Aorus i9 12900k build - now i9 13900k / RTX 4090

[A1200]

Around this time last year, I put together an i9 9900k based system. See the build log here. Just over a year on, I thought it would be nice to do another. I got too impatient to find some DDR5 - I don't mind paying early adopter rates but I am not giving a scalper a thousand dollars for 32GB RAM. Additionally I like the DDR4 LPX RAM when using the NH-D15, as I can leave the second fan on the "push" side of the cooler.

 

• CPU: Intel i9 12900k
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Aorus Z690 Elite DDR4
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 64GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4 4000MHz C18
• GPU: Gigabyte Aorus GeForce RTX 3080ti Master 12G
• Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow
• Storage: (OS) Samsung 980 Pro 1TB / (Data) Samsung 980 Pro 1TB
• PSU: Corsair HX1200 80 PLUS Platinum 1200W
• Display: Gigabyte Aorus FI27Q
• Cooling: Noctua NH-D15 CPU + 4x NF-A12x25 PWM case fans
• Keyboard: Aorus K1
• Mouse: Aorus M5 / Aorus AMP500 pad
• Sound: Onboard HD Audio
• Headset: Aorus H5
• Speakers: Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II
• Webcam: Logitech C920 HD Pro
• Operating System: Win 11 Pro

Will put together in the coming days or weeks depending on what time I get.

[A1200]

First step, I have installed some LED strip lighting on the visible end of the front fan plate and in the void at the bottom of the case. In my previous build, I used the same strip lighting but mounted it to the top and at the motherboard side of the front fan plate. Be interesting to see the difference between the two. Have also mounted all the case fans. That will do for today, little and often.

[A1200]

i9 12900k, my first LGA 1700 install. Motherboard now in place and cables beginning to be routed.

[A1200]

Noctua NH-D15 and Corsair HX-1200 installed. More cabling in place. An air cooler of this size is an ugly beast but for those like me with liquid anxiety, it's the best thing out there. Going to clean up and I will put the GPU in tomorrow all being well. It's so big, getting the power cables and USB port cables connected means running them into the front of the case at just the right height.

[A1200]

GPU installed and front facing cable management complete. With the cooler and GPU, you can barely see the motherboard!

[A1200]

Rear cable management taken care of. The CPU power cables are just too short for a PSU of this length which moderately bothers me having to channel them diagonally but I am a believer in function over form any day of the week. So whilst I could use cable extensions, the added components that creates additional points of failure, however small the risk, I just will stick to the original cables on their own. I always try to do a good job on cable management, I hope this build is no exception.

[A1200]

Couldn't resist seeing if it posts and it did! Too tired to even plug in a keyboard to start setting it up but at least it's working so far...

[A1200]

Ok UFEI config, OS install, benchmark and bench tidy left to do.

 

 

[A1200]

All the peripherals connected, ready for the OS install, some moderate overclocking and some benchmarking.

[A1200]

Last of the images. Gone all white on the RGB for now, clean look. Will post a bunch of benchmarks to conclude this build log when I have done them.

[A1200]

Here are the revised benchmarks after I upgraded the RAM to DDR4 4000MHz C18. I found there was a slight improvement in performance but there was little to no memory overclocking potential beyond the XMP profile whereas on the 3200MHz rated memory I started the project with, I could tweak a lot more.

 

I found a good technique when pushing 5.1-5.3GHz all core on the P-cores was to leave the E-cores on Auto so they could clock down when not required, and hopefully keeping adjacent P-cores and overall package temps at the best the can be whilst still allowing the E-cores to do their their thing when required.

 

The GPU had very limited overclocking headroom as it is an OC card as standard - generally I was +100 or less for the boost frequency.

 

All fans set to 100% whilst running benchmarks. Some nasty temps @ 5.2/5.3GHz on some CPU tests such as Cinebench multi core test which reached 100c on 4-5 cores within the time of a multicore test, indicating the Noctua NH-D15 is fine for normal use for the i9 12900k but for serious overclocking this CPU really does require liquid cooling.

 

These are genuine observations - settings tweaked to suit each benchmark individually. I purposefully kept the room very cold - we are talking single digit ambient temps for a lot of these tests, this PC is located in hobby room which is a converted garage meaning with no heating turned on, in the winter it is easy to get the room down to almost outside temps!

 

Where there was no pre-set, or where I wanted to compare to settings I used on my previous build, I have stated the settings used.

