Selecting an Asus Z790 motherboard involves considering performance, compatibility, and your specific needs.
Selecting an Asus Z790 motherboard involves considering performance, compatibility, and your specific needs.
You're seeking recommendations for a high-performance build targeting the Intel i9 13th Gen. You need 128GB of memory, preferably DDR4/DDR5, with at least six SATA ports and four PCIe slots (including one x16). You prefer a solid premium board from Asus, not concerned about aesthetics, and want durable, reliable hardware. The ROG Strix Z790-F falls short due to limited PCIe options.
Review their Z690 configuration and assume it matches for Z790 in PCIe slots. It looks like they're repeating marketing phrases without much detail.
Current reviews are limited as these items are still under embargo. We can only make educated guesses based on existing models and recent announcements, using selected internal benchmarks. Raptor Lake desktop CPUs will feature just 20 PCIe lanes, likely shared across several devices.
Only two PCI-E X16 ports exist since they are mainly reserved for GPUs. The PCI-E connections run straight from the CPU to cut down on delays, with 16 lanes from the CPU to the slots. Four lanes stay for top/primary M.2 NVMe drives—Nvidia and AMD no longer back multi-GPU setups. To add more PCI-E lanes, you must move to HEDT, not standard Intel or AMD options like the Extreme series or ThreadRipper.
I've experienced great success with the Asus board. Even the model I'm using now, which has been running continuously for about 10 years, shows no problems. It's very dependable.
ASUS boards have seen some changes lately. While still offering solid choices, recent quality control issues have affected several models. The Z690 Hero faced problems due to capacitor placement errors, which could lead to fires despite safety measures. Their Z690 Apex boards remain reliable, delivering consistent performance at 6600MT/s. During the DDR3 era, ASUS was a leader, but now they lag slightly with higher prices and less flexibility. If you're targeting the Z790 with four PCIe slots, the TUF is a strong pick—ideal for 128GB systems using DDR4, though it has limited connectivity. MSI also delivers quality with models like the Z790-A Pro and Tomahawk, though their setup isn’t as seamless. For true x8/x8 support, consider DDR5 boards, but most current ASUS options (except Taichi) don’t fully support that configuration. Knowing your specific card requirements can help you decide whether to build a custom rig or stick with a pre-built solution.