ASUS WS X299 SAGE, Intel X299 motherboard - Socket 2066 [90SW0070-M0EAY0]

 This chipset, codenamed "Lewisburg", proves to be a true all-rounder, with up to 30 HSIO lanes (high-speed input / output) and the maximum 24 PCI Express 3.0 lanes to use Connections allowed. The ASUS WS X299 SAGE workstation motherboard has seven PCIe slots and supports AMD's 4-Way CrossfireX and NVIDIA's 4-Way SLI.

The ASUS WS X299 SAGE mainboard at a glance:
7 × PCIe (3.0 / 2.0) x16 (1 × x16 / 3 × x16 / x8 / 3 × x0 / x8)
Support for AMD's 4-Way CrossfireX and NVIDIA's 4-Way SLI
3 × USB 3.1 (1 × Type-C / 1 × Type-A / 1 × internal)
8 × USB 3.0 (6 × Type-A / 2 × internal) & 4 × USB 2.0 (4 × Type-A)
Each 2 × M.2 and U.2 (PCIe 3.0 × 4) / 8 × SATA 6G, 2 × U.2
8 × DIMM slots for DDR4 RAM (128 GB maximum with 28 or 44 lane CPU)
The ASUS WS X299 SAGE in detail
The ASUS WS X299 SAGE is an extensively populated ATX format gaming motherboard suitable for players and case modders who choose X299 & Skylake X and Kaby Lake X teams. The stylish, black board has seven PCIe x16 slots, four of which are connected to the chipset with full 16 lanes and three electrical with eight data lines. This allows even NVIDIA 4-way SLI or AMD 4-way CrossFireX configurations when using a 28 or 44 lane CPU. In addition, the motherboard is equipped with two PLX chips.

Equipped with a total of eight DIMM slots for DDR4 memory, a CPU with 28 or 44 data lines, all slots in quad-channel operation and up to a maximum capacity of 128 GB can be used. A 16-lane CPU supports dual-channel operation of four slots with a maximum capacity of 64 GB. Officially DDR4 modules with up to 2.666 MHz can be used, whereby after overclocking also much higher clock rates are possible: up to 4.000 MHz!

For data carriers, the board provides a comprehensive set of two M.2 slots for particularly fast NVMe M.2 SSDs and two U.2 slots, which are also connected via PCIe 3.0 x4, and eight SATA 6G ports for 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch hard drives and SSDs (including RAID support) are available. The M.2 ports are connected to the chipset via four PCIe lanes in the 3.0 standard, enabling a data transfer rate of just under 4 GB / s in combination with the NVMe protocol. This makes M.2 PCIe SSDs up to eight times faster than SATA 6G SSDs!
External connections
There are many useful ports on the mainboard I / O panel to make life easier for the user. In addition to a new Type-C USB 3.1 port, which is particularly thin and can finally be plugged in on both sides, the board has another, downward-compatible USB 3.1 port. The ASMedia 3142 USB 3.1 controller even achieves maximum speeds of up to 16 Gbps, which is more than three times faster than conventional USB 3.0 ports. Of course, the board also has eight USB 3.0 and four USB 2.0 ports for input devices and other gaming peripherals.

For unrestricted network connections, the ASUS WS X299 SAGE also has two Intel Gigabit LAN ports. The Realtek ALC S1220A codec and the five audio ports make for a decent sound.

Technical details:
Format:
CEB form factor (30.5 x 26.7 cm)
chipset:
Intel X299 ("Lewisburg")
Base:
2066 (for Intel CPUs of the Skylake-X and Kaby Lake-X generation)
R.A.M:
8 × DDR4 (Skylake-X: DDR4-2.666, up to 128 GB with a CPU with 44 or 28 lanes)
4 × DDR4 (Kaby Lake-X: DDR4-2.666, up to 64 GB with a 16-lane CPU)
Quad-Channel (Skylake-X, supports CPUs with 44 or 28 lanes)
Dual Channel (Kaby Lake-X, supports 16-lane CPUs)
Slots (physical):
4 × PCIe 3.0 x16
3 × PCIe 3.0 x16 (electric x8)
Compatible multi-VGA configurations: 4-way SLI * (quad GPU), 4-way CrossFireX * (quad GPU)
Internal connections:
8 × SATA 6G
1 × M.2 (PCIe 3.0 x4, 2242/2260/2280/110)
1 × M.2 (PCIe 3.0 x4 & SATA, 2242/2260/2280)
2 × U.2 (PCIe 3.0 × 4) 1 × USB 3.1 (Type-A or -C)
2 × USB 3.0 (a header)
2 × CPU fan (4-pin)
3 × system fan (4-pin)
2 × system fan / pump connection (4-pin)
1 × LED header
1 × front panel header
1 × Thermal Sensor Connector
2 × U.2 connector
1 × Thunderbolt
1 × Power Button
1 × Clear CMOS jumper
1 × CPU_OV jumper
1 × MemOK! button
1 × VROC_HW_Key
1 × AAFP connector
1 × COM port header
External connections:
1 × USB 3.1 (Type-C)
1 × USB 3.1 (Type-A)
6 × USB 3.0 (Type-A)
4 × USB 2.0 (Type-A)
2 × RJ45 LAN port (Intel I219V)
1 × BIOS flashback button
5 × Audio (Realtek ALC1220)
Power supply:
1 × 24 pin EATX
2 × 8-pin ATX 12V
1 × 6-pin ATX 12V