ASUS today announced the P9X79-E WS motherboard, designed to offer highly scalable expandability with seven PCI Express 3.0 slots, with support for up to 4-way NVIDIA GeForce SLI or AMD CrossFireX in x16 links. The P9X79-E WS includes ASUS Dr. Power, which helps prevent sudden shutdowns using power supply health monitoring and event notifications, and new dual server-grade Intel Ethernet. The motherboard features 91% power efficiency, enhanced heat removal, plus high speed storage and data transfers.

PCI Express 3.0 x16 links with 4-way NVIDIA® GeForce® SLI™ or AMD CrossFireX™

The P9X79-E WS has been designed to support powerful and flexible graphics configurations as required by professional users in sectors such as graphic and industrial design, research, and scientific modeling. Customers can opt for 4-way NVIDIA® GeForce® SLI™ or AMD CrossFireX™ multi-GPU setups, install seven single-slot graphics cards, or choose up to four double-deck (2-slot) cards. The high expandability of the P9X79-E WS makes it easy for customers to use PCI Express-based video capture, RAID, and SSD storage components.

ASUS Dr. Power offers effortless power supply health monitoring

Workstations typically pair with large power supplies and place great importance on stability for continuous productivity. ASUS Dr. Power offers real time power supply and delivery status detection, with instant alerts to notify users whether issues such as insufficient or unstable power arise. The utility pre-empts power failures with pop-up notices that allow customers to avoid sudden shutdowns and work loss by saving data before power-outs occur, all without having to open the computer case.

Additionally, an onboard LED shows codes for power-related issues in the event the system fails to boot, reducing the time it takes to resolve technical difficulties. 

Better networking with new dual server-grade Intel® Ethernet

The P9X79-E WS has twin Intel® Ethernet ports managed by the Intel® i210 controller. This design doubles available bandwidth while lowering latency and packet loss rates. Customers gain faster, more stable, and more responsive networking, plus overall improved system performance as hardware Ethernet carries out online-related tasks independent of the CPU to free up compute resources.

Up to 91% power efficiency and improved heat removal

The P9X79-E WS offers a durable ten-layer PCB with 100% ultra-long life solid state capacitors. It also uses exclusive ASUS DIGI+ VRM digital voltage controls for the CPU and DRAM, with the EPU chip regulating power consumption to deliver up to 91% power efficiency in the 30%-80% CPU load range. The P9X79-E WS uses a fan-less cooling design with copper heatpipes to extend hardware longevity, improve stability, and ensure 0dB quiet operation.

High speed storage and data transfers

ASUS SSD Caching II on the P9X79-E WS delivers faster storage and system operation. With its support for multiple SSDs, different setups can be used, for example three SSDs with one hard drive or two SSDs with two hard drives. For faster data transfers, four USB 3.0 ports work at up to ten times the speed of USB 2.0. The P9X79-E WS features six SATA 6Gbit/s ports and two front panel eSATA ports.