A good motherboard for this setup? (Intel 13. / DDR5 / 4 x M.2)

[Cypsilonib]

I'm getting a new desktop computer and I already placed an order four days ago, but yesterday I received an email from the online store that the motherboard I chose is out of stock because the supplier can't deliver this product. The motherboard in question would have been MSI PRO Z790-P LGA1700 and, as far as I can tell, a brand new product.

I chose the motherboard in question based on these criteria/specs and the price (approx. €280):

- Support for 13th generation Intel Core processors (Intel Z790 chipset?) (the processor I'm getting is Intel i7-13700K)

- Four x M.2 (PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD support) Hard disk connections

- Memory type: DDR5

- Compatible with the Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420 A-RGB liquid cooling system. It would be good if this cooler could be attached to the motherboard so that there are adjustment possibilities, or at least so that the fan works automatically at the appropriate speed according to the temperatures, so that it doesn't keep noise all the time.

- I don't play games. At least for now, I'm not getting a separate graphics card. The main purpose of this new machine is to act as a music making workstation and to run Cubase 12 Pro (VST2/VST3 synths + samplers/sound libraries + effects)

Now I would have to find a replacement motherboard for this MSI board, and thinking that maybe I should avoid that brand entirely, if they have some problems? What is your experience with MSI motherboards? Or which motherboard manufacturers are generally considered good and reliable brands for music workstations? Are there any brands that should be avoided?

With a quick search I found these replacement motherboards that might come into question (but the prices hurt a lot compared to my original choice):

- Gigabyte Z790 GAMING X AX
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z7 ... -rev-10#kf

- Gigabyte Z790 AORUS ELITE AX
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z7 ... -rev-10#kf

- Asus PRIME Z790-A WIFI
https://www.asus.com/motherboards-compo ... 90-a-wifi/

Gigabyte is an unknown brand to me. My previous desktop computer is more than 10 years old, there I have Asus motherboard. Does anyone have experience or information about Gigabyte motherboards? Can you say that they are good and problem-free? Or recommend a brand that you have found to be good for this purpose.

Here are all the most essential components for my new machine:

- Intel Core i7-13700K processor
- Kingston FURY Beast DDR5 5600 MHz CL40 32 GB memory module
- Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1 TB M.2 SSD hard disk (+ one 2 TB similar)
- Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420 A-RGB liquid cooling system
- be quiet! Silent Base 802 ATX case
- be quiet! Pure Power 11 FM ATX power supply, 750 W

[AcrossTheSky]

this is great MB for your chosen bits :
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z790-EDGE-WIFI
I'd go with DDR 32gb 6000MHz - KF560C36BBEK2-32

[2DaT]

Gigabyte is an unknown brand to me. My previous desktop computer is more than 10 years old, there I have Asus motherboard. Does anyone have experience or information about Gigabyte motherboards? Can you say that they are good and problem-free? Or recommend a brand that you have found to be good for this purpose.

They are all the same, if it works, it works. Pick a particular model that has a connectivity that you need and that's it.

[Cypsilonib]

this is great MB for your chosen bits :
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z790-EDGE-WIFI
I'd go with DDR 32gb 6000MHz - KF560C36BBEK2-32

Thanks for the suggestion, but it's way too expensive (€466.99 at verkkokauppa.com, where I buy the components). That MSI motherboard would have been only about €280. And this Gigabyte's cheaper model is already €85 more expensive (€364.99). But I guess that's what I'll choose, because I can't find any cheaper motherboards on verkkokauppa.com that have the specs I mentioned. That Asus would also be too expensive (€425.99). I only listed it because it's a brand I'm familiar with and it would have seemed like a safe choice. But I think I'll go for something cheaper.

[Cypsilonib]

They are all the same, if it works, it works. Pick a particular model that has a connectivity that you need and that's it.

Yeah, I've always been maybe a bit of an overthinker, which makes deciding everything a bit too difficult.

[AcrossTheSky]

this is great MB for your chosen bits :
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-Z790-EDGE-WIFI
I'd go with DDR 32gb 6000MHz - KF560C36BBEK2-32

Thanks for the suggestion, but it's way too expensive (€466.99 at verkkokauppa.com, where I buy the components). That MSI motherboard would have been only about €280. And this Gigabyte's cheaper model is already €85 more expensive (€364.99). But I guess that's what I'll choose, because I can't find any cheaper motherboards on verkkokauppa.com that have the specs I mentioned. That Asus would also be too expensive (€425.99). I only listed it because it's a brand I'm familiar with and it would have seemed like a safe choice. But I think I'll go for something cheaper.

the MB I mentioned will easily bo fine until 2030 future proof SSD and nvme wise...
I still use X99 TaiChi with 6850k and 32gb 2400 quad.., dont care ab. W11 & thundercrap..

in that case go for PRIME Z790-A WIFI ...

[legendCNCD]

There are not many motherboard tests for Z790 still yet, but people at least at https://gearspace.com/board/music-compu ... b2fb4fa444 have been running some without any DPC issues..

[2DaT]

They are all the same, if it works, it works. Pick a particular model that has a connectivity that you need and that's it.

Yeah, I've always been maybe a bit of an overthinker, which makes deciding everything a bit too difficult.

