Features Supports Intel Core™ X-Series Processor Family Quad Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 8 DIMMs Intel Optane™ Memory Ready Intel USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 2 with USB (Universal Serial Bus) Type-C™ Front USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 2 Header 3-Way Graphics Support with Dual Armor & Ultra Durable™ Design Server-Class Digital Power Design ALC1220 120d B SNR HD Audio with Smart Headphone AMP & WIMA audio capacitors Sound Blaster X 720°, the top-of-the-line audio engine solution for 4K gaming & entertainment Intel Dual Band 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.2 – AC 8265 Wireless Module Dual Intel Gb E LAN Gaming Network RGB FUSION with Multi-Zone Digital LED Light Show design, support digital LED & RGB LED strips Smart Fan 5 features Multiple Temperature Sensors & Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP Triple Ultra-Fast M.2 with PCIe Gen 3 x 4 interface & Thermal Guard NVMe PCIe Gen 3 x 4 U.2 support by optional adaptor Precise Digital USB (Universal Serial Bus) Fuse Design for Stronger Protection Anti-Sulfur Resistor Design Ultra Durable™ 25KV ESD & 15KV Surge LAN Protection GIGABYTE UEFI Dual BIOS™ with Q-Flash Plus USB (Universal Serial Bus) port APP Center Including Easy Tune™ & Cloud Station™ Utilities Overview The GIGABYTE X299 enthusiast motherboards are faster & more powerful than any motherboard the world has ever seen. With an aggressively redesigned armor & thermal heatsinks its sure to turn heads & catch eyes. Performance is no stranger to GIGABYTE, with exotic cooling & an ability to be tuned to peak performance GIGABYTE motherboards will exceed expectations. Triple NVMe PCIe x 4 M.2 with Thermal Guard With a high-end platform that is already so feature-filled triple M.2 support is a rarity. X299 DESIGNARE EX Motherboard has focused on delivering this technology to enthusiasts who want to maximize their systems potential. With Triple M.2s available on the X299 Series, configuring RAID Arrays have never been simpler. Armor GIGABYTE X299 DESIGNARE EX is designed with an aggressive stance, but looks are just the beginning. The armor on the GIGABYTE X299 DESIGNARE EX is created to offer best-in-class performance while still staying cool. Base Plate GIGABYTE Motherboards are the perfect choice when starting your PC build. With an integrated base plate, GIGABYTE Motherboards give users a strong foundation to build their Gaming PC. With larger & heavier coolers, graphics cards, & even memory modules the GIGABYTE Base Plate is perfect to help support any enthusiast’s build while reducing cuts & stings from sharp areas of the motherboard. I/O Shield Armor With an integrated I/O shield building an GIGABYTE Gaming PC is even easier.* Gone are the days of realizing that the rear I/O was forgotten or lost. Smart Fan 5 With Smart Fan 5 users can ensure that their gaming PC can maintain its performance while staying cool. Smart Fan 5 allows users to interchange their fan headers to reflect different thermal sensors at different locations on the motherboard. Not only that, with Smart Fan 5 more hybrid fan headers that support both PWM & Voltage mode fans have been introduced to make the motherboard more liquid cooling friendly. RGB Fusion with Digital LEDs With X299 Designare EX motherboard RGB Fusion is even better with Digital LEDs.* RGB Fusion offers users the option to control onboard & external LED light strips for their PC. Already feature filled with colors & patterns, RGB Fusion on X299 Designare EX motherboard is now upgraded with Digital LED support. With onboard options & external digital LED strips*, where each LED is digitally addressable, users can experience even more patterns, styles, & illuminations. X299 Designare EX motherboard will support either 5v or 12v digital LED strips. RGB Fusion with Digital LEDs comes with 9 new patterns & various speed settings with more to come. * Digital LEDs are available only on select Motherboards, external LED Strips, Digital LED Strips are not included with Motherboard purchase.
Specification CPU Support for Intel Core™ X series processors in the LGA2066 package L3 cache varies with CPU (Please refer "CPU Support List" for more information.) Chipset Intel X299 Express Chipset Memory 8 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 128 GB of system memory. * Supported when using a 44-lane or 28-lane CPU (6-core or above). 4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 64 GB of system memory. * Supported when using a 16-lane CPU (4-core). 4 channel memory architecture. * Supported when using a 44-lane or 28-lane CPU (6-core or above). Dual channel memory architecture. Supported when using a 16-lane CPU (4-core). Support for DDR4 4400 (O.C.) / 4333 (O.C.) / 4266 (O.C.) / 4133 (O.C.) / 4000 (O.C.) / 3866 (O.C.) / 3800 (O.C.) / 3733 (O.C.) / 3666 (O.C.) / 3600 (O.C.) / 3466 (O.C.) / 3400 (O.C.) / 3333 (O.C.) / 3300 (O.C.) / 3200 (O.C.) / 3000 (O.C.) / 2800 (O.C.) / 2666 (O.C.) / 2400 / 2133 MHz memory modules Support for non-ECC Un-buffered DIMM memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules (Please refer " Memory Support List" for more information.) Onboard Graphics Integrated Graphics Processor+ Intel Thunderbolt™ 3 Controller: 2 x Intel Thunderbolt™ 3 connectors, supporting Display Port & Thunderbolt™ video outputs & a maximum resolution of 4096x 2304@60 Hz * Because of the limited I/O resources of the PC architecture, the number of Thunderbolt™ devices that can be used is dependent on the number of the PCI Express devices being installed. (Refer to Chapter 1-7, " Back Panel Connectors, " for more information.) * Support for Display Port 1.2 version. Audio Realtek ALC1220 codec Support for Sound Blaster X 720° High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for S/PDIF Out LAN 2 x Intel Gb E LAN chips (10/100/1000 Mbit) Wireless Communication module Intel Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, supporting 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Band BLUETOOTH 4.2, 4.1, BLE, 4.0, 3.0, 2.1+EDR Support for 11ac wireless standard & up to 867 Mbps data rate * Actual data rate may vary depending on environment & equipment. Expansion Slots 2 x PCI Express x 16 slots, running at x 16 (PCIEX16_1, PCIEX16_2) 1 x PCI Express x 16 slot, running at x 8 (PCIEX8) 2 x PCI Express x 16 slots, running at x 4 (PCIEX4_1, PCIEX4_2) (All of the PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.) * The PCIEX4_1 slot shares bandwidth with the M2M_32G connector. The PCIEX4_1 slot becomes unavailable when a device is installed in the M2M_32G connector. * Refer to "1-6 Setting up AMD Cross Fire™/NVIDIA SLI™ Configuration, " for the installation notices for the PCI Express x 16 slots. X299 PCIE OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE TOOL See your optimal configuration by checking all boxes below When using a 44 lane CPU (10-core or above): 1-Way 2-Way 3-Way PCIEX16_1 ∨ (x 16) ∨ (x 16) ∨ (x 8) PCIEX16_2 &9587; ∨ (x 16) ∨ (x 16) PCIEX8 &9587; &9587; ∨ (x 8) ∨: Installed, &9587;: Not Installed. When using a 28 lane CPU (6-core or above): 1-Way 2-Way 3-Way PCIEX16_1 ∨ (x 16) ∨ (x 16) ∨ (x 8) PCIEX16_2 &9587; ∨ (x 8) ∨ (x 8) PCIEX8 &9587; &9587; ∨ (x 8) ∨: Installed, &9587;: Not Installed. When using a 16 lane CPU (4-core): 1-Way 2-Way PCIEX16_1 ∨ (x 16) ∨ (x 8) PCIEX16_2 &9587; ∨ (x 8) ∨: Installed, &9587;: Not Installed. Storage Interface Chipset: 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280 SATA & PCIe x 4/x 2 SSD support) (M2P_32G) 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 PCIe x 4/x 2 SSD support) (M2M_32G) 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SATA & PCIe x 4/x 2 SSD support) (M2Q_32G) 6 x SATA 6 Gb/s connectors (SATA3 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, 7) Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, & RAID 10 * The M2M_32G connector must work with an Intel VROC Upgrade Key to support RAID configuration. * Refer to "1-10 Internal Connectors, " for the installation notices for the M.2 & SATA connectors. Intel Optane™ Memory Ready ASMedia ASM1061 chip: 2 x SATA 6 Gb/s connectors (SATA3 2, 3), supporting AHCI mode only Multi-Graphics Technology Support for NVIDIA Quad-GPU SLI™ & 3-Way* /2-Way NVIDIA SLI™ technologies * Supported when using a 44-lane or 28-lane CPU (6-core or above). Support for AMD Quad-GPU Cross Fire™ & 