For Intel Core i7 5960X Haswell-E Linux testing I originally bought an MSI X99S SLI PLUS motherboard as it was one of the most interesting, lowest-priced boards available at the time of the Intel X99 chipset debut. While I initially ran into some problems, those issues have now been confirmed to be isolated, and with a replacement X99S SLI PLUS motherboard I have been stressing it constantly for the past few weeks on Fedora and Ubuntu. The X99S SLI PLUS has now proven itself to be a reliable motherboard that's still among the least expensive X99 ATX motherboards on the market.

The X99S SLI PLUS supports the LGA 2011v3 Haswell Extreme Edition CPUs, supports up to quad-channel DDR4-3333 memory, boasts SATA Express and Turbo M.2 connectivity, multi-GPU support, and all of the other features that enthusiasts would expect from a high-end X99 motherboard. The MSI X99S SLI PLUS is currently retailing for just about $230 USD.