Even now, almost a year after the launch of the Ryzen Threadripper processors by AMD, there are only a few X399 motherboards available in the market. Threadripper aims for the top end of the enthusiast and workstation market, and comes with a price tag, therefore it is only natural that motherboard manufacturers would not expend much of their resources on such a limited market. As a result, GIGABYTE only offers two motherboard options to date: the gaming-focused AORUS X399 Gaming 7 and the feature-packed X399 Designare EX, but we do know that an X399 Aorus Extreme is also set to be released in the near future. In this review, we are having a look at the X399 Designare EX, the current GIGABYTE Halo implementation of AMD's X399 chipset.

The Designare EX is the most expensive and feature-packed motherboard GIGABYTE has to offer, yet its features seem to have been selected with productivity in mind. For example, gaming-specific features such as an Intel E2500 Killer LAN gaming chipset are implemented on the cheaper AORUS Gaming 7 motherboard, yet not on the Designare EX, instead going for dual Intel networking ports and Wi-Fi. As its name hints, GIGABYTE is probably targeting this motherboard more towards professionals and designers.

AnandTech's AMD Ryzen Threadripper and X399 Motherboard Coverage

• The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X and 1920X Review: CPUs on Steroids
• An AMD Threadripper X399 Motherboard Overview
• Analyzing Threadripper Thermals: Big Base Cooling Wins
   
• AMD Reveals Threadripper 2 : Up to 32 Cores, 250W, X399 Refresh
• GIGABYTE’s X399 Aorus Extreme: The Threadripper 2 Halo Motherboard
• New EKWB Threadripper X399 Monoblocks for GIGABYTE and MSI

GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX Overview

The GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX is a motherboard designed to be both feature-packed and reliable. Its list of features is very long and, despite the massive size of the processor's socket and the eight DDR4 RAM slots, the dimensions of the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX are exactly those of a typical ATX motherboard, allowing it to be installed inside any typical ATX-compliant case.

A quick glance at the motherboard's specifications reveals that up to eight SATA drives and three M.2 drives can be connected on the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX. The motherboard does not have a U.2 drive connector, making GIGABYTE the only manufacturer who did not add one on their top-tier AMD X399 motherboard. However, GIGABYTE supplies a U.2 to M.2 adapter, allowing the connection of a U.2 drive onto any of the motherboard's three M.2 slots. The motherboard also has a massive number of USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports and there are also two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, one Type-A and one Type-C.

In terms of connectivity, the motherboard has dual Intel I211-AT Gigabit LAN controllers, plus an Intel 802.11ac/Bluetooth 4.2 wireless adapter. The I211-AT are renowned for their efficiency and stability (and it is not bad for gaming either). The wireless card supports speeds up to 867 Mbps.

GIGABYTE heavily advertises the audio capabilities of the X399 Designare EX, focusing on the Creative Sound BlasterX 720° support. Note that Sound BlasterX 720° is not a chipset but a software package that is designed to work with any compatible chipset/motherboard. Realtek supplies the well-known ALC 1220 audio chipset that also has an integrated smart headphones amplifier.

One of the truly unique features of the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX is the presence of a fifth full-length PCIe slot. Like every other AMD X399 motherboard, the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX has four PCI Express slots that are directly connected to CPU lanes (×16 / ×8 /×16 / ×8), but right in the middle of these four slots, the Designare has an added a fifth full-length PCI Express slot with four lanes connecting to the chipset.

The second important feature of the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX is the implementation of an International Rectifier IR35201 digital controller. What is unique about this particular controller is that it implements an algorithm that balances the load (and the heat output) across all of the power phases. This means that instead of having a couple of stages heavily loaded all of the time while the rest are idling, all eight stages are continuously sharing about the same load, greatly increasing the longevity of the circuitry. This means that the motherboard should hold up well for the upcoming Threadripper 2 launch.

Overall, the X399 Designare EX is a motherboard that seems to be leaning more towards professionals. There are gaming-related features, such as RGB lighting and support for external RGB strips, but these are more of an exception rather than the rule. The company refrained from adding gaming-focused chipsets or complex/untested circuitry, sticking to heavily tested and proven choices. As we will see in the following pages, GIGABYTE also focused on the cooling capabilities and the physical strength of the motherboard a lot as well, hinting that the X399 Designare EX has been developed in order to please users who seek stability and reliability above all else.

Visual Inspection

The aesthetic design of the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX is imposing but not extravagant, with a lot of metal dominating the clean, elegant layout of the ATX motherboard. Onboard RGB lighting is limited to a relatively subtle implementation on the chipset's heatsink. If that is not enough light for you, there are three headers for RGB/RGBW/RGBUV strips/panels. Two headers support regular 12V LED products and one header supports 5V/12V digital LED strips. GIGABYTE claims that the headers can support up to 300 LEDs combined, enough to illuminate a small apartment.

