discussion ASUS X99-Deluxe II Motherboard Review

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When new processors are launched, new motherboards are launched. It's a ritual that goes back decades now. While Broadwell-E's compatibility with the LGA2011-v3 platform means that we haven't been blessed with a new chipset, that doesn't mean there isn't anything to look forward to on the motherboard front. The second generation X99 motherboards that have recently launched represent the very best that motherboard manufacturers can create when largely unrestrained from pesky PCI-E lane limitations.
And considering the fact that there's been an almost two year gap between the first generation models and these new releases, we expect them to be even better than their predecessors...which weren't slouches in their own right.

The ASUS X99-Deluxe II motherboard that we are reviewing today is the model you buy when you want everything. It is the most feature-filled model in the company's LGA2011-v3 lineup, and with a retail price of about $420USD/$540CAD it is aimed at the higher end of the market. It is clearly a direct descendant of the original X99-Deluxe, and that's a good thing because we had nothing but praise for that model.

With five physical PCI-E x16 slots, 3-way CrossFire and 3-way SLI capabilities, one PCI-E x1 slot, one M.2 x4 connector, two U.2 connectors, one SATA Express ports, eight SATA 6Gb/s ports (plus the two on the SATAe port), three USB 3.1 Type-A ports and one USB 3.1 Type-C port many would be more than satisfied with the new X99 Deluxe II. However, ASUS didn't stop there. It also has four USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0/3.0 headers, two Intel-powered Gigabit LAN ports, a Thunderbolt 3.0 header, a dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi module with Bluetooth v4.0, Realtek's latest ten-channel HD audio controller and diagnostic LEDs. There's also thermal sensors all over, a high amperage fan header, a water pump header, and a bunch of onboard buttons and switches, and…well, you get the idea. And that is not even counting the included accessories bundles, which consists of a ThunderboltEX 3 expansion card, Hyper M.2 x4 Mini adapter, and a fan extension card with an included thermal probe.

DDR4 memory wise - which is one of the cornerstones of this platform - the Deluxe II can handle up to an incredible 128GB of RAM and it's been certified for memory speeds up to DDR4-3300. As you will see in our overclocking section, that frequency is very much within reach if you have a capable memory kit. When it comes to overclocking the processor, there are a number of excellent automatic overclocking options to choose from, and ASUS have included every BIOS option you could ever want in order to manually get the most from your components.

This unique model also features the AURA RGB LED lighting effects that were first introduced on the ASUS B150 PRO GAMING/AURA. These RGB LEDs are integrated into the chipset cooler, the PCI-E slot clips, and the audio isolation line, and they can be all controlled using the Lighting Control utility. These lights can be adjusted to any number of different colours and customized to create cool lighting effects, like pulsating with the beat of your music, cycling through all the colours, fading in and out, flash on and off, or just statically displaying one colour.

Given the fact that its predecessor was a nearly flawless product, both in terms of specs and implementation, we have very high expectations for the X99-Deluxe II. In this review, we are going to find out if ASUS have managed to once again deliver a perfectly well-rounded high-end motherboard.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Packaging & Accessories

Now that we have gone over the X99-Deluxe II's features and specifications, it is time to examine the new packaging and then crack open the box to take a look at the numerous bundled accessories. Let's check it out:

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As you might reasonably expect, this motherboard's packaging definitely shares its most of its design elements with that of the previous X99-Deluxe, most notably a built-in handle. The front of the box is adorned with the usual array of marketing logos, and since this is a higher-end model, there is actually flap that reveals a window and a nice glimpse at the motherboard itself. The back of the box is full of information about this model's key features, and as well as just listing the fundamentals specifications.

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Once you remove the outside packaging, you are greeted with an inner box that contains two separate sections, the top half holds the motherboard in an anti-static bag and the bottom half contains the accessories, software and documentation, as you will see below.

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As you would hope from a high-end motherboard, the Deluxe II has an undeniably impressive accessories bundle. There are almost twenty accessories in total, which we will examine below. Documentation wise, ASUS have included a motherboard user guide and installation guide, ThunderboltEX 3 user guide, Hyper M.2 x4 Mini quick start guide, Fan Extension Card installation guide, two drivers/utilities DVDs, and a neat ASUS sticker.

