X99 Motherboard Preview Roundup

MSI X99S SLI PLUS

RRP: £159.95

Specifications

• Expansion slots: Four PCI-E 16x (Two x16, Two x8) Two PCI-E 1x
• Networking: Intel Gigabit
  
• SATA Express support: YES
  
• M.2 Support: YES
  
• Storage: 1 x M.2, 1 x SATA Express, 10 x SATA 6Gbps
  
• USB: 12 x USB 3 (4 via X99 headers), 6 x USB 2 (4 via headers)
  
• Audio: Realtek ALC1150

We were pretty impressed with MSI's Z97 offerings, particularly in terms of value, and it seems to be focusing on pleasing your wallet again with the X99S SLI PLUS. Retailing for just £159, it's one of the cheapest X99 motherboards out there and it doesn't disappoint on features or aesthetics either.

Both SATA Express and M.2 support are here, as well as four 16x PCI-E slots with two sporting the full x16 bandwidth, the other to being limited to x8. There's also two 1x PCI-E slots and MSI has even been able to include on-board power and reset buttons. the aesthetics might not be quite as lavish as those on Asus' boards, particularly the X99 Deluxe, but as the latter costs nearly twice as much, we can certainly forgive MSI here.

Given its solid underpinnings elsewhere in the motherboard market, this could be a value-conscious option for would-be Haswell-E owners.