MSI X99S SLI PLUS On Linux

For Intel Core i7 5960X Haswell-E Linux testing I originally bought an MSI X99S SLI PLUS motherboard as it was one of the most interesting, lowest-priced boards available at the time of the Intel X99 chipset debut. While I initially ran into some problems, those issues have now been confirmed to be isolated, and with a replacement X99S SLI PLUS motherboard I have been stressing it constantly for the past few weeks on Fedora and Ubuntu. The X99S SLI PLUS has now proven itself to be a reliable motherboard that's still among the least expensive X99 ATX motherboards on the market.

The X99S SLI PLUS supports the LGA 2011v3 Haswell Extreme Edition CPUs, supports up to quad-channel DDR4-3333 memory, boasts SATA Express and Turbo M.2 connectivity, multi-GPU support, and all of the other features that enthusiasts would expect from a high-end X99 motherboard. The MSI X99S SLI PLUS is currently retailing for just about $230 USD.

Features:

- Supports New Intel Core i7 processors Extreme Edition in LGA 2011-3 socket
- Supports Quad Channel DDR4-3333(OC) Memory
- Turbo M.2: delivering next generation M.2 Gen3 x4 performance with transfer speeds up to 32 Gb/s
- SATA Express + USB 3.0 + SATA 6Gb/s
- Multi-GPU: NVIDIA Quad SLI & AMD Quad CrossFire Support
- OC Engine: For More Flexible BCLK Adjustments
- USB Steel Power: Super Stable 5V Power & Better Signal Transmission over USB
- Intel Gigabit LAN: Always connected with Intel Gigabit LAN networking
- Guard-Pro: Improved Protection and Power Efficiency
- Military Class 4: Top Quality & Stability
- OC Genie 4: Overclock in 1 Second
- Click BIOS 4: Easily Fine-tune Your System

Specifications:

- LGA 2011v3 Socket
- Intel X99 Express Chipset
- DDR4 2133 support; DDR4 2200~3333MHz Support In OC Mode
- 8 x DDR4 DIMMs, Max 128GB Memory
- 4 x PCI Express x16 3.0 Slots
- 2 x PCI Express x1 Slots
- 1 x SATA Express
- 10 x Serial ATA 3.0
- 1 x M.2 Port
- 1 x Gigabit Ethernet
- 12 x USB 3.0, 6 x USB 2.0
- ATX Form Factor

Contents:

Included with the MSI X99S SLI PLUS were all of the usual accessories expected out of an enthusiast-geared motherboard with the SATA cables, SLI bridge, etc. While MSI doesn't advertise any Linux support for this motherboard, as we've come to find out, it does work fine under Linux and in talking with new MSI contacts they are quite open to Linux users -- as covered already was the ability to update your BIOS from the Linux desktop and MSI is back to working together with Phoronix for future Linux hardware testing, etc.