The PERFECT Budget Z790 Motherboard... BUT! MSI PRO Z790-A

[@PaulLemars01]

Thanks for the video Avrona. This board is at the center of my son's Christmas build. I've ordered all the parts from Amazon and over the next week they'll be arriving. I'm nervous because the reason I bought this motherboard is that he needs to run 128GB of memory. MSI was the only tech support that actually bothered to get back to me or even be available regarding this issue. The sole reason for the DDR4 purchase vs DDR5 is that the tech could confirm that he had indeed run up a kit of G.Skill RipJaws V Series 128GB 3600 (F4-3600C18Q-128GVK) on this motherboard and it worked fine. He described the DDR5 memory controllers on 13th gen as 'kinda weak' at 128GB whatever that means. The CPU is an I7-13700K and storage is split across three M.2 sticks. A 1TB Samsung 980 Pro and 2 2TB Samsung 970 Evos. Oh, and either my old GTX1080Ti FTW3 or a basic EVGA RTX 3060XC. This is not really a gaming machine, it's hopefully going to be a music composing monster. Ancillary stuff. Hyte Y60 case. DeepCool LS720 AIO and an XPG Core Reactor Modular 850W PSU (and a box of rainbow puke case fans).

[@TheProductCritiques]

Hey there! Thanks for the detailed review of the MSI Pro Z790-A motherboard. It's great to see the improvements over its predecessor, especially in terms of CPU power and PC expansion options. The upgraded power delivery is a welcome change, and the Gen 5 slot and Gen 4 M.2 slots offer fast expansion possibilities. I also share your sentiment about the loss of the PS2 port. It's a bit nostalgic, and some of us still use it for various reasons. Nevertheless, the overall features and connectivity options on this motherboard seem pretty solid, making it a compelling choice for budget-conscious buyers. I appreciate your thorough analysis of the product, and your videos are always informative. Keep up the good work, and I'll definitely consider this motherboard for my next build!

[@mikefulgaro3959]

Thanks for this hilarious fact-filled video. I laughed and learned. I started out on a Commodore VIC20 in 1980, and have been all tech ever since. Don't know how many PC's I've had by now, but this video helped me avoid long manual comparisons of specs etc. May your career flourish!

[@johnwhan7288]

i had the one before that and cant remember the name?

[@johnwhan7288]

Oh i remembered it was a timex lol.

[@c0ola1d]

VIC 20 was also my first such a great machine to learn basic on :)

[@KittyBoyPurr]

This channel will have a million subscribers one day. Never stop uploading bro.

[@julioalarcon4064]

Great video as always!

[@jodybaldwin4864]

Just purchased this board after watching your review. Like Gino I too am running a 13700kf, Corsair LPX 3600cl16 4090 build for Simulator gaming. I NEED about 14 USB ports but the poweered hub helps there.

[@BossSlayer-bg1qg]

Anything to report after 3 weeks? Was thinking about getting this but waiting for Black Friday for a potential sale.

[@Boogiebandit6]

How has this board treated you?

[@ronnylovs]

Not sure why my question got lost. How does this board compare with Z690 Tomahawk?

[@ChillStudyDate]

Yeah i was looking at the tomahawk too, but i have read theres problems with the tomahawk in terms of bios update for 13th gen,

[@jonp449]

@@ChillStudyDate why would there be a bios problem when they're shipped with the newest bios?

[@ronnylovs]

@@ChillStudyDate The Z690 Tomahawk got bios flashback. Should be possible to update bios before installing CPU. Not sure if this is causing trouble?

[@Kellicros]

@@jonp449 Unlike z790, the z690 will usually ship older bios that does not support 13th gen. But these motherboards have the bios flashback feature that let you update the bios without a CPU. If you are buying a z690 for a 13th gen, make sure it has this feature, some cheaper z690 does not have it.

[@viowithcrailtap]

I'm upgrading my pc soon from a 4770K in an MSI Z87M Gaming board. I guess my best move is going for the Z790 board as I'm looking at replacing my 4770K with a 13600K.

[@MariusMMB]

Seems we ar in same boat. I have I7-4770K with Asus Z87 chipset. My good old friend need to be replace. I have today ordre my I7-13700K, MSI PRO Z790-A DDR5. Right now my RTX 3060 TI is more clever then my whole computer. It got bottleneck as well. Btw MSI PRO Z790-A seems to be solid choice for me.

[@ruckus3825]

count me in as well 4670k in Sabertooth Z87 to this Z790 & 13600k

[@pixela8494]

also making the same move from a sabertooth z77

[@vladsta3833]

i5 4440 gtx 645 -> 13600 3060ti yuh

[@SLF1990]

@@vladsta3833that’s a monstrous upgrade lmao

[@PAAJ-w8t]

Excellent Video!

[@BacaPC]

YOU didnt mention ALc4080 ! Almost the best sound chip available today

[@Condor1970]

🤣 I haven't used a PS/2 port in 15 years. 🤣

[@HikingWithCooper]

Thanks for the vid! I'm looking at getting a computer with this board but I've seen 2 things that are both concerning.... and likely not accurate. I've seen that the max M.2 capacity it will allow is 2TB and that adding more than 2 sticks of RAM will drop it below 5600MHZ. Are either of these accurate? I'd definitely think the 2TB part is not.

