Pros: -great price! -custom PCB -dual 8 pin PCIe power connectors -dual 100mm fans -card feels like it has great build quality -temps are great- around 68C at full load -fans are virtually inaudible -overclocks about the same as most Pascal- able to sustain around 2075-2088MHz -best performer out of three 1080's that I have owned (EVGA 1080 FTW & Asus Strix 1080) -multicolored LED lighting (NOT RGB) -includes a backplate -looks awesome (personal preference)

Cons: -has some coil whine, but nothing terrible -backplate has yellow which makes it not color neutral (may not matter to some- I personally like it) -NO RGB- you can change the color of the LED's but only to 7 preset options. no full control over color spectrum

Overall Review: In my opinion, this is the best card at this price point. Cards around this price usually do not have the features this card does- most are reference PCB, not dual 8 pin power, blower style coolers, and no LED lighting. I feel like if you are looking for a 1080 that isn't sub-par and you don't plan on liquid cooling, this is without a doubt what you should be buying.

Pros: This is a very feature rich board, which is why I initially chose it. -aux 4 pin CPU power -all digital 8 phase power delivery -built in RGB with header for LED strips -included Thunderbolt 3 card -included fan hub -Native support for U.2 and M.2 -OC CPU socket with extra pins -clean aesthetic design

Cons: In my instance this board has quite a few flaws that are definitely dealbreakers. The Asus Aura software is hands down the worst software I have ever used. -The Asus Aura software does not work properly and some of the on board RGB LED's do not respond to changes that are made. The PCIe lighting will take the change if you select it TWICE. The chipset LED's do respond to changes at all. They are permanently stuck on blue. I know complaining about RGB seems trivial, but when you spend <$400 on a board, you would think they could get RGB's working properly. Not like RGB's are rocket science. -System stuttering- I was experiencing terrible system stutter from both the mouse and keyboard. Thankfully after updating the BIOS and installing all the proper drivers, it seems to have been fixed. I wouldn't necessarily say this is a con, but I can comment that every other motherboard I have used never had an issue with system stutter before installing drivers and updating the BIOS. -VERY long startup time and weird glitches with shutting down- When pressing the power button to turn the computer on, it takes around a full minute to fully boot to Windows. Keep in mind, this is with an SSD as the boot drive, and with "fast boot" enabled. I would hate to see how long it took without fast boot enabled. Last night before going to bed, I went to shut the PC down. After shutting down, it turned back on by itself, loaded to the splash screen, boot looped, and landed me back on the Windows login screen. Never had that one happen before. -Horrible technical support- Last night I sent a message with my concerns to Asus technical support. Needless to say, their response was a joke (I fully expected this). I outlined my issues, and advised them of what hardware and software I was using as well as noting that I had already installed all of the necessary drivers as well as updated to the latest BIOS available. They responded about 20 hours later (time is completely reasonable), and said, "Please update your BIOS to the newest available. Click the following link to learn how." Really? I spend <$400 on a motherboard, and you suggest that the fix is something that I just told you I had already done? Very smooth Asus tech support, very smooth.

Overall Review: TO THOSE CONSIDERING THIS MOTHERBOARD: Hopefully I am a small sample size of reviewers that has received a horribly defective board, or maybe not? I would HIGHLY suggest waiting for more reviews on this board before spending $420 on it. I wish I could say that the issues I experienced could be overlooked if the board was less expensive, but unfortunately these issues are dealbreakers no matter the price. It is just insult to injury that the board is over $400. Do I trust my new $650 processor in a motherboard that cannot even get the RGB lighting correct? Nope. Is it worth the time to go back and forth with Asus tech support suggesting I try things that I have already done? Nope. Worth $420? If it worked as it is intended to, most definitely. If Asus customer service sees this review and decides they should respond to save face, please do not bother. I have already experienced your wonderful technical support department first hand, and it truly is a joke. I have acquired an RMA, and will be sending the board back later this week.

Pros: Simple- it works.

Cons: none

Overall Review: A lot of other reviews stated alignment issues with the screw holes. I wanted to do a review just to state that I had no issues with this whatsoever. Hopefully this is something that they have fixed with a new revision.

