Layout
At a first glance the MSI X99S Gaming
7 is good looking. The
manufacturer decided to go for a combination of black and red. In fact the PCB
is kept in matte black entirely and the coolers received some red stripes. The layout is
well thought and there is for example plenty of space around the CPU socket to
install large coolers without running into compatibility issues. The fact that there are
angled SATA connectors allow for easy installation of oversized
graphics cards.
The MSI X99S Gaming 7 comes with a digital
8+4 phase power design. The
CPU gets eight phases and the memory can rely on four
phases for stable current delivery. Overall the power design on this motherboard
is more than sufficient for a high-end gaming grade board. It can even handle
decent overclocking without breaking a sweat.
Totally you'll find eight
DIMM-slots on the X99S Gaming 7. Officially supported are DDR4 3330
(O.C.) / 3100 (O.C.) / 3000 (O.C.) / 2800 (O.C.) / 2666 (O.C.) / 2400 (O.C.) /
2133 (O.C.) MHz. There is
engough space between the DIMM-slots and the CPU socket which means that you
won't run into issues with large coolers even if you choose to
install memory with big heatspreaders.
PCH as well as the current converters are being held at adequate temperatures via passive
heatsinks and the two blocks have not been connected via a heatpipe. On another note it is nice feeling, that this board is
actually heavier than average, which is always a good indicator on how serious a
manufacturer is about a certain product.
ASUS X99-A Review 