ASRock Fatal1ty X99M Killer mATX Motherboard Review

Rating: 8.5.

ASRock is aiming to offer gamers an uncompromising set of features with its micro-ATX X99M Fatal1ty Killer motherboard. Doing so will require integration of the X99 chipset's features and the plentiful PCIe connectivity of Haswell-E CPUs. How does ASRock's gaming-series mATX offering stack up to the tough competition that is Gigabyte's X99M-Gaming 5?

By utilising the PCIe connectivity of Haswell-E processors, ASRock is able to provide its X99M Killer with two-card SLI/CrossFire capabilities, in addition to support for a PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 SSD. Other gaming-related features come in the form of a Killer E2200 series NIC and ASRock's enhanced Purity Sound 2 audio system.

Understanding that the core concepts of Intel's enthusiast platform are equally important to gamers, the X99M Fatal1ty Killer features 10 SATA 6Gbps, support for up to 32Gb of DDR4 memory, and a power delivery system built for the hungry Haswell-E chips.

Can ASRock's X99M Fatal1ty Killer go head-to-head with Gigabyte's X99M-Gaming 5 and prove that it is the mATX X99 motherboard that gamers are looking for?

Features:

• ASRock Super Alloy
• Gaming Armor
• Digi Power, 12 Power Phase design
• 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1150 Audio Codec), Supports Purity Sound™ 2 & DTS Connect
• Intel^® Gigabit LAN + Qualcomm^® Atheros^® Killer LAN
• 10 SATA3, 1 eSATA, 1 Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• Supports ASRock HDD Saver Technology, Full Spike Protection, ASRock Cloud, APP Shop, F-Stream, Key Master, XSplit

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