X99 Classified vs FTW motherboards.
I have searched everywhere I can think of,
I have been over the User Manuals, and spec sheets.
 
What am I missing,
the only thing I can find different on these 2 boards is the onboard sound.
I planned on using the Soundblaster z PCIe card.
 
Maybe someone can help me as to the advantages of X99 Classified over the FTW.
 
I will be using 5820K.
Will there be any overclocking advantages for the 5820k on the Classified vs the FTW

You forgot one is Classified and the other is For The Win.
I am still Looking for an X99 MB.
 
Added: I went with the X99 Classified Model.

I didn't catch that one, I corrected my post.
The FTW doesn't have any M.2 connections. I doubt I'll use them, but who knows..
 
Now with all that out of the way.
there are some advantages to getting the Classified. 
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Is there much of a difference between the Core3D Onboard audio vs. the PCIe Soundblaster Z?
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The audio is more important to me the added features.
Seeing as the Core3D onboard is the same chip in the soundblaster Z.
if the difference is small,
then the added features are a bonus due to the fact the Classified is roughly the same price as the FTW if you include the Soundblaster Z

bcavnaugh

Any PCIe SoundBlaster causes issues with NVIDIA Drivers Known Issue with the GTX 980 Cards.
I use only the Motherboard Sound. It not like you are going to make sounds tracks with your computer are you, that is to sell.
 
How many Graphics Cards are you going to Install?

What you mention brings up another issue I have with my Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 Firewire interface.
Much better then USB because of the dedicated TI Firewire chip.
I'll be adding in an ieee 1394 PCIe card with Texas Instruments (TSB43AB22, TSB43AB23 or XIO2200A) chip for professional Audio recording.
Not too sure the thunderbolt will support my setup, and the adapter is the same cost as a firewire card.
I've been using PC add in cards for that purpose since 1999. but the Pro Firewire interfaces are far better for latency then gamer cards.
 
Now to the onboard audio issues.
 
1st every onboard sound processor I have used is pure crap.
my current onboard the X58 SLI is total garbage.
it will not output enough to power my headphones, any headphones has a low DB. just not loud enough.
and the positioning in gaming is horrible, and due the CPU onload gives stutter in intensive gaming situations.
Where as an add in PCIe card has and audio processor (Core3D has a quad core) to handle all the audio the processing
 
Other problems with onboard audio is limited sound sources.
and inability to use multiple audio applications,
EX: Playing DayZ while in 2 tabs of TeamSpeak, and using in game communications.
Also having to process the game sounds, the game is already CPU intensive so the PCIe card will offload all that from the CPU.
 
When I had the 3-Way SLI GTX285 I was forced to use a USB sound card, it did OK, was 10 times better then the onboard.
 
But now I just have a single 780 FTW, while using my PCI X-Fi Fata1ty Pro (PCI) not (PCIe)
So I have to give up my "PCI" sound card as there are no slots on the X99 boards to support it.
 
Not sure what issue can be caused by Creative sound card with 980.
Sounds to me like the HD Audio in the 980 needs to be disable in device manager.
no reason to use both.
 
My Brother is using the Soundblaster Zxr with the 970, and having no issues.
 
I've been reading that the Core3D on Z87 boards is just typical onboard sound.
 

gtxjackbauer
You MIGHT be interested in a M.2 if you want boot times anywhere from 3-9 seconds long. lol  Very fast.  The only thing is you have to make it to work and make sure the said drive works with said MB.  There is a process to get it to become a boot drive as it is not a install and set.
 
Also, I believe the add-in PCI-E Core3D card is the same one built into the board because I do know it is a quad core as well.
 
 

I hear you.
I'm running the EVGA X58 SLI with SATA 2 running 4 SATA 2 WD Blacks in RAID0, boot time is a couple minutes.
It runs pretty snappy after boot up, but I'm sure a SATA 3 SSD will prove much faster then my SATA 2 RAID 0.
Doubt I'll ever use the M.2
 
You are correct the Onboard Audio Core3D is in fact the same Processor as the Soundblaster Z.
I just don't know the differences between it being onboard, and PCIe card.
like codec running off of the CPU, and the z card has a 600 ohm amplifier. 
I question if the cheap PCIe Audigy FX isnt better then this onboard.
 
It would be nice to have the classified, but for the 100 bucks difference it may be better to get the FTW, and the Z card.
I also have heard people having trouble installing the Core3D PCIe cards into motherboards with the Core3D chip.
Possibly just user errors.
 
There is not much info on people using these X99 boards, And nobody has compared the audio.

mr_scary

gtxjackbauer
You MIGHT be interested in a M.2 if you want boot times anywhere from 3-9 seconds long. lol  Very fast.  The only thing is you have to make it to work and make sure the said drive works with said MB.  There is a process to get it to become a boot drive as it is not a install and set.
 
