Closer Look
ASRock X299 Creator motherboard arrived in a retail package which well described. Inside the box, we will find the motherboard, user’s manual, drivers and software DVD, SATA data cables, I/O shield, WiFi antenna, and M.2 screws. Pretty much all we need for installation.
Unless as we could see in most other new motherboards, the I/O shield is not pre-installed on the motherboard. This is probably one of the only things which I’m missing on this motherboard but it’s not a big issue. I just like it when the I/O shield is already built-in. It’s no big difference during the installation.
The motherboard itself looks quite professional comparing to typical gaming series. I can say it combines professional looks with an additional spark which underlines that the product is somehow special.
The PCB is black with silver-gray elements and it looks really clean. We are used seeing the similar quality in most new ASRock motherboards.
The used chipset is a well-known X299 from Intel, after little improvements. With a little help from a new BIOS and additional controllers, it received a new life and support for the 10th generation of Intel processors.
It’s not hard to notice large heatsinks on the chipset, M.2 sockets or power section. It’s called XXL Aluminum Alloy Heatsink but besides its marketing name, we can say it works great and doesn’t require additional fans to keep everything cool. No fans also mean silence what is important during longer work.
Three M.2 sockets support both M.2 SATA and PCIe standards but better is to check motherboard’s manual to be sure how everything works with each CPU as there are differences and for example when we use M.2 SATA drive then some SATA ports won’t work. We had no problems testing our M.2 SATA and PCIe drives on this motherboard and results were high.
For sure some users may pick this motherboard because of additional controllers like WiFi in AX standard or Thunderbolt 3. The new WiFi standard was for last months available only on AMD X570 motherboards but since we see refreshed X299 motherboards then we can enjoy a faster wireless network also on the Intel HEDT platform.
Thunderbolt 3 can be useful during work because of its high bandwidth so we can use high-speed storage devices without issues and without the need of buying additional controllers. It’s also not available on most competitive motherboards.
The motherboard supports LED illumination but it doesn’t have built-in lighting. There are RGB connectors available and full hardware and software support so if we wish to install additional lighting then there is no problem with that. On the other hand I understand that for work, barely anyone is looking for LED lighting on their motherboards.
Above you can see some photos of the test PC. Used custom water cooling is already equipped with fans with LED lighting. Everything looks and fits perfectly. There are no issues with overheating and there is no need to use additional fans. Simply great and clean build ready for work.
On the next page, we will take a look at the BIOS/UEFI.
