Upgrade from z97 to z390

[Vario]

I think the gene would likely overclock higher or at least more stable with a 9900k you also wouldn't have to hassle with either buying a cheap coffee lake cpu or getting a shop to update the bios for you which could also cost you more money... Asus switched up the design for better transient response on their Z390 motherboards ditching doublers. On the Z370 Apex it looks like an 8 phase with doublers on the gene you have 10 power stages grouped in 2 which makes it technically a really strong 5 phase that should outperform an 8 phase with doublers. I believe the Z390 apex is something crazy like a 16 power stage 8 phase and actually may be the best motherboard for you because it lacks igp support using those power stages for the CPU.

More info on the z390 Gene

More on the z390 Apex

maybe all this is redundant and you've already done a ton of research on these asus motherboards you love. My Asus Maximus XI Code handles a 9900k at 5.1ghz no problem and both the Z390 Gene/Apex have better Vrm.

He will not have any problems updating his bios without a processor because the board supports the USB BIOS Flashback feature that does not require a CPU installed to flash the bios.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

He will not have any problems updating his bios without a processor because the board supports the USB BIOS Flashback feature that does not require a CPU installed to flash the bios.

That's good to know.. I'm actually on my first Asus motherboard previously I've always used MSI I just didn't care for the MEG ACE.

 

[Vario]

That's good to know.. I'm actually on my first Asus motherboard previously I've always used MSI I just didn't care for the MEG ACE.

I was all ready to dispense advice to buy a celeron, an ebay bios chip, or have a shop flash it then I found on Asus's forum that these motherboards have that ability USB BIOS Flashback CPU-less flash function, which sounds fantastic.

 

[Animalpak]

Asus claims on the support page that the 9900K and 9900KF are fully supported by the Maximus X APEX z370. ( of course after BIOS update )

So guys do i REALLY need a higher number of VRM components to feed a 9900KF with a light overlock ? I dont want to compete or to let the CPU working at the highest O.C that i can get ( it depends of the chip i know ). Silicone lottery we all know.

For this year i will use it by default and next year i will begin to raise the CPU clock until i get to push it to the maximum in its last years of life.

So i can have a CPU that is still fresh from overclocking and use it when there are more powerful CPUs around

 

[Vario]

Asus claims on the support page that the 9900K and 9900KF are fully supported by the Maximus X APEX z370. ( of course after BIOS update )

So guys do i REALLY need a higher number of VRM components to feed a 9900KF with a light overlock ? I dont want to compete or to let the CPU working at the highest O.C that i can get ( it depends of the chip i know ). Silicone lottery we all know.

For this year i will use it by default and next year i will begin to raise the CPU clock until i get to push it to the maximum in its last years of life.

So i can have a CPU that is still fresh from overclocking and use it when there are more powerful CPUs around

Should be fine I think. A lot of people had good results with 8700Ks on that board. I am not an expert on VRM though. The Overclock.net Z370/390 VRM discussion rated it pretty high. Despite its 8+2 power phase design compared to the 10+2 Taichi and 16 powerphase MEG Godlike. A lot of the Z390 top end designs were recycled from Z370 top end designs. Maybe someone more experienced with this can comment. For some reason the Overclock.net Z370/390 VRM discussion thread is unable to load for me.

The ASUS Maximus X Apex comes with a digital 8+2 phase power design. The power design on this board is pretty solid and it's good for extreme overclocking. Digging a little bit deeper into the details we find a PWM controller that's been labelled ASP1405I, which might be an IR35201 fully digital PWM controller that offers up to 8 phases. Each PWM phase from the digital PWM is doubled by an IR3599. On the PCB there are four of these chips. Furthermore there are ten IR3535 chips on the backside of the motherboard. The MOSFETs are Infineon OptiMOS BSG0812ND and they are rated for 50A.

https://ocaholic.ch/modules/publisher/item.php?page=3&itemid=4133

The power delivery area in the Apex is in an 8+2 mode using ASUS's 10K capacitors as well as microfine alloy chokes. Driving these are the ASUS ASP14501 which is set up in a 4+2 phase configuration. Each phase for VCore from the digital PWM has doublers via IR3599 phase doublers. Each doubler outputs to an IR3535 driver which we counted 10 on the backside (2 for iGPU, 8 for CPU). The MOSFETs are Infineon OptimMOS BSG0812ND rated at 50A. The VRMs are fed from two 8-pin EPS 12V connectors (one is optional) found in the upper left-hand corner.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/12506/the-asus-rog-maximus-x-apex-review/2


der8auer

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Asus claims on the support page that the 9900K and 9900KF are fully supported by the Maximus X APEX z370. ( of course after BIOS update )

So guys do i REALLY need a higher number of VRM components to feed a 9900KF with a light overlock ? I dont want to compete or to let the CPU working at the highest O.C that i can get ( it depends of the chip i know ). Silicone lottery we all know.

For this year i will use it by default and next year i will begin to raise the CPU clock until i get to push it to the maximum in its last years of life.

So i can have a CPU that is still fresh from overclocking and use it when there are more powerful CPUs around

Just because a board supports a 9900k doesn't mean it'll do it well. Some 370/390 boards only maintain like a 4.4ghz boost but since it's over the base clock of 3.6ghz it's considered supported. The z370 Apex on the other hand should be fine depending on how good that heatsink is the vrm will run pretty hot though. I was just pointing out that the Z390 gene and apex are better. The 10 and 12 phase Z390 boards tend to have much cooler VRM compared to the 8 phases I've seen tested how much that matters will probably depend on how good a chip you get Some 9900k can't even maintain 4.9 stable regardless of voltage. mine does 5ghz at 1.28 and 5.1 at 1.325 both are really hard to cool even with a 360mm AIO as it is.

 

[algamer]

Guys i need some opinions about my next upgrade after 5 year im still using z97 chipset and the i7 4790k. Time for me is to step up, even i see that is still a good system.

Current setup:

Asus Maximus XI Impact z97 ( mini ITX )
Intel 4790k
Corsair Dominator DDR3 1866 mhz 2x8 GB
Samsung M.2 960 Pro 512 GB as main for O.S and games / for storage ( WD blue 500GB SSD )
Asus Strix Adv. GTX 1070 Ti
Corsair AX760 powersupply.

Desired setup:

Asus Maximus XI Gene ( micro ATX )
i7 9900 KF ( currently im waiting for the release date )
Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR4 3200 mhz 2x8 GB <<< please give me advice for the speed i see and heard that 3200mhz is enough and in games actually you get more FPS
The rest will be the same.

For 1070ti going for 9900k not sure i think even 9600k will match the 1070ti easily unless you are upgrading your gpu or you have specific reason for going with 9900k apart from gaming. future proof i dont think so as even other cpus 9600k/8700k/9700k are future proof for gaming for next 4 to 5 years easily.