Solved (Build Help) Stuck on which MOBO I should buy + other help with this i9-13900K & 4090 build?

I've had good luck with ASUS' ROG STRIX products in the past, and their warranty has been good to me if I've had any issues.

I know some people have good luck with MSI, and Gigabyte is well liked as well, you can't really go wrong with any of them, it's just picking your favorite company/price-point.


CPU/GPU:
Sounds like you're confident with your choices, haven't looked into Corsair's coolers much, but it looks like your case has pretty good AIO support.


PSU:
Your PSU is perfect, over your needs and a 10-year warranty, I couldn't recommend better.


Motherboard requirements:
For what you're building, as long as it supports PCIe 4.0, and 5600MHz DDR5 ram, most everything else should be fine.

Keep in mind that the board layout may play into what you can and can't do.

If you have an especially large GPU (which the 40-series is) it will cover things around the PCIe x16 slots, whether this is RGB connectors, USB-C, etc.


Memory:
You have 2x 32GB memory sticks, while 64GB is unnecessary for gaming at the current point in time, if you're insistent on doing it I would recommend a 4x16GB kit, such as this one.


Chassis fans:
I'd look into Noctua fans, they're really robust units and offer quieter fans (which I prefer). Regardless of what brand you choose, make sure you pick 4-pin PWM connectors, this will gradually ramp them up as needed.

Another thing about fans, less fans of a larger size is usually better than more fans of a smaller size in terms of sound. I prefer quieter systems so this may depend on if you want the maximum cooling or something easier on the ears.


Storage:
One final note, I personally prefer Samsung drives/SSDs, they've proven to be some of the best. Might be worth considering.

If you don't plan on bulk video/render storage you probably don't need 6TB of SSD storage.




As far as value, everything is overkill, I wouldn't call this 'future proofing' so much as overbuying on a first PC - which is okay.

Windows 11 Pro doesn't offer the home user much utility as opposed to Home editions. It's another place you could save some money.

1. I like ASUS, their products have worked for me and their CS has treated me well when I've needed support, all of these products should have a 3-year warranty or something of the sort, they're going to be arguably indistinguishable other than brand, it's just about buying what makes you feel good.


2. Here's the layout for the ASUS Z790 board:


Around the PCIe slots (the horizontal rectangles under the CPU) you may find that having a bigger GPU can cause things around (usually under) the PCIe slots to be covered and inaccessible. This doesn't look to be as big of an issue with your board as it can be with others, but it's something important to note if you look at other boards.


3. I should specify on ram, if I were buying that much and had a good idea that I wouldn't have to upgrade for a long while, I would split it up across multiple sticks. More sticks = more heatsinks and a more divided workload. Whether there's any actual performance difference in doing so seems a bit debated, but that's my thoughts on the matter. However- if you plan on upgrading your ram in the foreseeable future, 2 sticks would make it much easier to do so.


4. There are two types of fans, 3-pin (non-pwm) and 4-pin (pwm). PWM means that the power pulses to the fans and allows it to vary speeds as the load changes. Your motherboard has PWM so I would make sure you fans do as well. The RGB part of the fans should be irregardless of PWM, there may be a slight performance difference between RGB and non-RGB but having your PC look the way you want it to is important! (Your original fans are 4-pin PWM)


4.5 I'm unsure the difference between 7 vs. 5/6 fans performance or noise wise since I don't know the specifics on your case, but I can't fault you for making sure the CPU and GPU stay cool, that's very important.


5. This is one more area you'll have to make a decision you feel good about. I've ran Samsung SSDs for the last couple years and never looked back, but I've had other products that worked fine. It does appear that the 990-Pro is one of the best on the market currently.


6. This is absolutely overkill, a 13th gen i9 and a 4090 cost more than most computers I've ever known. Is that good? - That depends, I wouldn't advise you purchase this machine if you're having to skip meals or miss rent payments, but if you have spare cash and want a beast of a machine? Something like this is most people's dream machine, if you can afford it - enjoy it!


7. The only way to be certain everything is done to your liking would be to do it yourself. The people working at Microcenter probably have experience doing this sort of thing, but their choices may be different from yours, it's like hiring somebody to work on your car. If they screw something up I'd have a hard time imagining that they couldn't or wouldn't fix it after spending so much money with them, but you'll have to look at your rights as a customer of their building services. I can't tell you if you should or shouldn't trust them, I can only tell you that the only person who can do it exactly the way you want it done-is you!


No need to apologize, don't ever be afraid to ask questions! Everyone here from the 20-year veterans to the new guys started by asking questions and looking things up, this is how we learn. It's completely rational to be apprehensive with so much money on the table, just take things slowly and don't rush into any impulsive decisions- those are better when they're not wallet breaking.

If you have more questions feel free to rattle them off, if I can't answer then I'm sure one of the other helpers around here will know something about it.

but can`t be doing with the Armoury Crate nonsense.

Click to expand...

Armoury Crate is 'helpful'-esque, but they need to make the choice more apparent, it can be disabled in the BIOS IIRC.

You could absolutely uninstall it.

I find it a bit annoying, but I personally keep it around since it makes it easier on me to install updates and control the lighting on my ASUS products - but that's something you'll have to assess if you get it. It is a "personal computer" after all.