 

CPU-Z: https://valid.x86.fr/j9nk61
Passmark: https://www.passmark.com/baselines/V10/display.php?id=149645135345
Basemark GPU: https://powerboard.basemark.com/benchmark-result/1068782
3DMark Time Spy: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/70656387
3DMark Time Spy Extreme: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/70656754
PCMark 10 Extended: https://www.3dmark.com/pcm10/70732696
Blender BMW CPU: https://opendata.blender.org/benchmarks/1ee4314b-51dc-496b-97d0-0a5e87ee4de8/
Blender BMW GPU (Cuda): https://opendata.blender.org/benchmarks/007a4c16-7149-4cb8-b740-1bbe06eff747/
UBM: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/49528758
Geekbench 5 CPU: https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/12188492
Geekbench 5 GPU (Cuda): https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/compute/4084359
Bright Memory - Infinite RTX Benchmark (Max settings @ 1920x1080) FPS: 241
Resident Evil 6 Benchmark (Max settings @ 1920x1080) Score: 53019
Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0 DX11 (Max settings @ 1920x1080) Min/Max/Avg FPS - Score: 43.0/579.8/265.7 - 6692
Cinebench Release 23 Multi Core: 28654
Cinebench Release 23 Single Core: 2020
FurMark Preset 1080 (FHD / Fullscreen): https://gpuscore.top/furmark/show.php?id=524367
FurMark Preset 1440 (QHD / Fullscreen): https://gpuscore.top/furmark/show.php?id=524362

Edited January 15, 2022 by A1200
New benchmarks based on changing RAM to 4000MHz kit.

[A1200]

Update, I upgraded the RAM to DDR4 4000MHz C18 (18-22-22-42) but on initial tests I didn't see any significant jump but running all those benchmarks is a bit of a chore so I will only post any significant improvements I discover as and when I check a given benchmark tool.

 

Edit: Redid all the benchmarks in the end, see previous post for new results.

Edited January 15, 2022 by A1200
Benchmarks completed.

[Fraya]

very nice and clean build my friend. 

is that monitor 2k 27", i think it is. if so good choice. i have been running a 27" 2K monitor for a few years now and 1440p or more is the way to go. 

[DoctorNick]

Nice and clean build, hows temps with that NH-D15?

[A1200]

On 1/12/2022 at 3:38 AM, Fraya said:

very nice and clean build my friend. 

is that monitor 2k 27", i think it is. if so good choice. i have been running a 27" 2K monitor for a few years now and 1440p or more is the way to go. 

Hi yes 27"  165Hz - I run one on each of my rigs.

[A1200]

On 1/12/2022 at 9:05 AM, DoctorNick said:

Nice and clean build, hows temps with that NH-D15?

All core 5.0GHz fine - all core O/C at 5.1/5.2 and on heavy loads it hits 100 degrees. After benchmarking I usually drop to defaults anyway as its plenty of powerful enough. So basically, stock its fine, overclocking not quite.

[A1200]

Finished the build off with my first ever gaming chair. Corsair TC70. Nice quality feel to it.

[A1200]

OK upgraded this to i9 13900k and RTX 4090.

 

Running non overclocked, just XMP enabled, achieving 40428 multi core & 2252 single core on Cinebench R23.

 

Some 3D Mark Benchmarks (no tweaking just running defult - OC BIOS on GPU):

Time Spy: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/81596332
Time Spy Extreme: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/81596554

[A1200]

Some updated pictures.

[A1200]

Nice in the dark.

[A1200]

CP2077 1440p all settings to max.

[A1200]

Forza Horizon 5 1440p Extreme preset

[A1200]

After some tweaking managed a multi core score on Cinebench R23 of 41061.

[A1200]

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/82031005 3DM DLSS Test 8K Ultra Performance
https://valid.x86.fr/9xt3f6 CPU-Z Benchmark

Added sleeved cables to the GPU adaptor crappie thing. Looks a bit nicer and hopefully won't burn the house down whilst I am awaiting the cablemod 12VHPWR to Corsair cable and eventually their right angled adapter.

[A1200]

The i9 13900k is a hot CPU - the NH-D15 is no match for it when running in synthetic benchmarks - it is fine under normal gaming/desktop use but to give it a helping hand, I have added 2 NF-A12x25 fans to the top of the case to exhaust the heat quicker. I noticed when running the 3DMark Time Spy stress test the heat rising from the machine so I thought pushing it out instead may help by a few degrees. Cinebench R23 still hits TJMax on a couple of cores but it takes longer and the recovery seems quicker.