Intel · LGA1700 · launched 2022
Z790 motherboards
Z790 is the enthusiast LGA1700 chipset: CPU multiplier control, DDR5 or DDR4 depending on the board, PCIe 5.0 to the graphics slot, and the largest VRMs Intel's 700 series offers.
- Boards in database
- 14
- Capacity range
- 372–2678 W
- Sustained core power, derated
- Graphics slot
- PCIe 5.0
- Price range
- $189–$799
- CPU overclocking
- Allowed
- Memory overclocking (XMP / EXPO)
- Allowed
- The thing people get wrong
- Z790 also covers $200 boards with fourteen 50 A stages. Those are fine for a Core i5 and marginal for a Core i9 held at 253 W by an unlimited tau.
The spread inside Z790
Inside this one chipset, the ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus holds about 372 W of sustained core power and the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore holds about 2678 W. That is a factor of 7.2 between two boards wearing the same badge, and it is the reason a chipset name is a poor proxy for whether your processor will keep its clocks.
- ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore2678 W · 24 × 105 A · $799
- ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WiFi II2104 W · 18 × 110 A · $499
- ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero1913 W · 20 × 90 A · $629
- ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero1913 W · 20 × 90 A · $699
- ASUS ROG Strix Z790-F Gaming WiFi1530 W · 16 × 90 A · $399
- ASUS ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi D41190 W · 16 × 70 A · $349
- ASUS ProArt Z790-Creator WiFi1190 W · 16 × 70 A · $449
- ASUS ROG Strix Z790-I Gaming WiFi1116 W · 10 × 105 A · $399
- ASUS TUF Gaming Z790-Plus WiFi918 W · 16 × 60 A · $259
- ASUS TUF Gaming Z790-Plus WiFi D4918 W · 16 × 60 A · $249
- ASUS Prime Z790-A WiFi918 W · 16 × 60 A · $289
- ASUS Prime Z790-P WiFi669 W · 14 × 50 A · $219
- ASUS Prime Z790-P D4669 W · 14 × 50 A · $189
- ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus372 W · 10 × 50 A · $189
The same processors on the best and worst Z790 board
Sorted worst verdict first, so the pairings to avoid are at the top.
| Pairing | Verdict | VRM °C | Score | Clock loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i9-14900KS on ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus253 W into 372 W | Moderate | 82 | 59 | 2 % |
| Intel Core i9-13900KS on ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus253 W into 372 W | Moderate | 82 | 59 | 2 % |
| Intel Core i9-14900K on ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus250 W into 372 W | Moderate | 82 | 60 | 1 % |
| Intel Core i9-13900K on ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus250 W into 372 W | Moderate | 82 | 60 | 1 % |
| Intel Core i9-14900KF on ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus250 W into 372 W | Moderate | 82 | 60 | 1 % |
| Intel Core i9-13900KF on ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus250 W into 372 W | Moderate | 82 | 60 | 1 % |
| Intel Core i7-14700K on ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus245 W into 372 W | Moderate | 81 | 60 | 1 % |
| Intel Core i7-13700K on ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus245 W into 372 W | Moderate | 81 | 60 | 1 % |
| Intel Core i7-14700KF on ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus245 W into 372 W | Moderate | 81 | 60 | 1 % |
| Intel Core i7-13700KF on ASUS Prime Z790M-Plus245 W into 372 W | Moderate | 81 | 60 | 1 % |
| Intel Core i9-14900KS on ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore253 W into 2678 W | No throttle | 44 | 95 | 0 % |
| Intel Core i9-13900KS on ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore253 W into 2678 W | No throttle | 44 | 95 | 0 % |
| Intel Core i9-14900K on ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore250 W into 2678 W | No throttle | 44 | 95 | 0 % |
| Intel Core i9-13900K on ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore250 W into 2678 W | No throttle | 44 | 95 | 0 % |
| Intel Core i9-14900KF on ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore250 W into 2678 W | No throttle | 44 | 95 | 0 % |
| Intel Core i9-13900KF on ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore250 W into 2678 W | No throttle | 44 | 95 | 0 % |
| Intel Core i7-14700K on ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore245 W into 2678 W | No throttle | 44 | 95 | 0 % |
| Intel Core i7-13700K on ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore245 W into 2678 W | No throttle | 44 | 95 | 0 % |
| Intel Core i7-14700KF on ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore245 W into 2678 W | No throttle | 44 | 95 | 0 % |
| Intel Core i7-13700KF on ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore245 W into 2678 W | No throttle | 44 | 95 | 0 % |