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The accessories bundle comes with eight SATA 6Gb/s cables, one Q-Connector, a 3-way SLI connector, and a stainless steel ASUS Q-Shield rear I/O cover. Although the included SLI connector is intended to be used for both 2-way and 3-way SLI configurations, we do kind of wish that they had included a dedicated 2-way part that was a little more aesthetically pleasing. A 2-way CrossFireX bridge would have been a welcome addition too.

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The Deluxe II has been outfitted with the AURA RGB lighting feature, but to extend that functionality there is an onboard header that you can power and control lighting strips from via this RGB LED extension cable. ASUS have also included their CPU Installation Tool, which helps with the installation or removal of the processor from the CPU socket. Please check out our Maximus VIII GENE review for a great showcase of this feature.

 

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Packaging & Accessories pt.2

Packaging & Accessories pt.2

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The Fan Extension Card allows you to add three extra fans, and each can independently controlled from within the BIOS or the Ai Suite utility. There are also headers for three thermals probes, with one thermistor cable included.

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The M.2 bracket is used to physically support any M.2 solid state drive that you might install in the vertical M.2 x4 slot next to the memory slots. The Hyper M.2 x4 Mini expansion card is an awesome bundled accessory that allows you to install a second M.2 SSD in any of the PCI-E slots. For best overall system performance - especially if you're running multiple graphics cards - you don't want to install this card when using a CPU that only has 28 PCI-Express lanes, like the Core i7-6800K.

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One of the coolest additions to this model is the ThunderboltEX 3 expansion card, which is powered by an Intel Alpine Ridge controller. This card provides Thunderbolt 3 capabilities osuch as 40Gb/s connectivity and fast charging of up to 36W. The card features one Thunderbolt 3/USB 3.1 Type-C port, one USB 3.1 Type-A port, and one mini DisplayPort input. Installing it is simply a matter of sliding it into one of the PCI-E slots, connecting the supplied ThunderboltEX 3 cable from the card to the proper motherboard header, and connecting the bundled miniDP to DP cable from the card's Mini Displayport input to the motherboard's or your graphics card's DisplayPort output.

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This bundled antenna works in conjunction with the onboard ASUS Wi-Fi GO! module that supports dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth v4.0. This is a 3T3R antenna which means that it has 3 transmitter (T) and 3 receiver (R) antennas, and thus should have excellent wireless signal sensitivity and transmission range.

 

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A Closer Look at the X99 Deluxe II

A Closer Look at the X99 Deluxe II

When the original X99-Deluxe was released it looked quite futuristic due to its the sleek white plastic shroud, accompanying white trim piece on the MOSFET and PCH heatsinks, and cool lighting effects. While those design touches are now found on many models by other manufacturers, we are still glad to see that the basic look has been carried over to the X99-Deluxe II. There are obviously some updates, the black heatsinks have been replaced by silver ones, and all of the white trim pieces have been remodelled. Overall, still a great looking motherboard, and it should give owners an incentive to seek out some of the many white components (case, fans, memory kits, power supplies, etc) that are available nowadays.

Although the CPU socket area is a little claustrophobic - which we will address below - the rest of motherboard is beautifully laid out. Even the quirky bits like the vertically oriented M.2 slot are great solutions to an ancient problem, ie: lack of free PCB space. Despite being packed to the hilt with features, ports and slots, the X99-Deluxe II is based on the ATX form factor (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm / 12.0-in x 9.6-in), so there shouldn't be any issues when it comes to installing it into most standard cases.

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Since it is caught between the memory slots and the various heatsinks, the CPU socket area is a little more cramped than we are used to seeing. Having said that, we don't envision any compatibility problems with any of the air or liquid CPU coolers on the market right now. Also, since the MOSFET and the "northbridge" heatsinks are fairly low profile, clearance is not an issue there either. Though you will have to check out our Installation section for an even closer look.

This Deluxe II model comes with a digital 8-phase CPU power design, Dr.MOS IOR 3556M MOSFETs, beefy and heatsink-topped "BlackWing" 60A Ferrite Chokes, and 10K Black Metallic Capacitors. We are glad to see that ASUS went with 10,000 hour capacitors on this model, nothing but the best at this price point. The familiar ASUS DIGI+ VRM ASP 1257 voltage controller is once again used to handle EPU (Energy Processing Unit) duties.

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Since high-level overclocking can only be achieved via adequate power supply, ASUS have included one 8-pin CPU power connector and a supplementary 4-pin CPU power connector. This is a welcome addition since very highly overclocked processors can draw a ton of current through the 8-pin CPU power connector, enough to trip up certain power supplies with wonky over-current protection (OCP).

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Once we remove the white plastic shroud we get a better look at the bare aluminium heatsink, which extends right into the rear I/O panel. Removing that heatsink exposes the bare motherboard, and we get a slightly better look at one half of the DDR4 power design. Each bank of four DIMM slots get their own two power phases. Mostly what is underneath there is just a bunch of controllers related to the rear I/O panel outputs.

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Due to the quad-channel memory architecture of this flagship platform, this motherboard features eight DDR4 memory slots, which are fed by a 4-phase power design. ASUS have validated the Deluxe II for overclocked memory frequencies up to DDR4-3300 and up to 128GB of system memory...though obviously not 128GB of DDR4-3300, since no current processor could ever handle that. ASUS have also implemented enhanced DRAM overcurrent protection (OCP) and short circuit damage prevention, so you will be able to push those new DDR4 modules as hard as you want without worrying that the memory slots will let you down.

The MemOk! button initiates a memory compatibility tuning process if there are memory issues preventing a system from booting up. Like on all ASUS motherboards, this model features the handy Q-DIMM memory slots, which prevent any clearance issues that can arise between conventional memory clips and the back of any nearby expansion card. As always, the 24-pin ATX power connector is in its usual spot.

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As you would expect, this model features the M.2 interface in all of its PCI-E 3.0 x4 glory, which means a theoretical maximum bandwidth of 32Gbps (4GB/s), and supports the full compliment of SATA, PCI-E, and PCI-E NVMe M.2 solid state drives. This Deluxe II model - like the original Deluxe - utilizes a "standing" vertical M.2 connector, which might look weird but is a great solution to the age-old problem of what to do when the motherboard your designing is running out of free PCB space. If that's too weird for you, ASUS have also bundled a Hyper M.2 x4 Mini PCI-E adapter, on which you can install an M.2 SSD and then plug it into any of the available PCI-E x16 slots. When you combine these two M.2 slots with the two U.2 connectors, it's clear that is a motherboard that was designed with a focus on next generation high speed connectivity in mind.

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This little heatsink - that is located in the old school northbridge position - is really more of an aesthetic touch, since there is not much under it aside from the four ASMedia ASM1480 PCI-E switches that help split the processor's PCI-E lanes for the five mechanical PCI-E x16 slots.

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The X99 PCH cooler features a design that closely matches the white shroud that adorns the left side of the motherboard. It's your standard low profile heatsink with shallow airflow channels, but it does feature a dedicated heatpipe that runs to the small heatsink located in the middle of the board, thus sharing the small heat load.

When it comes to storage connectivity, this motherboard has got you covered. It features up to ten SATA 6Gb/s ports, one SATA Express 10Gb/s port, two U.2 32Gb/s connectors, one dedicated M.2 32Gb/s connector and a PCI-E adapter card to install another M.2 x4 SSD. Regrettably, due to chipset limitations, of the ten SATA ports only the four black ones support RAID 0/1/5/10 and Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

 

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A Closer Look at the X99 Deluxe II pt.2

A Closer Look at the X99 Deluxe II pt.2

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The lower half of this motherboard is replete with switches, buttons, and headers of every possible type and function. Starting to the bottom left, there are the two internal USB 3.0 headers, followed by one USB 2.0 header, a Thunderbolt header, and the front panel header which works in conjunction with the supplied Q-Panel connector. Right above the front panel header are two switches, one to engage your memory kit's XMP profile and one to select between 2-way or 3-way CrossFire/SLI. Above those switches are two of the SATA ports, and next to them one of the two U.2 connectors.

