Goddard

the ability to disable any onboard audio features easily and effectively.

...or better still no onboard audio at all.  Leave it off to make room for other stuff.

No blocked PCIe slots! I've got a motherboard with one PCIe slot that is blocked by a chipset cooler so I can't actually put a card in it. And I've got another PCIe slot that is blocked by my "passive" video card cooler. I suppose it's my own fault for buying those items, but what kind of boneheaded design is that?

I kinda like onboard audio, but it needs to have much better driver support than I've seen for onboard. Onboard MIDI would be useful. TI Firewire would be great, I've still got Firewire devices that I'd like to use.

You don't need to wish for it...ASUS like "Deluxe socket 2011" are already available for sale.
 
 
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_2011/Intel_X79
 

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_2011/P9X79_DELUXE/
 
P9X79 DELUXE

All-New Digital Power Control for both CPU and DRAM: Absolute Performance on Intel X79 Platform

 

• Dual Intelligent Processors 3 with New DIGI+ Power Control
• Support for up to 64GB of system memory with an 8-DIMM design
• ASUS SSD Caching - 3X faster performance at a click
• UEFI BIOS - Full-scale performance tuning with easy BIOS Interface
• BT GO 3.0! (Bluetooth) - Diverse Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Enjoyment, a New Technology Lifestyle
• 3-Way SLI and Quad-GPU CrossFireX Support!
• USB BIOS Flashback - Easy, worry-free USB BIOS Flashback
• Windows 8 Ready – Assured Compatibility

 
 
 
Check the Specifications CPU Intel® Socket 2011 for 2^nd Generation Core™ i7 Processors
Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2
* Refer to www.asus.com for CPU support list Chipset Intel® X79 Memory 8 x DIMM, Max. 64GB, DDR3 2400(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/1866/1600/1333/1066 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory
Quad Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
* Hyper DIMM support is subject to the physical characteristics of individual CPUs.
* Refer to www.asus.com or user manual for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists). Multi-GPU Support Supports NVIDIA® 3-Way SLI™ Technology
Supports AMD Quad-GPU CrossFireX™ Technology Expansion Slots 3 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (dual x16 or x16, x8, x8) *¹
1 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 x16 (x8 mode) *¹
2 x PCIe 2.0 x1 Storage Intel® X79 chipset :
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), white
4 x SATA 3Gb/s port(s), blue
Support Raid 0, 1, 5, 10
Marvell® PCIe 9128 controller :
2 x SATA 6Gb/s port(s), white
ASMedia® ASM1061 controller :
2 x Power eSATA 6Gb/s port(s), green LAN Realtek® 8111E , 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
Intel® 82579V, 1 x Gigabit LAN Controller(s)
Dual Gigabit LAN controllers- 802.3az Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE) appliance Wireless Data Network Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth Bluetooth V3.0+HS
ASUS BT GO! Utility Audio Realtek® ALC898 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC
- Supports : Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
Audio Feature :
- Absolute Pitch 192kHz/ 24-bit True BD Lossless Sound
- Blu-ray audio layer Content Protection
- DTS Ultra PC II
- DTS Connect
- Optical S/PDIF out port(s) at back panel USB Ports ASMedia® USB 3.0 controller : *²
8 x USB 3.0 port(s) (6 at back panel, blue, 2 at mid-board)
Intel® X79 chipset :
12 x USB 2.0 port(s) (4 at back panel, black+white, 8 at mid-board) Special Features ASUS Dual Intelligent Processors 3 with New DIGI+ Power Control :
ASUS TPU :
- Auto Tuning
- TurboV
- TPU switch
ASUS EPU :
- EPU
- EPU switch
ASUS Digital Power Design :
- Industry leading Digital 16 + 4 Phase CPU Power Design
- Industry leading Digital 2 + 2 Phase DRAM Power Design
- CPU Power Utility
- DRAM Power Utility
ASUS BT GO! :
- Folder Sync
- BT Transfer
- Shot & Send
- BT to Net
- Music Player
- Personal Manager
ASUS BT Turbo Remote :
- Exclusive Smartphone Interface supporting iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, and Symbian systems
ASUS Exclusive Features :
- MemOK!
- AI Suite II
- Ai Charger
- ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode featuring friendly graphics user interface
- ASUS SSD Caching
- USB 3.0 Boost
ASUS Quiet Thermal Solution :
- Stylish Fanless Design Heat-pipe solution
- ASUS Fan Xpert+
ASUS EZ DIY :
- USB BIOS Flashback
- ASUS Q-Shield
- ASUS O.C. Profile
- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
- ASUS EZ Flash 2
- ASUS MyLogo 2
- Multi-language BIOS
ASUS Q-Design :
- ASUS Q-Code
- ASUS Q-LED (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device LED)
- ASUS Q-Slot
- ASUS Q-DIMM
- ASUS Q-Connector Back I/O Ports 1 x Bluetooth module(s)
2 x Power eSATA 6Gb/s
2 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
6 x USB 3.0
4 x USB 2.0 (one port can be switched to USB BIOS Flashback)
1 x Optical S/PDIF out
6 x Audio jack(s)
1 x Wi-Fi antenna port(s)
1 x USB BIOS Flashback Button(s) Internal I/O Ports 1 x USB 3.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.0 port(s) (19-pin)
4 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 8 USB 2.0 port(s)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s)
4 x SATA 3Gb/s connector(s)
1 x CPU Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
4 x Chassis Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
1 x Optional Fan connector(s) (4 -pin)
1 x S/PDIF out header(s)
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
1 x 8-pin ATX 12V Power connector(s)
1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP)
1 x System panel(s) (Q-Connector)
1 x MemOK! button(s)
1 x TPU switch(es)
1 x EPU switch(es)
1 x Power-on button(s)
1 x Reset button(s)
1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s)
1 x Bluetooth v3.0 + HS header(s) Accessories User's manual
I/O Shield
4 x SATA 3Gb/s cable(s)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s cable(s)
1 x 3-Way SLI bridge(s)
1 x SLI bridge(s)
1 x Q-connector(s) (2 in 1)
1 x Wi-Fi Ring Moving Antenna(s)
1 x Bluetooth v3.0 + HS module(s) BIOS 64 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI BIOS, PnP, DMI2.0, WfM2.0, SM BIOS 2.6, ACPI 2.0a, Multi-language BIOS, ASUS EZ Flash 2, ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 Manageability WfM 2.0, DMI 2.0, WOL by PME, WOR by PME, PXE Support Disc Drivers
ASUS Utilities
ASUS Update
Anti-virus software (OEM version) Form Factor ATX Form Factor
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm ) Note *1: This motherboard is ready to support PCIe 3.0 SPEC. Functions will be available when using PCIe 3.0-compliant devices. Please refer to www.asus.com for updated details.
*2: 6 x USB 3.0 ports at back panel with 1 additional VIA SuperSpeed USB hub controller.

"Freddie H"
3-Way SLI and Quad-GPU CrossFireX Support!

This is a waste of space and completely useless for a dedicated DAW. Even when using multiple monitors. Give me more SATA 3 (6GBs) ports so I can install at least 6 SSDs (OS x 1, Audio x 1, Samples x 4). 

Ok, time to get off our butts and make the mobo manufacturers hear us.  Gamers have had their way for so long in dictating what features get offered on PC mobo's, it's about time that musicians and producers and studio folk using PC DAWs got a say too.  

Love the spirit of this post... but the (cold/hard) reality is that we are a *super* small niche market.  We don't have enough pull (market-share) to drive the manufacturing industry.


The best you're going to do:
A quality motherboard that exposes all parameters that we need to tweak for maximum audio performance.  Ironically, this is typically NOT an Intel brand motherboard (Intel chipset, yes... Intel Brand, no... as they tend to restrict/hide parameters)

Many of the workstation-synth keyboards are nearly computers already. It really wouldn't take much to put a full MB and a CD/DVD drive in one. But what we really need is a DAW built like a mixing board. With it's own brain-processor, all the analog and digital inputs /outputs, Advanced USB connectivity, multiple headphone mix-output capabilities, main outs, control room outs, sub outs, effects sends and returns, real time faders and meters And that's a short list.
While most of this is acheivable via software routing, processor scheduling, etc., there is still a short fall between a real time high end 8 buss mixer and a computer based DAW. Many of the new control surfaces, the VS 700 being one, have begun to address this concept on smaller scales but there is still a gap in real operational design at the DAW level of control and routing of seperate signals and the recombining of those signals after editing, processing and alteration.
I wouldn't say it will never happen, remember Open Labs? To say that it won't be main stream profitable is to say that consumer level audio will never come up to professional standards. Perhaps professional standards have sunk to consumer levels? Or maybe the transition is somewhere in between.
But it's still somewhat of a mismatched bunch of technology trieing to become something everyone wants to buy.