ASUS and Intel announced a new processor overclocking record a few days ago, overclocking Intel’s 13th generation Core i9-13900K processor to 9.008GHz, and the motherboard used to set this record is the ROG Maximus Z790 APEX designed for overclocking. The built-in display output is canceled, and 24+0 phase power supply is provided. The 2-slot memory can also support high-frequency overclocking. In addition, it also provides many convenient switches for overclocking. Of course, if nothing unexpected happens, this motherboard It will also follow ROG Maximus Z690 Formula and bring a snow-white appearance to ROG’s high-end Z790.
Specification:
Size: ATX
Processor: 12th/13th Generation Intel Core i9/i7/i5/i3, Intel Pentium, Intel Celeron
Pin: Intel LGA1700
Chipset: Intel Z790
Memory: Dual Channel DDR5 7800+(OC) – 4800, up to 128 GB
Expansion slot (CPU): 2 x PCIe 5.0 x16 Slot (x16 or x8/x8 mode)
Expansion slot (PCH): 1 x PCIe 4.0 x4 Slot, 1 x PCIe 4.0 x1 Slot
M.2 Key M(CPU)：1 x M.2 PCIe 5.0(M.2_1)、1 x M.2 PCIe 5.0(PCIe 5.0 M.2 card)
M.2 Key M(PCH)：1 x M.2 PCIe 4.0 / SATA(M.2_2)、2 x M.2 PCIe 4.0(ROG DIMM.2)
USB 埠(後 I/O)：1 x USB 3.2 (Gen2x2) Type-C、5x USB 3.2 (Gen2) Type-A、4 x USB 3.2 (Gen1) Type-A
USB ports (onboard): 1 x USB 3.2 (Gen2x2) Type-C (Quick Charge 4+), 2 x USB 3.2 (Gen2) 19-Pin, 2 x USB 2.0 9-Pin
Storage (SATA): 6 x SATA III
Ethernet: Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet
Wireless network: 2×2 Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth v5.3
Audio: Realtek CODEC ALC4080
Unboxing the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Motherboard
In terms of motherboards, ASUS’s ROG series covers more than the mainstream models. This time, it is a new generation of overclocking specialized motherboard ROG Maximus Z790 Apex. In addition to the snow-white appearance and color matching of this generation, the outer packaging has also made a new design. , without ROG’s iconic bright red color, the streamlined outer packaging seems to tell that overclocking players don’t need any fancy designs, but simplicity, ease of use, and ease of use are what overclocking players need.
The design of the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard does not provide built-in output, so compared to the ROG flagship model, the power supply phase becomes a special configuration of 24+0 phases, and the radiator openings are provided for LGA 1700 and LGA 1200/115X , so overclocking players with liquid nitrogen barrels can also directly use the existing products at hand. Of course, this time in the upper right corner of the motherboard, the overclocking player tool kit is also well provided, so that overclocking players can feel like a fish in water during the overclocking process.
In addition, the configuration that the flagship motherboard should have is actually missing on the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard. Through the two expansion cards in the accessories, this motherboard can provide up to 5 M.2 slots, and the thick I/O USB connection The ports are provided with 1 Type-C and 9 Type-A ports, the onboard is provided with 1 Type-C supporting 60W fast charge and up to 8 USB Type-A outputs, and the network is provided to Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6E with Bluetooth 5.3.
→ ROG Maximus Z790 Apex has a unique looking case.
→ There is a large APEX Logo printed on the back of the box. As for the common product feature printing, overclockers who will buy ROG Maximus Z790 Apex should not need it, right?
→ List of motherboards and accessories.
After the main board is taken out, the accessory can see two M.2 expansion cards, the small one is ROG DIMM.2 expansion card, which provides two PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, the two M.2 M.2 expansion cards on this main board The channel is provided by the chipset, and the big one is the PCIe 5.0 M.2 expansion card, which provides a PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot, but because this expansion card needs to be installed in the PCIe 5.0 slot provided by the CPU for use , so although it is a direct connection channel provided by the CPU, it needs to be used separately from the first PCIe 5.0 slot installed on the graphics card.
→The left is the ROG DIMM.2 expansion card, and the right is the PCIe 5.0 M.2 expansion card.
→ There is a PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot on each side of the ROG DIMM.2 expansion card.
→ The PCIe 5.0 M.2 expansion card has a PCIe 5.0 slot under the heat sink.
