ASUS Introduces WS X299 Pro Workstation Motherboard

ASUS has unveiled their latest workstation motherboard for Kaby Lake-X and Skylake-X CPUs called the WS X299 Pro. It supports LGA2066 socket Core CPUs and it has eight DIMM slots in total. Depending on the CPU, users can take advantage of either all eight DIMM slots or just four for 4-core X-series HEDT CPUs.

New ASUS “Pro” Workstation Design

Unlike previous workstation motherboards from ASUS for the X79 and X99 chipset which use a CEB form factor, the new WS X299 Pro uses a standard ATX measuring 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm. ASUS also has scaled back noticeably on some of the features. Take the expansion slot design for example. Previous workstation boards have seven full-size PCIe expansion slots. The new WS X299 Pro however, only has four full-size PCIe slots and one PCIex4 slot with an open end. That is despite the latest Intel HEDT platform offering as much as 44-lanes from the CPU without the need for a multiplexer chip like before.

The VRM is also scaled back, dropping the ASUS blackwing chokes and scaling back on the VRM cooling system. There is only a single heatpipe extension now rather than a fully networked four-piece with the X299. Then again, this is the PRO version, while the previous two were workstation boards under the EXTREME moniker. The WS X299 Pro keeps the dual EATX12V power for the CPU however so you can still feed it for extreme overclocking.  It even retains many of the on-board buttons.

Other Features

In terms of storage, there are six SATA3 6G SATA ports, dual M.2 slots and a U.2 slot. As for external storage, there are three USB 3.1 Gen2 via an ASMedia controller at the rear (one of which is Type-C), 6x USB 3.1 Gen1 and 6x USB 2.0.

The audio subsystem also uses the Realtek ALC S1220A 7.1-Channel HD audio codec used on many of ASUS’ mainstream and high-end boards.

Does it have RGB LED headers? You bet. One for standard RGB LEDs and one for addressable RGB LED lights.

Pricing and Availability

The product page just went up with the specifications and not much else, so there is no pricing information or availability yet. The non-10G X99E-WS motherboard retails for around $500 USD, so expecting this board with less “extreme” features to be around $300-$350 USD when it hits retail stores is reasonable.