[@motion_deep]

Loved ur breakdown :)

[@Forty3Snakes]

I got a i7 12700kf and a rtx 3060 would you reccomend this board? This is alot of info to take it im feeling overwhelmed and not finding alot of help

[@ChillStudyDate]

This mobo has been known for the sleep mode issues with the power button, do you know if the new z790 has that issue fixed?

[@soggychip6302]

I was fortunate enough to get this motherboard brand new for $175! Im upgrading from a Z270 PC MATE (MS-7A72) haha

[@JuankQuinteroMejia]

1:40 I'm thinking on buying this motherboard and I might actually use 3 or 4 SSDs in the future (I already have 2 but they're a bit old and I'm planning on buying a newer one)

[@eddiemattison7792]

Hey man, thanks for the video! I installed the I/O plate and just noticed that there is a "tab" in the way of plugging in the ethernet cable. Can you believe that? lol a tab in the way. Have you seen that, and what would you do to fix it? lol Thanks!

[@joaowoow]

I got my Intel Core i5-13600kf. I will buy G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB (2x8) 3600Mhz CL16; Artic Liquid Freezer II 280mm; But I don´t know between which motherboard I will get... AsRock Z690 Extreme, MSI Tomahawk D4 or MSI PRO Z790-A D4. Can you help me?

[@L.C.Sweeney]

Sounds like a Z790 would be overkill for that setup. I don't really get the point in a D4 Z790. Why would you buy a MOBO with features that are so advanced you can't even buy products for them and then stick DDR4 RAM on it?

[@auntiepha8343]

I am not a MSI fan but that is a cool looking Z790 mobo. 1:42 To address your m.2 statement, I think four m.2 slots should be standard on motherboards. I am still on a ASUS Z390-F and only have 2 m.2 slots. I picked up a PCI M.2 card that holds 4 M.2 drives and even has a cooling fan installed. The ASUS Hyper M.2 card. I don't care about overclocking my CPU's but I do like to get the Z motherboards and K sku CPU's just for the boost and power delivery quality. great video.

[@ronnylovs]

The PRO Z790-A WIFI does have four M.2 slots. Not sure about non-wifi version.

[@lukastemberger]

I work in video production and 4x M.2 slots is the sweet spot for my needs at the moment.

[@Catlove388-s1i]

Which one should i get Msi z790 pro-A wifi or tomahawk z790 both of are ddr5 the price difference is about 56 dollars?

[@alexandros3016]

It doesnt have clear cmos button tomahawk does. I think thats a very good plus for toma right?

[@laplantemichel709]

Got a question for you .i am building a pc with a Corsair 7000d airflow in my case there is 2 -20 pin cables for usb 3.1\3.2 gen2 type A connectors, since i have 4 usb ports up front of my case .Is there 2 connectors for this on this msipro Z790 -A motherboard ? Thanks

[@avrona]

The board only has internal headers for 2x USB 3.2.

[@laplantemichel709]

Thank you

[@dtecta]

I got my eye on this one for a 13700K build and I'm also looking at the MSI Z790 Tomahawk Wifi. At first glance, it looks like this board has a stronger VRM than the way-more expensive Tomahawk. Could that be right? Would the VRM impact the choice for either one of these boards for a 13700K?

[@lukastemberger]

I have the same question! I'm deciding between this one and the Tomahawk. What did you end up picking?

[@dtecta]

@@lukastemberger I ended up ordering the MSI MAG Z690 Torpedo. Z790 boards are a bit hard to come by in my country, and frankly who needs Z790? With the money I saved on the Torpedo I was able to upgrade memory to DDR5-6000 CL32, and then some. (KF560C32RSK2-32, which should run fine on this board) . The Pro Z790-A looks more like the successor of the MAG Z690 Torpedo/Tomahawk WIFI than of the Pro Z690-A WIFI wrt heatsink and features (HDMI, Displayport, USBs, SPDIF). I went for the Torpedo since I don't need WIFI (although I might miss BT). The Pro Z790-A of course has a slightly stronger VRM, however the Torpedo already has a VRM strong enough for a 12900K, so it should be fine for a 13700K as well.

[@MrMacky-co6zn]

Does this board have onboard graphics or do I have to buy a card?

[@avrona]

Boards don't have onboard graphics, the CPUs on GPUs in them provide the graphics. While you can buy a CPU with an iGPU (any Intel CPU that doesn't end in an "F"), but the performance will be terrible without a dedicated graphics card.

[@MrMacky-co6zn]

@@avrona thanks😀

[@herwizard]

Diffrence between MSI PRO Z790-A and MSI PRO Z790-P ?