On the next image - again starting from left to right - is the front panel audio header, the power button, reset button, Q-Code LED display, Clear CMOS button, and the TPM (Trusted Platform Module) header. There is also the FAN_EXT header which is where you connect the cable from the Fan Extension card, and the RGB_Header is where you can plug in any 12V/2A 5050 RGB LED lighting strip and have it fully powered by the motherboard and controlled by the Lighting Control utility.

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The X99-Deluxe II features five mechanical PCI-E x16 slots, and one PCI-E x1 slot, and it makes full use of the enhanced PCI-Express capabilities of the Haswell-E and Broadwell-E processors. When you combine 40 PCI-E 3.0lanes with some clever ASMedia PCI-E switches, the capabilities are impressive. Obviously, in a simple dual graphics card configuration, you will get full speed PCI-E x16/x16 transfer rates. When three graphics cards are installed, the first and second card will run at x16 , while the thirds operates at x8 (x16/x16/x8). Now although this motherboard "only" supports up to 3-way SLI and 3-way CrossFireX , it is capable of running its five PCI-E slots at x8/x8/x8/x8/x8 if you want to install a bunch of high speed expansion cards, like RAID controllers or multi-port 10Gbit LAN cards.

There are a few caveats if you use the USB 3.1, U.2 or M.2 capabilities, since those features share bandwidth with some of the PCI-E slots, but none of these limitations will prevent you from running a full-speed three-way graphics card configuration.

Usually we don't have anything interesting to say about the PCI-E slots themselves, but this model has also been outfitted with the new SafeSlot design feature, which is metal reinforced PCI-E slots for improved retention and shearing resistance. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, the translucent PCI-E slot clips actually feature built-in RGB LEDs, which function as part of the AURA RGB Lighting feature, and can display almost any colour and a wide variety of cool effects.

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This model features a few worthwhile additions that are easy to overlook, like two BIOS chips. One soldered onto the PCB and one socketed chip that be swapped out if there are any disastrous flashing problems. ASUS have also added a high amperage fan and water pump header, both of which can be monitored and fully controlled in the UEFI.

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As we have come to expect from every half-decent motherboard, the heart of the Deluxe II's onboard audio solution is the familiar Realtek ALC1150, which is a modern and capable ten-channel HD audio CODEC. Next to the bank of audio-grade Nichicon Gold series solid polymer capacitors is where you will find a Texas Instruments R4580 headphone amplifier, which has enough to grunt to power 300 ohm cans. Although not pictured here, the white shroud that we removed to take these pictures actually has a piece of foil that is serves as an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield covering the Realtek CODEC. Likewise, the PCB isolation line surrounds the audio section of the PCB and protects it from the rest of the system. All of this serves to help to preserve the signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio and thus ensure the highest possible sound quality.

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The X99-Deluxe II's impressive connectivity extends to its rear I/O panel. Starting from left to right, we have the USB BIOS Flashback button, a modern Intel I218V-powered Gigabit LAN port, a widely compatible Intel I211-AT-powered Gigabyte LAN port, four USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, three USB 3.1 Type-A ports, one USB 3.1 Type-C port, the Wi-Fi GO! module with its three antenna connections, and the six audio jacks which include an S/PDIF output. These rear I/O ports feature enhanced ESD protection in the form of ASUS ESD Guards, so you don't have to worry about unintentional damage.

The aforementioned ASUS Wi-Fi GO! module is a dual-band 2.4/5GHz part that supports the 802.11a/b/g/n/ac standards, as well as Bluetooth v4.0. It is capable of Wi-Fi transfer speeds of up to 1300Mb/s with the right 802.11ac router. As described in the accessories section, it comes with a very capable 3T3R antenna should have excellent wireless signal sensitivity and transmission range. We haven't yet made the leap to the 802.11ac standard, but our 802.11n connection was rock-solid at 600Mb/s.