Pros: -allows for the ASRock X299 ITX board to perform just as well as full sized X299 boards -RGB implementation looks nice -very good build quality -fantastic customer service

Cons: -instructions are lacking in that they include different sized standoffs for achieving better mating with the VRM and CPU, but there is no mention of what exactly they do in the instructions -either bad QC of including the incorrect mounting screws or just bad mounting screw quality

Overall Review: I have a couple of gripes with this block, but they aren't anything that would keep me from recommending it. First, they include a different set of standoffs to change the mounting height, but there is no real mention of this in the instructions, so I had no idea about them until after my build was already finished. Second, I ended up with a stripped mounting screw. This was either a very poor quality mounting screw, or it was the wrong mounting screw. Upon looking at it after the fact, it appears that the threads are completely different from the other three screws. They looks more like what I would expect to see in an LGA 115x kit. Luckily, I was able to take my three remaining good screws to the local hardware store, and match them up with 4 new replacement allen head screws without any trouble. I did contact Bitspower regarding the issue I had with the screw, and they replied very quickly. I sent them photos of what the threads looked like on the bad screw compared to one of the good ones, and they immediately asked for my proof of purchase as well as my address- I assume so they can send me replacement screws. Very happy with the fact they used a standard length screw for this kit so that it was easy to match up a replacement, and also very happy with how they treated me during support.

Pros: -only ITX available on the x299 platform -built-in wifi -USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports -three M.2 slots -fantastic BIOS after updating to the newest -more ram configuration settings than I have seen on the highest end overclocking x299 boards -strong memory overclocking -strong CPU overclocking (w/ proper cooling) -4 dimm slots -RGB header -capable VRM (with the right cooling- more details in "other") -BIOS reset button on rear I/O - and it doubles as a power button if preferred -good placement of 24 pin connector and EPS connector

Cons: -poor VRM cooling -only uses so-dimm memory -internal USB header placement is not good- (this is my opinion- it might be perfectly fine for others) -does not work with der8auer direct die kit + Bitspower monoblock -wifi antenna is not magnetic

Overall Review: I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking to build a powerful small form factor system. With that being said, this is not for someone who isn't ready for a challenge, nor someone who is not open to liquid cooling. If you do not plan on getting the Bitspower monoblock and doing an open loop, you may as well be using a Xeon processor as your clock speeds will not maintain at all. The VRM is very capable of a nice overclock, but it needs the Bitspower block to achieve it. I was easily able to obtain 4.6GHz on the CPU as well as 3200MHz on the ram that was rated for 2800MHz. This board is not compatible with the der8auer direct die kit and the Bitspower block at the same time. I have seen people use the direct die kit without the monoblock and have success, but when I tried using the two together, the block does not contact the die. It is also worth noting that after reinstalling the regular socket retention mechanism, and then installing the monoblock again, I was having pressure issues in the socket not allowing the computer to boot at all. I don't know if this was my own doing or a quirk or this board and that monoblock, but it is something to watch out for. I was finally able to install the block with enough pressure for good cooling while also not having the non-boot issues. One last thing worth noting is that without the M.2 daughterboard slotted near the rear I/O, some of the USB ports on the back of the board do not function as their controller lies on that M.2 daughterboard. Some people have complained of USB not working at all, but this is likely because they thought they could remove the M.2 daughterboard since they were not planning on using it.

Pros: -good card for 1080p and 1440p (also allows you to dabble in 4k if you don't mind lowering settings) -superb cooling -black PCB -stable with mild overclock of 1380MHz on the core and almost 9000MHz on the VRAM -not too loud -fan stop technology (will discuss this more)

Cons: -fan stop technology- Most cards are shipping with this these days, but this is the only card I have used that implements this as a HARD limit. Even if you manually set your fan speed, the fans will not turn on at all until you hit 60C. This isn't a huge deal though, especially since the highest temperature I saw while overclocked was 72C.

Overall Review: Great card for the money. At the time of writing this review (Feb 5, 2017), I would suggest waiting to see what Vega brings unless you absolutely have to have a video card right now, or know that this is the most you are willing to spend on a video card. If you do pick up this card, you won't be disappointed.

I have dealt with EKWB a lot in my time building computers and cannot recommend them enough. Fast shipping, excellent service, and above all a superior product.