The Intel Haswell-E X99 Motherboard Roundup with ASUS, GIGABYTE, ASRock and MSI
by Ian Cutress on September 25, 2014 11:30 AM ESTMSI X99S SLI Plus Conclusion
The X99 SLI Plus is the cheapest X99 model in our initial review at $230, coming in at just over half the price of the X99-Deluxe. Despite the large price difference there are some similarities from both products. The aesthetics of a motherboard has been a common battleground in recent generations and boards like the MSI and ASUS in this regard hit the nail on the head when answering calls for sleek designs that look polished and not too forced.
At $230, MSI is attempting to snap up the budget X99 market with the SLI Plus. This takes me back to my first X58 system – I wanted the i7 920 at the time, but my budget was small so I got the cheapest motherboard and DDR3 available at the time (X58A-UD3R and 3x2GB DDR3-1333 if I recall correctly). This is the sort of buyer that the MSI X99S SLI Plus is aiming for: those willing to put down $230 for a motherboard and $390 for the i7-5820K. The only downside with this plan, much like when I bought into X58, is that the cost of DDR4 is still pretty high, at $250 per 4x4GB kit, making an $870 minimum buy-in.
At $230, it is obvious that MSI skimps on a few details. We are limited to 3-way multi-GPU setups, we get a single network port (Intel I218-V) and the audio codec is a Realtek ALC892 solution. While we do get 12 USB 3.0 ports total, four on the rear panel are behind a VIA 4-to-1 controller, which is one of the cheapest cost-per-USB solutions available. On the plus side, SATA Express is here, and the M.2 slot can feed off of the CPU for a full 32 Gbps bandwidth if needed. M.2 is unfortunately limited to a maximum of 2280 sized devices however.
MSI did miss a trick slightly by not theming the BIOS and software packages in black similar to the motherboard, but MSI has a nice BIOS/software combination in general. The BIOS is growing on me as a user, especially as MSI seems receptive to advice on how to make the BIOS better. The software is still propped up by Live Update 6 as the best update tool available, however offering 2.1 volts as an overclock is a little absurd and needs to be adjusted.
Stock performance on the MSI X99S SLI Plus is near the top of the chain due to the aggressive way it implements MultiCore Turbo. In the system benchmarks it had a high power consumption under load and poor audio characteristics, but came top in DPC Latency and stripped POST times. Overclocking results were average, although the deficit in performance when overclocked is alarming – overclocked to 4.4 GHz, one of the other X99 motherboards scored similar when overclocked to only 4.2 GHz. This indicates there might be an efficiency issue somewhere along the line, though it is difficult to point the finger at either the BIOS, the software, or something fundamental at the hardware level.
The strength of the MSI X99S SLI Plus lies in the sleek design combined with the low price point. It forms a substantial line in the sand for any X99 system builder, and is very attractive to those who are more budget conscious and not keen on overclocking. For anyone wanting to dabble in the 6-core domain before putting down some serious money, pair it with an i7-5820K and take it for a spin.
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Ian Cutress - Friday, September 26, 2014 - link
Usually some of the 16xx series have some leeway, but the larger 26xx are definitely locked down. I've managed 107 MHz BCLK from an E5 2697 v3, but YMMV.halcyon - Thursday, September 25, 2014 - link
Is this correct:http://i.imgur.com/3AgxLfs.png
bebimbap - Thursday, September 25, 2014 - link
That's probably because the 5960x runs at 3.0-3.5ghz stock while the 4790k runs 4.0-4.4ghz stockso if it is single threaded MHz limited, then the 4790k can run 14%-47% faster than the 5960x can at stock settings.
Ian Cutress - Friday, September 26, 2014 - link
Minimum frame rate results are always tricky. If the system software initiates something critical in the foreground and causes a single frame to falter, then the whole minimum frame rate is reduced. That's why I'm not always too keen on reporting them, but have them included for completeness.The single thread speed is also another aspect, also depending on the cache orientation of the CPU, it might cause a frame or two to load faster/slower than others, again causing that one frame drop.
Given that this is more common across the Haswell-E line, compared to Haswell, it might be something that fundamental.
bebimbap - Thursday, September 25, 2014 - link
I had always thought MSI was a top tier vendor of MB and GPU's but after my gtx 8800 "malfunctioned," back when they were the best available, and then my z87 mpower MSI MB headers fall apart, and OC's at higher voltages compared to my z87 gigabyte ud5h and is hotter at the same voltages. It made me think about it, and MSI is very similar in marketing style as XFX. They are both usually heavy on rebates, and very cheap for the amount of product you get. But they lack quality. None of my XFX cards perform as well as their Asus/EVGA/Gigabyte counterparts. I now put them in the same tier as ECS and Biostar.The MSI board OC'd performance being less seemed more of the same, and I was expecting as much. Until something drastically changes, I'll only use Asus/Gigabyte/Asrock.
just4U - Thursday, September 25, 2014 - link
That's unfortunate.. however you do have to keep in mind that these are sensitive electronic components. I've had boards fail by all the major companies. It happens.. I had 3 dead boards in the Genie Rog Asus series all out of the first batch that came in (7 in total) did it stop me from using Asus? No.. again it happens. Had loose heatsinks dead chipset fans, a capacitor that fell off.. ugh.. Still if I dropped all the companies where that had happened I'd not have any companies to turn to lol.Msi is doing a lot of good things these days and their easily right up there with Gigabyte and Asus.
CFTheDragon - Thursday, September 25, 2014 - link
Why is there not the MSI X99 Gaming in the review? Is anyone really going to buy the normal version and not the Gaming one for a X99 build?Ian Cutress - Friday, September 26, 2014 - link
For review time, these are the samples we were sourced. Not every model is available for review, depending on how the manufacturer wants to focus on different titles. We asked MSI what their most popular/consumer focused board would be in terms of numbers, and they seem really pleased internally with the SLI Plus.The_Assimilator - Friday, September 26, 2014 - link
The only people who buy "Gaming" boards are the gullible who like bling and think that the KillerNIC is something desirable to have, rather than the liability it actually is.Flunk - Friday, September 26, 2014 - link
Unless the "Gaming" board happens to be cheaper, which happens a lot because I don't think they sell that great. Damn Killer NICs, just give me Intel and be done with it. Killer started off as nothing but marketing and since they've were bought out by Qualcomm they're just remarked Qualcomm parts with tweaked drivers. MSI's "Gaming" line is a really cynical take on the whole affair, it's just their regular boards with red highlights and (only on some models) a few small IC changes.