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What's powering all these ports and buttons you ask? Well, starting from the top left, we have a Nuvoton NCT6791D Super I/O monitoring controller, ASMedia ASM1074 four-way USB 3.0 hub controller, Intel I218-V ethernet controller, Intel I211-AT ethernet controller, SB3572U RGB LED controller, ASMedia ASM1142 USB 3.1 Type-A controller, and EJ179V USB 3.1 Type-C switch.

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Like its predecessor, the Deluxe II has a lot going on in the rear. There are dozens of ICs installed there, from switches, to controllers, to voltage regulars, various diodes, and other discrete semiconductors. None of this is any cause for concern however.

The rear-mounted CPU VRM components are protected and cooled by their own backplate, which is always a nice touch on a motherboard that will likely see occasions of very high CPU power draw. All the heatsinks and the shroud are attached with metal screws, which is what we expect from a high-end motherboard like this one.

Despite having lighting along the PCB isolation line that surrounds the audio sub-system, there are no visible LEDs on the rear of the motherboard, which is unusual!

 

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Hardware Installation

Hardware Installation

In the Hardware Installation section we examine how major components fit on the motherboard, and whether there are any serious issues that may affect installation and general functionality. Specifically, we are interested in determining whether there is adequate clearance in all critical areas.

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When installed in the East-West or North-South orientation, our Prolimatech Mega Shadow had no issues physically clearing the "northbridge" or MOSFET heatsinks. Despite the fact that the CPU socket area is a little cramped, we don't foresee any obstacles with even the largest of coolers. However, those who need to insulate the motherboard for sub-zero cooling might have some work cut out for them.

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With the heatsink installed in the traditional North-South orientation, we surprisingly did not have any show stopping clearance issues when it came to installing or removing the memory modules. Having said that, as on all quad-channel motherboards, our cooler's fan clips did make slight contact with the nearest memory module, but simply installing the clips after the RAM prevented any problems. Those using a heatsink that is wider than 122mm (with fans) or memory modules that are taller than 44mm will want to be careful, assuming a similar fan clip setup.

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There is a decent amount of room between the back of the graphics card and the memory slots, and RAM installation is further aided by the clip-less Q-DIMM memory slots. The 24-pin ATX power connector and the 8-pin and 4-pin CPU power connectors are ideally placed in their common locations, so that helps make assembling and disassembling the system just a tad easier.

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The M.2 bracket for the vertical M.2 slot is easy to install with two metal screws, and it really doesn't interfere with any other part of the installation process. It might look weird, but it is an ingenious solution for increasing the number of M.2 devices that can fit on a motherboard with a lack of available PCB space.

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This board will hold two or three dual-slot graphics cards without issue. The cards overhang the motherboard, but the edge-mounted SATA connectors and various headers are still easily accessible. As on all motherboard, if you install a dual-slot expansion card in the bottom PCI-E x16 slot it will block the headers at the very bottom of the motherboard and make access to the various buttons difficult if not impossible.

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The eight right-angle SATA ports are obviously accessible no matter how many graphics cards are installed, as is the nearby U.2 connector.

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Like on all LGA2011 motherboards past and present, this model comes with its own CPU backplate, so there is really nothing to worry about back there.

 

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BIOS Rundown

BIOS Rundown

Strictly speaking, this is not a next generation motherboard model, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that although it features an updated colour scheme, the X99-Deluxe II has effectively the same UEFI as the original X99-Deluxe. Frankly though, that's a good thing. This UEFI is aesthetically pleasing, well reorganized, jam-packed with settings, and it also has a bunch of user-friendly features. Furthermore, as we have come to expect from all manufacturers, this is a very smooth and responsive interface. The UEFI BIOS is divided across two distinct modes. The EZ Mode is simplified and features a mouse-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) that helps you tweak basic settings, while the Advanced Mode has all the settings, options, and features that you could ever want, while also being usable with a mouse. You can switch between the two modes by simply pressing F7.

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The EZ Mode makes pretty good use of the graphical user interface (GUI) and was designed to be used with a mouse. It obviously does not have all the functionality of the Advanced mode, but it is not meant to. It simply gives novice users an easy way to visualize and alter some of the most common settings. The Q-Fan Tuning feature can be found in both BIOS modes, but fundamentally it gives you full manual or preset-based control over the systems fans. The EZ Tuning Wizard is particularly interesting since it brings overclocking to an even simpler level. Basically, the wizard asks you how you generally use your system, what kind of CPU cooler you have installed, and based on your answer it comes up with an appropriate tuning level for your respective system. It worked perfect during our short time toying with it, and the fact that it never actually mentions "overclocking" should help alleviate some of the fears less knowledgeable users might associate with the word.