You can also see some interesting little things in the accessories, such as the ROG overclocking record board, which has 6 digits for players to record overclocking clocks, scores and other numbers, and the accessories provide a small memory cooling fan with a dedicated bracket It is convenient for players to install. It is a pity that only one of the 3 connection ports in this area is designed to be connected sideways. When installing, pay attention to avoiding the fan when connecting cables. In addition, the ROG driver flash drive and the multi-segment Wi-Fi Bluetooth need to be used. Angle adjustable Wi-Fi antenna.
→ ROG overclocking record board.
→Memory cooling fan module.
→ ROG driver pen drive.
→Wi-Fi sky line。
24+0 phase power supply, multiple overclocking special designs
First of all, I saw the appearance of the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard. The overall shape completely continued the design of the previous generation, but this time it was replaced with a silver color scheme, perhaps to announce that players of this generation may not see the ROG Maximus Z790 Formula motherboard. The VRM heat dissipation module and the rear I/O cover are integrated on the half of the motherboard, and a C-shaped heat pipe is used to penetrate the middle of the all-metal heat dissipation module, so that the VRM area can have sufficient heat dissipation.
→ The front of the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard.
→A list of the back of the motherboard.
→The word ROG is printed in a dot matrix style on the rear I/O cover.
→ The VRM is powered by the C-shaped cooling module.
→The bottom half of the heat sink has the ROG luminous Logo, and the corner of the heat sink hides the word ROG in the oblique section.
The Z790 motherboard is also equipped with an LGA 1700 processor socket and supports Intel’s 12th/13th generation Core processors. Of course, I believe that overclockers who buy this motherboard should be equipped with i9-13900K or i9-13900KS processors, right? As for the radiator mounting holes, there are holes for LGA 1700 and LGA 1200/115X. I believe that for professional overclocking players, they can directly use the liquid nitrogen barrel that supports the 115X buckle.
→ LGA 1700 socket.
→ Radiator openings include LGA1700 and LGA1200/115X.
On the new generation of ROG Maximus Z790 Apex, the 24+0-phase VRM power supply design of the previous generation is still continued. Since this motherboard does not provide internal insurance output, the VccGT power supply phase is 0, and the vCore is 24-phase 105A integrated Power stage design, RA229131 digital PWM control chip is used for materials, with 105A RAA220105 Dr.MOS Mosfet.
→A list of the main board’s all-white PCB appearance.
→ 24+0 phase digital power supply.
→ RA229131, digital PWM control chip.
→ 105A RAA220105 Dr.MOS Mosfet。
The memory part is provided with 2 traditional bilateral snap slots, which can support a maximum capacity of 128 GB, and the DIMM.2 slot is on the side, which is a dedicated slot for the ROG DIMM.2 expansion card.
In the area next to the DIMM.2 slot, you can see that there are many more switches than high-end motherboards. Since the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex is mainly designed for overclocking needs, in addition to the common Q-Code debug lights, power buttons, In addition to the FLEX button, there is also a BCLK clock adjustment button so that overclockers can directly adjust the BCLK clock in the system. In addition, the pause switch, slow mode switch, RSVD switch, and LN2 mode jumper are also all Features that extreme overclockers need.
There are also PROBEIT integrated measurement points on the side, a total of 12 points for overclocking players to quickly monitor information, in addition to the invisible parts, and for ultra-low temperature overclocking may cause moisture condensation on the motherboard It causes a short circuit, so there are 3 detection points hidden in the CPU, DRAM and PCIe areas. If a water heater is detected, the 3 corresponding indicators above the Q-Code will light up, allowing overclocking and overclocking players to compare when overclocking peace of mind.
→ 2 DDR5 memory slots, the bottom is DIMM.2 slot.
→The memory slot does not use the Q-DIMM slot design, but the traditional bilateral buckle.
→Beside the DIMM.2 slot, in addition to the Q-Code indicator light, power button, and flex button, there are retry button, BCLK clock pulse adjustment button, pause switch, slow mode switch, RSVD switch, LN2 mode jumper wire and PROBEIT integrated measuring point.
This motherboard is also equipped with a ROG TPU chip, which is responsible for the adjustment of the clock. In addition, it can also be seen under the motherboard. It has a dual Bios design. For an overclocking motherboard, if there is a problem with one Bios during the overclocking process, There is also a second Bios available.
→ ROG TPU chip.
→There are 2 Bios chips in the upper left corner, and the dual Bios switch button in the lower right corner.
2 PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, 5 M.2 slots
First of all, in the lower part, you can see that this motherboard directly provides 4 PCIe slots. The number of slots is more than the current mainstream models, but it is mainly because ROG Maximus Z790 Apex has PCIe 5.0 M.2 expansion cards, so PCIe 5.0 x16 slots The slots still need to be given to 2 slots. The upper slot can run independently with PCIe 5.0 x16. If the lower slot has a PCIe 5.0 M.2 expansion card installed, the two slots will run at x8/x8, and the other 2 slots are chipsets. Provides PCIe 4.0 x4 and PCIe 4.0 x1.
