Hot on the heels of Intel Core i7 "Broadwell-E" launch, ASRock introduced two new high-end socket LGA2011v3 motherboards, the X99 Taichi, and the Fatal1ty X99 Gaming i7. Targeted at gamer-overclockers the Fatal1ty X99 Gaming i7 brings some of the latest connectivity options to this platform, such as 32 Gb/s M.2 with NVMe boot support, USB 3.1, and 5 GHz 802.11 ac WLAN. The board features an uncluttered layout, with three PCI-Express gen 3.0 x16 slots, and two PCIe 2.0 x1 slots.

Storage connectivity on the ASRock Fatal1ty X99 Gaming i7 include ten SATA 6 Gb/s, and two 32 Gb/s M.2 (Ultra M.2) with NVMe boot support. You get two USB 3.1 ports, one each of type-A and type-C. The board supports 3-way SLI and CrossFire. Modern connectivity includes Creative SoundBlaster Cinema 3 audio with ground-layer isolation, audio-grade capacitors, and a 115 dBA SNR CODEC. You also get a pair of Intel-driven gigabit Ethernet connections with teaming support, 802.11 ac WLAN, Bluetooth 4.0.The X99 Taichi, on the other hand, could prove to be an attractive option for those looking for a 2-color build. Vast swathes of white cover a black PCB, including a white reinforcement brace that runs over the I/O area, all the way down. The X99 Taichi appears share its PCB with the Fatal1ty X99 Gaming i7, and so you get most of its features, except a few gamer-centric ones such as the SoundBlaster Cinema 3 audio, and a few onboard easy access buttons. Both boards give you dual-BIOS, and the same exact VRM setup for the CPU, and so they must have similar overclocking capabilities. The X99 Taichi is expected to be priced at US $219, and the Fatal1ty X99 Gaming i7 at $259.