Name: Pro WS C246-ACE
Brand: ASUS
SKU: 11099

Intel LGA 1151 ATX Workstation motherboard with dual Intel LAN, 3 PCIe 3.0, M.2, U.2, SATA, USB Type A&C and ASUS Control Center Express

Reliable and responsive ECC memory suitable for mission critical tasks
ASUS Control Center Express: A server-grade IT management software for improved IT efficiency
Ultra-fast storage with M.2 & U.2 support, plus up to 10Gbps back-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 with Type-A and Type-C ports
Industry-leading cooling options: Comprehensive controls for fans and water pumps, via Fan Xpert 4 software or the acclaimed ASUS UEFI
ASUS OptiMem: Careful routing of traces and vias to preserve signal integrity for improved memory stability

COMPARISON

Pro WS C246-ACE motherboard, what’s inside the box

Power delivery enhancements
Tune in your way
Server-grade IT management
Scalable expandability
Trusted Stability

WORKSTATION MOTHERBOARD

ASUS Pro Workstation motherboards are designed for professionals in AI training, deep learning, animation, 3D rendering or media production. Featuring expandable graphics, extensive storage, impressive connectivity and exceptional overall performance and reliability, Pro Workstation motherboards are the ideal solution for creative professionals. Each motherboard includes centralized management software, so they're also an efficient and cost-effective option for IT administrators.

Power delivery enhancements

Tune in your way

Server-grade IT management

Scalable expandability

Trusted stability

Power delivery enhancements

Pro WS C246-ACE supports the latest Intel^® Xeon E and 9^th Generation Core CPUs, delivering stable power to ensure optimal performance.

ProCool II power connector
Power stages with Dr. MOS design
Durable capacitors

ProCool II power connector

The latest ProCool II is an enhanced EATX 8-pin power connector that offers higher endurance and longer lifespan by lowering impedance to prevent hotspots and connector failure. The new design includes upgrades to metal amour and solid pins for better dissipation, as well as a warning LED display with a BIOS POST message to indicate an improper connection.

Enhanced Solid Pin

10A

Last-gen Hollow Pin

Power stages with Dr. MOS design

The CPU VRM on Pro WS C246-ACE employs a 8+1 power stage design with Dr. MOS, combining high-side and low-side MOSFETs and drivers into a single package, delivering the power and efficiency that high core count processors demand.

Alloy chokes

The Pro WS C246-ACE series uses efficient alloy chokes and high-quality thermal pads to help transfer heat from the VRM array to a sink with ample surface area for the processors.

Durable capacitors

Durable capacitors are engineered to resist extreme temperatures and provide up to 110% better performance than the industry standard.

8-layer PCB design

Multiple PCB layers shift heat away from critical components, providing more headroom to push your CPUs beyond stock speeds.

Tune it your way

Make your memory faster and reliable

Pro WS C246-ACE supports 4-DIMM memory up to 128GB. Error-Correcting-Code (ECC) offers a potent foundation for your build and enables Pro WS C246-ACE to automatically detect and repair single-bit memory errors, ensuring reliable and responsive performance in mission-critical environments.

*ECC memory option only available for Intel Xeon processors

ASUS OptiMem

Proprietary Memory Design

ASUS OptiMem preserves memory signal integrity by routing traces and vias to the optimal PCB layer, and our T-Topology trace layout ensures time-aligned signaling by balancing trace lengths between memory slots.

ASUS OptiMem advantage:

ASUS OptiMem

53.12 V*pS

Reference design

72.51 V*pS

26%

Reduction in crosstalk

ASUS OptiMem benefits:

Improved memory stability and compatibility
Allows lower memory latencies at equivalent voltages
Improved memory frequency margin

Tested by using Synopsys HSPICE simulation software

Multi-Card support

Pro WS C246-ACE features three PCIe x16 slots for flexible expandability with graphics, RAID and LAN cards

Dual Intel^® server-class Gigabit LAN

Pro WS C246-ACE features the latest server-class dual Intel® Gigabit LAN ensuring lower CPU utilization and temperatures outstanding performance as well as better support for diverse operating systems. The dual Ethernet ports also support teaming which combines the network links to provide higher throughput or redundancy in case of failure.

Server-grade IT management

ASUS Control Center Express

A server-grade IT management software

ASUS Control Center Express is centralized server-grade IT management software that takes just one minute to install and is designed to reduce IT operations costs and improve efficiency. This powerful tool enables IT administrators to manage and control multiple clients in different locations remotely and includes features such as asset management, software deployment and monitoring. ASUS Control Center Express also lets IT staff visualize deployments, facilitating real-time control.

Software Download

*To ensure the full functionality of ASUS Control Center Express, please update the system BIOS to the latest version first.

Armoury Crate

The new Armoury Crate portal keeps you updated with the latest drivers and BIOS releases. Its easy-to-use UI can be configured to show a variety of information, including security updates and bug patches.

Cooler by design

Flexible cooling controls

Pro WS C246-ACE features the most comprehensive cooling controls ever, configurable via Fan Xpert 4 or the UEFI BIOS.

Each header can be set to monitor and react to three thermal sensors, and Fan Xpert 4 allows you to assign a sensor to monitor the temperature of supported ASUS graphics cards — all to provide optimal cooling during GPU- or CPU-intensive workloads.

Dedicated PWM/DC header for self-contained water-cooling setup, built right in.

Each onboard header supports auto-detection of PWM or DC fans.

A dedicated integrated circuit protects each fan header from over-temperature and over-current.

Scalable Expandability

M.2 & U.2

Speed up with onboard M.2 & U.2

Pro WS C246-ACE features up to 32Gbps M.2 and U.2 for faster data-transfer speeds — ideal for an operating system or application drive.

USB 3.2 Gen 2 back-panel connectors

Future-proof connectivity

The back panel of the Pro WS C246-ACE features four USB 3.2 Gen 2 connectors, including one reversible Type-C™ and three backward-compatible Type-A to deliver ultimate connection flexibility and blazing data-transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps.

Trusted Stability

Pro WS C246-ACE provides enhanced features to smooth your IT operations, including comprehensive system protection, 24/7 stability and reliability.

Ultra-efficient MOS & PCH heatsink

Pro WS C246-ACE ensures optimal cooling and system stability for both Intel ® Xeon and Core processors. Higher power requirements are balanced by carefully designed VRM-heatsinks array and a PCH heasink that carefully balance mass and surface area to maximize thermal dissipation.

24/7 Dependability

Quality reliability test

Optimized for twenty-four seven operations, the motherboard is tested under temperature up to 45°C and humidity up to 80% to ensure it can handle diverse temperature and humidity range of different location.

SafeSlot

Protect your graphics card investment

SafeSlot is the PCIe slot reinvented by ASUS and engineered to provide superior retention and shearing resistance. Manufactured in a single step using an insert-molding process, SafeSlot integrates the slot with fortifying metal for an inherently stronger slot, which is then firmly anchored to the PCB through additional solder points.

CPU performance boost

The TurboV Processing Unit (TPU) is the intelligence behind our automated system-tuning utility, offering the ability to fine-tune voltages, monitor system stats, and adjust overclock parameters for optimal performance.

All-round energy efficiency

With the Energy Processing Unit (EPU) you'll enjoy system-wide power savings. The EPU automatically optimizes power consumption and maximizes savings with Away mode — a smart setting that creates an extreme energy-saving scenario by shutting down unused I/O controllers.

Flexible cooling controls for air or liquid

With Pro WS C246-ACE you have comprehensive control over fans via Fan Expert 4 or our media-acclaimed UEFI. Whether you're cooling with air or water, Auto-Tuning mode intelligently configures all parameters with a single click. There's also an Extreme Quiet mode, which reduces all fan speeds to below the default minimum — keeping your system whisper-quiet when performing light tasks.

Precise digital power control

Digi+ delivers real-time control over voltage droop, switching frequency and power -efficiency settings, allowing you to fine-tune CPU voltage regulation for ultimate stability and performance.

ASUS Node

A header to keep ahead

The ASUS Node connector features a bi-directional interface that offers all kinds of potential for DIY components and builds. The included ASUS Fan Extension Card II connects via Node, and In Win is developing a compatible OLED panel that fits into a chassis and offers LiveDash functionality and the ability to boot directly to the UEFI. FSP has also created a HydroDPM 1000W PSU that connects to Node to share power stats and temperature information while also enabling CPU fan control.

Intel Optane memory

Intel Optane memory ready

Intel Optane™ is a revolutionary non-volatile memory technology supported by Pro WS C246-ACE. Intel Optane memory modules accelerate attached storage to reduce boot and load times, so everything feels faster and more responsive.

Learn more >

Crystal Sound 3

Flawless, immersive audio for entertainment

Audio shielding

Separates analog/digital signal domains, significantly reducing multilateral interference.

Separate layer for left and right tracks

Ensures minimal crosstalk between audio paths.

Integrated amplifier

Capable of driving high-impedance headphones, without rolling-off high or low frequencies.

Premium Japanese-made audio capacitors

Premium parts provide an immersive sound signature, with exceptional fidelity.

Ready for Intel^® Xeon^® E processors This motherboard supports Intel^® Xeon^® E processors to deliver professional-grade performance with the built-in platform security features and reliability with support for up to 8 cores, 16 threads, 5 GHz frequency, and 128 GB DDR4-2666 ECC memory. This motherboard is purpose-built for 2D/3D CAD, BIM, and VR content development in tower, AIO, small form factor and mobile designs.

Ready for Socket 1151 for 9th / 8th Gen Intel^® Core™, Pentium^® Gold and Celeron^® processors This motherboard supports Socket 1151 for 9^th Gen and 8th Gen Intel^® Core™, Pentium^® Gold and Celeron^® processors, with integrated graphics, memory and PCI Express controllers to support onboard graphics output with dedicated chipsets, dual-channel (4-DIMM) DDR4 memory and 16 PCI Express 3.0/2.0 lanes for great performance.