An AMD Threadripper X399 Motherboard Overview: A Quick Look at Seven Products
by Ian Cutress & Joe Shields on September 15, 2017 9:00 AM ESTCovering the X399 Spectrum
We've seen details on seven boards which, on the surface, can seem similar as far as feature sets go. Owners that just want a Threadripper system to get up and go will get the necessities out of any motherboard listed here. The differences lay in the details: in networking, PCIe layout, RGB, overclocking features, enthusiast level gaming or compute, the want/need for 10 Gigabit ethernet, or storage options like fast M.2 and U.2. Even the type and number of USB ports can all factor into a buying decision.
It is also hard to forget about looks. All motherboards have some form of RGB LEDs scattered around their black PCBs. Some incorporate less than others, with the cheaper boards from ASRock and ASUS only applying them on the chipset heatsink, while others like the Gigabyte X399 AORUS Gaming 7 are loaded to the brim. Only one board, the ASUS X399 Prime, doesn't have wireless or Bluetooth capability. The MSI board sets itself apart from the rest by including bundled sets of vanity plates for the chipset heatsink, I/O and Audio covers, giving owners a bit more flexibility over the boards base appearance. That said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is up to the buyer to figure out which looks best in their system vision. Assuming you care about aesthetics, that is.
PCIe differences come down to the number of slots for the GPUs, and if a user requires tri-slot spacing. For users looking at PCIe co-processors other than GPUs, then there isn't an ideal 7-slot motherboard on the market so far. But plug in a request, see if a manufacturer bites.
What happens when you mix several motherboards together in MSPaint
With Threadripper CPUs TDP set at 180W, an efficient VRM solution will be needed for cool operation, as well as for overclocking: many of the boards are using International Rectifier parts (MSI, GIGABYTE, ASRock) with the phase count ranging from eight to thirteen depending on the board. Keeping the VRMs cool is also a point to be considered, and the boards do this different. ASUS has two heatsinks connected via a heat-pipe, and include a fan for active cooling. The ASRock Professional Gaming, Taichi, and Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7 also use two heat sinks but are passive (no fans). The MSI has a single VRM heatsink, but has doubled the standard height.
The table below shows several of the specifications differences between the released motherboards. The bold values are the top specifications for the category.
| X399 Motherboard Feature Comparison | |||||||
| ASRock | ASUS | Gigabyte | MSI X399 Gaming Pro Carbon AC |
||||
| X399 Taichi | X399 Pro Gaming | Prime X399-A | ROG Zenith | X399 Gaming 7 | |||
| Listed DRAM Freq. | 3600+ | 3600+ | 3200 | 3600 | 3600+ | 3600+ | |
| # PCIe x16 Slots | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | |
| SATA Ports | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | |
| M.2 / U.2 | 3 / 1 | 3 / 1 | 2 / 1 | 3 / 1 | 3 / 0 | 3 / 0 | |
| USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) | 8 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 6 | |
| USB 2.0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| 10 Gigabit Ethernet | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 Gigabit Ethernet | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 802.11ac | Y | Y | N | Y | Y | Y | |
| 802.11ad | N | N | N | Y | N | N | |
| Form Factor | ATX | ATX | E-ATX | E-ATX | ATX | ATX | |
| MSRP | $350 | $450 | $350 | $550 | $390 | $380 | |
| Current Price (9/11) |
Amazon | - | - | $350 | $520 | $390 | $350 |
| Newegg | $340 | $440 | $350 | $550 | $390 | - | |
The table is clearly not the final discussion - each user has different requirements out of their system and motherboard. Some enthusiasts may want to overclock their boards more than others, or have a need for 10 gigabit Ethernet capabilities or the latest wireless networking options, or require an ATX form factor in their current chassis. Perhaps all of those, or none. We're likely to see further products hit the shelves in the coming months and quarters, especially as AMD has confirmed that this socket will stay for at least one more generation of products.
Pricing on the boards range from $340 (ASRock Taichi), up to $550 for the ASUS' flagship Zenith Extreme so there is quite a range already. All boards detailed here are available, with ASUS saying the Strix arriving later.
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Vorl - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
Heads up, the X399 Taichi product link is linked to the pro gaming motherboard link.milkod2001 - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
Grossly overpriced boards. Cay they drop this LED nonsense & ugly plastics and make proper boards at reasonable $250?DanNeely - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
The RGB cancer isn't why these boards are so expensive. It's stupid, but only adds a few dollars to the cost; not a few hundred.It's all the extra PCB layers they need to support the 4000 connections to the CPU socket and route all the extra PCIe lanes. Limiting the number of PCIe lanes in mainstream chips is as much about being able to use smaller sockets and fewer PCB layers to keep board costs down as it is a desire on AMD and Intel's part to upsell to X299/X399 systems. The fact that the mobo vendors are probably expecting to sell dozens of mainstream boards for every one of these halo products doesn't help either because it means that the R&D costs can't be spread anywhere near as widely.
For the two boards that have them, the $100 for a 10GB NIC doesn't help any.
tamalero - Sunday, September 17, 2017 - link
Still annoying and useless. They just wanted to appeal the extra gaming segment when this entire system is not for gaming.Now add the fact that almost every goddarn high end videocard AND memory now have shitty RGB lights as well.
Its a waste of power.
CheapSushi - Sunday, September 17, 2017 - link
Are you assuming enthusiasts are all just gamers? You can be an enthusiast that loves gaming AND content creation. If you want no-nonsense then maybe go EPYC instead (YES, it is a workstation platform too, not just server): http://b2b.gigabyte.com/Server-Motherboard/MZ31-AR...mapesdhs - Tuesday, September 19, 2017 - link
Amazing how many people just assume that a PC user is either a gamer or not a gamer. There's a lot of crossover with content creation these days, and also people who stream. Being able to play a game, record the gameplay, convert a previous session and upload it to YT/etc. will be a boon for those who make a living doing such things.CheapSushi - Sunday, September 17, 2017 - link
Finally a voice of reason for the naggers.ddarko - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
Anyone interested in pairing the Asus Zenith Extreme with the Threadripper version of the Noctua NH-U14S should note that the cooler blocks the first PCI-E x16 slot on the board. Noctua says Asus didn't follow the AMD clearance guidance on this board; you can see in the pic that the top slot is very very close to the CPU bracket.glennst43 - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
NH-U12S TR4-SP3 will fit though: http://noctua.at/en/nh-u12s-tr4-sp3/specification. I read a German article that showed that this cooler provides very similar cooling perf and noise as compared to the 14S. I have 2 other systems that use variations of the 14s, and I can not find any noticeable noise difference. Still an unfortunate design decision from Asus.DanNeely - Friday, September 15, 2017 - link
Other than the MSI board, I notice that none of them are putting USB2 ports on the back panel. Does that mean the interference problems that some USB2 devices encountered in 3.0 ports have been fixed; or that the mobo makers just feel anyone who needs them can use an IO bracket attached to an onboard header?