Asus ROG Dark Hero Review - 14900k Performance - Undervolting Benchmarks & Gaming

00:00 Introduction
00:55 Lighting
01:55 VRM Specs
02:15 Formula Comparison
02:50 Closer Look Around The Board
07:20 You'll need to manually undervolt
08:35 CPU temps once undervolted
09:55 Benchmark Results
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#asus #rog #z790
‪@OC3D‬

[@blvzvr]

Can’t wait for the guide 🙌🏽 my CPU package has been high 90s. Just waiting to undervolt, then further optimize on GPU tweak 3

[@nil3010]

Plz make that undervolt guide

[@citygent101]

Look forward to seeing your undervolt tutorial

[@ranyalbegwein7470]

Yes please !!

[@joshyddog2054]

Just sub! waiting for that undervolt video!

[@OC3D]

Its on my to-do once the board reviews are done

[@ads3453]

I do find it ridiculous that the cpu won’t operate at stock and has to be undervolted in order to achieve normal temps….

[@choppergirl]

Putting the SATA ports under the GPU hangover swcks. I know from experience, plugging in SATA cables from the backside of the case by feel is an exercise in sheer luck. You're pushing the cable in holding the cable hoping the end will somehow magically hit the end connector just right and then you push. Once you get them in, you're never unplugging them as long as your GPU is in as you'll never get them in again. If you think ahead you plug all 4 in before you put in your GPU whether you need them then or not.

[@maxrockbin]

Please do that undervolting guide! There's so much bogus info out there all over the place, it'd be nice to see how it's done by someone who has experience and success with it.

[@Dolbic.]

why do i feel us as customers we need to do supplier thing more and more then before? i dont think the idea of we as customers we need to undervolted things to enjoy it, i just want to buy PC parts and enjoy gaming, im not that deep invested into electronic knowledge.

[@cemsengul16]

​@@Dolbic.Yeah like why can't motherboards ship with the correct vf curve for our CPUs? I propose that bioses do an auto calbration undervolt for i9 cpus on first boot.

[@impuls60]

What is the RING/CACHE speed with this cpu at different voltages? Everything else is the same as 13th gen as you said.

[@luiketv]

How much cpu core voltage offset minus can u actually put, or where to start it? Is this setting enough to cool down the temperatures?

[@fidgetmuch]

did you have to update the MOBO Bios for it to support the 14th gen cpu? or was it plug and play?

[@outlet6989]

My wife still thinks Plug and Play has something to do with sex. I keep telling her the correct term is Plug and Pray.

[@mark-ze4en]

What type of load might I expect for a full fledged Audio Production PC with the Dark Hero? Are my Temps going to be as high with i7-14700K NOT running a GPU card? Looking at Puget Systems set ups it appears they undervolt PL1 at 1.25 and PL2 at 2.53 to keep things stable and they claim the under-volting barely effects functionality and efficiency while keeping temps down. They claim,, at these settings either a water cooled or passive cooler will generally suffice(they are generally promoting the NOCTUA coolers). Advice for us Audio production geeks?

[@ranyalbegwein7470]

Thank you very much man I need that undervolting guide ASAP! I'm cooking on an i91400KS

[@splindizzle5413]

Did you have problems installing this board in a case ? On a Lian Li 011D Evo the screw holes do not align.

[@HarryClipzFilmz]

Is it a problem with all 4 ram modules? I keep seeing videos with just 2 sticks of ram and wanted to know. I want to run 128gb for 3d animations and simulations in blender

[@amigatommy7]

4 sticks at rated speed does not always work with any board.

[@mikadouglas6348]

🙂Is there a solution? High end motherboards seem to have 1 M2 slot (Gen 5) which shares bandwidth with PCIEX16(G5)_2. When M.2_1 is enabled, PCIEX16(G5)_2 will be disabled and PCIEX16(G5)_1 will run x8 only. So is it a significant tradeoff to give up performance of your primary M2 (Gen5 to Gen4) or bandwidth of your GPU? What is your opinion?

[@cyclechris6591]

Can you tell gen4 from gen 5? My gen 4 is so snappy.

[@cemsengul16]

I got an Apex Encore for 8000 mhz ram support but I was a little shocked to find out you don't have HDMI or Displayport output on my motherboard. Should I experience GPU issues down the line, I can not boot up the computer with my integrated graphics and that scares me a little.