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The My Favorites tab is a fairly new addition to the bios. As you might have surmised, it allows you to have all your most useful or most used settings in one place, so you no longer have to search through the whole bios to find what you need time and time again.

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The next tab in the BIOS is the Main section, which displays the standard storage devices and some basic system information. This System Information section lists some rudimentary specification info, including the BIOS date & version, the type of processor and the amount of memory installed. You can also set the system language, and an administrator and/or individual User password.

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Next up is the Ai Tweaker section, which is where all the fun happens. Once the manual option is selected in the Ai Overclock Tuner setting, the BIOS opens up to reveal all of the essential system clock control options: CPU multiplier with an all cores, core usage, or specific core option, BLCK frequency, CPU strap, memory frequency, memory timing options, and all the voltage options.

The TPU setting allows novice users to automatically overclock their systems without having to mess around with clocks speeds, multipliers, and voltages. The are two options in this feature, TPU I and TPU II, the latter of which applies a more aggressive overclock. You enable this feature you simply need to select one of the two options, save, and reboot. You can read more about this automatic overclocking feature in our Overclocking Results section.

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As its name suggests, the DRAM Timing Control section is where you will find all the memory-related settings. Within this section you can select and change all the memory settings, and each memory channel has its own section, from which you can alter the primary and secondary timings. It has just about every memory modifier that an enthusiast or overclocker would need to fine-tune their modules. There's really an overabundance of options and it is quite impressive.

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The DIGI+ Power Control section has a whole slew of advanced power regulation settings for the CPU cores, CPU VTT and VCCSA (system agent/memory controller), and DRAM channels. This motherboard is setup well enough so that you should never actually have to tweak any of these settings though, unless you are really pushing the limits with phase-change or LN2 cooling.

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The Internal CPU Power Management section is where you can enable or disable all the CPU-specific features like SpeedStep and Turbo Mode, as well as setting the Turbo limits. ASUS have really bolstered this section with an overwhelming array of CPU power tuning settings.

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The Tweakers Paradise sub-menus has a ton of fairly obscure settings that should come in handy in the hands of experts top-level overclockers. Some CPU PLL related settings, as well as the VCCU voltage offset which is useful when overclocking the cache. The CPU Input settings regulated the input voltage for the CPU - usually around 1.8V - and is controlled by the external voltage regulator.

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Occupying the middle to bottom section of the Ai Tweaker are the prodigious voltage options. As you would expect, all the key system voltages are present and accounted for, as far as bunch of other voltage options that we have frankly never even seen before. For some of the key voltages like the CPU Core voltage and the CPU Cache voltage, ASUS have allowed four separate entry modes. The Auto and Manual modes are self-evident, the Offset Mode allows you to specify how much higher (or lower) the voltage should be in reference to stock level, so something like +0.10V or +0.15V. The Adaptive Mode allows you to set both a base voltage and higher Turbo Mode voltage that is enabled under heavy system loads. This helps minimize the amount of voltage running through an overclocked processor when it's not under load.

Usually we would now say that we wish there were more drop-down menus in this section. Although you can manually type in whatever you want, but that is not particularly useful when you don't know or don’t remember what the default voltages are. Thankfully, like on the Z170 models, ASUS have thought about this, and they have included real-time voltage readouts next to all the key system voltages.

 

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BIOS Rundown pt.2

BIOS Rundown pt.2

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The Advanced tab is where you can tweak countless settings and enable or disable all of the motherboard's components. The CPU Configuraton sub-menu is where you can manipulate all the CPU-specific features like the Thermal Monitor, Hyper-Threading, Virtualization, Enhanced SpeedStep, Turbo Mode, C-States, and even the ability to disable individual cores.

