Please help me pick optimal z590 board for 11900k and or 11600k, this chipset is very new and want to make the best choice! Thanks

[jhawk2k18]

Budget (including currency): 300 - 500$ USD

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for:  Benchmarks mostly, some work, productivity, Flight Sim 2020 occasionally, sound and video editing!

Other details Coming from a 9900k MSI z390 ACE 4133+ stock Samsung B-Die DDR4 Phanteks 719 case, fully custom loop. 256GB Samsung lower tier NVME ssd, and 850 pro SATA 256gb ssd (exclusive for FS2020), and multiple network HDD's for backups.

 

Hi, I recently bought an 15-11600k and also an 19-11900k both are brand new and I need to get a board for this and sell the other CPU, or return it but my time is running out. I am curious to see if the 11600k can quench my power thirst enough to send back the 119000k, but I really need a decent board and maybe Monoblock (or a fully water cooled mobo like the ASUS glacier or MSI carbon ). I have been sticking to MSI boards as they have been very good to me, I had some bad luck with a few Auorus Boards, but I like the bios of the Gigabyte boards a bit better, ASUS honestly I can take or leave, I have had a lot of duds i know that sounds silly but I am serious, Asrock have been ok, but I am wide open for suggestions on the cheapest z590 board with the most reliability and features.. I need PCI gen 4 to upgrade SSD soon and GPU (one day, still on 1080ti FTW3 hydro copper) but thunderbolt 4 is definitely a want but not a need, wifi 6(e) more towards the need side. Basically I need a reliable board that can handle the 11900k and also show off what the 11600k can do as well. Any help is greatly appreciated as I am unfamiliar with the new chipset and reviews are limited and kind of scattered. Thanks again in advance!

 

[brob]

It's still a bit early for there to be stock on all the z590 offerings. It does look like you are going to have to pick between Asus and Asrock.

 

Asus has anounced a Thunderbolt 4 card and it looks like most of its z590 motherboards sport a header. But my memory concerning the Thunderbolt 3 card was it was quite difficult to get. So who knows if the TB 4 card will actually be available. The ROG Strix Z590-A looks to fit your needs, but I don't have any direct experience with it.

[Nena Trinity]

If you need 8-cores just buy a Ryzen 5800X if 6-cores will do there is no much wrong with the 11400F or 11600K if you wanna overclock it to the moon... UwU

[jhawk2k18]

On 4/20/2021 at 6:53 PM, brob said:

It's still a bit early for there to be stock on all the z590 offerings. It does look like you are going to have to pick between Asus and Asrock.

 

Asus has anounced a Thunderbolt 4 card and it looks like most of its z590 motherboards sport a header. But my memory concerning the Thunderbolt 3 card was it was quite difficult to get. So who knows if the TB 4 card will actually be available. The ROG Strix Z590-A looks to fit your needs, but I don't have any direct experience with it.

Thank you very much for your suggestion, I have not logged into here lately as I had some difficulty remembering where I had registered from and I did eventually find a board but I was so excited that I did not really download or save anything from my 256gb NVMe main OS drive on my last board/CPU, (MSI MEG ACE z390 / 9900k) and unfortunately for whatever reason though I decided to go with a similar (somewhat) board (MSI Carbon EK-X z590) with a $500 price tag I even lost a lot of BIOS features, but gained some incredible VRM cooling from the great Monoblock from EK that came with it and probably the best feature of the board.. Long story short I did not see your suggestions but they are appreciated. I also now see what you mean about the TB-3/4 as they are capable expansion options with header built into board opposed to what I expected to be natively inclusive on this $500 motherboard, but I am in no rush at this point for TB.