[@avrona]

I've made videos on both so you can see the differences here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q3Kui6tqZpmjas0

[@muralidhar1815]

can you please suggest me the best motherboard for this combo: i9 14900k + GIGABYTE Geforce RTX 4080 Gaming Oc 16G Graphics Card: MSI PRO Z790-P WIFI DDR5 INTEL LGA1700 MOTHERBOARD or MSI Z790-A PRO WIFI DDR5 INTEL LGA1700 MOTHERBOARD or MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi ATX Gaming Motherboard or MSI Z790 Gaming PRO WiFi Motherboard with PCIe 5.0 and Blazing Fast WiFi 6E *THANK YOU*

[@avrona]

All are good, just depends on your budget and what you personally need from a board.

[@alexandros3016]

Can i use 10 lian li fans argb?3 fans includes 1 spliter

[@alexandros3016]

This one or z790 tomahawk ddr4 for 72 euro more?

[@toonnut1]

My 13900kf is extremely hard to overclock on my msi z690 tomahawk dd4

[@brockdeskins5546]

Can you update the bios ont he Z690 without a CPU so it will run the 13th gen processors?

[@avrona]

Yes, most motherboards support BIOS flashback now.

[@brockdeskins5546]

@@avrona I wasn't able to find out for sure on the 690 so I went ahead and bought the msi z790 pro-a after the Asus board I bought was DOA. Working like a charm, but I had to set the OC settings for it to run my new ddr5 5600 at proper speed instead of 4800.

[@brockdeskins5546]

Besides, they were pretty much the same price, and it would be dumb to upgrade a system now and stick with ddr 4. Paide $120 for 16x2 GB ddr 5 5600. I think it even has ECC.

[@abc123DYNaSTY]

I plan on jamming 4 m.2s in this thing. Cheaply expandable.

[@MikeZak101]

nice review merlin

[@brunodinis7454]

Does this motherboard have any weirdness with the audio? Other motherboards with the ALC4080 codec are suffering from sudden hissing.

[@hudcat]

I've read some reviews on another site about this board that they do have the occasional audio hissing.

[@mes2009]

How many 4-pin there?

[@Waloshinblog]

Nvme ssds are getting cheaper this is a great budget board for content creators. OS, cache drive, media drive, and possibly a final export drive.

[@sam-ro1ob]

I put this mobo in my first build and still use it from time to time and yeah ive put 4 nvme's in it 😂

[@nikolaospoulopoulos7503]

Can I use ddr4 on this motherboard; thanks

[@avrona]

Yes there are DDR4 and DDR5 variants.

[@stephenhood2948]

No PS2. DVI or VGA ports?? I'm very disappointed!! (Why were they still putting these ports on fairly high end motherboards to begin with?? No one was buy a Z690 motherboard and hooking their CRT monitor up to it)

[@ryderphua9]

Good board for the i3 13100f?

[@avrona]

Yeeah it's completely fine for that.

[@godnamedtay]

NO PS2 port???? I just bought this board brand new for $50 on Mercari from an obv drug addict but without that ps2 port, I’m throwing it away, this is egregious by MSI. The world is ending!!!

[@b9bot148]

Well I got a great Z690-A DDR5 Motherboard but it was packaged by Corsair in there Vengeance i7300 prebuilt. And in their absolute stupidity locked the BIOS. So I can't update it to run the 13th Gen Processors that it can totally do. So warning to others, don't buy Corsair prebuilts, period!! So to fix the problem I bought the new MSI Z790-A WIFI DDR5 motherboard which will replace Corsairs locked Z690 garbage. What a waste of the good motherboard.

[@Zanithos]

Made that mistake myself when buying a Corsair prebuilt for my GF. Prettiest computer I've ever seen, but it had no end of issues that all mostly tied back to the bios being four years out of date. I usually build my own stuff, but in the intrest of making sure she has a unified warranty, I spent the extra money on Maingear this time and just calling their sales department to ask about things like this before my purchase they were appalled at the notion of a locked bios. Wound up buying from them and I'm pretty excited to see how it holds up, especially since they allow you to add minor components or even replace whole major components and they'll still honor thier warranty and the parts they put in.

[@cocoastud]

I will put four M.2 drives in it.

[@BTPICKLEBALL]

This vs Z790 Tomahawk?

[@avrona]

Both are good, just depends on what you personally need from a motherboard.

[@BTPICKLEBALL]

@@avrona The most demanding workloads I'll be using this build for are video editing and light CAD work. CPU will be a 13700K with DDR5 @ 6400MHz and most likely a 4070Ti. Stability/reliability and power efficiency are most important to me. Right now they're the same price but besides connectivity it seems the Tomahawk has slightly more robust power delivery design versus the PRO, would you agree?

[@LeviGC93]

yo what the fuck i'm about to upgrade to this gen and I broke my keyboard and i've been using this indestructible ps2 keyboard :(

[@Holyorder0]

400 eur in europe :p ~440$

[@memeboymax]

Ur a boy?

[@lovinghusband1]

Ddr4 vs 5

[@THEPLANETEARTH]

Ddr5

[@Brodaty]

Since long time I've not seen that kind of aggressive selfish "tech" video...

[@avrona]

What does this even mean... 💀

[@heymelon]

"budget"