Z390 VRM heatsinks $150-$200

[timetrapper]

I usually get most of my info from youtube and google search but there isn't a lot of info for many of the Z390 mobo models. Much less about the vrm heatsink info (which I know can help keep temps down when trying to OC). in my case. I know the MSI Z390 Gaming Pro Carbon and ASRock Z390 Taichi have primo heat sink, but they are beyond my 150-200$ budget (my budget started at 150$ max and crept up once the z390s came out) I can pay $200+ but not if i dont have to since i see multiple Z390 boards in the 150$ish range.

1. does anyone happen to know a Z390 mobo under 200$ (hardcapped budget) that won't cause CPU throttling when OC and has good vrm heatsink? (keep in mind i dont need RGB or wifi, if its there great, if not that is fine as well)

2. anyone know if the MSI Z390 gaming edge has decent heat sinks?

3. I read an article that said the gigabyte aorus pro wifi has 12 phase vrm but havent seen tests, anyone heard anything on how it keeps CPU temps down or its heatsink quality?

4. any advice on if the Asus TUF Z390 gaming plus wifi is on par with the taichi?

5. these boards out there now seem like the first batch, this and the monitor are the final 2 pieces of my build, should i hold off and wait for further testing? (wasnt sure if the first batches/shipments have issues and should wait for updates etc)

if anyone has any advice or answers on any question listed, please let me know, thanks!

backstory: i started at a budget of 150$ for the z370 then when the new boards came out, the higher quality ones were 75$ more. so low-end Z390 boards are 150$. do i just bite the bullet since im wanting my build to be completed by end of November? i mean its only 75 bucks BUT if i can avoid that and pick up one of the 150 to 175 range if it shares the same good heat sinks of the primo board of the same company, i would rather do that. i mean that would be cool if each company would apply the primo heat sinks on the high end and low end models in their mobo lines, but it seems like, based on my research the 220$ boards are getting the heat sink upgrades from the z370s if at all. the phantom gaming line didnt appear to have a heatsink upgrade....

 

[RVWinkle]

I researched z390 boards right before the 9 series came out and determined that Gigabyte's midrange Aorus line had the best VRM. I bought the Elite which was the cheapest one and it's been holding up pretty well. Apparently I should have bought the Pro because it has better VRM cooling for only 10$ more. The bios menu is as bad as everyone says but the VRM is definitely on point. I figured I wasn't concerned too much about the bios because I wouldn't touch it much after I dialed in the settings but it is truly confounding. At some point I'll probably make a thread because I have no clue what some of the settings mean.


So far, I have a 9700k at 5.1ghz stable with custom watercooling and no fan pointed at the cpu area. The VRM stays at about 71C when running P95 which seems fine. The biggest bottleneck seems to be cpu temps as my custom watercooling just can't keep up at around 250 watts. I have only had this CPU running for about a week though so I need more time to mess with it.

 

[timetrapper]

I researched z390 boards right before the 9 series came out and determined that Gigabyte's midrange Aorus line had the best VRM. I bought the Elite which was the cheapest one and it's been holding up pretty well. Apparently I should have bought the Pro because it has better VRM cooling for only 10$ more. The bios menu is as bad as everyone says but the VRM is definitely on point. I figured I wasn't concerned too much about the bios because I wouldn't touch it much after I dialed in the settings but it is truly confounding. At some point I'll probably make a thread because I have no clue what some of the settings mean.


So far, I have a 9700k at 5.1ghz stable with custom watercooling and no fan pointed at the cpu area. The VRM stays at about 71C when running P95 which seems fine. The biggest bottleneck seems to be cpu temps as my custom watercooling just can't keep up at around 250 watts. I have only had this CPU running for about a week though so I need more time to mess with it.

oh wow custom watercooling and still high temps on the CPU? i'm gonna be using the mugen 5 revb. i wont OC for the first few years of my build until my 1080ti doesnt give me the FPS i need anymore. i ended up getting the MSI - MPG Z390 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX LGA1151 Motherboard last night.

 

[Furious_Styles]

oh wow custom watercooling and still high temps on the CPU? i'm gonna be using the mugen 5 revb. i wont OC for the first few years of my build until my 1080ti doesnt give me the FPS i need anymore. i ended up getting the MSI - MPG Z390 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX LGA1151 Motherboard last night.

He doesn't really give us important info though. What voltage is he running @ 5.1? If you get a good CPU and can hit 5.0 @ 1.3 (or below) the VRMs should stay pretty cool with decent sinks on them. On my board I removed a lot of the flare like the I/O cover to give the sinks better airflow. At north of 1.4 (8700k) I don't get beyond the 80s.

 

[RVWinkle]

Well just to be clear, I have only had this system running for a week and only a few hours of that has been spent overclocking. I have followed the Gigabyte guide and set vcore to 1.3 but I'm not sure that cpu voltage tells the complete story. When you start adjusting load line calibration is when things really start to get interesting and it's why I described wattage because that really shows how much power your cpu is consuming. I think I was doing 5.1 with "Turbo" LLC and 1.3 vcore. It's when I was trying to get 5.2 stable that I ended up with more heat that I could dissipate. I don't remember but that was probably 1.35 and "Extreme" LLC.

In general, you don't have to worry about VRM temps as much with an HSF because you have an additional fan in the CPU area that watercooling doesn't have. I'm not confident that 5.1 is possible with an HSF. The Gigabyte boards are good this year but dear god the bios is awful.

 

[Furious_Styles]

Well just to be clear, I have only had this system running for a week and only a few hours of that has been spent overclocking. I have followed the Gigabyte guide and set vcore to 1.3 but I'm not sure that cpu voltage tells the complete story. When you start adjusting load line calibration is when things really start to get interesting and it's why I described wattage because that really shows how much power your cpu is consuming. I think I was doing 5.1 with "Turbo" LLC and 1.3 vcore. It's when I was trying to get 5.2 stable that I ended up with more heat that I could dissipate. I don't remember but that was probably 1.35 and "Extreme" LLC.

In general, you don't have to worry about VRM temps as much with an HSF because you have an additional fan in the CPU area that watercooling doesn't have. I'm not confident that 5.1 is possible with an HSF. The Gigabyte boards are good this year but dear god the bios is awful.

Yeah but usually you need to be on Turbo or Extreme to get the highest OCs. And typically it goes hand-in-hand that you will need a high core voltage to hit the max. I'd avoid using extreme since the overshoot is pretty high. Move up Vcore instead. On gigabyte Turbo is closer to 1:1.

 

[jpinard]

I researched z390 boards right before the 9 series came out and determined that Gigabyte's midrange Aorus line had the best VRM. I bought the Elite which was the cheapest one and it's been holding up pretty well. Apparently I should have bought the Pro because it has better VRM cooling for only 10$ more. The bios menu is as bad as everyone says but the VRM is definitely on point. I figured I wasn't concerned too much about the bios because I wouldn't touch it much after I dialed in the settings but it is truly confounding. At some point I'll probably make a thread because I have no clue what some of the settings mean.


So far, I have a 9700k at 5.1ghz stable with custom watercooling and no fan pointed at the cpu area. The VRM stays at about 71C when running P95 which seems fine. The biggest bottleneck seems to be cpu temps as my custom watercooling just can't keep up at around 250 watts. I have only had this CPU running for about a week though so I need more time to mess with it.

Whoa this is my exact same setup! Would it be too much to ask for you to post your settings. That would be incredibly helpful.