ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore - Still one of the best if not the best of Z790

The ROG Maximus Z790 APEX was an amazing board from day one (Assuming you didn't get a bent one :) ) and while it seemed impossible, the people of ROG have managed to improve on it with the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore. The changes are small here and there, but numerous enough to warrant a new offering. It's difficult to imagine a finer send off for Intel's 14th Gen Core CPUs than the APEX Encore. Best of all this one is actually available to buy and more affordable than ever before.
#roggaming #z790 #14thgen
za.rog.gg/OCZ7...

[@RuiN4265]

Just ordered this MB, was wanting a dark kingpin but couldn't find one in stock. How would you rate this board versus the dark kingpin?

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

I've not used the Dark, but from those who have, only said good things. That said, I'd not get the dark purely from a support point of view. Not sure how long EVGA can continue to support the board.

[@RuiN4265]

@TheOverclockerMagazine Thanks for the reply, got the apex in and having trouble getting XMP stable. Probably an oversight on my end as I'm not familiar with this bios yet. From what I understand the apex should have no trouble at all running 7200 XMP...

[@user-vsmsdos]

The dark kingpin will get no bios updates; the firmware team is fired

[@RuiN4265]

@user-vsmsdos would love to see evga thrive but they only seem to be imploding... what's going on with them

[@user-vsmsdos]

@@RuiN4265 Simply put Andrew Han is done leading the company

[@NonyaBznz]

Hey yo. I just ordered this one, but I realized too late that the GPU slot speed goes down to X8 instead of X16 if I place an M.2 in M.2_1 slot. Could you please explain that for me? Because I noticed your GPU is running at x16 in CPU-Z. And what is the way around that if I want to have more than two M.2 SSDs at max speed? Much appreciated.

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

Is your M.2 SSD a Gen5 model? If so, it will go down to X8. The 13/14th Gen CPUs only support X16 Gen5 lanes for GPU. The additionalPCIE lanes from the CPU are Gen4 x4 for which is how Intel gets to the 20 Lanes from the CPU figure. I could use X16 GPU because the M.2 I was using is Gen4, so it does not share lanes with the GPU, but get's to use the dedicated X4 Lanes from the CPU . IF you switch out your drive for a Gen4 one you'll see your GPU is back to X16 operation

[@NonyaBznz]

@@TheOverclockerMagazine ooh I see. So if I use gen 4.0 M.2 SSDs in all three M.2 slots the GPU will still work at top speed (X16) with no issues? That's awesome too bad I went right ahead and ordered only two M.2 4 Gen I was ready to abandon the M.2_1 slot 😂 Thanks Man

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

@@NonyaBznz Yes you can install all three and it'll be fine, no reduction in lane count. The only time this would happen is if you specifically installed a Gen5 SSD in M.2 Socket_0 and enabled Gen5 instead of Gen4 connectivity in the BIOS.

[@NonyaBznz]

@@TheOverclockerMagazine That was most helpful. Thank you very much.

[@YGadgETech]

The manual said either way you use m.2_1 gen4 or 5 ssd it will use it as only x8 for gpu even if that gen4 how you manage to bypass it?

[@LucianPrimeOneMillion]

I want the Dark Hero... Does SA not have any stock. I did purchase this but It was forced. I couldn't get the ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO Intel Z790. Im so pissed coz my whole build i spent on is 132k and the Encore is all i could get

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

Sucks dude. Yeah not sure why so many ROG boards are out of stock. That said, in many ways the Encore is a better board certainly for high performance where DRAM is concerned.. However if you care not for any of that, the Dark Hero is most certianly a better board especially for a R132K rig. That's an eye watering price for a machine. Incredible 💪🏾

[@LucianPrimeOneMillion]

@@TheOverclockerMagazine Thankyou bro.. Yeah I put an Asus 4090 card in there aswell with a Cosmos C700M Anniversary 30yr case. Too much to mention here for the others.

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

@@LucianPrimeOneMillion I have that chassis, absolute beast and weighs as much. That rig reads like a boss.

[@marcusbuschmann3281]

Yo nice video😊 wher do u get mem tweak 2?

