Conclusion
The ASUS TUF X299 is priced at $340 on Amazon which, by price, puts it square in the crosshairs of the EVGA X299 FTW ($330), MSI X299 Gaming Pro Carbon AC ($330), GIGABYTE X299 AORUS Ultra Gaming Pro ($350), and the ASRock X299 Taichi XE ($322).
The TUF line of motherboards are designed to be reliable and durable 24/7 motherboards. The Thermal Armor keeps dust off the board and with the fan, cools the chipset and M.2 device in the slots below it. The back plate not only protects the board from physical damage and improves rigidity, with the thermal pads between it and the back of the VRM, also helps to keep that area cooler as well. Though we did not see issues in our testing, I would have liked not to see the VRM heatsink covered (on any board) with a shroud to help with airflow. Outside of that, the Thermal Armor does look good to me. I'll admit, sometimes its nice not to see the all the little bits on the board. Clearly, that is a subjective opinion, appearance, but the look of the armor has come a long way since it started.
Feature-wise, the TUF X299 Mark 1 has a lot of things going for it. The 8-phase digital VRM is shared with other boards in the lineup (Strix XE, Mark 1, Prime X299-A) and held its own during testing. Overclocking landed just where we expected it to at 4.5 GHz as we are thermally limited with the test system and parameters. The TUF did allow for a slightly lower voltage at the same clocks, but not enough of a difference to increase clocks or lower temperatures. Since we measure via software, the readings aren't as accurate so the difference was truly negligible.
Outside of that, the board gives users the full complement of six SATA ports supported by chipset as well as two M.2 slots. The first sits under the M.2 heatsink and is cooled by the chipset fan, while the second slot is a vertical M.2 slot located just below it. The vertical M.2 slot is a creative use of space and with the supplied mounting, will sit there securely. It does take some geting used to looking at a 4" stick jutting out of your motherboard though! Last, the latest USB 3.1 ports (Type-A and Type-C) are found on the back panel as well as support for a front panel USB 3.1 Type-C.
The TUF Detective 2 software for Android worked fine and showed high-level system information including a section for the debug codes. Users are able to connect to the included Bluetooth dongle and power your system on/off, reboot it, and even clear the CMOS. A useful tool indeed, however, a debug LED would have likely saved a bit of money, accomplishes the same goals, may cost less, and easier to gather information from without having your phone/tablet handy at all times.
If gaming is going to be your primary use the TUF Mark 1 has you setup nicely, specifically in the multi-GPU space. 3-Way SLI/Crossfire is supported with a 28/44-lane CPU, and triple slot spacing helps the oversized heatsinks access to cooler air. The dual Intel network ports also have traffic priortizing software, Turbo LAN, used to adjust traffic for the best online performance of whatever application is selected as a priority.
Overall the ASUS TUF X299 Mark 1 is a sound foundation for the X299 platform with its PCIe slot configuration, dual Intel NICs, two M.2 slots, and eight SATA ports. The TUF Armor helps with both rigidity (back plate) keep dust out off the board, as well as the cooling it provides for the M.2 device and PCH heatsink. The back plate even assists with VRM cooling. Performance in our testing landed where expected for the given clock speeds so nothing is outstanding in that respect. If saving money is a concern, the TUF X299 Mark 1 is a bit less expensive and carries over a lot of the features, but less of the armor/aesthetics. If the TUF Mark 1 meets all your needs, and require a more rugged, protected board, there is no need to shy away from it.
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