ASUS Intros WS X299 SAGE 10G Motherboard with Dual 10GbE and Improved VRM

ASUS today introduced the WS X299 SAGE/10G, a step up variant of the WS X299 SAGE it launched back in Q4-2017. As you can tell from the model name, this board's star-attraction is 10 Gbps Ethernet. It features not one, but two 10 GbE interfaces, replacing the dual 1 GbE interfaces of the original. These interfaces aren't backed by low-cost controllers, but the Intel X550-AT2 "Sageville," which is an $80 chip by itself, and drives both interfaces.

ASUS also used the opportunity to improve the CPU VRM a bit. Although it's still the same combination of chokes and MOSFETs, pulling power from two 8-pin EPS connectors, ASUS improved the secondary VRM heatsink, which pulls heat from the main heatsink over a flattened heat-pipe. This heatsink is now made of of a dense aluminium fin-stack like the main heatsink, a section of which protrudes all the way to the rear I/O shield. The rear I/O now consists of four USB 3.1 gen 1 ports, two USB 3.1 gen 2 ports (including a type-C port), and the 8-channel HD audio cluster, besides the two 10 GbE ports. The rest of the board's feature-set is unchanged from the original. We expect a $100 premium over the original's price.