The Best Upgrade for My Intel X299 Workstation: The ASUS X299WS SAGE Motherboard

I recently spent $500 on my first "workstation" board, the ASUS X299 WS SAGE. I had been struggling with issues on my previous motherboard, a Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7 X299, and was eager to find a solution. In this article, I will share my experience with the ASUS X299WS SAGE and how it has solved most of the issues I was having with my Intel X299 workstation.

My Initial Experience with Gigabyte Motherboards

I had previously used two Gigabyte motherboards in the past, and didn't particularly like them. However, I didn't see many problems with them, especially for building a gaming rig. My experience with the Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7 X299 was mostly positive, but it had some limitations that I encountered.

One of my major issues with the motherboard was bottlenecking my PCIe bandwidth. The Intel Core i9-7980XE processor has 44 lanes, and I was trying to use all of them. However, my 10 gigabit NIC would seemingly get bottlenecked at times, my NVMe storage drives had very poor performance (up to 200MB/s on an Intel 750 Series drive), and sometimes capture cards would act up. Additionally, the motherboard didn't have enough slots in the first place.

Another issue I faced with the Gigabyte Aorus Gaming 7 was the weak USB chipset. I ran into similar issues moving from my AMD FX build to the ASUS X99-A II. My hub would frequently disconnect devices, and sometimes USB devices would randomly lose connection. This was frustrating, especially since I use a lot of expansion cards and USB devices.

Why I Chose the ASUS X299WS SAGE Motherboard

I researched for a while and finally splurged on my first real "workstation" board, the ASUS X299 WS SAGE. This motherboard seemed perfect for my needs - it had more PCIe slots, seemingly better handling of PCIe lanes and bandwidth, 2 M.2 slots, 8 RAM slots, a front panel USB 3.1 Gen 2 type C header, RGB lighting (although that didn't work out), and lots of USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. The motherboard also had a nice clean audio chipset.

Installing the ASUS X299WS SAGE Motherboard

Installing the ASUS X299WS SAGE was a tight fit, and I later learned that I had bent one of the header pins on the board during my first insertion of the USB 3.0 front panel connector. This meant that I broke it off trying to fix it, but fortunately, it worked! However, the fan header placement was very uncomfortable, with one being bent up by my GPU, and I didn't have another CableMod cable to replace it.

How the ASUS X299WS SAGE Motherboard Has Improved My Workstation

Since installing the ASUS X299WS SAGE motherboard, I have noticed a significant improvement in my workstation's performance. The only thing left would be to delid my 7980XE, which I don't think I'm going to do anytime soon.

The $500 investment has basically solved all of my problems with my X299 rig. I can now plug in more stuff without issues, and I've even been able to optimize my system for better cooling. The motherboard also allows me to overclock my 7980XE to hell and back, only limited by cooling that little oven.

