which z790 mobo?

[Andythe Random]

I am intending to build a 13th gen system shortly, struggling to make a final mobo choice.
I do know I want z790, with a gen 5 m2 slot.
Will be either 13700k or 13900k, fastest 64gb ram kit I can find and a 4090.

This is the shortlist so far


My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Asus ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6JH-AS) = £459.95
• 1 x MSI MPG Z790 Carbon WIFI (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-36V-MS) = £449.99
• 1 x Gigabyte Z790 Aero G (LGA 1700) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BL-GI) = £399.94

Total: £1,309.88 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

​

Does anyone have any insight into any of these?
If there have been lots of failures of any of these it would at least let me eliminate one option.

 

[Tetras]

I do know I want z790, with a gen 5 m2 slot.

FYI: Z790 has no PCI-E 5.0 lanes for an SSD and neither do the CPUs, so it will take 8 lanes from the graphics card to do this.

Buildzoid did a PCB breakdown of the Aorus Elite:

mobo PCB Breakdown: Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX

text version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/79145965My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/buildzoidTeespring: https://teespring.com/stores/actually-hardcore-ov...

www.youtube.com

KitGuru reviewed the carbon, here.

eTeknix reviewed the Aero-G, here.

hwcooling.net reviewed the Strix, here.

The Aero-G looks like it is marketed for a workstation:

"There’s good I/O too, with 10 and 20 Gbps USB Type-C and USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A supported, so external flash drives and portable storage users can quickly load and offload video footage, audio and more when editing.

There’s also VisionLink, which is something I wasn’t equipped to test. It’s basically “just” Type-C DisplayPort, but it can provide video output, data, and power in one, allowing you to run a compatible drawing tablet via a single USB cable, which is actually pretty cool.

...

Fast WiFi and networking are also present if pretty much expected on all new motherboards now. Plus, there’s the latest ALC1220VB chipset with DSD audio support. So really, there’s just about everything you need for a competent workstation for video rendering and editing work."

 

[Andythe Random]

FYI: Z790 has no PCI-E 5.0 lanes for an SSD and neither do the CPUs, so it will take 8 lanes from the graphics card to do this.

Buildzoid did a PCB breakdown of the Aorus Elite:

mobo PCB Breakdown: Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX

text version: https://www.patreon.com/posts/79145965My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/buildzoidTeespring: https://teespring.com/stores/actually-hardcore-ov...

www.youtube.com

KitGuru reviewed the carbon, here.

eTeknix reviewed the Aero-G, here.

hwcooling.net reviewed the Strix, here.

The Aero-G looks like it is marketed for a workstation:

sigh, thanks. That will teach me to check specs more carefully. 4x8 isn't a huge hit to the GPU, but it's not nothing, especially with a 4090.

 

[Personality+]

To be honest anything above the £250 price range ticks most boxes, unless you're after that extra few % in cooler temps with thermal pads etc and need additional slots for specific usage needs.

Keep in mind refresh is coming soon, and you'll need to upgrade again in future beyond that (at least why I didn't go all out on my motherboard)

 

[Andythe Random]

Yeah, I might just wait and see what the refresh brings.

 

[Personality+]

Yeah, I might just wait and see what the refresh brings.

If you want the machine and will use it a lot before the refresh comes I'd just get it now, but if you're happy to wait and content with what you already have then yeah I guess wait for the extra performance uplift. I personally just went with my current set up 10 days ago... as I'll be using it every day for hours.....