Z790 DDR5 max non-oc speed support ??

digitaldreams · 14 Apr 2023 at 16:15

Reviews of Z690 vs Z790 state that the new chipset supports slightly higher speed DDR5 than the old chipset, great. The old ROG STRIX Z690-A Gaming WiFi supported up to DDR5 4800 without overclocking (user manual).

Yet when I look at say the Asus ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WIFI it gets a little confusing. Some reviews state Z790 will happily accept DDR5 6800, yet the memory compatibility chart on the ASUS website only lists up to 6600 with no mention of whether it is considered OC or not. The motherboard manual itself now strangely OMITS the list of supported memory speeds and what is considered 'OC' !?

Am I smelling a wee rat here ?

Dg834man · 14 Apr 2023 at 19:26

Well it's more what CPU you use, have a look at Intel's memory support for 12 and 13 gen.

Tetras · 14 Apr 2023 at 22:12

digitaldreams said:
Am I smelling a wee rat here ?

The official spec from Intel is 4800 for 12th gen and 5600 for 13th gen (RPL only, 13600K and up), everything else is an overclock, which is why they put (OC) next to it in the specs for e.g. Prime Z790-A. For some reason the Strix Z790-A only lists underclocks, so I guess you'd have to go on places like reddit and OC forums, to find out what is being achieved with your chosen CPU and motherboard.

digitaldreams · 14 Apr 2023 at 22:28

Dg834man said:
Well it's more what CPU you use, have a look at Intel's memory support for 12 and 13 gen.

Ah yes see it now, 13th Gen processors up to 7800 of 2x16Gb yet no 'OC' labels on any of them ?. Still iffy.....

digitaldreams · 14 Apr 2023 at 22:34

Tetras said:
The official spec from Intel is 4800 for 12th gen and 5600 for 13th gen (RPL only, 13600K and up), everything else is an overclock, which is why they put (OC) next to it in the specs for e.g. Prime Z790-A. For some reason the Strix Z790-A only lists underclocks, so I guess you'd have to go on places like reddit and OC forums, to find out what is being achieved with your chosen CPU and motherboard.

Hmmmm so the top non OC may be just 5600 even though ASUS claim 7800 is compatible in their charts. I'm currently running 3600 ram at 3200 on my Z690-A for max life and stability.

Tetras · 14 Apr 2023 at 22:40

digitaldreams said:
Hmmmm so the top non OC may be just 5600 even though ASUS claim 7800 is compatible in their charts. I'm currently running 3600 ram at 3200 on my Z690-A for max life and stability.

Yup, if you want to run at stock then 5600 is your lot. I have no idea what kind of OC numbers are being achieved with 13th gen K CPUs, but I'm pretty sure up to 6000 would be fine. Buildzoid has hit 7000+, if you don't watch his videos (channel).

Nickolp1974 · 15 Apr 2023 at 06:53

Tetras said:
Yup, if you want to run at stock then 5600 is your lot. I have no idea what kind of OC numbers are being achieved with 13th gen K CPUs, but I'm pretty sure up to 6000 would be fine. Buildzoid has hit 7000+, if you don't watch his videos (channel).

This is on my 4 dimm Z790 Hero and 13900KS

picture to url

RSR · 16 Apr 2023 at 15:20

In my experience, the Z790 MB's supports higher memory speeds. Depending on the board most 4 DIMM Z790 boards should hit around 7600 / 7800. The CPU IMC isn't quite as clear cut as long as the CPU doesn't have a dog of an IMC they should be able to hit similar speeds.

I was also able to hit 7800 on an Asus Z790 Hero using my 13900K

As an example, I have a Z690 Dark / Z790 Apex (I should have the Z790 Dark soon) and on the current bios using my 13900K the Z690 Dark (BIOS 2.10 was used at the time of testing) isn't overly stable above 7200 but using the Z790 with the same CPU I can hit over 8400 fully stable. That said the Apex does seem the memory champ for the Z790 platform but looking forward to seeing what the Z790 Dark can do.