ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore:
But why a refresh of the Z790 chipset? As you may have noticed in recent weeks, we announced the arrival of new Z790 motherboards at the ASUS Gamescom event. These new boards feature Wi-Fi 7 support. As far as the Z790 APEX in particular is concerned, ASUS had decided to stop production, announcing the imminent arrival of a V2, which will ultimately be this ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore. We’ll try to highlight the differences between these two versions.
The APEX Encore bundle:
The least we can say is that the V1 bundle, if we can call it that, was quite substantial, notably with the presence of a PCIe card featuring an M.2 5.0 SSD, as well as the “fake” six-digit padlock. Here, we have a more traditional bundle, although a new accessory has been added: the ROG Memory Fan Kit. There’s also a USB key containing the various drivers, the usual cables and the Wi-Fi antenna.
Returning to the ROG Memory Fan Kit it attaches directly to your motherboard to keep your memory sticks cool. A new option has been added to the BIOS, which will affect the temperature of your Hynix chips. We’ll come back to this later in this article when we discuss the BIOS of this ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore.
Architecture :
Before getting started, a quick word about the box, which uses the same color code as the “ROG” series motherboards. It’s a pity, because we really appreciated the black box of the V1, which for the first time gave the APEX version its own identity . This new model comes with the reference “Encore”, which has so far only been used once by ASUS for the ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore motherboard for socket LGA-2066. In our opinion, this is obviously to distinguish the two models and perhaps refer to a high-end model.
The second major change, which has already caused quite a stir on social networks, is the return of a black PCB, whereas the majority of people had fallen under the spell of the white adopted for the ROG Maximus Z790 APEX. This ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore is, of course, built around Intel’s Z790 chipset, and retains the previous-generation LGA-1700 socket, as the processor has grown in size since Rocket Lake.
The Z790 chipset supports PCIe 5.0, offering higher storage performance than the previous generation, as well as DDR5 support. We should also benefit from better overclocking potential with this refresh combined with the 14th generation, but we’ll have to wait a little.
The various heat sinks :
The board’s dimensions are 305 mm x 244 mm, corresponding to the ATX format. The dominant colors on the PCB are dark gray and black. A return to the dark PCB of the ROG series. The design is always distinctive, but on this version, the PCB returns to its rectangular shape. Aesthetically, it bears a strong resemblance to the previous version of the APEX model, the Z690, as well as to the V1 APEX Z790, with the same PCB cut-outs.
Let’s start with the radiators, of which there are four!
First of all, the three radiators located on top of the motherboard and surrounding the socket. The two largest cover the power supply stage. These two radiators are connected by a heat pipe.
A third, smaller radiator, also connected via a heat pipe, is responsible for keeping part of the supply stage cool. This is an entirely passive system. The “APEX” heatsink is in two parts, and hides a slot for a PCIe 4.0 M2 SSD under the upper part.
The fourth part covers the chipset and boasts a fairly large surface area, but low height to allow easy insertion of graphics cards. The ROG logo is engraved or printed in matt black.
The presence of an M.2 5.0 SSD port on the PCB:
Whereas the V1 didn’t have one, this ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore benefits from an M.2 5.0 SSD slot beneath the processor. Two black aluminum plates, whose cut-outs perfectly match those on the chipset, cover two M.2 SSD slots on the PCB. That’s one more than on the first APEX version. As you can see, the SSD is sandwiched between two thermal pads.
You can also use the vertical support (ROG DIMM2) included in the bundle, which can also accommodate two M.2 SSDs. This brings the total number of M.2 SSDs to five, four of which are PCIe 4.0 x4.
The socket and PCIe :
The space around the socket is fairly clear and will be easy enough to isolate with rubber for LN2 testing. What’s more, ASUS offers two mounting holes on ROG models. One is compatible with both LGA-1700 and LGA-115x coolers! A very good point for the brand.
On this refresh, you’ll of course be able to use 13th-generation processors. In other words, you’ll be able to use an i9-12900K on the Z790 chipset, and conversely, an i9-13900K on the Z690 chipset. Intel will continue to support DDR4 on this chipset, but this should be the last time, since the switchover will be definitive to DDR5 in 2024.
Our ROG Maximus Z790 APEX Encore features a Q-Release button. When a card is inserted into the first PCIe slot, pressing this button opens the retention system and releases your graphics card. This was a problem we’d noticed on the previous generation when a heat sink was too close to the first PCIe slot.
This Maximus Z790 APEX Encore can accommodate a maximum of two DDR5 memory modules, and supports dual-channel memory kits up to 8400 MHz (OC) and a maximum of 96 GB. There are two PCIe 5.0 16x slots, which will work in x8/x8 mode if you opt for SLI or CrossfireX. Two PCIe 4.0 x4 slots are also available. To power all this, the board has a 24-pin flat connector and two 8-pin connectors next to the power supply stages.
