9th Gen Intel Core processor paired with MSI Z390-A Pro graphics card
9th Gen Intel Core processor paired with MSI Z390-A Pro graphics card
I noticed some mixed feedback about this board. It doesn't offer the top VRM performance and isn't ideal with the 9900k chipset. If you decide not to overclock, it should still work fine. One user mentioned the CPU struggles to run its built-in turbo without overclocking, which is a bit disappointing. I know it feels like a mismatch between a budget motherboard and an expensive CPU, but that's the situation. It might be okay for now, but upgrading the motherboard could be a good idea soon. For the i9, the best options are typically high-end models with solid VRM and cooling solutions.
Nevery had no other options except Intel and I won't switch anytime soon. Overlock might come into play later, but not yet since this CPU should manage everything smoothly now. I won't be streaming in 4K or even 1440p—just 1080p. Maybe it could help with some content creation, but that's roughly it.
MettaloCaft
05-19-2018, 11:04 AM #41080p sets the limit for CPU performance because of the faster frame rates. Any Z-series motherboard should support stock clocked CPUs from that generation, so you probably wouldn’t have issues using them with older B or H series boards.
ayapasdepb
05-19-2018, 04:57 PM #6the graphics card renders fewer pixels each frame, allowing it to produce more frames per second than higher resolutions. the cpu can only create a limited number of frames for the gpu within the same time frame. the shift from gpu to cpu bottleneck occurs around 1080p, where intel edges out amd slightly thanks to overclocked k series chips, mainly because of reduced memory latency.
thermal throttling depends on your cooler's capability, which could vary. Many z-series mobos today push performance from stock to higher speeds right out of the box, but they tend to get hotter. I question whether the VRMs are insufficient to maintain the stock boost clock—around 4.7GHz across all cores, which isn’t extremely fast.
I’d skip that board because of its extremely powerful CPU. I’d opt for an MSI tomahawk z390 or an Asus Tuf Z390 at the minimum. Otherwise, you might not even hit the advertised boost speeds and wouldn’t be able to overclock it. If money’s tight, I’d choose AMD. A 3700x is significantly cheaper and you could find a solid board to pair with it, especially after Zen 3 arrives. I’m already seeing some attractive deals on x570 boards in preparation for x670. I don’t know the UK prices yet.