 

On the suggestion of ASUS ROG Strix z590, I know ASUS is the chosen favorite of probably the majority of Enthusiasts like myself, but I had the same issue with ASUS boards as I have with top end Gigabyte Aurous boards, being with both brands I had 3 RMA's consecutively on separate specific builds and with me 3 strikes and out... normally. However, I had a major toss up between the MSI Carbon EK board and have been seriously considering the Maximus XIII APEX from ASUS, which of the couple people I do know that use APEX boards they have never switched to anything else for several generations now, which says a lot.. I have built all except two of the last 25-28 builds for myself and customers using only MSI boards and have found them to always suit everyone's needs including my own needs and expectations and also exceed them in just about every case... until now...

 

I for once regret buying this MSI board, as it does perform well, the temps are incredible (not my first custom loop but first one with a mono block or any kind of extreme VRM cooling. I think I was spoiled with the z390 ACE in terms of extreme overclocking as that board is literally 2 jumpers enabled and a pod away from LN2 cooling, which is for now, not something I want to jump into, and granted yes with the z590 chipset and the 11900k there are naturally new and a few unclear new bios options, but overall a similar bios to the ACE z390 but missing many many bios settings which about 25% of them I used. Don't get me wrong, the Carbon EK X is not a bad board, but it doesn't have the features that I am used to and I'm aware of an ACE z590 priced higher a tad and without a Monoblock from the factory.. Also, I must note that had NO experience with water blocks, thermal pads, and modding in general I would be totally screwed as every bit of documentation in the box is for the Carbon WIFI board which its based on mostly and no Monoblock install guides or even bios setting difference quick explanations of any kind have been of quick reach if at all..

 

I suppose now I will likely sell this Carbon EK MSI board with an 11900k in it as I bought another 11900k which was manufactured in Vietnam opposed to the current cpu with same SKU but manufactured in China. Anybody have any input on the differences if any on the manufacturer region as far as binning or patterns? 

 

Next move is deciding between 3 boards (z590) that can probably all fufuill and exceed what I need - and they are the MSI Unify (recently broke world record in DDR4 speeds by MSI's top engineer), the MSI ACE (z590 version and will require as all 3 of these to if available, a Monoblock) but will feel more familiar and more bios features that I am used to, and last and definitely not least, the Maximus XIII APEX... which seems to be kind of leading my choices but I only have one video from Jayz 2 cents that showcase what it does and I do like it. and willing to squash my isolated bad stent with ASUS boards to try it, its just curiosity of mono block availability/ additional cost an extra 100 for the board itself plus the block if i can even get one.

 

Any and all input on this drastic change in my OP on board suggestions based on those 3, MSI ACE, MSI UNIFY, and the ASUS APEX lineups of the z-590 versions as I don't expect any of them to be disappointing, but am very interested to hear about personal experience and/or well educated non branded biAsed suggestions, as well as other suggestions... NOTE: I have seen and am aware of the Gigabyte and ASUS fully water-cooled board options but tho not real far, they are still too far out of price range for me.

 

Now that I have played with the 11900k and z590 I can say I really do like the chipset and the CPU despite the bad reviews, the snappiness and performance is noticeably an exceptional upgrade from my awesome binned (5.6ghz stable on ICE water i9-9900k, where as I have not been able to stable run in similar conditions above 5.4ghz on this particular 11900k, but my RAM overclocks have also taken a hit so I'm hoping its just the board being honestly a bit of a downgrade for overclocking with the exception of very good VRM temps that are kind of useless if I can't achieve better frequencies, but one last thing.. the 11900k stock when running nice and cold with the extra boost to 5.3ghz on 2 cores with stock bios settings truly is a fantastic first time for me fully tolerable as is solution, granted the benchmark scores are noticeably a lot higher when OC, and I really like how regardless of the voltages and ratios when in an open loop using pretty cool water from the water hose with a self made adapter the temps at idle stay at 25C and on ICE water I have hit 89C while at 5.4ghz on all cores, 5.5 will run and boot but benching this CPU at 5.5 all core triggers safety measures and shuts down or BSOD.. A 100mhz increase on all cores opposed to the 5.3 turbo on 2 cores but with much better temps seems like I did not hit the lottery. From my experiences when a CPU is at that point where regardless of the cooling provided will hit thermal limits is where it ends, after playing with voltages and similar results... Any input on this would also be appreciated greatly!

