Yesterday, ASUS announced their latest X299 refresh motherboards which are designed for the next-generation Intel Core i9-10000 X-series processors. The Intel Core i9-10000 series line is the successor to the Core i9-9000 series HEDT processors built for the LGA 2066 socket. The CPUs were already announced to get refreshed later this year and ASUS has pretty much confirmed this in their new product pages for the X299 refresh motherboards.

ASUS Confirms Intel Core i9-10000 Core-X Series HEDT CPUs - Unveils Refreshed X299 Boards Including the X299 Rampage VI Extreme Encore Behemoth

During Gamescom 2019, ASUS announced their refreshed X299 motherboards for Intel's Core-X processors. These motherboards include the newly designed ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore, ROG STRIX X299-E Gaming II and the Prime X299-A-II. ASUS already offered some pretty high-end designs such as their PRIME X299 Edition 30 and the ROG Rampage VI Extreme Omega. However, ASUS has managed to fit even more features in their refreshed lineup.

ASUS ROG STRIX & TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 3090, RTX 3080, RTX 3070 Custom Graphics Cards Leak Out Ahead of Launch – Stunning New Designs With Beefy 2.9 Slot Cooling









Before we get into details of each specific motherboard, the ASUS specifications page for their new X299 lineup specifically mentioned that they will support Intel's Core i9-10000 X-Series processors. The new Core-X lineup is based on the Cascade Lake-X design and will feature processors with up to 18 cores and 36 threads. The same page also mentioned up to 48 PCIe Gen 3 lanes which are an upgrade from the current 44 PCIe Gen 3 lane design.





Intel Core i9-10000 series Core-X processors get listed by ASUS on their official product pages. (Image Credits: Momomo_Us)

Intel HEDT Processor Families:

Intel HEDT Family Gulftown Sandy Bridge-E Ivy Bridge-E Haswell-E Broadwell-E Skylake-X Skylake-X Skylake-X Cascade Lake-X Process Node 32nm 32nm 22nm 22nm 14nm 14nm+ 14nm+ 14nm+ 14nm++ Flagship SKU Core i7-980X Core i7-3960X Core i7-4960X Core i7-5960X Core i7-6950X Core i9-7980XE Core i9-9980XE Xeon W-3175X Core i9-10980XE Max Cores/Threads 6/12 6/12 6/12 8/16 10/20 18/36 18/36 28/56 18/36 Clock Speeds 3.33/3,60 GHz 3.30/3.90 GHz 3.60/4.00 GHz 3.00/3.50 GHz 3.00/3.50 GHz 2.60/4.20 GHz 3.00/4.50 GHz 3.10/4.30 GHz 3.00 / 4.80 GHz Max Cache 12 MB L3 15 MB L3 15 MB L3 20 MB L3 25 MB L3 24.75 MB L3 24.75 MB L3 38.5 MB L3 24.75 MB L3 Max PCI-Express Lanes (CPU) 32 Gen2 40 Gen2 40 Gen3 40 Gen3 40 Gen3 44 Gen3 44 Gen3 44 Gen3 44 Gen3 Chipset Compatiblity X58 Chipset X79 Chipset X79 Chipset X99 Chipset X99 Chipset X299 X299 C612E X299 Socket Compatiblity LGA 1366 LGA 2011 LGA 2011 LGA 2011-3 LGA 2011-3 LGA 2066 LGA 2066 LGA 3647 LGA 2066 Memory Compatiblity DDR3-1066 DDR3-1600 DDR3-1866 DDR4-2133 DDR4-2400 DDR4-2666 DDR4-2800 DDR4-2666 DDR4-2933 Max TDP 130W 130W 130W 140W 140W 165W 165W 255W 165W Launch Q1 2010 Q4 2011 Q3 2013 Q3 2014 Q2 2016 Q3 2017 Q4 2018 Q4 2018 Q4 2019 Launch Price $999 US $999 US $999 US $1059 US $1700 US $1999 US $1979 US ~$4000 US $979 US

Two main highlights of the new ASUS X299 motherboards include up to 256 GB memory support, twice as much compared to current X299 motherboards and more PCIe lanes allowing for multi-GPU functionality and faster NVMe support.

Looking at the ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore, we can spot some key differences such as an upgraded power delivery system that is now made up of 16 Infineon Digital VRMs and is supplied power through dual 8-pin and a single 6 pin connector.