Conclusion

If you're in the market for a new motherboard or are considering upgrading your current one, I highly recommend checking out the ASUS X299WS SAGE. It has solved most of the issues I was having with my Intel X299 workstation, and it's been a game-changer for me. Make sure to check out the affiliate product links in the description below for more information. Hit the like button if you enjoyed this article, subscribe, and enable notifications for more tech education!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enThis is going to sound a little silly, butI this $500 motherboard actually solved mostof the issues I was having with my Intel X299workstation.Today we’ll be talking about the ASUS X299WS SAGE motherboard and why it was a worthyupgrade for my workstation rig, right afterthis.Tubebuddy is the best tool you can get tomanage your YouTube channel.You can Update videos in bulk, optimize yourSEO, syndicate to social media, back up yourmetadata and MORE all with a simple browserextension.Head to eposvox.com/tubebuddy to learn moreand download it for free.Disclosure time: I bought this motherboardmyself.Wasn’t free, am not being paid to say this,was a significant dent in my wallet.Easy peasy.When I got my Intel Core i9-7980XE processorfrom Intel, it came with a Gigabyte AorusGaming 7 X299 motherboard.I’ve only used one or two Gigabyte motherboardsin the past and didn’t particularly likethem, but I didn’t see much problem withit.And to be fair to Gigabyte - this motherboardwould, generally, be fine if someone was buildinga X299 gaming rig.But I quickly ran into some limitations withit.I had two major issues with the Gigabyte gamingmotherboard, along with the obnoxious coilwhine it developed over the past year.Firstly, I kept seemingly bottlenecking myPCIe bandwidth.The 7980XE has 44 lanes, and I was tryingto use all of them, and it wasn’t workingout.My 10 gigabit NIC seemingly got bottleneckedat times, my NVMe storage drives had VERYpoor performance - we’re talking 200MB/son an Intel 750 Series drive on a good day,and sometimes capture cards would act up.Plus, I just didn’t have enough slots inthe first place.Secondly, the USB chipset on this motherboardseemed to be weak.I ran into similar issues moving from my AMDFX build on the glorious ASUS Crosshair VFormula-Z motherboard, which had lots of portsand could handle all of my USB devices tomy X99 build with the ASUS X99-A II.My hub kept disconnecting, devices disconnectedor lost power, etc.I eventually found a slimmed down configurationthat worked, and then that setup ran intoUSB issues on my X299 Aorus gaming 7.There were few on-board ports so I HAD torely on a hub, plugging in new devices wouldfrequently disconnect all devices, and sometimesUSB devices would randomly lose connection.Both of these are… me.I build powerhouse workstations and put themto serious work.I use a lot of expansion cards and a lot ofUSB devices.And I’d expect an HEDT platform like X99and X299 to support such a workflow.Turns out it can.I researched for a while and finally splurgedand spend a whopping 500 bucks on my firstreal “workstation” board.The ASUS X299 WS SAGE.I’ve heard nothing but good things aboutASUS’s WS line of boards and this one seemedto be perfect.It ticked all of my boxes - more PCIe slots,seemingly better handling of PCIe lanes andbandwidth, 2 M.2 slots, 8 RAM slots, a frontpanel USB 3.1 Gen 2 type C header, RGB - thoughthat didn’t work out - and LOTS of USB 2.0and 3.0 ports, along with a 3.1 Gen 2 TypeA port and Type C port on the back IO.And a nice clean audio chipset.Installing it was a tight fit, and I laterlearned that somehow upon my first insertionof my USB 3.0 front panel connector I bentone of the header pins on the board and thenlater broke it off trying to fix it, so thatsucks, but it worked!It’s got some very uncomfortable fan headerplacement, with one being bent up by my GPU,and I didn’t have another CableMod sleevedPCIe power cable to run to the power headeron the board.Also, the addition of that extra PCIe slotat the top makes everything else a tight fit.The RAM slots are right on top of the GPU,which meant I couldn’t install the custombackplate I had ordered, but that’s fine- it went in my gaming rig.Also, the IO shield is spaced far enough awayfrom the IO that some USB C cables struggleto stay plugged in the back, which kind ofsucks.And my originally-Gigabyte-chosen 5-pin RGBstrip no longer works with the motherboardand I cannot find an adapter.So it’s not perfect, BUT the important partis those juicy PCIe lanes and USB ports.I’ve had none of those issues with USB onthis board, and I actually get to plug inMORE stuff again, which is fantastic.I was, eventually, able to optimize my fancurve to keep things nice and cool, get aRAM overclock stable the first try that thegaming motherboard flat out would not postwith, and I can overclock my 7980XE to helland back, only limited by cooling that littleoven.And PCIe lanes are good, too.I keep my GTX 1080ti, a 10 gigabit NIC, Intel750 Series NVMe SSD, and a 4K60 capture cardin the rig at most times, and I still haveslots available.I will be adding in a USB 3.0 card that givesme a replacement front header soon, too.My Intel 750 SSD is now back up to full speed.My M.2 drives haven’t really improved performancemuch - but that’s because they’re bothran through the chipset with a single 4x speedlink - that seems to be how all Intel chipsetsare at the moment, from what I’ve been ableto glean from watching Wendell’s motherboardcoverage over at Level1Techs.I wound up giving myself way more headachetrying to do a cooler swap as I’ll showin a future video, but otherwise, this $500motherboard has basically solved all of myproblems with my X299 rig.The only thing left would be to delid my 7980XE,which I don’t think I’m going to be doinganytime soon.If you want to buy this motherboard, or therecently-released new version of it with lessUSB ports but 10 gigabit NICs onboard, affiliateproduct links will be in the description below.While you’re there, hit the like buttonif you enjoyed it, subscribe and enable notificationsfor more tech education.I’m EposVox and I’ll see you next time.\n"