server.

Thanks

Cain
 
I have the X99A-II and it is a good board... has everything we need and nothing we dont! If your interested I have an Asrock X99 Killer X 3.1 for sale in just about brand new condition with maybe 10hrs of use on it.. PM me if interested
 
I have an X99-Pro, and had it since release. It's been rock-solid with a 5820k, [email protected], and 3000Mhz Kingston RAM. The X99-A is pretty much the same MB minus a few bells and whistles.

I did try a Sound Blaster Z when I got it. When it worked, it was fine. About every 5th boot, the card wouldn't be detected on boot, requiring a restart to get it working. The onboard sound was OK, but I eventually went with a Sound Blaster G5 (external DAC) for my speakers and headphones, and it's been perfect.
 
I will check out the G5, thanks. I have heard a lot of negatives about the Z card, so I think I will be skipping it in any case.

I absolutely will never use an Asrock ever again. Every time I have bought one it has been nothing but problems.
 
X99A-II is a solid board.
Also if you really enjoy music and really listening bits of sound that you didnt think it was there, try buying a dedicated sound card. I have one and believe me, makes a lot of difference if you have decent speakers.
 
I have the Asus X99 Deluxe II and a 6900K. Works great. I'd highly recommend replacing the 850 EVO with a 512GB 950 Pro...I know it's half the size, but it is almost 5x faster!

Also using the Creative Sound Blaster Zx and it works flawlessly.
 
I have an x99 pro usb 3.1, great board. I switched to SFF and got the Asrock x99 ITX and it's probably the coolest board I've ever owned, if you're into ITX builds. Can't recommend it enough. Does pcie bifurcation if you want to SLI with a slightly larger case as well.
 
That Rampage V Edition 10 looks pretty hot so I am thinking of doing that instead. Otherwise the A-II seems the way to go.

I am still torn on the sound card. I absolutely hate using on board sound, but based on all of the things I have read about the Z not working properly or intermittently leaves me still wondering. I may try out the Zx, and I can always return it if it's a problem.

Thanks for all of the advice guys!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top