When reading the overview for the
ProArt Z790- CREATOR WIFI motherboard, it states:
- Intel® Socket LGA 1700 for 13th & 12th Gen Intel® Core™, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® Processors
Intel itself discusses "Generations" of processors, where the first couple of digits in the processor identifier infers the generation. So, i9-14900K is 14th gen and i9-13900K is the slightly older 13th gen.
This is what I have found through Googling.
So, based on the above I assumed only upto an i9-13***** CPU could be used with this motherboard, however, I see from the motherboard/CPU compatibility list on the ASUS website, that it does support 14th Gen processors.
So, what does the statement above actually mean and what is the point of including it in the motherboard overview if newer 14th Gen CPU's are also supported?
That's not your fault. The information provided
was confusing.
The text was written prior to the release of the 14th generation. Asus could not legally include support for it even though it was near-guaranteed. The 12/13/14th generation all share the same socket, so support for each generation is a matter of a BIOS update.
There are some motherboards released a few years ago that cannot work with a 13th or 14th gen CPU out-of-the-box, but can after a BIOS flash. All the z690 motherboards for example. A handful of z790 or B760 motherboards also only support 12/13th gen out-of-the-box and need a BIOS update in order to accept a 14th gen CPU.
But then there are motheboards where the manufacturer forgot to update the information on the website. The ProArt is not the only LGA1700 motherboard with outdated information. There are a few.
- LGA1700 is the socket that holds the CPU. 12/13/14th gen Intels (12400, 13400, 13600K, 14700K, etc) use motherboards with this socket.
- these motherboards are further grouped into z690 chipset, z790 chipset and B760 chipset, with some H610 and B660 chipset motherboards being more rare examples.
- older generation chipsets follow a similar naming convention: z590, z490, B460, etc. The names could be much simpler, but tech doesn't have a good grip on names and naming conventions.
- H610 is horrible. Beyond budget, these motherboards have had all features cut as much as possible and quality sacrificed in order to save costs.
- B760 motherboards are budget versions but about half of them are very decent. The chipset is more limited compared to the flagship "z" chipset but the differences are minute -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1700#Raptor_Lake_chipsets_(700_series)
- z690 and z790 are flagship chipsets for fanciest and most feature-rich motherboards. They are more expensive and some of them are a complete ripoff. Few utilize fully the capabilities of the chipset.
Update 2: I now appreciate that Intel 14th gen is just a refresh of the 13th gen processors and there isn't that much of a performance gain. They both use the LGA1700 socket and are based on Intel 700 and 600 series chipsets. It is possible that a motherboard was release for the 13th gen processors and if used with a 14th processor it may not work without a BIOS upgrade, which may only be possible by installing a 13th gen processor! This shouldn't be an issue for me.
Of all the 14th gen CPUs, only the 14700/K is significantly improved (and even that is only on paper). I would rather have the i7 14700K than the i7 13700K, but as for the others, the 13th and 14th generation is mostly equal in performance. 14th gen is slightly better and more efficient.
The real decider is price. For an equal i5 or i7 or i9 13/14th gen CPU, i would buy the cheaper one.
The improvement over the 12th generation is a little more significant but still not huge. In day to day tasks, it's not possible to tell the difference between an equal 12th or 13th gen Intel.
A 12th gen 12400 will feel faster than a 6th gen 6400, but for example a 13400 doesn't feel faster than a 12400.
Of course the 12400 was available first. But once all of 12400, 13400 and 14400 are available, it makes most sense to buy the 14400 (unless the 13400 is much cheaper).
As for flashing BIOS, any decent Intel motherboard should allow BIOS flashing from a USB drive, without requiring a compatible CPU and a RAM kit installed, only power from a power supply.
It's not user friendly or beginner friendly, and things can go wrong when flashing BIOS so it is not recommended often. But sometimes the perfect motherboard is one like that, so it's worth doing it.
Now the so called 5K problem. Most motherboards include up to a DP 1.2, and DP 1.2 should be more than enough for a 1440p resolution. It is for most of them but the 5128 x 1440 documentation is vague.
9 GBit/s should be enough, so DP 1.2 ought to be enough but this is not clear.
The 5K 5120 × 2880 resolution seems to require above DisplayPort 1.2, but as seen here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5K_resolution there are monitors that use Dual DisplayPort 1.2
Adding to the confusion is the lower resolution, 5120 × 1440 monitors which all state DisplayPort 1.4 minimum.
The MSi B760 Tomahawk, despite belonging in the budget motherboard category, and being a gaming and not professional MSi motherboard, does feature a DisplayPort 1.4. That is a rare connector even on higher end boards, some priced well above 500.
Part of the problem is the somewhat unusual resolution of the monitor, but following the monitor's own requirements (DisplayPort 1.4 or higher) makes it easier to find the correct output.
And again, i wonder how you feel about a dedicated GPU? Integrated graphics are pretty decent and your monitor is limited to 60Hz only so performance-wise integrated is enough.
But a GPU would more comfortably drive that display as well as free up RAM otherwise used by the integrated graphics.
Integrated has no dedicated video RAM so it has to borrow a chunk of the computer's DDR RAM.
A GPU uses much faster DDR6-VRAM that is on the GPU itself.
Plus the connectors are much higher spec... so, you know. I think it's the obvious choice. You don't want noise but if you ask people who use GPUs for rendering or video editing you will get an idea of how often the GPU needs active cooling.
Because most of the time, including database work or certain types of editing and even gaming, the GPU is cooled passively.
Enjoy your vacation and thanks for your feedback.
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