GIGABYTE is using the true eight phase VRM design for the power delivery to the Ryzen Threadripper CPU. Each phase features an International Rectifier (Infineon) IR3556 MOSFET driver and a "server-level" high-efficiency choke. An IR35201 digital controller by International Rectifier is controlling the power circuitry, evenly distributing the load across the eight phases at all times. This technique prevents having one or two phases heavily loaded while the rest are idling and greatly improves the longevity of the components.

 

GIGABYTE placed significant focus on the cooling of the motherboard and other components. The two sizable heatsinks that cool the processor's VRM circuitry are connected with a heatpipe and are actively cooled via a small fan hidden behind the I/O ports. GIGABYTE supplies heatsinks for the M.2 drives and they are very cleverly implemented; the heatsinks latch into the socket along with the drive and use a thermal pad instead of a permanent sticky tape.

The use of metal is extensive, even perhaps excessive, on the X399 Designare EX. All of the PCI Express and DIMM slots have metallic braces installed. A metal plate covers most of the motherboard's rear and, while it may seem like a heatsink, it does little more than enhancing the mechanical strength of the motherboard. It would appear as if the Designare was getting ready for super-heavy tower CPU coolers. Only the covers above the fan next to the power delivery and the audio circuitry are plastic but the careful paint job conceals that fact. The mechanical strength enhancements GIGABYTE implements are definitely excessive, especially on the DIMM slots, but they do at the very least enhance the aesthetics of the motherboard.

The motherboard's layout is very well thought out, especially for a motherboard with that level of integration. The majority of the headers have been placed across the bottom edge of the motherboard, while all of the SATA connectors have been grouped together next to the chipset and are facing rightwards. Two small headers lie between the SATA connectors and the ATX power connector for USB. The top connector with the metallic frame is for a Type-C port but note that it is limited to USB 3.1 Gen 1 speeds (5 Gbps). The other connector is a THB-C header for a Thunderbolt add-in card but there is no mention of it in the motherboard's manual, the manufacturer's website, or anywhere else. It appears that GIGABYTE had plans to integrate Thunderbolt support onto the X399 Designare EX but these did not bear fruit.

Not one, not two, but five fan headers can be found at the top right corner of the motherboard. The grey header is meant for the CPU's main fan. There are two more fan headers at the bottom edge of the motherboard and one more right next to the left VRM heatsink. The latter is occupied by the hidden VRM cooling fan. Two of the headers (SYS_5), one at the top and one at the bottom of the board, have been enhanced to support liquid cooling pumps. The number of thermal sensors is extraordinary as well. Along with the two headers for the extra thermocouples, the X399 Designare EX also has another seven thermal sensors integrated on virtually every critical part of the motherboard, from the VRM/chipset heatsinks to the audio circuitry.

At this point we should also note that the X399 Designare EX has the lowest number of power connectors that we have seen on any AMD X399-based motherboard. Aside from the typical 24-pin ATX and 8-pin 12V CPU connectors, there is only an additional 4-pin 12V CPU connector. All of the other AMD X399 motherboards have either two 8-pin CPU connectors or a fourth connector of another type, or even both. Apparently, GIGABYTE is confident that their power circuitry is very efficient and capable of handling both a stressed Ryzen Threadripper and a multi-GPU setup without additional connectors. It will be interesting to see this board with a Threadripper 2 in it later this year.

The audio circuitry of the X399 Designare EX is interesting as well. It is using the Realtek ALC 1220 chipset that has a maximum rated sound-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 120dB. This is the same chipset that every other AMD X399 motherboard is using but GIGABYTE clearly placed a lot of weight on the motherboard's audio, trying to enhance it as much as possible within economically feasible levels. GIGABYTE went for the little things that make a subtle but clear difference, such as audio-specific capacitors supplied by Nichicon and WIMA, and gold-plated jacks. The audio circuitry is not isolated on this board but there apparently any room for the designer to achieve that. The Creative Sound BlasterX 720° that GIGABYTE mentions in their website is a software package that can be installed to add some software-level advanced audio features and cannot affect the physical performance of the audio circuitry and/or chipset.

The rear panel of the X399 Designare EX is littered with USB connectors, which start from the top of the board and extend all the way down the audio jacks. The top eight are USB 3.1 Gen 1 connectors, with the top two featuring enhanced power delivery (DAC-UP). The white USB 3.1 Gen 1 port supports Q-Flash Plus, a handy feature that allows the BIOS to be updated even without a CPU or RAM modules installed. The red Type-A USB port, as well as the Type-C port beneath it, is a USB 3.1 Gen 2 port with a maximum bandwidth of 10 Gbps, provided by an ASMedia 3142 controller. There are five gold-plated 3.5 mm audio jacks and one optical SPDIF connector, forming the standard configuration of the Realtek ALC1220 audio controller. Finally, there are two wireless antenna connectors for the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections.