[@jcvdvandd]

Do you think the updated bios for the Maximus Dark Hero is sufficient (intel baseline profile) or would you still suggest some manual under volting?

[@ezimm81]

If you use a gen 4 x4 ssd in the slot below the gen 5 slot that i think is still tied to the cpu so the gpu can still run at x16 correct? Was about to pick up this board and curious where to populate the boot drive

[@OC3D]

You need to check the block diagrams for the boards. A lot of them run 8xpcie5 even without an ssd fitted

[@ezimm81]

@@OC3D right but for the dark hero board. You review it and used it. Isn’t the m.2_2 slot which is dedicated to the cpu states it runs at gen 4x4 so in theory you should be able to get x16 on your gpu.

[@mark-ze4en]

will I be ok running the i7-14700k with this board ,no Graphics card, using a Noctua NH-U12A, and Undervolting to PL1=1.25 and PL2 + 2.53? Other settings in bios?

[@monkeymanx310]

Did you make a tutorial for undervolting i have the z790 formula and 14900k but dont understand how to do it

[@vlp3r]

Just ordered asus rog maximus z790 hero, i9-14900k 4x32gb ddr5 kingston fury beast 6000mhz, cooled with Asus ROG Ryuo III 240 and powered by ASUS ROG THOR 1000W Platinum II. Keeping my "old" MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti VENTUS 3X 12G OC. Crossing fingers that the experience will be awesome, upgrading from i9-9900k, ASUS ROG Strix Z390-F, HyperX Fury RGB DDR4 2666MHz 4x16gb, Cooler Master ML240R, and a 650w psu i dont remember brand of.

[@Azrael-XIII]

Any update on that undervolt guide? Just picked up this board and the 14900 and am definitely a noob when it comes to BIOS related stuff

[@OC3D]

Nearly ready - its been signed off now. Its been THE biggest pain in my arse tbh. Youre going to need some time, patience and a note pad.

[@cyclechris6591]

Oooohh, tell us about those speakers! Favorite desktop speakers?

[@rivenlikemakar]

Do you still need to undervolt with this board if I'm getting a 14900k just for gaming?

[@angusrich]

I'm thinking of building a new rig, I currently have the Maximus Extreme Xi with 9900K so time for a change. What's troubling me is whether to go for a gen 5 M.2 in slot 1 which would make my GPU X8 or am I right in thinking if I go gen 4 M.2 in slot 2 for my OS I can still have X16 for my GPU?

[@PiotrPurchalak]

Which DDR5 work properly on this motherboard? I checked G.Skill 6000 (QVL) and they don't work. Corsair 6600, they only work stably on 4400. The 13900KS processor died after a month. 14900K only works limited to 5.4Ghz. What's the problem? The Asus ProArt Creator Z790 motherboard in my wife's computer has the same problems.

[@GoFasterHD]

Under volt? Or enable power limiters? Asus by default disables power/watts limits.

[@OC3D]

Undervolt.

[@Superbed2]

Does this board support 2 usb c ports for the ASUS Hyperion case?

[@AndreiHristow]

Please can someone explain to me why some motherboards on this model have a KTS battery and others a DBV Is there a difference in quality from the place of production?

[@DutchmanO13]

Can you change the ROG logo in the display in 1 color?

[@OC3D]

Yes you can :)

[@papasmurf5598]

I’m only going with boards that have only 2 dimm slots for higher Memory Speeds from now on. I currently have the Z790 Apex white board and I can push my Ram to 8,400mhz. CPU 13900KS. Hard to beat this set up.

[@impuls60]

This is the way! Everyting else is just OUTDATED at this point.

[@andreyageenkov499]

How you cool your cpu?

