Board Layout

I was in complete shock when I pulled the ASRock X299 Gaming i9 out of its anti-static bag. This board does not have the red and black theme you'd expect due to it's wrappings. If anything, the box truly doesn't do this board any justice. There is stuff all over the place, both front and rear.


The CPU socket area, however, is refreshingly open and clear of surface-mounted components. You get a triplet of M.2 sockets, all of which are rated for "Ultra" 32 Gb/s speeds.


The eight DIMM slots that flank either side of the CPU socket are ready for 4400 MHz when you've got the right CPU installed. Of course, the KabyLake-X CPUs are the ones to get you there.


All four full-size PCIe x16 slots are wrapped in metal, while a single PCie x1 slot gives you a total of five expansion slots you can put to use (again, depending on which CPU you have installed). You get ten SATA 6 Gb/s ports, two of which are added via an external controller.


The ASRock X299 Gaming i9's lower edge carries a Clear CMOS pin header, some buttons, and a POST display, along with 5050 LED plugs, USB headers, and fans ports.


The rear backplate offers full audio plugs, including optical, USB 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1, a BIOS flashback button, Clear CMOS button, combo-PS/2 port, WiFi antenna plugs, and a trio of LAN ports.


Two of those LAN ports are powered by the now-standard Intel I211AT and I219-V pairing.


The third port, easily noticed by its red plug, is for the 10G AQUANTIA AQC107 controller. That chip is hidden under the heatsink pictured above.