Board Features

GIGABYTE cleverly designed the X399 Designare EX motherboard to have  all the features that would cover the needs of virtually all users, yet the designer did not install any features of limited and/or questionable usefulness. This kept the price of the motherboard a little lower than the competition - GIGABYTE focused on the reliability of the motherboard, implementing virtually the most proven chipsets and enhancing the mechanical strength of the board itself. The price tag of $380 is reasonable for a top of the line motherboard for a Ryzen Threadripper, placing GIGABYTE's offering about $50 lower than its direct competition.

GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX
Warranty Period	3 Years
Product Page	Link
Price	Link
Size	ATX
CPU Interface	TR4 / SP3r2
Chipset	AMD X399
Memory Slots (DDR4)	Eight DDR4 Supporting 128GB Dual Channel Up to 3600+ MHz
Video Outputs	N/A
Network Connectivity	2 x Intel I211-V 1 x Intel 802.11ac
Onboard Audio	Realtek ALC1220A
PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU)	4 × PCIe 3.0 (×16 / ×8 / ×16 / ×8)
PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH)	1 × PCIe 3.0 (×4)
Onboard SATA	Eight, RAID 0/1/5/10
Onboard SATA Express	None
Onboard M.2	3 × PCIe 3.0 (x4)
Onboard U.2	None (adapter included)
USB 3.1 Gen 2	1 × Type-C 1 × Type-A
USB 3.1 Gen 1	8 × Type-A Rear Panel 2 × Type-A via headers 1 × Type-C via headers
USB 2.0	4 × via headers
Power Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX 1 x 8-pin CPU 1 x 4-pin CPU
Fan Headers	1 x CPU (4-pin) 1 x Pump/Aux (4-pin) 6 x System (4-pin), two support liquid-cooling pumps
IO Panel	8 x USB 3.0 (USB 3.1 Gen 1) 1 x USB 3.1 Type-A 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C 2 x Network RJ-45 2 x MMCX antenna connectors (2T2R) 1 x Combo PS/2 5 x 3.5 mm Audio Jacks 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port

In The Box

We get the following:

• Driver Disk
• Quick Installation Guide
• User's manual
• Sheet with numerous stickers and cable labels
• M.2 to U.2 adapter
• Six black SATA cables (three straight, three with a 90° connector)
• Two thermocouples
• Two cable straps
• SLI/Crossfire bridge (Two GPUs)
• Torx key for the CPU socket
• RGB strip cables
• Wireless antenna
• Case connector quick plug

The bundle of the X399 Designare EX is good for a motherboard of this class. Note that the metallic I/O shield appears to have been omitted in the picture but the motherboard actually comes with it pre-attached. Inside the box we found a comprehensive manual and a quick installation guide, six SATA cables, two RGB strip cables, a Torx key for the CPU socket, a WiFi/Bluetooth antenna, and a dual GPU bridge. Strangely, no bridges for triple and/or quad SLI/Crossfire configurations are included. GIGABYTE also supplies a M.2 to U.2 adapter, two cable straps, and a sheet with numerous stickers and wire labels. Finally, there are two simple K-type thermocouples included that can be connected to the corresponding motherboard pins and monitor the temperature of anything they get attached to. Aside from the SLI/Crossfire bridges, we feel that the bundle is quite complete, yet we would like to see GIGABYTE ditching the DVDs for flash media, as many users nowadays do not even install an optical drive at all.

BIOS

Like almost every motherboard nowadays, the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX sports a graphical BIOS. Strangely, GIGABYTE has the advanced mode enabled by default for users who first enter the BIOS. The motherboard also resets to the advanced mode after clearing the BIOS. The "easy" mode is almost hidden, with the user having to move the mouse to the bottom of the screen to reveal its existence. After pressing the "easy mode" button, the BIOS is essentially reduced into a single screen that mostly provides system information and monitoring. The few options that a casual user might need, such as boot sequence and fan speed adjustments, are accessible from this page.

The Classic (or advanced) mode reveals all of the motherboard's menus and options. The BIOS defaults to the second tab, the "System" tab, which contains only basic system information and the language selection option.

The first tab from the left (M.I.T.) is perhaps the most important of the entire BIOS. It is a complex section that is divided into five submenus, with a sixth option offering access to semi-graphical fan speed options. The other five menus include the frequency, memory and voltage settings of the motherboard.

The "Advanced Frequency Settings" submenu includes frequency settings for both the CPU and the RAM. Only the base CPU clock ratio and memory frequency multiplier can be adjusted from the main page, with the rest of the CPU-related options inside a second submenu. From this submenu, the user can enable/disable the core performance boost (enabled by default) and other CPU-related features, including SVM (virtualization - disabled by default).

