The Gigabyte X299X Aorus Xtreme Waterforce isn’t the first motherboard that has a built in water block for keeping the key components of your motherboard cool, but it is the first that combines all of the current system build thinking into a whole monoblock.
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In order to be competitive, Intel is doing the only thing it can do, based on what it has in its arsenal: the new 18-core Core i9-10980XE that comes out today is going to have a tray price of $979. The new Cascade Lake-X processor, based on the same silicon as Intel’s already-launched Cascade Lake generation of Xeon processors, comes with many of the same features introduced for those parts.
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With the Rampage VI Extreme Encore ASUS have gone back to the drawing board and produced a model which straddles the design line between the original Rampage VI Extreme and its Omega stable mate. Improvements to the quality of power stages, now utilising TDA21472 rather than the IR 3555 have allowed bigger power amperage, and this has been tamed by the introduction of two 30mm Delta fans.
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As for the ASRock X299 Taichi, it holds to the Taichi theme, but with a significant update to the implementation. The new look is modernized and features an even more premium build quality and feature set—from the integrated rear I/O shield to the 2.5 Gb/s LAN, or intricate cog and gear motif. The ASRock X299 Taichi features WiFi 6 support, offering the best wireless connectivity available.
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The Core i5-9600K is an iterative update over the previous-gen model. But if you’re shopping for a new processor, it does provide enough of a performance improvement to merit attention. The processor clearly provides the best performance for gaming at its price point, though AMD alternatives are enticing if you’re more interested in productivity applications.
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The Core i5-9400F represents the most iterative updates possible, yet it clings to the mid-range gaming crown. But the -9400F’s lack of Hyper-Threading and a locked multiplier allows the Ryzen 5 2600X to rise up as a more attractive option when we look at all-around utility in this price range.
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Intel’s powerful Core i9 family recently displaced Core i7 as the company’s mainstream desktop flagship. Mainstream is relative, though. The Intel Core i9-9900K sells for more than $500, requires a high-end cooler, a beefy motherboard, and really needs to be paired with lots of fast memory. It’s prohibitively expensive for all but the most affluent enthusiasts.
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Designed for multiplatform servers, the single consumer function we can apply to the X11SRi-IF is as a secondary number-crunching board in dual-platform prosumer PCs. Excellent performance aligns it well to that niche within a niche, but US buyers will probably have to wait for a server component seller to carry it before finding a single-unit listing.
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Intel’s eight-core Core i9-9900K comes with everything to satisfy enthusiasts, like more cores, higher frequencies, and performance-boosting Solder TIM. Those improvements make the chip the fastest mainstream processor on the market, but the $500 asking price relegates it to the most extreme performance enthusiasts.
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Intel designed its new Core i9-9900KS Special Edition to take things one step further by taking the best silicon from its -9900K manufacturing line to create a new halo part specifically for gamers and streamers that boosts to 5.0 GHz on all cores. Surprisingly, Intel only assigns a $513-$524 recommended price for the chips, which is a relatively slim $25 premium over the standard -9900K models.
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