3-Way* /2-Way AMD Cross Fire™ technologies * Supported when using a 44-lane or 28-lane CPU (6-core or above). USB Chipset+ Intel Thunderbolt™ 3 Controller: 2 x USB (Universal Serial Bus) Type-C™ ports on the back panel, with USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 2 support Chipset+ASMedia USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 2 Controller: 1 x USB (Universal Serial Bus) Type-C™ port with USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 2 support, available through the internal USB (Universal Serial Bus) header Chipset+ Realtek USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 1 Hub: 4 x USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 1 ports on the back panel Chipset: 4 x USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 1 ports available through the internal USB (Universal Serial Bus) headers 6 x USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0/1.1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB (Universal Serial Bus) headers) Internal I/O Connectors 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 2 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors 1 x CPU fan header 1 x water cooling CPU fan header 4 x system fan headers 2 x system fan/water cooling pump headers 1 x digital LED strip header 1 x digital LED strip power select jumper 2 x RGB (RGBW) LED strip headers 3 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors 8 x SATA 6 Gb/s connectors 1 x Intel VROC Upgrade Key header 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 1 x S/PDIF Out header 1 x USB (Universal Serial Bus) Type-C™ port, with USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 2 support 2 x USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 1 headers 2 x USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header (2x 6 pin, for the GC-TPM2.0_S module only) 1 x power button 1 x reset button 1 x Clear CMOS button 1 x OC button 2 x temperature sensor headers Back Panel Connectors 1 x PS/2 keyboard/mouse port 2 x USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0/1.1 ports 2 x Display Port In ports 2 x Thunderbolt™ 3 connectors (USB Type-C™ ports, with USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 2 support) 4 x USB (Universal Serial Bus) 3.1 Gen 1 ports 2 x RJ-45 ports 2 x MMCX antenna connectors (2T2R) 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 5 x audio jacks (Center/ Subwoofer Speaker Out, Rear Speaker Out, Line In, Line Out, Mic In) I/O Controller i TEI/O Controller Chip H/W Monitoring Voltage detection Temperature detection Fan speed detection Water cooling flow rate detection Overheating warning Fan fail warning Fan speed control * Whether the fan (pump) speed control function is supported will depend on the fan (pump) you install BIOS 2 x 128 Mbit flash Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS Support for Dual BIOS™ Support for Q-Flash Plus * The USB (Universal Serial Bus) flash drive used must be a USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 flash drive. Pn P 1.0a, DMI 2.7, Wf M 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0 Unique Features Support for APP Center * Available applications in APP Center may vary by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also vary depending on motherboard specifications. 3D OSD @BIOS Auto Green BIOS Setup Color Temperature Cloud Station Easy Tune Easy RAID Fast Boot Game Boost GIGABYTE HW OC APP ON/OFF Charge Platform Power Management RGB Fusion Smart Backup Smart Keyboard Smart Time Lock Smart HUD System Information Viewer USB (Universal Serial Bus) Blocker V-Tuner Support for Q-Flash Support for Xpress Install Bundle Software Norton Internet Security (OEM version) c Fos Speed XSplit Gamecaster + Broadcaster (12 months license) Operating System Support for Windows 10 64-bit Form Factor ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm Remark Due to different Linux support condition provided by chipset vendors, please download Linux driver from chipset vendors website or 3rd party website. Most hardware/software vendors may no longer offer drivers to support Win 9X/ME/2000/XP. If drivers are available from the vendors, we will update them on the GIGABYTE website.