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The Advanced Tab is also where you can enable/disable or just find all the various settings and options for all the onboard devices or features like the audio, LAN, Wi-Fi, USB 3.1, SATA ports, RGB LED lighting, PCI-E slot bandwidth modes, etc. There are literally hundreds of settings in this section, it is quite impressive if a little daunting. Thankfully, most people will never need to touch any of these settings.

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The Monitor section is dedicated to the monitoring of the various voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds. This whole section is really quite impressive, it has all the essential temperature and voltage readouts, as well as truly excellent and comprehensive fan control functionality named Q-Fan Control. For those that don't wish to do any manual tweaking, the "Optimize All" feature will automatically detect your system's fans and determine their minimum duty cycle in order to reduce noise output.

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The Boot tab is essentially where you set storage device priority, select the boot drive, enable/disable Fast Boot, enable/disable the full screen logo, and ton of other boot settings that can help with the installation or troubleshooting of various OS installations.

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The Tool section gives you access to numerous built-in tools that allow for everything from selecting which BIOS profile to use to flashing your BIOS. Also included is a feature that was first seen on older RoG motherboards: GPU post. GPU post shows which PCI-E slots are populated and in what mode they are operating. This will make troubleshooting GPU and RAID card issues much easier.

ASUS EZ Flash 3 is a built-in utility that greatly simplifies the BIOS updating process. You can easily update your BIOS from a ROM file located on your hard drive(s) or USB flash drive(s). It's quick, painless, and it takes the worry out of BIOS flashing.

This BIOS also incorporates an easy secure erase utility for solid state drives, which is a process that not only destroys all the data on the SSD but also helps to restore the drive to its original performance level.

The ASUS Overclocking Profile feature gives users the option to save and switch between BIOS profiles, for example an everyday profile and a benchmarking profile. Not only is this infinitely quicker than manually inserting every setting, but the profiles can be saved and shared among other X99 Deluxe II owners.

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Before you save your settings and exit the BIOS, there is a handy window that lists the changes you made during this session. It's a well thought out and implemented idea. The General Help pop-up that you can find in the top-right corner is very handy for those who can't remember all the function key tasks.

 

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Included Software

Included Software

Ai Suite III​

The most important and all-encompassing utility in ASUS' impressive suite of software is the aptly named Ai Suite III. Whereas ASUS used to have a handful of standalone apps for different functions, many were consolidated under the Ai Suite moniker back in 2011. This system management utility is the hub from which you can monitor system clock speeds, voltages, temperatures, and fan rotation but more importantly it allows users to do both automatic and manual overclocking from within Windows. Although it's basic UI has been established for a while, ASUS regularly adds to the capabilities to this utility, so let's check it out.

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There are six main sections that are the focus of the Ai Suite III utility, and they are all linked to the Dual Intelligent Processors 5. As a refresher, DIP5 refers to two co-processors - the TurboV Processing Unit (TPU) and the Energy Processing Unit (EPU) - that are tasked with for optimizing the system with a focus on either better performance and improved energy efficiency.

The 5-Way Optimization section is the coolest, and is where you will find the 5-Way Optimization automatic overclocking feature. There is also the Energy Processing Unit (EPU) power saving or performance profiles, Fan Xpert 3 fan speed optimization status, DIGI+ VRM optimization, awesome new Turbo App functionality, and some display-only information regarding TurboV Processing Unit (TPU). We'll go into it in-depth below.

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On the left hand side of the Ai Suite utility is an arrow that activates a pop-out menu when clicked. Here you will find features like USB 3.1 Boost. When enabled, USB 3.1 Boost implements the UAS Protocol (UASP) USB protocol that greatly enhances speeds while also lowering CPU utilization. The EZ Update tool allows users to update their motherboard's BIOS either directly from the internet or from a downloaded file.

System Information just contains a bunch of basic system information regarding your CPU, motherboard or RAM. You can also find you can find your serial number, BIOS version, etc. BIOS Flashback allows you to copy the content of BIOS1 to BIOS2, as well as force the use of BIOS1 or BIOS2.