ASUS Intros ROG Swift PG259QN 360Hz G-Sync eSports Gaming Monitor

The entire motherboard is fitted with +5 Armor heatsink design with five layers of cooling heat sinks to keep the power delivery running cool and stable. Other changes include the refined RGB system that uses an Infinity Lightning design with holographic accents, a 1.77" OLED (LiveDash) display. There are also more SATA connectors since the U.2 port is not featured and there are a ton of tuning switches and buttons on this E-ATX motherboard. ASUS has also added outclass I/O on this motherboard which includes 10G, 1G and Wi-Fi 6 options. The ASUS ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore is said to cost around $650 US which makes it one of the most expensive X299 boards.

ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore Size EATX Memory 8x DDR4 up to 4266MT/s (OC) Multi-GPU 3x SLI, 3x CrossFireX PCIe 3x x16: x16/x16/x8

2x x1 Storage 4x M.2 (all PCIe x4, 1 supports SATA)

8x SATA 6Gbps Networking Aquantia AQC-107 10G Ethernet

Intel I219-V Gigabit Ethernet

2x2 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) MU-MIMO; Bluetooth 5 Audio SupremeFX S1220 codec

DTS Sound Unbound USB 3.2 Gen 2 2x2 (20 Gbps): 1x back

3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps): 1x Type-C, 1x Type-A, 2x front

3.2 Gen 1: 8x back, 4x front

2.0: 1x back, 2x front Aura 2x strip headers + 3x on Fan Extension Card II

2x Gen2 addressable headers Cooling 2x pump headers

5x fan headers + 6x on Fan Extension Card II

1x high-amperage fan header

2x coolant temperature sensor

1x coolant flow rate sensor

The ASUS ROG STRIX X299-E Gaming II also gets a 12 phase power delivery which uses a two-piece design and a large heat pipe running through both blocks. The motherboard comes with active fan-based cooling but unlike the Encore which houses 2 active fans, the STRIX X299-E Gaming II has a single fan. Power is provided through dual 8-pin connectors and there's a 1.3" OLED (LiveDash) display to provide you with a range of info specific to the CPU such as temps, clocks, frequency.

ROG Strix X299-E Gaming II Size ATX Memory 8x DDR4 up to 4266MT/s (OC) Multi-GPU 3x SLI, 3x CrossFireX PCIe 3x x16: x16/x16/x8

1x x4

1x x1 Storage 3x M.2 (all PCIe x4, 1 supports SATA)

8x SATA 6Gbps Networking Realtek 2.5G Ethernet

Intel I219-V Gigabit Ethernet

2x2 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) MU-MIMO; Bluetooth 5 Audio SupremeFX S1220A codec

DTS Sound Unbound USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps): 1x Type-C, 3x Type-A, 1x front

3.2 Gen 1: 2x back, 4x front

2.0: 4x back, 4x front Aura 2x strip headers

2x Gen2 addressable headers Cooling 5x fan headers

1x pump header

1x AIO cooler header

Finally, there's the ASUS PRIME X299-A II which is also fitted with a 12 Phase Digital VRM that is powered by dual 8-pin connectors. The motherboard carries the solid silver and white PRIME design that we have seen over the generations. Solid heatsinks cover the VRMs, the PCH and the M.2 slots while looking great.

Prime X299-A II Size ATX Memory 8x DDR4 up to 4266MT/s (OC) Multi-GPU 3x SLI, 3x CrossFireX PCIe 3x x16: x16/x16/x8

2x x1 Storage 3x M.2 (all PCIe x4, 1 supports SATA)

8x SATA 6Gbps Networking Intel I219-V Gigabit Ethernet Audio Realtek ALC S1220A

DTS X:Ultra USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps): 1x Type-C, 1x Type-A, 1x front

3.2 Gen 1: 4x back, 4x front

2.0: 2x back, 4x front Aura 2x strip headers

1x Gen2 addressable headers Cooling 5x fan headers

1x pump header

1x AIO cooler header

ASUS hasn't yet announced the final pricing or launch dates for these motherboards but we have already seen multiple entries of Intel's Cascade Lake-X (Core-X) processors which means that they will be launching soon. We will keep you posted as soon as we have more information on the new LGA 2066 socketed Core-X (Core i9-10000) series, processors.