Also, I believe the add-in PCI-E Core3D card is the same one built into the board because I do know it is a quad core as well.
 
 

I hear you.
I'm running the EVGA X58 SLI with SATA 2 running 4 SATA 2 WD Blacks in RAID0, boot time is a couple minutes.
It runs pretty snappy after boot up, but I'm sure a SATA 3 SSD will prove much faster then my SATA 2 RAID 0.
Doubt I'll ever use the M.2
 
You are correct the Onboard Audio Core3D is in fact the same Processor as the Soundblaster Z.
I just don't know the differences between it being onboard, and PCIe card.
like codec running off of the CPU, and the z card has a 600 ohm amplifier. 
I question if the cheap PCIe Audigy FX isnt better then this onboard.
 
It would be nice to have the classified, but for the 100 bucks difference it may be better to get the FTW, and the Z card.
I also have heard people having trouble installing the Core3D PCIe cards into motherboards with the Core3D chip.
Possibly just user errors.
 
There is not much info on people using these X99 boards, And nobody has compared the audio.

I would look to see if any of the PCIe Slots are Shared Slots as well.

FYI:
 
I just found out my focusrite Saffire Pro 14 firewire interface is in fact 100% compatible with Thunderbolt.
http://us.focusrite.com/thunderbolt-compatible
 
So I will be getting the Firewire / Thunderbolt adapter.
 
Hope this helps others.
 
Focusrite Saffire Firewire ieee 1394 Thunderbolt compatible

I don't know if any of you can help me, but I recently purchased 2 EVGA x99 Classified motherboards.  At post I hear four or five short beeps and then the normal system beep. The system then starts normally and seems to run fine. I have tried different cpu, ram, video etc but the problem persists. Anyone got any ideas what the beeps mean. Both boards do exactly the same.

Update: I ended up getting this board, paired with the 5930K mainly due to having the extra PCIe slot, and lanes.
 
I updated the BIOS before doing anything...
No issues with DDR4 ram at 2666MHZ (Just change the XMP Profile)
No Issues with Soundblaster Z PCIe card, (Just go into BIOS and change to GEN2) [currently running in PE4 slot]
No Issues with the RAM slot tabs (Not sure what the fuss is about)
NO Issues with RAID0 x 4 as a secondary drive.
 
Literally no issues at all with this board. 
I had some trouble getting my SSD to boot when RAID was present, 
 
but it's all worked out. just needed a couple re-boots.
http://forums.evga.com/Cant-BOOT-from-SSD-with-RAID-enabled-on-red-PCH-ports-m2308121.aspx
 
I am very happy I went with this board... EVGA has never let me down.
 

gtxjackbauer
Glad to hear it all worked out.  Welcome to the X99 Classified family. 

Thanks,
I guess I didn't clarify which one I got.
But I got the FTW. great board..

Will EVGA be revamping the X99 classified? as they did with the x99 FTW (K)

sdmf74
Will EVGA be revamping the X99 classified? as they did with the x99 FTW (K)

At this point there is a much greater chance that they won't compared to the chance that they will. The next full chipset change is coming, and they are a business out to make money after all.

No, no specific time line - just the rumor mill that's ramping up along with more and more details coming out about skylake-e.
 
https://www.servethehome.com/big-sockets-look-intel-lga-3647/ 

sdmf74
Can anyone comment on how much better the audio Is on the classified vs the FTW K?

Classy has clearly better sound chip. Realtek 1150 (whatever sticker on top) is not bad as HD97 or 897 (IIRC) from old boards like X58, but in some places it's clearly outclassed. Most important factor is that SB software is very light (my Task Manager shows only ~5MB used, drivers only, all 'improvement' options are turned off in the tray) while Realtek was always heavy on resources. OK, granted it's no longer 200 MB of RAM (but it can be depending what you do with it) and sluggish console responsiveness, but recently I put together Z97 system for work environment based on AsRock board with 4970 and Realtek card. It's so pathetic that after 2 days I plugged spare Xonar D2 which I had laying around. 
 
When you get used to some level of decency going back is not an option. Myself considering getting full blown DAC and 2 good speakers, but it's not extremely high on my priority list. However recently tested couple instrumental tracks on my old Sony TV and with smaller speakers classical clearly sounds better than on my PC. Can't have that... in the long run. :D

sdmf74
Thanks, im just trying to find a good x99 board with good sound but the x99 classified is outdated already in several aspects. Looking in to sound cards but they are few and have their own issues.

USB sound cards are awesome. I've had a SB X-Fi surround USB for many years now and it is great. USB out from the PC with an external sound card means virtually no chance of EMI interference. And it's connected via optical to my 5.1 Sony system, and is also connected to my headphones/mic. 
 
It can drive my headphones much, much better than any on board sound ever could.
 
It was just about the best $60 puchase that I've made.