a solid MSI MoBo that supports Intel 14900K

zZZvsBRaVO

zZZvsBRaVO

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Hello all,

Ive always looked @ MSI before, but at that time I just pulled the trigger last year and went with a corsair pre-built gaming pc with an Intel 14900K instead. I had zero clue there was a huge mishap with Intel and MoBos frying/degradating the CPUs up until I started getting red flashing rgb's, clockwatch timeouts (2x since April 2024). I am in the process of coming out from a Proprietary mobo and transitioning to a Standard motherboard. Currently it is an: ASUS Prime z790p Wifi but of course I am looking for an MSI motherboard instead that is almost the exact same and it would be fine if it is a little better (I know Godlike, etc are super expensive) but a seriously decent one, perhaps a step, level above. Which one would you guys recommend being similar to the ASUS one? I do game alot.
 
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I had a MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WIFI with a 14700K and found it to be a good MB. No issues at all. An upgrade would be to the MPG Z790 Carbon/Edge WIFI line of MBs. The Carbon line may be my next MB upgrade. As I understand from other posters, the MEG level is very expensive and frankly not worth the cost.
Look at the MB specs and see what you need from a practical standpoint.
Hope this helps.
 
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SmokeyGrayPoupon said:
I had a MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WIFI with a 14700K and found it to be a good MB. No issues at all. An upgrade would be to the MPG Z790 Carbon/Edge WIFI line of MBs. The Carbon line may be my next MB upgrade. As I understand from other posters, the MEG level is very expensive and frankly not worth the cost.
Look at the MB specs and see what you need from a practical standpoint.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Ok, I'll be carrying over a:
CPU: 14900K (but I plan on RMA'ing this for the same exact CPU as MSI seems to have the microcode fix "0x12B" so it doesn't get cooked 🫥)
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 (24gb)
--
2 SSD drives (M2. 2280 / NVMe)
(they're the exact same)
--
PSU: Corsair RM1000e
CPU cooler: LINK H150i RGB
Memory: 2x Dominator Titanium RGB DDR5, 64GB
Case: iCUE 5000T

Just listed what I have in case one or 2 motherboards aren't up to par and I need to ensure everything fits 😬
 
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Ligstr2159e02e6 said:
CPU: 14900K (but I plan on RMA'ing this for the same exact CPU as MSI seems to have the microcode fix "0x12B" so it doesn't get cooked 🫥)
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 (24gb)
Click to expand...

MAG (Tomahawk) would be the minimum requirements.
My advice to you is to go for an MPG one (Carbon or Edge).
See: https://www.msi.com/Landing/intel-14th-13th-gen-raptor-lake-z790-b760-best-motherboard

Ligstr2159e02e6 said:
PSU: Corsair RM1000e
Click to expand...

That's the minimum requirements for your CPU/GPU pair.
My advice to you is to go for a good 1200W one.
See: https://www.corsair.com/uk/en/explorer/diy-builder/power-supply-units/what-psu-is-best-for-rtx-4090/
 
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Ligstr2159e02e6 said:
CPU: 14900K (but I plan on RMA'ing this for the same exact CPU as MSI seems to have the microcode fix "0x12B" so it doesn't get cooked 🫥)
Click to expand...

Only RMA it if you observe instability. CPUs always have reserves, so they can take some amount of degradation. To be RMA-worthy, it has to show consistent instability where it previously was stable before. I'm not sure that two BSODs in almost a year qualify yet. They can be a first sign, but with affected CPUs, you'd usually see things like crashes in Unreal-Engine-based games that are seemingly GPU-related, see https://www.radgametools.com/oodleintel.htm

As per this overview, the first board that can qualify to handle a 14900K would be the PRO Z790-A (Max) WIFI, that is the minimum i'd recommend. Then if you see here, and since you want one step up from the minimum, come boards like the MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI and the MPG Z790 EDGE TI MAX WIFI (which are actually the exact same boards if you compare the pictures, just with different colors/heatsinks and RGB). Those are very solid choices and would go well with your CPU/GPU, because if you go high-end on CPU/GPU, you don't want to cheap out on the board. Equally as bad would be overspending for something that doesn't give much further improvements in how the CPU/GPU are running, like a GODLIKE. So going with a nicer mid-range board is the right move with your CPU/GPU.

With these boards, i recommend the following:
1) Goes without saying - update the BIOS to the latest version right away.
2) Disable the ASMedia SATA controller for the two extra SATA ports, it's only known to cause trouble.
3) Check out my Guide: How to set good power limits in the BIOS and reduce the CPU power draw.

Since we are not sure if your CPU has truly degraded to the point of consistent instability, you might as well install it on the MSI board for testing. Because when going by my guide, in the second step of it there is a setting you will try to lower in the BIOS, called "CPU Lite Load". Lowering that setting means lowering voltage (undervolting) for significant improvements in how it runs. However, should the CPU really be degraded already, then it cannot be stable with less voltage anymore, it would actually need more voltage! So you will quickly see wether your CPU is still ok or not. If you cannot lower that setting much at all before it becomes unstable in stress tests, then it might actually be damaged already. If you can lower it significantly and it stays stable, then the BSODs were probably caused by something else.
 
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"Because when going by my guide, in the second step of it there is a setting you will try to lower in the BIOS, called "CPU Lite Load". Lowering that setting means lowering voltage (undervolting) for significant improvements in how it runs"

That's the other thing, I actually tried to do that with the current CPU, I did probably do too much, I think it was right to 0.06000 instead of increments, and when I saved changes and exited, PC restart and kept re-booting until finally BIOS screen F1 appeared and I was able to revert to default. Talk about being in a panic lol. But yes, I will look into both and compare the stats (tomahawk and edge) everything should be In place in a week or so
 
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Ligstr2159e02e6 said:
That's the other thing, I actually tried to do that with the current CPU, I did probably do too much, I think it was right to 0.06000 instead of increments, and when I saved changes and exited, PC restart and kept re-booting until finally BIOS screen F1 appeared and I was able to revert to default. Talk about being in a panic lol.
Click to expand...

Sometimes you change something that the board doesn't like or the hardware isn't stable with, then it can enter such a state, but don't worry. If the BIOS can't recover by itself even after a couple reboots and maybe a forced power-off for good measure (keeping the power button pressed), you can always go back to square one by doing a Clear CMOS. The MSI boards even have a button for that on the rear I/O, on other boards you usually have to bridge two pins somewhere near the battery with a screwdriver for a couple seconds. But that's no big deal.

Ligstr2159e02e6 said:
But yes, I will look into both and compare the stats (tomahawk and edge) everything should be In place in a week or so
Click to expand...

As mentioned, the boards themselves (those two particular ones) are identical, the only differences are the color, that the Edge has RGB in the top left heatsink, and i think they equipped one more M.2 slot where it's left empty on the Tomahawk (5x M.2 vs 4x M.2). But otherwise, the PCB design with all the parts and all the chips on the board, it's the same.
 
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RemusM said:
You should go for Carbon.
Much better plus a great discount now:
Click to expand...
The Carbon was always my favorite MSI motherboard for price-to-performance, but I cannot for the life of me work out why MSI lowered the top PCIe slot so far downward on the Carbon Z790 line. Unless you have a very modern and very well thought out PC Case, I think the GPU fans will find themselves restricted by a solid PSU shroud or solid case bottom (especially small form factor cases). It's a real shame. For me, it comes down to the original (non-MAX) Z790 Tomahawk and the original (non-MAX) Z790 ACE model. I don't care for the MAX line up with the top M.2 limitation that cuts the GPU PCIe lanes in half. Works fine for the RTX5000 line, but not so good for the RTX4000 and older lines. EDIT: Note that if you get the non-MAX motherboards, you may need to use the BIOS flashback button to add support for the 14th gen CPUs.
 
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