The "Advanced Memory Settings" once again includes the memory frequency multiplier and the memory profile options. By default, the memory timings are set to Auto and the BIOS informs the user of the value each setting has. If the memory timing mode is switched from Auto to Manual, the user will be able to change the five "standard timing" settings, plus a very long list of the "advanced timing" settings. That probably is about as customizable as it gets. A small submenu also includes the memory power/gear down and interleaving options.

The "Advanced Voltage Settings" submenu brings up all of the voltage, frequency, and current controls. Almost all of the voltage settings are absolute, with relative (offset) options available only for the CPU Vcore and VSOC. Note that the CPU thermal control/throttling options are not included in this menu.

The fourth submenu, "PC Health Status" is purely informative and shows only the voltage sensor readings, no temperature or fan-related information. Finally, the fifth submenu, "Miscellaneous Settings", only includes two options, one for the configuration of the PCI Express slots and one for the enhancement of legacy benchmarks.

The Smart Fan 5 submenu brings up a graphic interface for the monitoring and adjustment of the fans that are connected to the onboard headers. There are three preset options, "Normal", "Silent" and "Full Speed", as well as manual control that allows the user to adjust the speed of each device according to a specific system temperature.

After M.I.T., the only other tab that warrants any special attention is the "Peripherals" tab. This tab usually contains settings that control a motherboard's onboard chipsets and some basic chipset-related options. In this case however, the "Peripherals" tab also contains both the RGB Fusion app and the AMD CBS submenu. The former brings up a graphical interface that allows for the programming of the onboard and header RGB lighting options. The latter is a messy series of submenus that include a lot of Ryzen-specific options. Many of the submenus include only one or two options, suggesting that gathering them all into a single submenu would have probably been a wiser design choice. CPU throttling options can be found under the "Zen Common Options" submenu and trying to access them brings up a disclaimer/warning screen.

The rest of the submenus are simple and without any hidden surprises. The "BIOS" and "Chipset" submenus contain mostly boot-related and SATA-related options respectively. The "Power" menu also contains only power-related settings and the High Precision Event Timer (HPET) setting (enabled by default).

Software

Using the DVD supplied with the motherboard will automatically launch a simple installation helper application called "Xpress Install". The application is simple and straightforward but also tries to install several unnecessary software packages along with motherboard's device drivers, such as a trial version of the Norton Internet Security and several Google applications. It is possible to use the "Xpress Install" feature without installing these but they need to be manually deselected. Using the "Xpress Install" option will automatically install all of the selected software packages and drivers, rebooting as many times as necessary in the process. The DVD also contains GIGABYTE's APP Center software but it needs to be installed separately, it cannot be inserted into the "Xpress Install" mode.

GIGABYTE's "App Center" is a software that resembles a launcher for multiple "mini-apps". Each icon launches an application designed for a specific purpose. The applications can be individually installed/uninstalled but they cannot function without the App Center itself. Skipping the simple applications that have few and obvious functions, the most complex of these applications are the "3D OSD", the "EasyTune", and the "Smart Keyboard".

The "3D OSD" is an application that projects system information onto the screen. As its name hints, it overlaps all applications, including games, allowing to monitor system-related information while gaming. The list of the possible options to be shown is very long, including even the VBIOS version, and can be turned on/off via a hotkey. If you would like to keep an eye on a certain temperature, watch your FPS or show your driver's version onto a screenshot, the 3D OSD can be rather useful. The text's size, color and position can be adjusted and the application can be set to automatically launch alongside certain games.

The "EasyTune" is the App that allows for in-OS monitoring, overclocking and tweaking, making it possible to easily adjust system options without having to reboot into the BIOS. The number of options is not as extended as it is in the BIOS, but the included options are more than sufficient for the majority of overclockers. Hotkeys can be set to switch between two profiles, such as, for example, a low-energy and a performance profile.

The "Smart Keyboard" allows the reprogramming of the F1-F12 keys to initiate macros, launch applications and enter Sniper mouse mode. The Macro programming is basic and can be greatly improved, but it allows for the insertion of absolute mouse coordinates and clicks as well. If you do not own a programmable keyboard, this piece of software can become pretty useful in certain games and especially MMOs. It is a shame that it cannot be used to program keys outside the F1-F12 range.

Of course, the "RGB Fusion" application is included into the list of these applications and allows the programming of the onboard RGB LEDs and headers from inside the OS. It is a relatively simple application that mostly relies on pre-programmed lighting effects but it also offers some advanced options for those who are feeling creative.

Another interesting option is the "Smart TimeLock", an option that allows the system's builder to limit every user's allowed time during the weekdays and weekends. If you want your children to hate you by forcing system shutdowns while they play MMOs, this is the setting you are looking for.