If you are looking for value, you can buy z690 motherboard and flash it. It's trivial. You just need a spare USB flash drive. Better than paying 400$ for motherboard.

[Cypsilonib]

If you are looking for value, you can buy z690 motherboard and flash it. It's trivial. You just need a spare USB flash drive. Better than paying 400$ for motherboard.

Umm... okay. I don't know much about these in depth. I watched a flash operation tutorial video on youtube and understood that it is a technique to update the BIOS. Looked easy, I could do it. But now my questions boils down to these:

Isn't there a physical difference between the z690 and z790 chipsets? Can the i7-13700K -processor work to its full capacity on a z690 motherboard just like it would on a z790 motherboard?

Or, another question, if we take for example Gigabyte's z790 GAMING X AX motherboard: Has it some other features that are designed for these new Intel's 13th generation processors, which are missing from say Gigabyte's z690 AORUS ELITE AX motherboard?

[2DaT]

If you are looking for value, you can buy z690 motherboard and flash it. It's trivial. You just need a spare USB flash drive. Better than paying 400$ for motherboard.

Isn't there a physical difference between the z690 and z790 chipsets? Can the i7-13700K -processor work to its full capacity on a z690 motherboard just like it would on a z790 motherboard?

As far as I am aware, there is no meaningful difference. It will have like a one more fast USB 3.3 that nobody uses. Or a few PCIe lanes which average consumer doesn't need. Or improved memory compatibility, which again, average user doesn't need it, because they are not overclocking or buying expensive memory. Or improved power delivery, which once again, average user who doesn't overclock will never need.

Expensive motherboard is a cashgrab, there are no objective reasons for buying a 400$+ model.

Having said that, there are probably good deals on the motherboards on black friday / cyber monday.

[Recourt]

Gigabyte is solid and reliable. Used the same Gigabyte motherboard for the last 10 years. 0 issues.

[Cypsilonib]

As far as I am aware, there is no meaningful difference. It will have like a one more fast USB 3.3 that nobody uses. Or a few PCIe lanes which average consumer doesn't need. Or improved memory compatibility, which again, average user doesn't need it, because they are not overclocking or buying expensive memory. Or improved power delivery, which once again, average user who doesn't overclock will never need.

Expensive motherboard is a cashgrab, there are no objective reasons for buying a 400$+ model.

Having said that, there are probably good deals on the motherboards on black friday / cyber monday.

Took me a while. Thanks for the information! I considered this option (Z690) for a bit and did some research.

In a topic I posted on a Finnish computer forum, someone pointed out that I might have a problem with the Z690 motherboard if I want to install Windows on a M.2 SSD (PCIe 4.0 NVMe) hard drive. If I understood it right, the problem concerns the Intel ME (Management Engine) drivers (or firmware), which would have to be updated before the Z690 recognizes the M.2 SSD hard drive. And the Management Engine update should be done from Windows, but if you haven't even installed Windows yet, how can you update the Intel ME drivers on your motherboard? I asked on the forum if this problem also applies to the Gigabyte Z790 GAMING X AX motherboard, but no one has been able to answer it. I even asked this directly from Gigabyte's support but they didn't apparently understand my question because the short answer was just: "You just use GIGABYTE Control Center software from: 'https://w...' ...and it will update all needed drivers etc."
So does anyone here happen to know if this problem is only with the Z690 and not with the Z790?

Anyway, now I picked up the Gigabyte Z790 GAMING X AX motherboard I ordered. I found a store where it was €296.90. In the store (verkkokauppa.com), where I originally ordered it, it would have cost €364.99. So I'm quite happy with the situation now. Next week I will get the rest of the components and I can finally assemble the new machine.

[Cypsilonib]

Gigabyte is solid and reliable. Used the same Gigabyte motherboard for the last 10 years. 0 issues.

Good to hear, thanks!

[kmabie]

I'm about to build a similar rig, too. I've had good luck with ASUS in the past, so I plan to go with them for my 13700K - nothing against Gigabyte, tho.

You didn't mention, but I was wondering if you were gonna go with Win10 or Win11. I only ask because 12th & 13th gen Intel CPUs have Performance cores and Efficient cores (P-cores, E-cores), and I've read that you should stick with Win11 with those CPUs because it knows how to properly schedule tasks/workloads to those cores. Apparently, Win10 doesn't know a P-core from an E-core, so it will indiscriminately assign workloads to either core, which means you sometimes end up with 'heavy' workloads assigned to a dinky E-core when it should've gone to a P-core.

[Cypsilonib]

I'm about to build a similar rig, too. I've had good luck with ASUS in the past, so I plan to go with them for my 13700K - nothing against Gigabyte, tho.

You didn't mention, but I was wondering if you were gonna go with Win10 or Win11. I only ask because 12th & 13th gen Intel CPUs have Performance cores and Efficient cores (P-cores, E-cores), and I've read that you should stick with Win11 with those CPUs because it knows how to properly schedule tasks/workloads to those cores. Apparently, Win10 doesn't know a P-core from an E-core, so it will indiscriminately assign workloads to either core, which means you sometimes end up with 'heavy' workloads assigned to a dinky E-core when it should've gone to a P-core.

I'm gonna go with Win11 but good to know, thanks!