Introduction

Meeting the needs of die-hard enthusiasts is a daunting task, let there be no question about it. It might seem fairly easy at first glance, but PC hardware enthusiasts are among the most difficult bunch to keep happy since their needs and wants are as varied as the fish in the ocean. Yet time and time again, I find products that are exactly that: a direct answer to a request by end users for something specific, and challenging. Most recently, many have voiced a request for a mITX-sized X99 Express product, which seems to be the strangest one yet because the platform is all about additional slot connectivity, more RAM channels, added HDD connectivity, and additional cores. So to strip the majority of that bare seems to be the exact opposite of what the platform is intended for, while adding complexity that is far from trivial. Yet ASRock's X99E-ITX/AC does exactly so by bringing Intel's X99 Express to the mITX form-factor, and some things are without a doubt missing.

I've said it before, but I regard ASRock with great respect, lumped in with a bit of fanboyism purely because they are one of the only companies out there that truly pushes the envelope of what a platform offers by showcasing some engineering talent that has become quite the force to be reckoned with in the PC market. So if anyone is going to get this idea of a mITX X99 board right, it is bound to be ASRock. When I got an email telling me a board was ready for testing, I jumped at the opportunity instantly and am now sitting here writing this review.

ASRock's X99E-ITX/AC is not a board meant for everyone. It's for those who asked for it and maybe a few others. If you want the additional cores and cache LGA 2011-3 CPUs offer (at 18 cores and 45 MB cache, which is more than double that of Z97), plus the ultra-performance "Haswell-E" technology that includes DDR4, SATA Express, and M.2 (NGFF), but don't want the fully sized board that normally comes with it, ASRock's X99E-ITX/AC is ready and waiting. Want the brand-new USB 3.1 and fabled OC Socket technologies for maximum overclocking as well? The ASRock X99E-ITX/AC got it all, CPU heatsink included.

Specifications