Finally, another application that is worth mentioning in detail is the "V-Tuner" app, which offers overclocking capabilities for the installed GPUs. It identified and controlled our AMD GPU seamlessly and properly. Like the "EasyTune" application, the "V-Tuner" also supports profile creation and hotkeys, allowing users to switch between different settings on-the-fly.

The Sound BlasterX 720° software is one of the motherboard's highlights. It offers audio improvements via software-based tools and algorithms. It offers several presets and many customization options, such as reverb and immersion settings. As we were doubtful that the software package alone could make any real difference, we tested the X399 Designare EX with two average bookshelf speakers and we actually got very good results after tweaking the immersion and reality 3D options settings. Unfortunately, such testing is practically subjective and not in scientifically measurable. The software also includes a "scout mode" that enhances sounds like footsteps and weaponry handling in FPS games. Finally, it also includes speaker configuration and calibration options.

Test Bed and Setup

As per our testing policy, we take a high-end CPU suitable for the motherboard that was released during the socket’s initial launch and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the processor maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC subtimings where possible. It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend out testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.

Test Setup
Processor	AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X, $800 16 Cores, 32 Threads, 3.4 GHz (4.0 GHz Boost)
Motherboards	GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX (BIOS F1)
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S TR4-SP3
Power Supply	Corsair AX1200i Platinum PSU
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB 4 x 8GB DDR4-2666
Memory Settings	XMP @ 2666
Video Cards	ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 570
Hard Drive	Crucial MX200 1TB
Case	Open Test Bed
Operating System	Windows 10 Build 1803 64-bit

Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives in essence an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the stock BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency / monitoring priority, overriding memory sub-timings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.

The GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX has the "core performance boost" feature enabled by default, temporarily pushing the Ryzen Threadripper processor up to about 4050 MHz. On the other hand, the Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.) is disabled by default and needs to be manually enabled for the RAM modules to operate at their advertised speed. By default, all of the voltage settings are set to auto, with the motherboard boosting the Vcore up to 1.3V in order to maintain stable temporary overclocks.

Users will note that we are using an RX 570 graphics card here, which is not 'the best of the best' for a high-end platform like Threadripper. This was ultimately down to logistics at the time of testing; our gaming tests rarely become more than a check box to ensure that no fishy business is going on.

Many thanks to...

We must thank the following companies for kindly providing hardware for our multiple test beds. Some of this hardware is not in this test bed specifically, but is used in other testing.

Thank you to Crucial for providing us with MX200/MX300 SSDs. Crucial stepped up to the plate as our benchmark list grows larger with newer benchmarks and titles, and the 1TB units are strong performers. The MX200s are based on Marvell's 88SS9189 controller and using Micron's 16nm 128Gbit MLC flash, these are 7mm high, 2.5-inch drives rated for 100K random read IOPs and 555/500 MB/s sequential read and write speeds. The 1TB models we are using here support TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE-1667 (eDrive) encryption and have a 320TB rated endurance with a three-year warranty.

Further Reading: AnandTech's Crucial MX200 (250 GB, 500 GB & 1TB) Review

Thank you to Corsair for providing us with Vengeance LPX DDR4 Memory and an AX1200i Power Supply.

Corsair kindly sent a 4x8GB DDR4 2666 set of their Vengeance LPX low profile, high-performance memory. The heatsink is made of pure aluminum to help remove heat from the sticks and has an eight-layer PCB. The heatsink is a low profile design to help fit in spaces where there may not be room for a tall heat spreader; think a SFF case or using a large heatsink. Timings on this specific set come in at 16-18-18-35. The Vengeance LPX line supports XMP 2.0 profiles for easily setting the speed and timings. It also comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

Further Reading: AnandTech's Memory Frequency Scaling on Intel's Skull Canyon NUC

The AX1200i was the first power supply to offer digital control and management via Corsair's Link system, but under the hood it commands a 1200W rating at 50C with 80 PLUS Platinum certification. This allows for a minimum 89-92% efficiency at 115V and 90-94% at 230V. The AX1200i is completely modular, running the larger 200mm design, with a dual ball bearing 140mm fan to assist high-performance use. The AX1200i is designed to be a workhorse, with up to 8 PCIe connectors for suitable four-way GPU setups. The AX1200i also comes with a Zero RPM mode for the fan, which due to the design allows the fan to be switched off when the power supply is under 30% load.

Further Reading: AnandTech’s Best PC Power Supplies

System Performance

Not all motherboards are created equal. On the face of it, they should all perform the same and differ only in the functionality they provide - however this is not the case. The obvious pointers are power consumption, but also the ability for the manufacturer to optimize USB speed, audio quality (based on audio codec), POST time and latency. This can come down to manufacturing process and prowess, so these are tested.

Power Consumption

Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single ASUS AMD RX 570 GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the Corsair AX1200i power supply. This power supply is Platinum rated, and as I am on a 230 V supply, leads to ~75% efficiency > 50W, and 90%+ efficiency at 250W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real-world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.

