ZSUS X99-P4

The X99-P4 motherboard showed up in 2023. It’s your typical budget Chinese board aimed at entry-level builds.

You’ll find it branded as ZSUS most often, but it’s also sold under MUCAI, MOUGOL, MACHINIST, Atermiter, Soyo, and even Huananzhi.

There’s a more simplified version of this board available, which keeps the same PCB markings – the ZSUS X99-8D4.

Specifications

The X99-P4 doesn’t particularly stand out among other budget boards. It provides the essential minimum of modern ports. The storage subsystem features just 3 SATA ports (only one of which is SATA III) and a dual-format M.2 port configured for NVMe drives by default.

The CPU power delivery system is clearly not this model’s strong suit. The VRM features the classic budget board configuration of three doubled phases and is obviously not designed for high-performance processors. The board uses MOSFETs marked PQ PN0301 (x6 high-side) and PQ PN0302 (x6 low-side).

The good news? It has a decent ALC897 audio chip. The bad news? Well, it’s got all the usual Chinese board issues:

Common Limitations of Budget Chinese X99 Motherboards:

Temperature Monitoring Issues

Temperature monitoring doesn’t work properly on most budget Chinese X99 boards. Onboard sensors are non-functional and display erratic readings (such as 120°C+ in monitoring software like AIDA64) due to faulty sensor implementation. However, CPU temperature monitoring via the processor’s built-in sensors remains accurate.

Limited Fan Control

Fan control only works with 4-pin PWM CPU coolers. 3-pin case fans run at constant speeds without automatic regulation. Consider using manual fan controllers or PWM adapters as workarounds.

BIOS Limitations

The BIOS implementation is often incomplete. You’ll find numerous settings and options, but many simply don’t function as intended or have no actual effect on system behavior.

Most critically, memory timing controls are hidden in the stock BIOS. This prevents manual RAM overclocking and fine-tuning. However, you can solve this by flashing modified BIOS versions that unlock these hidden advanced memory timing options and other concealed features.

AIDA64 Freezing

Chinese boards with desktop chipsets (H81, B85, Q87, etc.) have broken motherboard temperature sensors that freeze AIDA64.

Fix: Disable the faulty sensor in AIDA64

• Enable status bar: View → Status Bar
• Right-click the status bar at the bottom → HWMon Modules → uncheck PCH / Bibxy
• If this doesn’t help – disable all sensors and enable them one by one to identify the culprit.

Revisions

Different versions of the board exist, built on various chipsets: desktop H81 and server-grade C222 and C612. While functionality remains identical across all versions, they may have incompatible firmware.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to visually determine which chipset is installed on any particular model. However, it appears that C612 versions are equipped with more substantial heatsinks.

BIOS Capabilities

The stock BIOS runs on American Megatrends code and offers nothing particularly special. All typical Chinese implementation issues are present, with the main limitation being the lack of RAM timing controls. Fortunately, the X99-P4 is compatible with BIOS from other Chinese boards that provide access to at least basic timing settings.

After flashing, we recommend performing a settings reset.

Frequently Asked Questions

The board won’t boot, black screen, etc. What should I do?

See our article about the most common LGA2011-3 issues.

Where can I find drivers for this board?

The page with current drivers for socket 2011-3 boards is located here.

Is there a manual available, maybe a PDF?

The official ZSUS manual can be downloaded here.

How do I connect the front panel?