Selecting a Z790 motherboard is a smart move for your setup. Round 2 offers great performance and reliability.
Selecting a Z790 motherboard is a smart move for your setup. Round 2 offers great performance and reliability.
I tried to pick a Gigabyte Z790 AORUS ELITE AX for my 14700K. With some advice, I went for the 14700K model priced under £240 thanks to Black Friday offers. It seemed like a smart choice—it had more E-Cores, ran faster, and likely offered better memory controller for less money. I didn’t mind the power consumption much since I chose a high-tier PSU from MSI. Now I’m considering whether to upgrade my motherboard. I could flash the BIOS, but the newer Z790 ELITE X is cheaper, has newer BIOS (14th gen), better VRAM, and more layers. With a budget around £300, it opens more options. I’m curious if APO support will be added soon, though MSI hasn’t announced any updates yet. Ports are fine as long as they meet the standard, so I won’t be stuck if something lacks a fast USB-C. Overall, I’m open to suggestions—I’d really appreciate your help in picking the best board for my setup. TLDR: Please advise which Z790 fits well with my 14700K and stays under £300.
It mainly depends on what you prefer. I’d rather use Gigabyte boards for the recent models, but I’m leaning toward the Aorus Master line. For the Z790 chipset, I don’t think the extra cost is justified unless it doubles the board price. I’d check out the Asrock Z790 Riptide—its I/O setup and board design are usually enough. Consider things like rear I/O placement, fan headers, PCIe slots, etc. It’s around $250. ASRock Z790 Riptide WiFi LGA 1700 (various generations) Intel Z790 SATA 6Gb/s ATX DDR5 with 1 PCIe 5.0 x16 and 2.5G LAN WiFi 7 plus Bluetooth—Motherboards from Intel on Newegg.com.
After reviewing some options, I’ve removed the MSI MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI NZXT N7. I’m holding these in my list: ASRock Z790 Nova WiFi ATX, Gigabyte Z790 AORUS ELITE X WIFI, XMP profiles on Gigabyte and ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-H. The Nova has impressive specs but the BIOS is a bit restricted. Gigabyte offers decent features with no M.2 Gen5 support and less VRAM, though its BIOS is solid and the XMP settings are great.
If you're considering these choices, the Nova stands out as the top option. While the memory topology isn't as strong as the Elite, the added perks—especially the POST code—make it worthwhile. The Taichi Lite is a more affordable alternative, often cheaper than the Nova and offering solid performance, though it's EATX and may not fit all cases. For those focused on refresh boards and willing to upgrade the BIOS, the Z690 Force/Carbon from MSI is recommended, providing the best features for its price (typically $200–250). If budget is the main concern and you're okay with an EATX setup, the Nova remains a solid pick.
I can share the sources I used for comparison. It appears both boards are 8-layer PCBs, so their topologies should be quite similar. I thought the Nova might edge out slightly due to its higher memory speeds versus the Gigabyte. I still keep the Gigabyte in mind because its features seem more future-oriented, and its BIOS looks impressive—especially with the CPU boost for the 14700K up to 6GHz that the NOVA lacks. If you're still leaning toward the Nova, go for it. However, the choice between them feels very close to me. From what I've read, the Z690 Carbon seemed like a strong option at the time, but when compared to the ASRock Z790 Nova or Gigabyte Z790 AORUS ELITE X, it feels like looking back rather than planning ahead.
Elite X stands out with a top-tier CPU, clocking memory around 200MT/s higher than the Nova, though a more standard CPU brings them in line. Checking screenshots from top overclockers confirms this trend. While the chipset is older, Z690 and Z790 perform similarly, so focus on feature comparisons. The Carbon model offers more VRM, improved PCIe design, better POST handling, superior rear I/O, and typically costs about $100 less. Its main drawback is a slightly less advanced memory architecture compared to the Nova, though it’s usually not a dealbreaker. BIOS updates can be slower on MSI for their latest boards. If priced similarly, it’s tougher to convince, but the PCIe upgrade makes it worth considering.