→A list of PCIe slots under the motherboard.
→Second generation Q-RELEASE quick release system.
In terms of storage expansion, the M.2 onboard slots are only given to 2 slots, the top is the PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot directly connected to the CPU, and the bottom is the PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot provided by the chipset. This slot supports SATA interface, plus ROG DIMM.2 expansion card and PCIe 5.0 M.2 expansion card, can provide up to 2 PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots and 3 PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, and SATA 6Gb/s plug Slots are given 6.
→ Below the processor is the PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot.
→The second M.2 slot at the bottom supports PCIe 4.0 and SATA.
→ 6 SATA 6Gb/s slots.
After the M.2 heat sink is removed, the heat dissipation module of the chipset is on the side, and the Z790 chip below can be seen after removal.
→ The Z790 chip has a heat sink.
→ Z790 chip.
USB port expansion: 17 Type-A, 2 Type-C
The ROG Maximus Z790 APEX also performed well in the expansion part. The rear I/O part provides 1 USB 3.2 GEN 2X2 Type-C port, 5 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports. Type-A connection port, in addition, for overclocking needs, it provides separate PS/2 connection ports for keyboard and mouse, and of course there are Bios Flashback shortcut keys and Clear CMOS buttons.
→ List of rear I/O ports.
The onboard part is given a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-E slot, which supports Quick Charge 4+ technology and can provide 60W fast charging function, but it should be noted that it needs to be connected to the side The 6-Pin PCIe power supply slot allows this port to have a fast flush function, and there is a 19-Pin slot on the side and bottom of the motherboard, which can provide up to 4 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports. There are 2 9-Pin sockets, providing up to 4 USB 2.0 ports.
→ On the right is the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-E slot, on the left the 6-Pin PCIe power supply can provide Quick Charge 4+ technology 60W fast charging, and in the middle is the 19-Pin USB 3.2 Gen1 19-Pin slot.
→ Two USB 2.0 9-Pin sockets.
→ TB_Header and USB 3.2 Gen1 19-Pin socket.
BIOS PLEASE
This time ROG Maximus Z790 Apex is a motherboard designed for overclocking, so when entering Bios, it will directly go to the advanced mode page, allowing players to quickly start adjusting parameters for overclocking, but if you buy ROG Maximus Z790 Apex for the white appearance , you can still press F7 to switch to the simple mode, simple setting.
→ Homepage of Advanced Mode.
→ EZ Mode page.
In the Extreme Tweaker page of Advanced Mode, the upper part can also adjust the clock frequency of the processor and memory, and the lower part can be used to adjust the voltage. Since the processor at hand is not a special one in this test, it is in the processing Turn on AI Optimized for overclocking, and unlock the temperature limit and power consumption limit in CPU Power Management. In addition, the temperature limit is also released in AI Features, and the DIGI+ VRM page can adjust power supply related settings.
→ Ai Tweaker page memory overclocking settings.
→ Ai Tweaker page processor overclocking settings.
→ The temperature and power consumption limits can be unlocked in CPU Power Management.
→ The lower part of the Ai Tweaker page is the voltage setting.
→ Memory Presets in DRAM Timing Control provides some.
→ DIGI+ VRM page.
→ The lower part of the Ai Tweaker page is the voltage setting.
There are more motherboard function settings in the Advanced page, but in fact, the functions that most players will need to set have also been placed in the shortcut key area at the top, such as QFan settings, AURA light calibration settings, and ReSize BAR switch. TPM and fTPM settings can be found in the first two sub-tabs of the Advanced page.
→ Advanced page.
→ Trusted Computing sub-tab.
→ AMD fTPM configuration sub-page.
The Monitor page provides monitoring of various data, such as temperature, fan speed, and voltage. Although detailed parameters can be seen on the page, there is a simplified version of the monitoring column on the right side of the Advanced page. There is also a fan monitoring column on the EZ Mode page, allowing players to get the information they want on the top page.
→ Monitor page.
→ Temperature Monitor sub-tab.
→ Fan Speed Monitor sub-tab.
→ Voltage Monitor sub-tab.
→ QFan Control page.
Armory Crate Software
Armory Crate software is shared software for ASUS motherboards and various peripherals. For motherboards, in addition to monitoring information, adjusting lighting effects, adjusting fan settings, etc., it can also update drivers for the motherboard, allowing players to install when installing It is more convenient to complete the driver installation with one click instead of going to the official website to download one by one.