 

Sorry about the long story but I do value yalls experience and feedback/suggestions greatly. Thanks in advance and also for the responses!!!

[jhawk2k18]

On 4/20/2021 at 8:27 PM, Nena Trinity said:

If you need 8-cores just buy a Ryzen 5800X if 6-cores will do there is no much wrong with the 11400F or 11600K if you wanna overclock it to the moon... UwU

Thanks for the feedback, I do actually have now two i9 1100k and also an 11600k that I have not opened yet.. When you say OC to the moon with the 11600k, what should I expect from it? Also, please, I keep hearing that the lower 500 series chipsets for 11th gen intel unlocked cpus are able to actually still OC, are you or anyone else familiar with this and if so is there a good and inexpensive board that is purpose and then sell obviously with the customer being happy? Or is there a decent z590 that would be good for this without killing my wallet as I already am to accommodate the 11900k? Thanks for the response and thanks in advance if anyone can please assist me with experienced info and or personal experiences.. I appreciate yall!

[brob]

I don't have any direct experience with the Z590 Unify or Apex. Both are high end but I prefer the no rgb aesthetic of the Unify line.

 

Until recently my personal preference has always been Asus. They had some hicups with the early Ryzen boards and have reorganized branding. I now also look to MSI, especially when I think VRM may be important. (I know, Gigabyte tend to have better VRM, but I'm not a fan of its boards.)

[Nena Trinity]

Unexpected Results: Z590 Mid Range VRM Thermal Test - YouTube

 

Look up Harbor Unboxed videos, they have many tests with boards!

[jhawk2k18]

On 5/8/2021 at 11:45 AM, brob said:

I don't have any direct experience with the Z590 Unify or Apex. Both are high end but I prefer the no rgb aesthetic of the Unify line.

 

Until recently my personal preference has always been Asus. They had some hicups with the early Ryzen boards and have reorganized branding. I now also look to MSI, especially when I think VRM may be important. (I know, Gigabyte tend to have better VRM, but I'm not a fan of its boards.)

I thank you for response! Sounds like our preferences are similar, Gigabyte boards certainly have their downfalls but I still have an old z170 HD3 version 1.0 board (ultra durable) that has really taken a heck of abuse, from mining 2x1080ti water cooled for 2 years on it, to also hosting my first water cooling experiences so yes its been wet, lol, and my first water-cooled cpu (i5-6600k) which when i say I took it to its limits, de-lidded it, did it again over and over until I blew the 6600k (first cpu i ever killed), so I can say that they have (Gigabyte) earned some points there, granted many times where it failed to boot and gave me many POST problems resulting in resetting CMOS, and sometimes that didn't even work, but next day it would.... It now resides as my home server board with an i5 6500(non K) and 6 sata storage drives and runs 24/7 with no hiccups whatsoever... The VRM on that lower tier board was a joke though, i can lift the heatsinks with my pinky and the springs pop it back in place... lol but Gigabyte has given me many failed BIOS problems, like the AUROUS lineup where I had 3 z270 high end boards fail and RMA, all on a dual bios setup and they all became inoperable due to BIOS failures.. I really liked all of the extras that came with those boards though and that's when I switched to MSI as my go to, and the only thing MSI has really failed me on is the RTX ventus RX 3070, for a lot of money you can overpay for a GPU that you cannot technically overclock or mod bios on, but on motherboards, they have been great mostly...

I am not a big RGB fan, but if I need them I like to have a header available but can always install RGB and a controller with an app on the phone if needed, I'm still undecided where to go on this but the Unify does look sexy and the world record breaking RAM speed done on this board is very attractive to me.. I see below someone posted a good link to see results of z590 boards and I'm anxious to check them all out! Anyways, thanks for your response and for taking the time to read my post!! Have a great day!