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At the bottom is a static strip that displays information on CPU and DRAM frequency, real-time voltage and temperatures measurements, as well as CPU and case fans speeds. You can also set safe thresholds for voltages, temperatures and fan speeds as well as setting alerts to warn you of any serious fluctuations. It is essentially a replacement for the Probe II utility.

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Clicking on the 5-Way Optimization button reveals the coolest part of the whole Dual Intelligent Processors 5 utility. There is a certain level of fan optimization functionality in this section, but what's really interesting is the automatic overclocking feature. You will have the option of 2 different overclocking levels and 2 different ways of achieving that overclock, depending on whether you have an unlocked processor or not. We don't want to reveal too much here, so go check out the Overclocking Results section to see how well this auto-overclocking feature worked.

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The TPU (TurboV Processing Unit) tab is where you can manually adjust the BCLK frequency or CPU strap (100/125/166/250MHz). You will also be able to change the CPU multiplier, either per core or as a group. There are also an impressive ten adjustable system voltages. You can adjust all these settings on-the-fly without having to reboot the system, except for the CPU strap since it does cause such a dramatic increase in all system frequencies.

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The EPU (Energy Processing Unit) tab is you will be able to fine-tune the various selection of power saving or performance profiles. This is a versatile feature for those who truly care about maximizing energy savings.

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The DIGI+ Power Control tab is where you will find the power options for the CPU, System Agent/Memory Controller, and RAM. There are adjustable settings for load-line calibration, current capability, voltage frequency, and phase control. There are different power controls for each memory channel since they are independently powered.

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The Fan Xpert 3 tab is, as you might expect, where you can fully manage and optimize your CPU and system fans. While there are now a series of four fan presets (Silent/Standard/Turbo/Full Speed), you can also manually adjust the full fan speed curve to your preferences, or simply use the fully automated Fan Tuning feature.

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The Turbo App section allows you set custom system configurations for any applications that you want. For example, if you know that your processor can withstand a higher clock speed in a lightly threaded application, you can see this utility to automatically adjust your system overclock every time you open that app, as well as tweak network priority and audio settings.

 

[MAC]

Included Software pt.2

Included Software pt.2

Lighting Control

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The AURA Lighting Control software utility allows users to control the RGB LEDs that are integrated into the chipset cooler, PCI-E slot clips, audio subsystem, and even any lighting strip that is plugged into the RGB header. The LEDs can be adjusted to any number of different colours and customized to create cool lighting effects. The presets can cause the LEDs to change shades to indicate CPU temperature, pulsate with the beat of your music, cycle through all the colours, fade in and out, flash on and off, colours, statically display one colour, and more. There are now nine effects presets, which is a nice increase over the six choices that were originally offered with the B150 PRO GAMING/AURA.

ASUS CPU-Z

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ASUS CPU-Z is a special edition of CPU-Z with a special colour scheme and the ASUS logo. This edition is found on the included software DVD or the ASUS website, but it is not yet available for download from CPUID.com, though you can download the ROG CPU-Z version. We recommend that you do this, or simply use the regular CPU-Z app, since this ASUS version is based on an older version that doesn't properly support Broadwell-E.

Turbo LAN

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Turbo LAN is a utility designed to help reduce latency courtesy of cFosSpeed traffic-shaping technology. This utility provides users with a lot of control and monitoring capabilities over every application that is accessing the network. It displays CPU usage, NPU usage, ICMP and UDP average ping, and the network utilization of every system process and program. This tool also allows you give priority to certain applications, and throttle or block others to free network resources for other applications. It is your one-stop tool for monitoring and controlling all network traffic, and it even comes with a little widget for real-time bandwidth information.

Boot Setting

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ASUS Boot Setting allows users to boot directly into the BIOS without having to repeatedly hit delete during the POST screen. It is a pretty hand tool when you are rebooting as often as overclockers tend to do.

WebStorage

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The WebStorage utility is basically the ASUS equivalent of DropBox. It is cloud computing application that gives users web storage and access to data across many devices. All ASUS motherboard owners get a free 5.5GB of storage, you can buy more or be gifted some by ASUS if you referrer your friends. The web interface is pretty standard and utilitarian. Overall, there is not much to complain about, it's a nice freebie if you choose to use it.