Review: Asus TUF Sabertooth X99

by Tarinder Sandhu on 17 April 2015, 15:30

Tags: ASUSTeK (TPE:2357), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacqsi

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Conclusion


This focus on cooling coupled with decent power delivery gives the board the highest CPU and memory overclocks we've seen on X99.

Asus provides genuine differentiation for its X99 motherboard line-up with the introduction of the TUF Sabertooth model.

It's aimed at those enthusiasts who like to tinker with their setups on a regular basis, and as such, reporting from applications such as Thermal Radar 2 provides granular feedback on what's happening in practically every facet of the system.

This focus on cooling coupled with decent power delivery gives the board the highest CPU and memory overclocks we've seen on an X99 chipset thus far. Newer features such as USB 3.1 and SFF-8639 are supported, too.

No board is perfect, mind, and Asus makes the decision to share the M.2 bandwidth with the third PCIe x16 slot, thus precluding the use of three-way SLI or CrossFire and M.2 in the same system. This may seem like a small point at first glance, but the premium pricing and enthusiast nature of this board should mean such compromises don't exist.

Our feelings for the TUF Sabertooth boards hasn't changed over time, and we're of the opinion that it remains a premium offering whose impressive monitoring and reporting excites the geek in us. If you happen to be of the same disposition the TUF Sabertooth X99 is a fine choice for an ultra-high-end build.

The Good
  
The Bad
Five-year warranty
Built like a tank
Overclocks very well
Sensors galore
Different from norm
USB 3.1 and SFF-8639 support
  
Premium price
Limitations on M.2 and PCIe



Asus TUF Sabertooth X99

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Posted by Tunnah - Fri 17 Apr 2015 18:50
Cool concept, but I've got an 11 year old PC running in a cupboard that I've cleaned maybe once - since when has dust protection really been an issue ?

The gimmicks this product is offering seem halfway into the sort of things a workstation toughened product would offer, but they do it properly, this seems like a halfway effort and more based around adding function to the design, rather than design to the function
Posted by devBunny - Sat 18 Apr 2015 19:10
Tunnah
Cool concept, but I've got an 11 year old PC running in a cupboard that I've cleaned maybe once - since when has dust protection really been an issue ?
Probably ever since people weaker in the habits of cupboarding their computers and hoovering their rooms started using computers. ;-)

I once tried running in a cupboard but it's just not the same as a nice big field. :-D
Posted by xslavic - Sun 19 Apr 2015 18:14
Wow.this is so expensive !
Posted by jackjack - Wed 22 Apr 2015 07:28
Awesome! ASUS did it again, i always a big fan for ASUS TUF Sabertooth Motherboard series
Posted by AGTDenton - Wed 22 Apr 2015 14:56
xslavic
Wow.this is so expensive !

Price is on par with the 2 previous generations (X79, X58). Mine, while not a Sabretooth, was more or less the same price, and its lasted me 6 years thus far - very glad I made the investment and expect it to last another year at the very least maybe squeeze in a further one to be ready for Skylake-E…

I try to get every last drop out of my system before replacing but being a gamer has in the past meant much shorter term computers, I'd say this one has lasted the longest as my main rig. So if you're the person to change regularly either on a budget or because you need the latest, this definitely wouldn't be for you. But it would be a solid investment - especially with the 5 year warranty - for a long term PC.

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