[@papasmurf5598]

@@andreyageenkov499 I’m using the Kraken Z73 Elite with 6 Corsair QL Duel Ring RGB Fans in a push pull configuration. These fans can run at 2200Rpm if I want to crank them all up. But I have a killer trick to keep everything in my case nice and cool. I bought a stand alone portable floor AC unit that sits on wheels. 10,000Btu, remote control. I got the idea from another KZbinr several years ago. I bought the insulated 6” flex hose to hook from the AC to the PC with a (Y)Splitter at the end so I could direct on hose straight to the 360mm radiator for the CPU, and the other is blowing through my Gigabit 4090 Graphics card. I also have that tube angled to where it blows up into my G skill 8,000mhz Ram overclocked to 8,400. The 13900KS is running on ASUS Optimization Solution that comes with the Z790 APEX Asus software. I want it to stay stable so I don’t run it on the ragged edge, especially with a hot chip. The AC unit is very quiet and sits about 10 feet away close to a window so I can run the exhaust out through that so my room doesn’t heat up. If you’re wondering why I don’t use water cooling it’s just not my thing. I don’t de lid CPUs and don’t like water cooling using water blocks or open loop systems. All that is a pain in the butt to me and it could be very costly if you spring a leak. My Temps stay in the low to mid 70s range and can spike up into the high 80s but comes right back immediately. Running Cenebench will definitely heat it up but nothing to worry about and I never get blue screens unless I overclock it to high then run cenebench. I play mostly COD games, Valorant, Black Ops. Those games don’t even stress my system out at all. This Z790 Mobo is the best I’ve ever owned, 24 to 1 power stages, has only 2 Dimm Slots made for overclocking. I do run a 1,650watt Thermaltake Power Supply also. I have lots of fans in the case but don’t even use the front case panel at all, I leave it off so I can run my AC tubes straight in. Note:: This AC Frankenstein set up I’m using is really not necessary because I was running the same set up before I started using the AC unit. The only reason I did it was to experiment with it and see what its capabilities would be. It definitely works compared to not having it. That’s the whole fun in being a PC tech nerd right. I know I rambled on for awhile but I’m kinda proud that all this worked the way I envisioned it.

[@YoChrisWTF.]

what about i914900 and hero

[@SLSAMG]

real world performance is negligible. unless you're e-peen flexing on benches with ln2, this is pointless.

[@dassbear]

what about the Asus Ryujin 3 360 aio. has a 4th fan directly over the cpu.

[@OC3D]

Utterly pointless fan.

[@parassingh9835]

Do you lose any performance from gpu when you used it in gen 5 x8 lane?

[@Superbed2]

Only 2-3 fps on most games except metro exodus which you lose 15fps but only that game for some reason.

[@parassingh9835]

@@Superbed2 very late reply but i take it. I have not purchased the gpu but i have a motherboard now. Idk maybe i will shift the ssd in other slot so that i will be able to use all the lanes for gpu.

[@Superbed2]

@@parassingh9835 if you have a gen 5 m.2 nvme id say just use it if you actually do a lot of file moving or game downloading, if not, then go for it 👍

[@user-yi1lf7ki9l]

I have the Dark hero in my case no monitor connection, Ram is working the hdmi cable is working. Any suggestion would be great Can you help me out?

[@ivolyubenov9874]

Update the BIOS.

[@JustAnotherAsianGuy2]

cool ..... didn't know

[@johntrussell7228]

So virtually identical to last years Z790 Hero board.

[@David-nd4to]

Yup

[@David-nd4to]

Few improvements. WiFi 7 being the main one.

[@OC3D]

Pretty much. Just like the CPU's really

[@Kline949]

There is actually one major difference, with the Dark Hero you can actually utilize an on-board gen 5 ssd slot, on last year's hero the GPU would cover the second pcie slot where you had to use the rog hypercard to be able to use gen 5 ssds.

[@OC3D]

The G5 slots are the same on both? @@Kline949

[@isDatBoi]

undevolt guide pls!!

[@Predator75]

HI, ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO working with Intel i9 14900KS ???🤔

[@comperius]

around 01:00 - what case is that?

[@davidcortes7235]

Corsair 5000T I believe

[@kevinbaker3907]

Thanks for the videos! Just installed my i7-14700k, and I'm anxiously awaiting the undervolt guide! (Strix z790-f here). If you can share just a few settings that you found that worked, a reference, free to share! Thanks again for the great videos, liking and subscribing.

[@0perativeX]

Just as a matter of interest, if someone were to populate the top M.2 gen5 slot with a M.2 gen4 NVME drive, would that still force the top GPU PCI-E x16 socket to run at x8?