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

It's available everywhere but you can get the latest version from the ROG or OCN forums.

[@packhorse5430]

I've heard your g skill ram from this video doesn't actually have thermal pads that contact the heat spreader. Can you confirm one way or the other?

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

It does, what isn't cooled is the PMIC, but the DRAM IC's themselves are cooled.

[@YGadgETech]

Get Corsair dominator instead lmao

[@YGadgETech]

Got my 7200 MHz to oc to 7800 still around the 38-44 Celsius

[@toonnut1]

No I'd say the original white apex is better although the encore is brilliant the original white one is better they cut costs with the encore.

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

Fair enough. In terms of raw dram frequency though with all things being equal the Encore will be better. However I'm more than happy with the OG Apex I'm using daily

[@YGadgETech]

Bending is an issue with this mobo? What about the lake of igpu?

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

I've not read about any bending issues on the Encore, but there were plenty on the original white APEX. I didn't test the iGPU as there's no way to use it on the APEX board (assuming that's what you're asking)

[@blackwolf5519]

hi bro i was send email about 2 motherboards black wolf email pls answer

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

Hi there. Not sure I remember the e-mail. What were you asking? Can you ask here, maybe I can help.

[@blackwolf5519]

@@TheOverclockerMagazine i looking nto buy 1 fromt.this 2 motherboards mb asus rog maximus z790 apex encore or dark hero?

[@VanilloBumbleboo1981]

Got the Z790 Formula. Still need to save up and wait for the other parts, though.

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

Pretty good board that.

[@VanilloBumbleboo1981]

@@TheOverclockerMagazine Aestheticswise no doubt, but even performancewise, it should handle a 14900K easily, although it has 4 less phases than the Apex Encore (20+1 vs. 24+0). It's not the fastest RAM out there, but for a 64 GB Kit, there is nothing higher than DDR5-6600 CL32 (2× 32 white Corsair Dominator Titanium RGB).

[@YGadgETech]

GotZ790 Formula + 14900K OC and got my Corsair 7200mhz to 7800mhz CL36 with this board with the newest bios update 1102 it’s a game changer I thought to return my board for apex encore but as I made it work I’ll stay with my pretty z790 formula which also have igpu thunderbolt 4 out of the box other aesthetics and 5g internet yeah apex can be much a performer but that’s only what it is .

[@VanilloBumbleboo1981]

@@YGadgETech Sounds good. I will do a BIOS update via USB Flashback before rebuilding the PC later this year, so once all parts are put together, the system is ready. I will test some PL settings. My cooler is the Corsair iCue H150i Elite Capellix. I was struggling with the RAM config. 64GB 6600 CL32 or 48GB 7200 CL36 (Corsair Dominator Titanium white, 2 sticks). I'm gaming only, but I feel safer opting for the slightly slower 64GB kit. I really don't want anything else than these Corsair RAMs. Going to buy the 14900K around June and the RAM in August. I'm not that well off, so it takes some time to save up.

[@YGadgETech]

@@VanilloBumbleboo1981 the corsair titanium kit cooling are so great! I heard that more than g skill for sure so you can OC this kit like I did I think I’ll try 8000mhz

[@Aki_Hiko]

Z790 formula or apex encore??

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

Apex always... ALWAYS! :D

[@VaporEclypse]

New stuff coming out the 2nd half of this year? So i should quickly return my new 14900KS,Asus Apex Encore and G.Skill 48GB 8000 kit and new 4090 while i can???

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

Er... ok thanks for letting us know what hardware you have.

[@YGadgETech]

Lmao

[@NonyaBznz]

@@TheOverclockerMagazine 😂😂😂

[@DATRecords604]

yes, perhaps you should, or just enjoy your top-of-the-line hardware for a few years and update again when needed. With your setup, you can play or work with your system for quite some time!

[@justicegenesis6726]

p2 port ? shit!

[@TheOverclockerMagazine]

It's for LN2, where USB controllers may be disabled for stability at the edge. In such a case PS2 for mouse and keyboard will always work and have virtually no load on the system.