While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our test bed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.

The energy consumption of the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX is reasonable while the system is idling, resting at 66 Watts, just a little higher than that of an X370 system using a typical Ryzen 7 CPU. This changes quickly once the CPU is stressed, with the power figures jumping to 255 Watts. Although the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X is not a processor designed for green computing, the huge energy consumption difference is being caused by the aggressive CPU performance boost setting that is enabled by default.

Non UEFI POST Time

Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.) 

The GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX displays good boot time figures, with a default boot time of just 12.4 seconds. It is possible to shorten this time down to 9.2 seconds by switching the Fast Boot option to "Ultra" and preventing all of the motherboard's secondary chipsets from initiating during boot.

USB Backup

For this benchmark, we transfer a set size of files from the SSD to the USB drive using DiskBench, which monitors the time taken to transfer. The files transferred are a 1.52 GB set of 2867 files across 320 folders – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30 second HD videos. In an update to pre-Z87 testing, we also run MaxCPU to load up one of the threads during the test which improves general performance up to 15% by causing all the internal pathways to run at full speed.

Due to the introduction of USB 3.1, as of June 2015 we are adjusting our test to use a dual mSATA USB 3.1 Type-C device which should be capable of saturating both USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 connections. We still use the same data set as before, but now use the new device. Results are shown as seconds taken to complete the data transfer.

At this point we should also note that manufacturers nowadays advertise their motherboards as having "USB 3.1 Gen 1" and "USB 3.1 Gen 2" ports. The USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports are limited to 5 Gbps, which means that they are USB 3.0 ports. USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports are rated for up to 10 Gbps.

The USB performance of the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX is good and on par with all of the AMD X399 motherboards that we have tested to this date. All motherboards produced exactly the same performance figures here, which was to be expected considering that they are all using the same chipset and USB 3.1 controllers.

DPC Latency

Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.

If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time.  This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops, and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds.

All of the AMD X399 motherboards have slightly high DPC latency settings but the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX chose the wrong chart to be at the top. With a DPC latency figure of 379 μs, the X399 Designare EX is the worst performer that we have tested to this date. It is not high enough to cause problems but other implementations displayed figures that are nearly 40% lower.

CPU Performance, Short Form

For our motherboard reviews, we use our short form testing method. These tests usually focus on if a motherboard is using MultiCore Turbo (the feature used to have maximum turbo on at all times, giving a frequency advantage), or if there are slight gains to be had from tweaking the firmware. We leave the BIOS settings at default and memory at JEDEC for these tests, making it very easy to see which motherboards have CPU core enhancements enabled by default.

Point Calculations – 3D Movement Algorithm Test v2.1: link

3DPM is a self-penned benchmark, taking basic 3D movement algorithms used in Brownian Motion simulations and testing them for speed. High floating point performance, MHz and IPC wins in the single thread version, whereas the multithread version has to handle the threads and loves more cores. For a brief explanation of the platform agnostic coding behind this benchmark, see my forum post here. We are using the latest version of 3DPM, which has a significant number of tweaks over the original version to avoid issues with cache management and speeding up some of the algorithms.

Here we can see that the processing power of the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX motherboard is about average, even though the Core Performance Boost is enabled by default and is temporarily pushing the processor's cores beyond 4 GHz. GIGABYTE apparently was not the only manufacturer who has this feature enabled by default, neither are they using the most aggressive boost profile.

Rendering - LuxMark v3.1: link

As a synthetic, LuxMark might come across as somewhat arbitrary as a renderer, given that it's mainly used to test GPUs, but it does offer both an OpenCL and a standard C++ mode. In this instance, aside from seeing the comparison in each coding mode for cores and IPC, we also get to see the difference in performance moving from a C++ based code-stack to an OpenCL one with a CPU as the main host.

The results are similar as before but the performance gap between the X399 Designare EX and the other top-tier AMD X399 motherboards is insignificant. Similar results are obtained throughout our CPU performance benchmarks.

Rendering - Blender 2.78: link

For a render that has been around for what seems like ages, Blender is still a highly popular tool. We managed to wrap up a standard workload into the February 5 nightly build of Blender and measure the time it takes to render the first frame of the scene. Being one of the bigger open source tools out there, it means both AMD and Intel work actively to help improve the codebase, for better or for worse on their own/each other's microarchitecture.

Rendering – POV-Ray 3.7.1b4: link

The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, or POV-Ray, is a freeware package for as the name suggests, ray tracing. It is a pure renderer, rather than modeling software, but the latest beta version contains a handy benchmark for stressing all processing threads on a platform. We have been using this test in motherboard reviews to test memory stability at various CPU speeds to good effect – if it passes the test, the IMC in the CPU is stable for a given CPU speed. As a CPU test, it runs for approximately 2-3 minutes on high end platforms.