[@David-nd4to]

Probably would as the board sees it as populated and just limits what the gpu can have

[@OC3D]

Its only 8xpcie5 anyways (all the time)

[@0perativeX]

@@OC3D Nevermind, I find the answers on Asus' tech specs sheet for the motherboard. FYI, both GPU PCIE gen5 slots are x16 gen. However, if both slots are populated they will run at x8/x8. Or if one GPU slot is populated and the top M2 slot is populated, the GPU slot will run at x8 and the 2nd GPU slot will be disabled - giving its x8 lanes to the top M.2 slot.

[@0perativeX]

@@David-nd4to Yeah so it would be better to populate the top GPU pcie slot and leave the top M.2 slot empty and just put the gen4 M.2 SSD in one of the lower slots so it won't share any pcie lanes with the GPU.

[@papasmurf5598]

I heard the top end boards like the Asus Encore with only 2 dimm slots and supports Gen 5 m.2 was supposed to have fixed that issue. But I’m not certain. New reviews are out now so they should address that. I have the last Gen Z790 Apex and bought a Gen 5 M.2 that had to occupy one of the PCIE slots using an expansion board to run it at Gen 5 speeds and that would cause both PCIE slots to run at x8 speeds so I just put it in the M.2 slot under the CPU and ran it at Gen 4 speed. I’m not doing anything to reduce my PCIE speed.

[@rianrian7828]

PC Case name.....?

[@Excalabur50]

Yet another video that didn't give me a notification for 🤬

[@_Kareless_]

still waiting on the guide to undervolt

[@OC3D]

It is coming, Ive had to jump through a lot of hoops with the vendors plus get a few issues fixed I found. Its really been out of my hands on this one. I am sorry for the delay though

[@_Kareless_]

@@OC3D definitely looking forward to it!

[@bangyahead1]

14900K? Intel released a new cpu and nobody noticed :P

[@alleksfc1167]

Boards with 4 dimm slots can't run XMP over 7.600mhz with no issues... I don't know why they advertise these boards as they can run over 8.000+ mhz when they really cant.

[@cemsengul16]

That is why I bought an Apex Encore. XMP 8000 works instantly when you set it.

[@Nepturion88]

Couldnt experience the video from the browser... KZbin and its shit policy man. So nice to have to download the review in order for this bullshit youtube ads when adblock werent enabled..

[@hodenkobold1337]

Its 2023, I will never consider a Board over 300€ without 10GB LAN.

[@aron6998]

10gb lan is nonsense for me bc 1.5 gb is the fastest I get anyways

[@SirProdigle]

@@aron6998 It's more for home network stuff. More common for people to run a *cough cough legal* media server maybe with steam caching and whatever else. Can make a big difference for that. Also it's futureproofing, in 5 years will we get 10Gb home connection speeds? probably not but we might be getting close

[@Superbed2]

@@SirProdigleprobably not lol

[@salex1066]

Tp-link for powered USB hub for components. I have really missed watching your video's, shame on me.

[@Tpecep]

Not worth such amount of money with 4 slots. Non of rog motherboards except apex, but that shit should cost not more than 400-500$

[@ArthurSalt]

I don't think im buying another ASUS product. I bought the Rampage VI Extreme 5 years ago, which had the first OLED screen I'd seen and something I've not seen before or since: an etched face plate (nobody has made a nicer looking board since IMO). It also had a 10 GB Aquantia port and basically everything for £530. And yet the software for AURA and the OLED panel is still temperamental five years later. And I bet £530 doesn't even get me a Strix board this time. Also, what's with having a 2.5 GB port on some boards, and 5 GB at other times, even with the same board designation, i.e. Hero etc.? It makes logical sense that everything you have on a flagahip works its way down to the lower boards as time goes on but not with ASUS, they'll just keep removing features and bringing them back so they can tax the piss out of us and make out like we're getting the "bleeding edge" hardware. I don't want to take my Rampage out because if how nice it looks, but alas I've purchased the Aorus Pro X instead for £400 which actually has new features (along with older ones) and isn't £800. I hate to imagine how much the Extreme costs this time round if it was over a grand last year . . .

[@JoeMama-yl1ow]

Next time put all the boards in the same places in the charts makes it a pain in the ass to keep looking for certain board specs jumping around everywhere.

[@OC3D]

They are in order of performance.....