ASUS TUF X299 Mark 1 Review

Up Close

Such is the consistency of modern motherboards that a majority of the differences between them are down to a matter of personal aesthetic preferences as the selection of accessories included in the package. With the TUF Mark 1 there are a couple of things in the box that are unique to it. Firstly we have the TUF Detective 2, an improvement upon the previous TUF Detective. It’s a USB device that connects to the rear of the motherboard, and the subsequently to an app on your phone, that shows the POST status as well as current settings so that you can diagnose issues. If there are none it also allows you to control turning the system on and off, perfect for getting it booting up whilst you make a morning coffee.

The second thing that is specific to the TUF X299 is the GPU brace which reduces the load placed upon the PCI Express slot by a hefty GPU. Think of it as belt and braces in conjunction with the PCI Express armor.

  
  
  
 
With so many DIMM slots the TUF Armor covers less of the PCB than we’ve seen from previous iterations whilst still managing give a smooth look to the motherboard. A small fan helps keep airflow running underneath the Armor whilst also assisting in the cooling of your M.2 drive. Wherever you look there are headers for fans and USB ports, so take in the overall looks before we look more closely at those elements on the next page.

  
  
  

VRM MOSFET temperatures are, if you’ll pardon the expression, a hot button issue at the moment. We were initially concerned that the extra plastic above the chokes would limit airflow and exacerbate the problem, but – as you’ll see later – it doesn’t negatively impact the temperatures you can expect to see.