Synthetic – 7-Zip 9.2: link

As an open source compression tool, 7-Zip is a popular tool for making sets of files easier to handle and transfer. The software offers up its own benchmark, to which we report the result.

Neuron Simulation - DigiCortex v1.20: link

The newest benchmark in our suite is DigiCortex, a simulation of biologically plausible neural network circuits, and simulates activity of neurons and synapses. DigiCortex relies heavily on a mix of DRAM speed and computational throughput, indicating that systems which apply memory profiles properly should benefit and those that play fast and loose with overclocking settings might get some extra speed up. Results are taken during the steady state period in a 32k neuron simulation, and represented as a function of the ability to simulate in real time (1.000x equals real-time).

Gaming Performance 

AoTS Escalation

Seen as the holy child of DirectX12, Ashes of the Singularity (AoTS, or just Ashes) has been the first title to actively go explore as many of DirectX12s features as it possibly can. Stardock, the developer behind the Nitrous engine which powers the game, has ensured that the real-time strategy title takes advantage of multiple cores and multiple graphics cards, in as many configurations as possible.

As a real-time strategy title, Ashes is all about responsiveness during both wide open shots but also concentrated battles. With DirectX12 at the helm, the ability to implement more draw calls per second allows the engine to work with substantial unit depth and effects that other RTS titles had to rely on combined draw calls to achieve, making some combined unit structures ultimately very rigid.

Stardock clearly understands the importance of an in-game benchmark, ensuring that such a tool was available and capable from day one, especially with all the additional DX12 features used and being able to characterize how they affected the title for the developer was important. The in-game benchmark performs a four-minute fixed seed battle environment with a variety of shots and outputs a vast amount of data to analyze.

GRID: Autosport

No graphics tests are complete without some input from Codemasters and the EGO engine, which means for this round of testing we point towards GRID: Autosport, the next iteration in the GRID and racing genre. As with our previous racing testing, each update to the engine aims to add in effects, reflections, detail, and realism, with Codemasters making ‘authenticity’ a main focal point for this version. GRID’s benchmark mode is very flexible and, as a result, we created a test race using a shortened version of the Red Bull Ring with twelve cars doing two laps. The car is focus starts last and is quite fast, but usually finishes second or third. For low-end graphics, we test at 1080p medium settings, whereas mid and high-end graphics get the full 1080p maximum. Both the average and minimum frame rates are recorded. 

Overclocking

Experience with GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX

While GIGABYTE makes no effort to market the X399 Designare EX as a special "overclocking-friendly" motherboard, to the extent that while they extensively advertise the advanced power circuitry and reliability , even the support for liquid cooling solutions, there is not even a single mention regarding overclocking into the manufacturer's website and yet the X399 Designare EX is a very capable motherboard, with good overclocking potential for most users. Hardcore overclockers may be limited by the lack of additional power connectors, as the two 8+4 pin connectors are unlikely to provide enough current for a highly stressed Threadripper processor. Such overclocking will also require very advanced and complex cooling solutions, well beyond typical liquid cooling setups.

The BIOS of the X399 Designare EX is versatile, with a broad range of options. The frequency and voltage control settings are well beyond reasonable bounds, as the processor is unlikely to function with the maximum voltage settings regardless of the cooling system.

Methodology

Our standard overclocking methodology is as follows. We select the automatic overclock options and test for stability with PovRay and OCCT to simulate high-end workloads. These stability tests aim to catch any immediate causes for memory or CPU errors.

For manual overclocks, based on the information gathered from previous testing, starts off at a nominal voltage and CPU multiplier, and the multiplier is increased until the stability tests are failed. The CPU voltage is increased gradually until the stability tests are passed, and the process repeated until the motherboard reduces the multiplier automatically (due to safety protocol) or the CPU temperature reaches a stupidly high level (100ºC+). Our test bed is not in a case, which should push overclocks higher with fresher (cooler) air.

Overclock Results

Knowing that the X399 Designare EX is already pushing the Ryzen Threadripper 1950X quite hard by default, we decided to test the first of GIGABYTE's automatic overclocking settings (3.6G). That setting increased the processor's base frequency by 200MHz but the maximum temporary frequency boost by the Core Performance Boost option did not increase. Still, the CPU would throttle significantly, even though the energy consumption did not increase too much. It would appear that this option may be bugged.

We disabled the Core Performance Boost option during our manual overclocking tests, locking the processor at a given frequency each time. We managed to raise the processor's frequency up to 3.9 GHz without issues. At 4.0 GHz our Noctua cooler was inadequate for the extreme thermal needs of the Ryzen Threadripper processor. An advanced liquid cooling solution would probably allow the CPU to reach a couple hundred MHz higher but the energy consumption under these circumstances is extraordinary and we are not confident that the motherboard's connectors and circuitry will survive such stress for too long.

