Asus Pro WS W680-ACE vs. ProArt Z790 Creator?

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Peat Moss

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Oct 6, 2009
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I'm trying to decide between these two boards, and wondering if going with a workstation mobo would be better, worse, or just unnecessary ? It's $200 cheaper right now than the Z790.

One nice advantage of the WS W680 is I can have ECC RAM (not critical, but nice to have). But besides that and being cheaper, and perhaps more PCI lanes, I'm not aware of any other advantages. Are workstation boards built better? Do they have better VRMs? Do they offer longer warranties?

The Z790 has a better I/O assortment and probably better onboard audio, as well as a TB4 port (not just a header).

My use will be for video editing, and some 3D rendering. But these will be a minor usage at first, as I am just starting out. I won't be doing it professionally. I'll be building with a Raptor Lake Refresh CPU when it comes out.

Asus WS W680-ACE : https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/workstation/pro-ws-w680-ace/

Asus ProArt Z790 Creator: https://www.asus.com/ca-en/motherboards-components/motherboards/proart/proart-z790-creator-wifi/
 
Peat Moss said:
I'm trying to decide between these two boards, and wondering if going with a workstation mobo would be better, worse, or just unnecessary ? It's $200 cheaper right now than the Z790.

One nice advantage of the WS W680 is I can have ECC RAM (not critical, but nice to have). But besides that and being cheaper, and perhaps more PCI lanes, I'm not aware of any other advantages. Are workstation boards built better? Do they have better VRMs? Do they offer longer warranties?
Click to expand...
This relies more on the CPU than anything else; the CPU determines the PCIE lanes and full or not ECC support (Since the IMC is on the CPU) - neither will have full ECC support, as the CPU doesn't have it. The main difference here is the name (since companies balk at "crosshair hero gaming" stuff), and PCIE ~slots~ (not lanes).
Peat Moss said:
The Z790 has a better I/O assortment and probably better onboard audio, as well as a TB4 port (not just a header).

My use will be for video editing, and some 3D rendering. But these will be a minor usage at first, as I am just starting out. I won't be doing it professionally. I'll be building with a Raptor Lake Refresh CPU when it comes out.
Click to expand...
Either one will do fine - I'd go with the Z790 as it's probably easier to get raptor lake refresh BIOS on it when that drops, and it's more common (thus faster/easier to get responses for issues that crop up).
Peat Moss said:
Asus WS W680-ACE : https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/workstation/pro-ws-w680-ace/

Asus ProArt Z790 Creator: https://www.asus.com/ca-en/motherboards-components/motherboards/proart/proart-z790-creator-wifi/
Click to expand...
 
lopoetve said:
This relies more on the CPU than anything else; the CPU determines the PCIE lanes and full or not ECC support (Since the IMC is on the CPU) - neither will have full ECC support, as the CPU doesn't have it. The main difference here is the name (since companies balk at "crosshair hero gaming" stuff), and PCIE ~slots~ (not lanes).
Click to expand...

No, many 12 and 13th gen CPUs have official full ECC support in a board like that.
 
uOpt said:
No, many 12 and 13th gen CPUs have official full ECC support in a board like that.
Click to expand...
Damn, you're right. I hadn't followed the W680 stuff as much (was waiting on W790 given my needs; and it was a dud) and didn't realize that!
 
lopoetve said:
Either one will do fine - I'd go with the Z790 as it's probably easier to get raptor lake refresh BIOS on it when that drops, and it's more common (thus faster/easier to get responses for issues that crop up).
Click to expand...

Hmmm... interesting. I hadn't thought of that.
 
Peat Moss said:
I'm trying to decide between these two boards, and wondering if going with a workstation mobo would be better, worse, or just unnecessary ? It's $200 cheaper right now than the Z790.

One nice advantage of the WS W680 is I can have ECC RAM (not critical, but nice to have). But besides that and being cheaper, and perhaps more PCI lanes, I'm not aware of any other advantages. Are workstation boards built better? Do they have better VRMs? Do they offer longer warranties?

The Z790 has a better I/O assortment and probably better onboard audio, as well as a TB4 port (not just a header).

My use will be for video editing, and some 3D rendering. But these will be a minor usage at first, as I am just starting out. I won't be doing it professionally. I'll be building with a Raptor Lake Refresh CPU when it comes out.

Asus WS W680-ACE : https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/workstation/pro-ws-w680-ace/

Asus ProArt Z790 Creator: https://www.asus.com/ca-en/motherboards-components/motherboards/proart/proart-z790-creator-wifi/
Click to expand...
Z790 has better memory topology, for faster DDR5. Z690 tops out around DDR5 6400.
 
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