→ Control Panel page.
→Tools page.
→ Motherboard ARGB mode setting.
→ 12v RGB pin alignment calibration.
→Two-way AI noise reduction, the noise reduction function can be used for both audio input and output.
→Disk information page.
Basic Performance Test
ROG Maximus Z790 Apex test with 8 P-core / 16 E-core Intel Core i9-13900K and Team Group T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 VALKYRIE Edition 7200MHz 16GBx2 memory, the processor in the test turned on AI Optimized overclocking, single-core test The highest single-core 6.0 GHz, multi-core test can reach all-core P-Core 5.5 GHz.
testing platform
Processor: Intel Core i9-13900K
Motherboard: ROG Maximus Z790 Apex
Radiator: ROG Ryuo III 360 White Edition
Memory: Team Group T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 7200MHz 16GBx2
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
System disk: CORSAIR MP400
Power supply: Phanteks Revolt Pro 1000W
Operating System: Windows 11 Pro
First of all, through CPU-Z, we can see that the processor used in this test is Intel Core i9-13900K, the chipset code of the motherboard is Z790 of Raptor Lake, and the memory clock frequency of the test is 7200 MHz dual-channel (4×32- Bit) with a total of 32GB. In addition, in the CPU-Z Bench test, the CPU scored 948.7 points for single thread and 16902.3 points for multi-thread.
→ CPU-Z。
Cinebench mainly tests the image rendering of the CPU. Cinebench R20 has a complex scene and adds ray tracing calculations. The Intel Core i9-13900K single-core calculation is 873 pts, and the multi-core calculation is 15341 pts. The new version of Cinebench R23, Intel Core i9-13900K single-core calculation is 2274 pts, multi-core calculation is 40362 pts.
→ Cinebench R20。
→ Cinebench R23。
The CPU Profile test in 3DMark can directly test the performance of the processor. The test is divided into 6 items in total, testing 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and full-thread respectively. The Intel Core i9-13900K single-thread score is 1,272 points, fully running mood score is 16,270 points
→ 3DMark CPU Profile test.
V-Ray 5 Benchmark provides 3 different test scenarios. The V-Ray project is only tested for processor rendering performance. In the test, Intel Core i9-13900K scored 27,861 points
→ V-Ray 5 Benchmark。
The memory part passed the AIDA64 cache and memory test, this time using Team Group T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5, 2 pieces of DDR5 memory @ 7200 MHz CL34, the memory read speed is 113.73 GB/s, and the write speed is 108.65 GB /s, the copy speed is 107.87 GB/s, and the latency is 59.0 ns.
→ AIDA64 cache and memory test.
Daily use, game simulation test
CrossMark is a multi-faceted testing software. In the test, the scores are based on scenes that are closer to daily use, making it easier for players to compare between different platforms. Under the test, they scored 2449 points for productivity, 3103 points for creativity, and 3103 points for reaction. Obtained 2533 points out of 2723 points
→ CrossMark。
PCMark 10 mainly simulates daily use conditions for testing, and tests are conducted in 3 major directions, including Essentials basic computer test, Productivity productivity test and Digital Content Creation image content creation test. In the PCMark 10 test, the Essentials test scored 12,239 points, the Productivity test scored 13,054 points, and Digital Content Creation was Video Editing Score. One test was not completed, so there is no complete score for players’ reference.
→ PCMark 10。
In the 3DMark game performance simulation test, in the Fire Strike DX11 game simulation test, the physics test scored 53,057 points, and in the Time Spy DX12 game simulation test, the CPU score was 21,856 points.
→ 3DMark Fire Strike。
→ 3DMark Time Spy。
ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Motherboard Summary
The brand new ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard is used this time. The design provides many practical designs and functions for overclocking players. In addition, the 24-phase power supply provides the power supply required for processor overclocking very well. Although this test is paired with the new ROG Ryuo III 360 , but still failed to play the full strength of this motherboard, but under the actual measurement, it can easily have the performance of single-core 6GHz and all-core 5.5 GHz under AI Optimized.
As for the appearance part, different people have different opinions. I believe that for overclocking players, black or white may not be the key point, but for some players who simply want to buy ROG series motherboards and want a white appearance, this generation chooses ROG Maximus Z790 Apex host The board can also meet the needs of most players.
In terms of price, the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex motherboard is 19,990 yuan, which is the same price as ROG Maximus Z790 Hero, but Apex has a white appearance, stronger power supply and overclocking functions, while Hero has more features in expansion and sound effects. Good performance, players can choose between the two according to their needs.
Further reading: