So far the Intel X99-based motherboards from ASUS have left us with nothing but positive impressions, which is something that can't quite say about every manufacturer. From the enthusiast-oriented Rampage V Extreme, to the featured-filled X99-Deluxe, to the slightly more affordable X99-PRO, these models have impressed us not only because of their design and features, but also largely because of how polished they were with respect to their BIOS, software, and ease of overclocking.

Having said that, with a price range of between $380 to over $530, these models are priced outside of the reach of many enthusiasts. With this in mind, today we will be reviewing the X99-A, the most affordable model in the ASUS X99 lineup. It comes in at around $250 USD / $330 CAD, which is still more expensive than a few other competing X99 motherboards, but we are hoping that it should still have the qualities that make the ASUS X99 series standout from the rest.

While this A model is only about $50 cheaper than the X99-PRO, that is actually a pretty solid discount considering the fact that all you are giving up is the onboard Wi-Fi module, the Hyper M.2 x4 expansion card, a white plastic trim piece and a "northbridge" heatsink that doesn't actually cool anything. As a result, specs-wise the X99-A is still quite impressive thanks to its four physical PCI-E x16 slots, 3-way CrossFire and 3-way SLI capabilities, two PCI-E x1 slots, one M.2 x4 connectors, one SATA Express ports, eight SATA 6Gb/s port (plus the two on the SATAe port), six USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0/3.0 headers, one Intel-powered Gigabit LAN port, a Thunderbolt 2.0 header, Realtek's latest eight-channel HD audio controller, and a bunch of onboard buttons and switches.