ITX Motherboard Advice

[Juggy]

Howzit peoples

I'm building an ITX rig, or should I say changing from my Z690 Unify-X to an ITX Z790 build and need board advice.

I have a choice of 2 reasonably priced boards, what would you recommend?

MSI MPG Z790I Edge WiFi
ASRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4

I considered the ROG Strix B760I but changed my mind.

 

[Switch]

The asrock looks better on paper, more usb c connectors and doesn't use a daughter board. You lose 1 sata port, the other is placed in a weird position on the inside area of the dimm slots.

 

[ThatGuyJD]

Howzit peoples

I'm building an ITX rig, or should I say changing from my Z690 Unify-X to an ITX Z790 build and need board advice.

I have a choice of 2 reasonably priced boards, what would you recommend?

MSI MPG Z790I Edge WiFi
ASRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4

I considered the ROG Strix B760I but changed my mind.

Honestly there's nothing really matters both are high end options. Pick the one with the connectors/looks you prefer.

 

[JollyJamma]

Z690 Unify-X

 

[dainluke]

Howzit peoples

I'm building an ITX rig, or should I say changing from my Z690 Unify-X to an ITX Z790 build and need board advice.

I have a choice of 2 reasonably priced boards, what would you recommend?

MSI MPG Z790I Edge WiFi
ASRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4

I considered the ROG Strix B760I but changed my mind.

The Edge by a country mile and it’s not even close

 

[JollyJamma]

Howzit peoples

I'm building an ITX rig, or should I say changing from my Z690 Unify-X to an ITX Z790 build and need board advice.

I have a choice of 2 reasonably priced boards, what would you recommend?

MSI MPG Z790I Edge WiFi
ASRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4

I considered the ROG Strix B760I but changed my mind.

What’s your exact build going to be NRP200 max?
Cooler?

 

[Juggy]

What’s your exact build going to be NRP200 max?
Cooler?

More than likely a Phanteks Evolv Shift XT and a 240mm Arctic Liquid Freezer II

 

[JollyJamma]

More than likely a Phanteks Evolv Shift XT and a 240mm Arctic Liquid Freezer II

I do like Phanteks products.

I also prefer MSI to ASrock products as a whole.

I don’t know if my PC specs are in my signature (I’m on mobile mode) but I’m enjoying my Lian li Q58, B550i Strix, RTX 3080 FE, Ryzen 5700, Noctua NH L9a.

 

[goldfritter]

I do like Phanteks products.

I also prefer MSI to ASrock products as a whole.

I don’t know if my PC specs are in my signature (I’m on mobile mode) but I’m enjoying my Lian li Q58, B550i Strix, RTX 3080 FE, Ryzen 5700, Noctua NH L9a.

When you're on mobile you can see signatures (and also itrader scores and a few other things) if you turn to landscape mode.

 

[JollyJamma]

TweakTown likes the ASrock so I don't know

ASRock Z690 PG ITX/TB4 Motherboard Review

ASRock's Z690 PG ITX/TB4 motherboard is one of the most feature-packed SFF platforms available today. Join us as we take a look.

www.tweaktown.com

 

[Juggy]

The Edge by a country mile and it’s not even close

Why the Edge?

The Asrock has 6x10gbps USB ports as well as 2x 40gbps TB4 ports. The rest is pretty similar.

I must confess, I am not the greatest Asrock fan, I had a bad experience with a X570 mATX board but the Z790 Asrock spec is pretty solid.

 

[Petester]

MSI generally make higher quality boards.
Asrock have been caught many times lying about their specs, especially regarding their VRM specs and power stages.
That doesn't mean they don't make some nice boards, so I think in this price range you should be fine.
More the budget/ mid range where they can get shady with the truth.

 

[Juggy]

MSI generally make higher quality boards.
Asrock have been caught many times lying about their specs, especially regarding their VRM specs and power stages.
That doesn't mean they don't make some nice boards, so I think in this price range you should be fine.
More the budget/ mid range where they can get shady with the truth.

Thanks, I pulled the trigger on the Asrock. I do really like MSI quality, it's why I bought the Unify-X. Incredible board.

