Motherboard for the 12900k

Permabanned
Joined
4 Sep 2011
Posts
6,661
Location
Durham
As the title suggests I'm quite fancying jumping onto a 12900k upgrade as I've got that itch.

My sticking point is DDR5 or DDR4 motherboards. How much of a difference will I even see going DDR5 and will having a DDR4 board limit me to any features?
 
DDR5 is very expensive and hard to get hands on atm, there is no feature loss from using DDR4. As to DDR4 boards imo the best is the one i am using, Asus Rog Strix Z690-A WiFi D4. but it is not the cheapest, so it is entirely up to you i guess.

Not too bothered about about price as long as its not silly so I will keep it in mind. Probably going to end up going DDR4 just so I can get it done anytime soon I guess.
 
I remember watching this video before I decided which DDR4 board to go for.....


I ended up with the MSI 690 Pro, non Wi-Fi version. Less than £190.
 
According to HW unboxed testing any of the Z690 boards will handle a 12900k so just go for one depending on the feature set you need an at a price point your comfortable with.
 
DDR5 is very expensive and hard to get hands on atm, there is no feature loss from using DDR4. As to DDR4 boards imo the best is the one i am using, Asus Rog Strix Z690-A WiFi D4. but it is not the cheapest, so it is entirely up to you i guess.

DDR4 is slower, uses more electricity and is a dead end tecnology. DDR5 6000Mhz+ kits are coming, best to pickup a cheap ddr5 kit, use that temporarily until the faster kits are in supply in January.

2nd hand prices for DDR4 boards will be peanuts in coming months.
 
Last edited:
How quickly will you want to replace the system again? I doubt DDR5 is going to significantly better to warrant the expense for a while to come, and with how quickly Intel change sockets you might only have the RAM to take forward anyway...

I decided DDR4 because I'll lose £150 on that investment but I can't see how I might lose much more when I'm likely going to have to change the CPU and mobo anyway in a few years time. Paying for expensive DDR5 now that might be old hat when it comes into its own feels like a false economy.

Feature-wise only 1 Z690 DDR4 mobo has a post-code and I think none have more than 1 PCIe 16x Gen5 slot. Also most are aimed at mid/low tier but are still pretty expensive for what they are IMO.

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
How quickly will you want to replace the system again? I doubt DDR5 is going to significantly better to warrant the expense for a while to come, and with how quickly Intel change sockets you might only have the RAM to take forward anyway...

I decided DDR4 because I'll lose £150 on that investment but I can't see how I might lose much more when I'm likely going to have to change the CPU and mobo anyway in a few years time. Paying for expensive DDR5 now that might be old hat when it comes into its own feels like a false economy.

Feature-wise only 1 Z690 DDR4 mobo has a post-code and I think none have more than 1 PCIe 16x Gen5 slot. Also most are aimed at mid/low tier but are still pretty expensive for what they are IMO.

ps3ud0 :cool:

Next gen Intel CPU (Raptor Lake, 13th gen) is compatible with Z690, so there's an upgrade path.
 
Next gen Intel CPU (Raptor Lake, 13th gen) is compatible with Z690, so there's an upgrade path.
Oh cool, didn't know that so that's even better for me - more value out of my DDR4 purchase - though for gaming I expect my 12700K will be fine for a while...

ps3ud0 :cool:
 
Back
Top Bottom