MSI X99S SLI PLUS On Linux

You can see more of these motherboard benchmark results via this OpenBenchmarking.org result file.

Overall, the performance is very close between the two motherboard when using the rest of the same components on the same Ubuntu 14.04 Linux software stack, as is largely expected.

Conclusion:

While the initial X99S SLI PLUS issue with the motherboard failing raised some issues, after weeks of communicating with all of the companies involved, the issue definitely seems isolated to some freak incident. With the replacement X99S SLI PLUS motherboard, it's been running very strong and great for weeks without any issues.

If there's any good to come out of the initial X99S SLI PLUS is now being in contact with MSI's new representatives after one of my former contacts had left the company a few years back. In doing so we should now be seeing more MSI product reviews under Linux on Phoronix, they're well aware of some of the BIOS packaging issues and have worked to resolve them (the X99S SLI PLUS motherboard BIOS can be downloaded without having to run any Windows EXE), and there's even the BIOS flashing under Linux. I've also tried to encourage them about potential Coreboot support and other advice for helping their Linux outlook.

For those looking for an Intel X99 motherboard for use with a Core i7 Extreme Edition processor or a supportive Intel Xeon processor, the X99S SLI PLUS is a great candidate. As explained earlier I had originally bought the X99S SLI PLUS for being one of the lowest priced motherboard when the X99 made its debut and now even almost two months later the X99S SLI PLUS is still one of the most affordable options. While it costs just about $230 USD, the MSI X99S SLI PLUS is packed with great features and should work fine with modern Linux distributions. The X99S SLI PLUS is worthy of a recommendation for Linux users and you can expect to find this X99 motherboard in several other forthcoming Linux articles ranging from compiler benchmarks to virtualization testing.