EVGA X99 Classified Motherboard Review

Clean power starts at the source, and with the power demands of extreme overclocking, the more power you have the better.  EVGA understands this and has offered an additional 8-pin 12v power connector to help with the extreme overclocking efforts.  This connection is optional but if you have the power lead available it doesn't hurt to use it.

Quad channel memory comes standard on the LGA 2011 platform and the X99 Classified supports DDR4 modules at 3000Mhz+ with a maximum of 128GB usable.  24pin ATX power is located in the traditional location near the upper edge of the motherboard and is oriented 90 degrees to help with cable routing and airflow.

Internal SATA connections number ten and follow the new SATA6 connection standard direct from the chipset.  It is actually rather common to have SATA ports exit the motherboard at 90 degrees however fan headers are a different story.  In fact you’ll notice that just about every external connection on the X99 Classified is at 90 degrees.

The I/O panel is rather self explanatory.  On the panel you will find six USB 2.0 ports along with four USB 3.0 ports, Dual Ethernet, CMOS reset and 8-channel audio powered by a quad core Creative Core 3D processor.  Another surprise is the exclusion of a single PS/2 keyboard port, yep it has been excluded on purpose.  I could go on saying the world still needs the PS/2 however the future is USB, at least for now.

Of course having said that I will say there is one downside to using a USB keyboard.  When you are overclocking there are times times when the USB system will not initialize and sends your computer booting with no way to control it.  Had the keyboard been attached to PS/2 this wouldn’t be an issue and overclocking would be “more” of a thing.