EVGA X99 Classified Motherboard Review

Benchtop controls are located in the upper left of the motherboard near the 24 pin power connector and consist of power, reset and CMOS clear.  Nearby you'll find the dual purpose debug LED that reads off post codes during boot and later relays CPU temp.  Below the debug LED is a fairly new onboard feature called GPU Link.  There is very little documentation related to this plug but we suspect it is similar to the Asus hotwire for controlling GPUs.

It is unclear what the Turbo Button does aside from switching back and forth.

Voltage test points are no longer a series of pads on the PCB but are instead consist of meter friendly test leads located in a pin block behind the memory slots.  Test leads are included and follow the standard format found on similar EVGA video cards.

Triple BIOS has been a key EVGA feature for the past several years and I'm glad to see it again on this motherboard.  The BIOS switch has been moved next to the 24-pin power connector and a red LED will indicate which BIOS chip is currently active.  A single BIOS chip is replaceable and located near the onboard PCI Express disable switches.

Above the SATA connections you will find a series of jumpers which allow you to disable any of the PCI Express slots for debugging.  It also gives you a convenient way to run multi card benchmarks without having to tear everything down.  A new feature is an indicator light next to the switch indicating what PCI Express slot is populated and how fast the connection is. 

A cool feature introduced with the X79 Dark is the anodized I/O cover.  The anodized aluminum cover is an optional decorative piece that attaches to the motherboard using the existing motherboard screws and mounting points.  Visually it covers the I/O connections and helps clean up the motherboard which can be helpful when building outlandish systems with custom wires and water loops.

M.2 connections have become rather popular and give system builders the option of customizing their motherboard installation without sacrificing any of the PCI Express slots.  For instance installing a wireless AC card would normally take up a single PCI Express slot however dropping one into a M.2 Type 2 enables wireless connectivity while still allowing you room for 4-way SLI. 

The EVGA X99 Classified comes with two M.2 ports.  The shorter one is Type 2 for shorter accessory cards while the longer Type 3 can be used for SSD cards and other devices that use the long form factor.  Both card slots are easily accessible however replacing a Type 3 card could be difficult depending on what expansion cards you have installed.