Question Trying to determine use case difference between 2 motherboards

[tgandz]

Hello all, I'm trying to figure out in what scenarios 1 of the following 2 motherboards would work better than the other.

• ROG STRIX Z790-E GAMING WIFI
• GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS Master

They are pretty much the same price, and seem to have similar features.
I'm looking for a motherboard with multiple type-c USB ports (as well as multiple type-a 3.2 gen 2).
socket LGA 1700
chipset Z790

Because these 2 motherboards seem so similar, are there particular situations where one would be better than the other?
I mostly do coding/dev, run VMs, surf the net, run trading charting software; so multiple monitors is pretty much a must.

Thanks!

 

[Lafong]

Do they have identical native monitor connections that match up with your multiple monitors?

Do they have identical M.2 connections number and type? SATA/NVMe/PCIe 3.0/PCIe 4.0 etc---whatever you need now or may in the future.

Do you need only 2 or 3 case fan connectors? Do they differ in that respect?

Have you done any research or speculation into the VRM quality on the 2 candidates?

The USB port situation should be documented in the spec sheets although the designations may be cryptic and may not make much difference?

Warranty? Problems according to reviews? Return privileges if DOA? Customer service horror stories? They are quite new, so pertinent info may be rare.

 

[tgandz]

oh boy!
not having had to worry about the hardware end for so long, I've forgotten how to cover even some of the most basic common sense stuff.

I'll look back into everything you just listed and keep notes this time.
But in the meantime, more feedback is always welcome!

 

[Lafong]

How soon must you buy?

What CPU is on your mind?

More 13th generation boards and CPUs due by late January.

Is there an over-riding reason you want Z790?

I'd certainly try to get reviews on any motherboard candidate rather than acting hastily.

Evaluate the downside/upside of waiting for the January boards and CPUs. Of course ignore that if you need to update pronto.

Are you upgrading just CPU and motherboard?

Total budget for ALL parts?

 

[tgandz]

I'm not in a rush, I can have patience if its going to pay off in the end.
I want to build a workstation, I already know i'm the type to build once and ride it out until she's got no more to give. (I do change my laptop every now and then though)

Having said that, I'd like build something closer to the upper end so that it'll last me longer. My budget, just spit-balling is a ballpark figure around $2500.

I'm tempted to go with 13900K cpu, Nvidia p2000 gpu, waiting for 64 gb ddr5 to be available as 32x2 running stock at 5600, samsung 980 pro 2 tb nvme M.2, toshiba x300 pro 8 tb sata hdd (this one could probably wait, I still have some old hdd that i can clean out and use)

As far as case and power supply, I havent a clue.
Oh yeah, as for a cpu cooler, will the noctua nh-d15 suffice if i dont overclock in terms of temperature only, I know space is a whole other can.

 

[Lafong]

Wild guess.....most will try to talk you out of 13900K in favor of a notch down 13600K/13700K. Not much extra bang for those extra bucks.

I tend to agree with "build once and ride it out".

Noctua D15 still near top of the heap for air, but not sure if OK on 13900K; it would be on 13700K. No doubt there are reviews as its a well known top cooler.

You can of course tune down any of these CPUs for less power and less heat with little performance degradation. Up to you to decide if it makes sense to de-tune a 13900K. Some would say "if you are going to de-tune it, why not just buy a 13700K instead"?

You can make a case for 64 RAM rather than 32, but that would be uncommon. If need be based on your research, of course. 5600 speed and stock sounds fine.

It'll probably come down to where to spread the last 300 or 400 of that 2500. On this component or on that component.

 

[tgandz]

Thank you for the feedback, its been very helpful!
Looks like I'm going back to the drawing board for motherboards for the 13700k 😂