 

[dainluke]

Why the Edge?

The Asrock has 6x10gbps USB ports as well as 2x 40gbps TB4 ports. The rest is pretty similar.

I must confess, I am not the greatest Asrock fan, I had a bad experience with a X570 mATX board but the Z790 Asrock spec is pretty solid.

The Edge can potentially get you D5-8000. Regardless of whether you can or can’t manually tune A-die, having the possibility there is worth the purchase. The ASRock simply will not get close because their memory topology just isn’t up to scratch. At the end of the day, do you absolutely need 6x10Gbps USB ports and do you need two Thunderbolt ports? I don’t know, like if you’re a creator and you absolutely need those then I would assume you already picked the ASRock, but if you’re being won over by the I/O enthusiasm trend (I don’t mean to be condescending), then definitely forget about it and go with the Edge. You might always find yourself desiring better memory performance because it’s tangible, but you will likely never spontaneously require a bunch of I/O.

 

[Juggy]

The Edge can potentially get you D5-8000. Regardless of whether you can or can’t manually tune A-die, having the possibility there is worth the purchase. The ASRock simply will not get close because their memory topology just isn’t up to scratch. At the end of the day, do you absolutely need 6x10Gbps USB ports and do you need two Thunderbolt ports? I don’t know, like if you’re a creator and you absolutely need those then I would assume you already picked the ASRock, but if you’re being won over by the I/O enthusiasm trend (I don’t mean to be condescending), then definitely forget about it and go with the Edge. You might always find yourself desiring better memory performance because it’s tangible, but you will likely never spontaneously require a bunch of I/O.

You make a good point and the type C on the Edge does suit my external 5 bay DAS requirement.

Hmmm, if only the Z790I Unify was out

 

[Juggy]

The Edge can potentially get you D5-8000. Regardless of whether you can or can’t manually tune A-die, having the possibility there is worth the purchase. The ASRock simply will not get close because their memory topology just isn’t up to scratch. At the end of the day, do you absolutely need 6x10Gbps USB ports and do you need two Thunderbolt ports? I don’t know, like if you’re a creator and you absolutely need those then I would assume you already picked the ASRock, but if you’re being won over by the I/O enthusiasm trend (I don’t mean to be condescending), then definitely forget about it and go with the Edge. You might always find yourself desiring better memory performance because it’s tangible, but you will likely never spontaneously require a bunch of I/O.

I revised my order and went for the Edge. Thanks for the sensible argument.

 

[JollyJamma]

Asrock have been caught many times lying about their specs, especially regarding their VRM specs and power stages.

I had these concerns too but it appears that, in this case, the ASrock board is fine.

 

[Juggy]

I do like Phanteks products.

I also prefer MSI to ASrock products as a whole.

I don’t know if my PC specs are in my signature (I’m on mobile mode) but I’m enjoying my Lian li Q58, B550i Strix, RTX 3080 FE, Ryzen 5700, Noctua NH L9a.

I may even go for the Phanteks EVOLV ITX as it supports 280mm up top and also full size ATX PSU. I'd like to re-use my 1600T2.

I will upgrade my ram to the GSkill 7200 CL34 though

 

[Juggy]

I may even go for the Phanteks EVOLV ITX as it supports 280mm up top and also full size ATX PSU. I'd like to re-use my 1600T2.

I will upgrade my ram to the GSkill 7200 CL34 though

Will a 12900k do 7200mts?

 

[Juggy]

I may even go for the Phanteks EVOLV ITX as it supports 280mm up top and also full size ATX PSU. I'd like to re-use my 1600T2.

I will upgrade my ram to the GSkill 7200 CL34 though

Well, the Phanteks Evolv ITX is crap, paid a small fortune to get it to me as no one has stock in my area. I clearly didn't do my research properly

The build quality is fine, not great, just fine but it will only take a 2 slot card (I know, I should have been on top of that).

Anyway, I'll continue my ITX quest as the board is fine and my real aim is for a small PC that I can travel with. We're moving to the UK in the next 3-6 months so I'll need something I can take on the plane and wont be in shipping for 30 days.