When looking at the above table, it is clear that overclocking the Ryzen Threadripper processor greatly increases its energy consumption. However, we hypothesized that the management of energy consumption would probably work both ways. We decided to give a try with the processor locked at its base frequency (Core Performance Boost disabled) and with a mildly lowered CPU Vcore/VSOC (-75mV offset). These settings alone halved the processor's energy consumption with only a small decrease in performance. Of course, the 16C/32T Ryzen Threadripper 1950X is not a processor designed for low-energy green computing, but this proves that it is also technically possible to greatly reduce the system's energy consumption and still receive the benefits of all these cores/threads if one wants to do so.

Conclusion

The GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX is the best AMD X399 motherboard that the company has to offer. Rather than focusing on gamers, like the GIGABYTE X399 Gamng 7,  the X399 Designare EX is a product vaguely targeting advanced professionals, with the Designare focusing on the implementation's reliability and rigidity. The options that would appeal to gamers and modders are available, ranging from RGB lighting and RGB strip headers to a good power circuitry, and from plenty of thermal control options to versatile overclocking capabilities (that the marketing team graciously avoids to even mention publicly), yet GIGABYTE is focusing their marketing efforts almost exclusively on the motherboard's features and reliability.

The layout of the X399 Designare EX is very cleverly organized and its thermal design is more than capable for typical use and mild overclocking. Its power circuitry is very well designed, with excellent quality components and ingeniously applied control. For a system running at stock settings or mildly overclocked, the X399 Designare EX will operate both efficiently and reliably. However, the lack of additional power connectors will likely limit the motherboard's overclocking capabilities, especially when multiple GPUs are installed. We find it quite unlikely that the motherboard will be able to handle the power requirements for three or four high-end graphics cards if the user tries to overclock all of them at once.

For performance, while GIGABYTE does apply some additional 'above stock' frequency with a default BIOS, most other boards do as well so it was par for the course in our performance tests. System level tests were a little different, with the Designare EX being very good power wise at Idle, and giving the best POST time of any of our X399 motherboards. DPC Latency was a little lacking however, which suggests that the board might need additional tuning to be an audio focused workstation, but is certainly sufficient for almost everyone else.

GIGABYTE chose the subsystems of the X399 Designare EX clearly with reliability in mind. The board uses the long-proven Intel I211-AT network controllers, which may not the fastest but they are definitely one of the most stable Gigabit LAN chipsets ever made. GIGABYTE did not install a 5/10 Gbit chipset on the X399 Designare EX as there is no support or demand for it right now, opting for a lower retail price over a currently not-so-popular feature, suggesting users nuy an add-in card if needed. The sound circuitry is very good, based on the Realtek ALC1220 chipset and designed with excellent quality components. Realtek's chipset is one of the best currently available and Sound Blaster's X 720° software improves it even further, forming a very solid audio solution for a high-end PC.

One thing that stands out about the X399 Designare EX is the sheer number of USB ports. There are eight USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports at the rear panel, plus the Type-A/Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports. However, there is only one header for up to two front panel USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports, plus another header for a single Type-C front panel port. Again, note that the front panel Type-C port header is limited to 5 Gbps. Two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports are not enough for several high-end cases that have four front panel ports but at least the X399 Designare EX also has two USB 2.0 headers for up to four USB 2.0 front panel ports.

On the topic of storage, the X399 Designare EX supports up to eight SATA drives and up to three M.2 drives, with two M.2 slots supporting drives up to 110 mm. All three M.2 slots can allocate up to four PCIe lanes each, as no lanes are shared on the X399 Designare EX. GIGABYTE also is the a manufacturer that offers a pre-installed cooling solution for M.2 drives. 

Weighing all of its features and considering its target group, the GIGABYTE X399 Designare EX is an excellent motherboard for both home users and workstations. It is a fast motherboard that is very well designed overall, with good subsystems, a clever layout, and reliable components. Although the options are there, it is clearly not a motherboard designed for extreme overclocking, yet it offers good versatility for the typical overclocker that will use conventional cooling systems. The omission of a 10G LAN chipset is apparent when comparing this board to its competition but so is the price difference, with the X399 Designare EX currently retailing at $371, a significantly lower price than that of every other manufacturer's top offering.

 

AnandTech's AMD Ryzen Threadripper and X399 Motherboard Coverage

• The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X and 1920X Review: CPUs on Steroids
• An AMD Threadripper X399 Motherboard Overview
• Analyzing Threadripper Thermals: Big Base Cooling Wins
   
• AMD Reveals Threadripper 2 : Up to 32 Cores, 250W, X399 Refresh
• GIGABYTE’s X399 Aorus Extreme: The Threadripper 2 Halo Motherboard
• New EKWB Threadripper X399 Monoblocks for GIGABYTE and MSI