ASRock unveiled prototypes of its first LGA2011-2 motherboards based on Intel X99 Express chipset, ready for the company's upcoming Core i7 "Haswell-E" HEDT processors. The color-scheme and heatsink designs are not finalized. Both boards are built in the ATX form-factor, and draw power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and 4-pin Molex power connectors; and use 12-phase VRM to condition power to the CPU. Both further feature eight DDR4 DIMM slots. They differ in their expansion slot areas. The Extreme4 features a total of four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, while the Extreme6 features three, which uses the space saved to drop in two storage slots, an Ultra-M.2 (x4 link layer) and an mSATA. The Extreme6 offers two Intel-made GbE connections, while the Extreme4 offers just one.

ADATA's claim of being the first memory maker with DDR4 overclocking modules wouldn't fly with anyone, if they weren't using a live Haswell-E HEDT platform to show it off. The system appears to be using a prototype Intel X99 chipset micro-ATX motherboard by ASRock, and a Haswell-E engineering sample. The module comes with JEDEC SPD profile of 2133 MHz, but claims to offer tons of overclocking headroom. The system was wired to a display, and evidently, CPU-Z can't read the memory config. It can, however, read out DRAM clock and timings. The system was doing 1373 MHz (2746 MHz DDR), with timings of 14-14-14-36-CR2T.

At its Computex 2014 booth EVGA is showcasing a prototype motherboard powered by Intel's upcoming X99 chipset. This Haswell-E-supporting LGA2011 board packs eight DDR4 memory slots, ten SATA ports, five PCI-Express x16 slots allowing for SLI/Crossfire setups, 7.1 channel audio, dual Gigabit Ethernet, and various goodies to help overclockers get the most out of their setup.

EVGA's X99 board is likely set to debut as soon as Intel launches the chipset and the new Core i7-5xxxK line of processors, sometime in Q3.

MSI showed off its very first LGA2011-2 motherboard, based on Intel's X99 Express chipset, supporting Core i7 "Haswell-E" HEDT processors. The unnamed board is still in its early stages of development, none of its product styling (colors, heatsinks/lack-thereof) are final. The board features eight DDR4 DIMM slots, with which it should support up to 64 GB of quad-channel DDR4 memory. The CPU is powered by an 8-phase VRM. Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16. Storage connectivity includes one each of SATA-Express, M.2, and eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Most of its connectors are not even placed, but one can expect multiple USB 3.0 ports, two gigabit Ethernet connections, Thunderbolt, etc.

Intel's next-generation HEDT (high end desktop) platform, consisting of Core i7 "Haswell-E" processors and X99 Express chipset motherboards, are unlikely to get a showing at Computex 2014, according to an OCWorkbench report, which has its feet on the ground in Taipei. What makes this development surprising, is that Intel is expected to launch the platform in the second half of 2014, and after Computex, the company won't get another major tradeshow until 2015 International CES, slated for January. What's even more surprising, is that Intel has already launched 9-series motherboards for socket LGA1150, that are designed to support its 14 nm Core "Broadwell" mainline processors. According to the report, Intel will have its motherboard partners focus on already launched Z97 Express and H97 Express motherboards, with a focus on the platform's support for M.2 and SATA-Express interfaces, that enable a new generation of faster SSDs.

Intel's next-generation Core i7 "Haswell-E" HEDT (high-end desktop) processor lineup, slated for later this year, accompanied by the company's X99 Express chipset, will launch at three price-points, predictably, succeeding the current Core i7-4820K, i7-4930K, and i7-4960X. The platform will herald a new LGA socket, which will have 2,011 pins, but will not be compatible with current LGA2011 platforms based on the X79 Express chipset. That's because "Haswell-E" will be among the first client platforms to support DDR4-SDRAM memory. All Haswell-E chips will support DDR4-2133 MHz out of the box.

Moving on to the actual lineup, and it begins with the Core i7-5820K. This is a six-core chip, and a welcome departure from Intel's sub-$400 HEDT chips being quad-core. Whether it supports HyperThreading, is not known. You still get 6 physical cores to plow through work. The chip also features a staggering 15 MB of L3 cache, clock speed of 3.30 GHz with a couple of notches of Turbo Boost, and a quad-channel DDR4 integrated memory controller. Oh, and there's the unlocked BClk multiplier. Sounds too good to be true for a sub-$400 chip? Here's the catch - its on-die PCI-Express Gen 3.0 root complex will have fewer lanes. It can spare just 16 + 8 lanes for discrete graphics cards. For boards with three long x16 slots, that would mean x16/NC/x8, or x8/x8/x8, with an additional x4 link.

Here's what the first wave of Intel 9-series chipsets will look like. It will consist of upper-mainstream chipsets for the LGA1150 platform, and the sole chipset for the LGA2011-3 HEDT platform. LGA1150 will get two new chipsets based on a common silicon, the Z97 Express, and the H97 Express. The Z97 will be the next top-end chipset for the platform, supporting current Core "Haswell" and upcoming "Haswell refresh" and "Devil's Canyon" processors. Motherboards based on the Z97 chipset, like the ones based on the Z87 and Z77, will feature up to three PCI-Express 3.0 slots wired to the CPU, in configurations of x16/NC/NC, x8/x8/NC, and x8/x4/x4. It will support overclocking, something its sibling the H97 Express will lack. The H97 will also lack the PCIe configurations that the Z97 supports.

Both Z97 and H97 will introduce support for PCI-Express M.2 storage, which offers 66.6% higher bandwidth than SATA 6 Gb/s, and the same bandwidth as SATA-Express. Its introduction will spur up development and launches of a new generation of high-performance client SSDs in 2014-15. Apart from M.2, the two chipsets offer six SATA 6 Gb/s ports with AHCI and RAID support. Rapid Storage Technology (RST) and Smart Response Technology (SRT) are common for both chips, however, the Z97 also features Dynamic Storage Accelerator (DST), something the H97 will lack. H97 will exclusively offer Small Business Advantage (SBA), instead. Both chips will feature 8-lane PCI-Express gen 2.0 root complexes to drive onboard devices, and 14 USB ports, including six USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports.