Motherboard evolution generally follows a natural progression that becomes more elaborate with every design. Simply put companies tend to build on previous designs by building on what works and removing what is no longer needed. A good example of this would be high-quality audio solutions. These days all the major motherboard makers have taken steps to ensure their onboard audio solutions are the best and have physically separated sections on a motherboard to prove it.

In this review I'll be looking at the Gigabyte X99 Designare-EX. This is a new X99 motherboard that brings with it the next evolution in motherboard features massive connectivity. Typically motherboard makers take what is provided by the chipset and create a baseline of features from that. With the X99 Designare-EX I believe that Gigabyte has taken a different approach by looking at what they are trying to accomplish and then figuring out what is needed to get there.