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MSI Announces the X99A Workstation

btarunr

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MSI, industry leading motherboard brand, is proud to announce its latest addition to its X99 portfolio, the X99A WORKSTATION. Dedicated towards users demanding perfect stability & performance for optimal productivity while in search of a wide variety in connectivity & storage options, the new X99A WORKSTATION is sure to impress. Built from the ground up using Military Class 5 components, the X99A WORKSTATION is optimized to use ECC Registered DIMM (RDIMM) memory while benefiting from enhanced performance & stability through the presence of DDR4 Boost. The X99A WORKSTATION supports the latest Intel processors out of the box, both Broadwell-E and XEON based models. The X99A WORKSTATION motherboard is the perfect multi-tasking powerhouse to cater even the most demanding professional.

To be qualified as a true workstation motherboard, optimal & stable data handling needs to be guaranteed, no matter what. By using industries' highest quality components combined with an unmatched R&D design and extreme QA testing, the X99A WORKSTATION motherboard PCB design has been optimized to do just that. To protect the PCB and its components, besides looking cool an IO & audio cover ensures worry free use. The data and audio signals are also shielded against EMI. Heavy plated heatsinks, with a touch of grey, green and white, are used to ensure perfect operation at even the most extreme conditions. To transfer countless data, a wide variety of storage connecters such as U.2 , M.2 and SATA ports are demanded by most workstation users. The X99A WORKSTATION allows any of the latest and greatest HDD, SSD or other storage devices to be connected.



In general a workstation is used for business or personal photo & video editing or other content creation. Reliability and stability of data processing and transfer is therefore one of the biggest aspects of any workstation. To minimize errors in data and achieve the best stability, the X99A WORKSTATION is designed to support ECC Registered DIMM (RDIMM) memory, the best solution for professional servers in businesses and data centers.

Onboard Turbo U.2 and Turbo M.2 is present to support the latest and greatest NVMe SSDs available in the market. Allowing transfer speeds up to 2400 MB/s using a single drive, Turbo M.2 is now protected by unique M.2 Steel Armor to offer better EMI-shielding, it now also supports NVMe based SSD types up to 22110 providing PCI-E Gen3 x4 32Gb/s bandwidth. Through innovative R&D design, it's now possible to use Turbo U.2, Turbo M.2 and SATA Express at maximum speeds at same time.* The new X99A WORKSTATION also equips 10x SATA III Ports and SATA Express.

USB 3.1 Gen2 enables lightning-fast transfer speeds up to 10Gb/s for your convenience when using mobile storage devices. A USB Type-C option allows for all the performance benefits from USB 3.1 Gen2 combined with the convenience of the USB Type-C connector. This reversible connector allows for effortless connecting of USB devices. Perfect for the latest smartphones and great for next generation SSDs and other mobile storage devices. These devices require only the USB Type-C cable for both power and data transfer. Offering a more convenient use for these next generation consumer products.

DDR4 boost technology with optimized traces fully and isolates the memory circuitry from other components and ensures the memory signal stays pure for optimal performance and stability. It also allows you to pick from a huge number of different memory kits without having any fear of compatibility issues.

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Yeah, I too remember when workstation boards were packed to the brim with actual features and looked boring/crap, but nobody cared because they were buying them for the features.

Nowadays "workstation" seems to be a synonym for "let's rebrand our gaming motherboards with slightly less bling and Xeon support and double the price".
 
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Yeah, I too remember when workstation boards were packed to the brim with actual features and looked boring/crap, but nobody cared because they were buying them for the features.

Nowadays "workstation" seems to be a synonym for "let's rebrand our gaming motherboards with slightly less bling and Xeon support and double the price".
Yeah those were real no-nonsense WS motherboards unlike these new "WS" boards.
 

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So basically it is an X99A SLI Plus with an extra gigabit NIC, and higher failure rates (beware, AsMedia 1074 and 1142).
Also wasted one PCIe x1 in order to support a "pink unicorn" M.2 22110 form factor...
 
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So basically it is an X99A SLI Plus with an extra gigabit NIC, and higher failure rates (beware, AsMedia 1074 and 1142).
Also wasted one PCIe x1 in order to support a "pink unicorn" M.2 22110 form factor...
Don't forget the chipset needed to run Xeon.
 
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