Asus Prime Z390-A vs Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master: Recommendation?

[reidthaler]

I bought the Asus Prime Z390-A, but haven't opened it yet. Keep or send back? I'm building a new system with the following:


CPU
Intel - Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler
Noctua - NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Thermal Compound
Thermal Grizzly - Kryonaut 1g 1 g Thermal Paste
Motherboard
Asus - PRIME Z390-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Memory
G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Storage
Samsung - 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Video Card
Asus - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB Dual Video Card
Case
Nanoxia - Deep Silence 3 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply
Corsair - 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply

I'm Ok spending more for a mobo, but what are the real world tangible benefits of say the Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master over the Asus Prime Z390-A Is it just some theoretical difference? I'm not a gamer, but a photographer and will be using it for Lightroom. I would like to OC the 9700k but don't want to spend time manually doing so and would prefer OEM software to do that. Does the Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master do that? I'm assuming I can use a NVMe drive on the Gigabyte Aorus Master?

What does 12 phase digital VRM offer for my needs, so why should I care? I don't need wifi or bluetooth, so many the Ultra is an option?

Thanks. Open to being convinced one way or the other

Thanks,

Reid

 

[UsandThem]

I have to say it's odd to buy a motherboard, receive it, and then have second doubts.

The motherboard you bought, is a mid-range board, that is in a different category than the Gigabyte you are comparing it to. The Maximus is Asus' high-end line, and which would be the direct competitor of the Gigabyte board you mentioned. Most people would be fully satisfied by the features that come on the Asus board, but definitely has less RGB on it and isn't as "blinged out" like the Gigabyte board.

If you are going to overclock via the preset OC modes, there's not going to much difference for you. I will say if you want to overclock, you would be much better off learning how to do it manually. Otherwise, the preset OC settings on any of these boards won't get you very far as they all usually supply too much voltage, and you will quickly run into temp issues.

As far as for the differences in the different VRMs, you really should read about it since they are part of what might get you a slightly higher overclock:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3806180/vrm-differences-overclocking.html

https://www.anandtech.com/show/13407/intel-z390-motherboard-overview-every-motherboard-analyzed/31

https://www.anandtech.com/show/13407/intel-z390-motherboard-overview-every-motherboard-analyzed/27

 

[reidthaler]

I have and Asus mobo now and have been happy with it. It's only have others on another forum brought up concerns about the quality of the Asus vs Gigabyte. It will be in an opaque case, so bling means nothing to me. It sounds like while the Gigabyte may be better, the Asus is still reasonable

 

[UsandThem]

I have and Asus mobo now and have been happy with it. It's only have others on another forum brought up concerns about the quality of the Asus vs Gigabyte. It will be in an opaque case, so bling means nothing to me. It sounds like while the Gigabyte may be better, the Asus is still reasonable

Does the Asus board not have a feature you need?

Asus is generally accepted by most to be the best motherboard manufacturer. Not sure lack of quality would be a concern of mine with the Prime Z390-A board.

 

[reidthaler]

I think so. I was just told in another forum that the 12 phase VRM was much better on the Gigabyte. But if better OCing would just mean a difference of a few milliiseconds, I may be fine with the Asus. I don't need wifi for bluetooth on a board, so maybe even if I did upgrade the Master is more than I need. Any reason to consider the Ultra ? https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813145090

 

[UsandThem]

In my opinion, no. If you like how it looks, or if it has something on it that's useful to you, that's your call.

Most mid-range boards overclock just as well as the high-end boards, so you won't be gaining much in that regard. You might be able to squeeze out a tiny bit more on a high-end board, but it's really not going to be much more.

Since you say you have been happy with the Asus so far, what kind of overclocks are you getting out of it? Your overclocks are going to be limited by your air cooler / temps / voltage, and not by any decent mid-range motherboard or higher. If you really want to push your CPU as far as it can go, you need to step up to water cooling.

 

[reidthaler]

My current CPU is an i7-3770K 3.7 that OCs to 4.2. I actually don't like to look of the Asus mobo, but it'll be in an opaque case so I don't have to look at it. So unless there is some significant difference between the Asus and Gigabyte boards found here, then if looks like it makes sense to keep the Asus board.

UsandThem, thanks for your sound and reason insights.

Reid

 

[letmepicyou]

As someone who has built quite a few computers, I can say that, in my experience, Gigabyte is far more reliable than Asus. Personally, I never buy top-tier motherboards, nor do I buy cheapies. I tend to stick to the upper-middle range. I currently run an i7 9700k on a Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro Wifi with 16gb Gskill Trident RBG and a GTX 1080. It boots to a 500gb Samsung 950 Pro NVMe, and has 2 500gb Samsung 850's in RAID 0 for storage. It performs beautifully, and is solid as a rock. Can't recommend Gigabyte boards enough.

 

[reidthaler]

letmepicyou,

I've read good things about Gigabyte mobos and I've had Asus in the past with out problems. Since I have the board already, and no one can really point to a specific feature that the G-byte boards have that mine is lacking--and that I would benefit from, I think I might as well keep what I have.