Looking to build a 14700K PC, looking for advice

[Defiant306]

Hello

The Z790 motherboards are all over the place imo, looking for recommendations to build a core bundle around a 14700k, Z790 and DDR5 memory.

Can anyone recommend a reasonable set of components budget wise for that processor, its going to go with a 3080Ti for the time being so I just need to replace the CPU, Mobo and Mem

Cheers

 

[Tetras]

Stock is hit and miss @ OCUK at the moment and the cheaper Asus boards (TUF & Prime) don't have USB flashback so are potentially problematic with 14th gen.

Z790 Aorus Elite AX is maybe the best bet at the prices and it has flashback.

The Aorus Elite X AX for 14th gen has been upgraded to 8-layers, but OCUK don't sell it.

 

[Rroff]

My personal opinion is don't go too budget on the motherboard - the more expensive ones can have some nice features (such as the Q-Release or EZ-Latch button to release the GPU from the PCI-e socket) and improved power capabilities which the higher end 13th and 14th gen CPUs kind of need.

DDR5 the sweet spot really is 6000MT with CL30-32 which for 32GB comes around £100 - for 64GB your mileage will vary as to what MT/frequency is possible - you might not hit 6000. The gains above 6000 is quickly into diminishing returns while below can be a fair jump.

 

[Vimes]

Stock is hit and miss @ OCUK at the moment and the cheaper Asus boards (TUF & Prime) don't have USB flashback so are potentially problematic with 14th gen.

Z790 Aorus Elite AX is maybe the best bet at the prices and it has flashback.

The Aorus Elite X AX for 14th gen has been upgraded to 8-layers, but OCUK don't sell it.

Does that apply even to the refresh Z790 boards that have been recently released.?
I would have thought that those, at least, would support the 14th gen out of the box.

The The Aorus Elite X AX seems impossible to find...

 

[Tetras]

Does that apply even to the refresh Z790 boards that have been recently released.?

If they have a separate tech spec entry, then you could check the CPU support page.

Most of the boards that were released with 14th gen like Tomahawk MAX & TUF Pro seem to be charging £50-£100 for a BIOS update

 

[Vimes]

My personal opinion is don't go too budget on the motherboard - the more expensive ones can have some nice features (such as the Q-Release or EZ-Latch button to release the GPU from the PCI-e socket) and improved power capabilities which the higher end 13th and 14th gen CPUs kind of need.

DDR5 the sweet spot really is 6000MT with CL30-32 which for 32GB comes around £100 - for 64GB your mileage will vary as to what MT/frequency is possible - you might not hit 6000. The gains above 6000 is quickly into diminishing returns while below can be a fair jump.

IIRC you got a 14700k, what memory and board did you end up going for and are you happy with that choice?

Thanks

 

[Rroff]

IIRC you got a 14700k, what memory and board did you end up going for and are you happy with that choice?

Thanks

I went with the Z790 Aorus Master and Kingston Fury Renegade 32GB 6000MHz.

No regrets but RAM choice was down to availability and price options at the time - I'd probably try and get a CL30 kit now though there isn't really anything in it performance wise but they were quite a bit more money at the time.

MB choice due to mixture of feature requirements like 10Gb Ethernet and preferably 3 USB-C sockets on the board itself, etc. and wanting a PCI-e latch button rather than having to try and get to the socket latch.

 

[Vimes]

Thanks, both of you.

It seems that just buying a Z790 board off the shelf, even one of the refresh variants, needs a little thought. Not just about memory compatibility but also if it'll run OK with 14700k out of the box, if no BIOS flashback.
The MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI seems decent enough.


@Rroff
That memory seems pretty decent, thanks for noting that.
The board is, of course, just much of what it could offer is not needed for me and my needs

 

[Bito]

The MSI Z790 Tomahawk Max is worth a look.
Compatible with the 14 series out of the box and a good bios.
I've built two systems with the non Max so far without bother, using Kingston DDR5 6400 32gb kits.

 

[Rroff]

@Rroff
That memory seems pretty decent, thanks for noting that.
The board is, of course, just much of what it could offer is not needed for me and my needs

It is decent memory, but there are a fair few options now like 6400MT CL32 kits, etc. which are similar price and/or not much more expensive.

When I was buying a bunch of stuff was either out of stock or quite a lot more expensive, and I've tended to buy Kingston RAM over the years as so far it has been the most reliable for me.

 

[Vimes]

It is decent memory, but there are a fair few options now like 6400MT CL32 kits, etc. which are similar price and/or not much more expensive.

When I was buying a bunch of stuff was either out of stock or quite a lot more expensive, and I've tended to buy Kingston RAM over the years as so far it has been the most reliable for me.

That is good to know, about the RAM. I have seen both the 6400 and the 6800 memory, of that Kingston type. Even tho it has greater rated speeds I assume that the latency, being higher kinda balances that. If I have understood that correctly..?
Perhaps more by circumstance and VERY good RMA and service from Corsair I had found myself using them as a brand for my DDR4 kits. Would you still prefer Kingston over that brand for an Intel build of the 14th gen..?

Thanks

 

[mattyfez]

I bought kingston fury beast 6000, I think it's CL36, again due to availability at the time.

I don't think it's worth swappin out for a faster kit, personally. Sometimes I think about whether i could tighten the timings up a bit but Im not sure what I could get to really, and always end up thinking, meh, I'll look into it another time, and it never gets done!

 

[mikeo]

Just built a system round an MSI Z790 Gaming Plus and 32GB of Corsair Vengeance 5600Hz RAM (on the manufacturers compatibility list) and it seems like a solid combo.
Using my I5-12600k at the moment.

 

[mattyfez]

I don't think you need to be as careful with ram on Intel platforms, they don't seem nearly as fussy as ryzen when it comes to xmp/EXPO unless running 64gb+ or 4 sticks

 

[Vimes]

@mattyfez That seems to be the case, altho my experience of AMD is zero.
Perhaps it is when you get to the faster speeds, and greater expectations, that you could run into issues. At that point it can be as much about the CPU as it can be about the board and RAM.

 

[JollyJamma]

DDR5 slots on motherboards use exactly the same daisy chain config so you'll have the same issues with stability on AMD and Intel.

The layer count on the motherboard helps a lot. Buildzoid regularly complains about the Intel memory controller quality so it's hard to make a 100% recommendation.

I wouldn't get too hung up over DDR5 RAM when most people won't notice the difference. Get something that works.

 

[Tetras]

Perhaps it is when you get to the faster speeds, and greater expectations, that you could run into issues. At that point it can be as much about the CPU as it can be about the board and RAM.

Afaik the general recommendation for AMD is stay at 6200 or below and for Intel 7200 or below, since the likelihood of problems are higher above those speeds, which is partly reflected, I think, in most EXPO kits being 6000 and kits above 6200 usually being XMP.

 

[Defiant306]

Hello

Thanks for all the replies so far, I have been contemplating using an existing G.Skill DDR4 kit that I have. Does anyone have any motherboard suggestions for DDR4? I would be pairing it with a 4 dimm kit and a 14700k I have purchased now.

Cheers and thanks

 

[Tetras]

Does anyone have any motherboard suggestions for DDR4? I would be pairing it with a 4 dimm kit and a 14700k I have purchased now.

USB flashback is included for 14th gen compatibility.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Gigabyte B760 GAMING X AX DDR4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BV-GI) = £154.99

Total: £158.99 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

No overclocking of CPU supported.

 

[Jay85]

I got this kit:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Corsair Vengeance 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C36 5600MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (CMK32GX5M2B5600C36) (SKU: MY-4D7-CS) = £109.99

Total: £113.99 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

But then overclocked it to 6000mhz with tighter timings, this was back in 2022 with a much older bios revision.





I've since upped this to 6200 or 6400mhz (can't remember exactly, need to check when i get in) and running even tighter timings on a 1T command rate on a newer bios revision. This is on a Samsung Bdie.

If you're okay with messing with memory, its worth getting.