ASUS E3 PRO GAMING V5: A $140 Skylake Xeon Motherboard With Intel C232 Chipset

If you are looking for a low-cost LGA-1151 motherboard for an Intel Xeon E3 v5 CPU, the ASUS E3 PRO GAMING V5 is a sub-$150 ATX motherboard using Intel's C232 chipset while supporting USB 3.1, an M.2 slot, and other features normally reserved for the higher-end products.

I was in need of another Skylake Xeon motherboard, but not looking to spend excessive amounts of money on the motherboard but just looking for something that's Linux-friendly, simple, and reliable. The board I picked up for this particular test system was the ASUS E3 PRO GAMING V5, which costs around $145 USD and uses the lower-end C232 chipset rather than the more costly C236. The C236 has more PCI Express lanes, two more SATA ports, up to four more USB 3.0 ports, and vPro / Rapid Storage Tech / Node Manager / Standard Manageability / Smart Response Technology. The C232 also doesn't support the integrated graphics on the select Xeons supporting Intel HD Graphics. On the plus side, the C232 motherboards can be around ~$50 cheaper than the decent C236 offerings.

Some of the ASUS "extras" with the E3 PRO GAMING V5 include SupremeFX for better quality audio, LANGuard and GameFirst for faster networking performance, Sonic Radar II, RAMCache, and other hyped up items of not much interest to Linux users.

CPU
Intel Socket 1151 for Xeon E3-1200 v5 and 6th genereation Core, Pentium and Celeron Processors
Supports Intel 14 nm CPU
Supports Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0

Chipset
Intel C232

Memory
4 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR4 2133 MHz ECC, Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)

Multi-GPU Support
Supports AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX Technology
Supports AMD 2-Way CrossFireX Technology

Expansion Slots
1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x16 mode, )
1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (max at x4 mode)
2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x1
2 x PCI

Storage
Intel C232 chipset :
1 x M.2 Socket 3, with M Key design, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (Supports both SATA & PCIE SSD)
6 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s),
Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
Intel Rapid Storage Technology Enterprise support

LAN
Intel I219LM, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s), GameFirst technology
Anti-surge LANGuard

Audio
SupremeFX 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel MIC Jack-retasking
- High quality 115 dB SNR stereo playback output

USB Ports
ASMedia USB 3.1 controller :
1 x USB 3.1 port(s) (Type-A)
ASMedia USB 3.1 controller :
1 x USB 3.1 port(s) (Type-C, Reversible)
Intel C232 chipset :
6 x USB 3.0/2.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board)
Intel C232 chipset :
6 x USB 2.0/1.1 port(s) (2 at back panel, , 4 at mid-board)

Special Features
Gamer's Guardian
ASUS EPU
Ai Charger
ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface
USB 3.1 Boost
Disk Unlocker
ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution
ASUS EZ DIY
ASUS Q-Design
Media Streamer
RAMCache

Operating System Support
Windows 10 , 64bit
Windows 8.1 , 64bit
Windows 7 , 32bit/64bit

Back I/O Ports
1 x PS/2 keyboard
1 x PS/2 mouse
1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
1 x USB 3.1 (red)Type-A
1 x USB 3.1 Type-C
4 x USB 3.0
2 x USB 2.0
1 x Optical S/PDIF out
5 x Audio jack(s)

Internal I/O Ports
1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) (19-pin)
2 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 port(s)
1 x M.2 Socket 3 with M Key design, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 storage devices support (Supports both SATA & PCIE SSD)
1 x COM port(s) connector(s)
6 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s)
1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (1 x 4 -pin)
3 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (3 x 4 -pin)
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)
1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP)
1 x System panel(s)
1 x Thermal sensor connector(s)
1 x CPU OV
1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s)
1 x Water Pump header (4-pin)
1 x ROG extension (ROG_EXT) header(s)

BIOS
128 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS, PnP, DMI 3.0, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 3.0, ACPI 5.0, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 3, CrashFree BIOS 3, F6 Qfan Control, F3 My Favorites, F9 Quick Note, Last Modified Log, F12 PrintScreen function, and ASUS DRAM SPD (Serial Presence Detect) memory information

Form Factor
ATX Form Factor
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )