Recently bought a second hand board from Microcenter. Took it home, and realized that there was thermal paste all over the CPU socket. Board did not boot and I returned the board again to Microcenter within 7 days of getting and it they credited me the cost of the board and I put that towards a new board. Good peeps at Microcenter.
@@SimplyLewin wow hold it they let u inspect before u buy they the best zero restocking fee i always buy open box never had problem u open it u physically check it and save some money
Bought a Powerspec house brand gaming PC recently. I saved 200 going open box. As far as I can tell they returned it over the rgb Fan behavior. One fan did not sync up with the others. After a few reboots it fixed itself. They also didnot enable XMP by default but that was easily fixed.
I just built a new PC using one of these. Got it for $160 used off of ebay (I know, a gamble. Lots of pictures showed it functioning lol). They are at a really great price now if you're going for an LGA 1700 build. I had originally bought an base model B760 ASRock motherboard but returned it after learning more about VRMs and power phases. I have a 12600K in it now and I want to upgrade to a 13/14th gen i7 or maybe i9 down the road.
A note on the 12900K, from an AMD user. Yes, it uses less power when it isn't being pushed. All CPUs do that, or at least any CPU made within the last many years. The FX-8350 will drop core frequency down to about 800MHz when it's doing very little and only ramps up to full speed when it gets hit with work. So you'd have to go back a long time to find a CPU that doesn't alter its frequency on cores that are inactive. When gaming, usually the 8 e-cores aren't running so it's basically the same thing as an 8 core CPU as far as a game is concerned. If for some reason you're running background tasks then they can run on the e cores. It wins in gaming by a decent margin, and that doesn't come for free. The cores that are pushing game threads ARE clocking higher to be able to win at gaming. So, it's still consuming more power than other systems, it's just not that huge 245W draw of course for the CPU. I'm betting it's at least around TDP and for games that push CPUs harder, above TDP. A 5600X is pushing about 75W in all-core loads. The 12900K is pushing 245W. Of course these aren't comparable, but when either is gaming, the 5600X is barely sipping power while the 12900K, while not chugging as fast as it possibly can is still taking a pretty good drink of that power. Facts of power consumption vs. performance. When clocking about the same, I think Zen 3 has the advantage in gaming over Alder Lake in performance AND power consumption. Just wanted to get that out there. Even the 12700K is clocking pretty high when gaming, once again for the cores that have game threads being thrown at it. And yes, the 12900K beats the 12700K in gaming. It's not a lot, but it's the difference in the boost clocks, just like other generations and brands of CPUs.
Problem is that they don't test returns. If you buy a bummer, it'll be TWO trips to the store and if the store is more than 20 miles away, it'll make for a long frustrating day. BTDT.
Raptor Lake is still like 6 months away, and Zen 4 rumored to come even later, so its not 'right around the corner', and if you end up waiting for Raptor Lake then you'll be saying Meteor Lake is right around the quarter since that launches in Q2.
Just got this exact motherboard z690f. i7 12700kf, 32 gigs of gskill ram, 1660 super, water cooled, 650 psu (mustard and ketchup wires). But no display either from the video card or the motherboard even with video card removed and system restarted. still no display on my 1080p sanyo tv. Please any suggestions. Its a lot of dough for a dud :(
Weird timing, I just got an open box MSI Pro Z690-A at Micro Center for $115. I haven't tested it yet because I need a kit of DDR5, but I did ask to see the socket in the store to make sure the pins weren't damaged.
Were you able to solve the 4 ram stick issue at DDR5? I'm currently having a posting problem with that motherboard using CORSAIR Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 5200 (PC5-41600)
SP 53 is a *horrible* score, I have to wonder if the VID table readout isn't bugged in the BIOS. I've seen that before where it shows the same VID for every core, which is obviously wrong.
Im still on a Rtx2080 and it works great for 2560x1440p gaming. I bought a new monitor lady month an Asus 2k 175hz Gsync, and then decided to build a new alder lake rig. Nothing fancy, my old rig was from 2015. 12600k,Asus prime D-4 mb, 32g of 3200mhz ddr4, Samsung evo pro 1t main drive. Have 4.5t total storage. Lian Li cpu cooler , 1000w evga ps fully modular. Insoent around 1200.00 iirc, .... I had a nice mITX/mATX case sitting around and a nice sound blaster z sound card, sound blaster 2.1 speaker set up. Good for 2 years and then will build a top of the line rig.
The two fan headers right next to each other towards the rear of the board, the one facing the front of the motherboard is a 12V pump header, not a fan header. I have the DDR4 version of this board and the big difference other than this one is black with DDR5, is that it has TOSLink. The DDR4 version does not.
I decided that Strix was just a color scheme, so I use TUF (also a color scheme) and Prime (ASUS brand for boards without a color scheme). Only the Intel Z and AMD X chipset Prime boards are good. For B series chipsets, I use TUF.
Extremely good value, basically the same top of the line gaming performance as the more expensive 12900k, better multithreaded performance than the more expensive 5900x, and the 12700(f,k) is pretty reasonable to cool with a 240mm AIO or big tower cooler. The 12700(f,k) is probably what most people who are building nice rigs should buy these days.
what tangible benefit does the Strix board give over a Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4? They seem nearly identical in feature set but the gigabyte is much cheaper
Asus is almost always the most expensive feature for feature, however I have always had good experiences with their customer support, if it’s a significant difference in price I’ll just go with the cheaper board, but if they are close enough I get the asus board. For instance when I got my x570 I was debating between the asus hero and the gigabyte master, difference was about 10%, so I felt the asus was the better value based on past experiences. At 20+% save your money and get the cheaper board.
BIOS version is not the likely reason for return in my opinion. I am guessing someone bought this motherboard before looking at DDR5 pricing, or they thought that it supported both DDR5 and DDR4 because they heard that the CPU supports both so they wanted a board that supports both too not realising that the motherboards generally are one or the other only. When they found out their DDR4 ram doesn't fit it went back to the store.
I'm all about the open box discounts lol. 5800x for 50percent off? A week after it came out? And the box is only slightly stepped on by like a rhinoceros or and elephant or something? I'm in
I consider it more of a 50/50 toss up, e.g. Gamer Nexus and Newegg. That being said I respect the chase, even if I'd rather play it safe more often than not.
If you look at the very detailed Igor's Lab review of 12th gen, they end up quite a bit more efficient than Ryzen in gaming, because Intel has the superior single threaded performance, so when they both end up pulling like 70w in gaming, Intel pulls ahead in efficiency.
Just swap it with a Intel AX200 or AX210 M.2 just about the best you can get unless you want to pay for the Killer version which is based on the same chipset.
@@BlackUdon looks like my comment got caught as spam. I was trying to say make sure you have the latest and most up to date drivers direct from Intel they are usually way more up to date.
@@marcogenovesi8570 I'd agree but I'd say that hasn't been the case since you have been able to just drop a laptop WiFi - BT card into a desktop motherboard
Ever checked out Memory compatibility with ASUS? 98% of it is unreleased prototype memory manufactures never release.. and they never update them in new BIOS updates. ASUS has the least amount of compatible ram in the industry.
Recently bought a second hand board from Microcenter. Took it home, and realized that there was thermal paste all over the CPU socket. Board did not boot and I returned the board again to Microcenter within 7 days of getting and it they credited me the cost of the board and I put that towards a new board. Good peeps at Microcenter.
Are you telling me micro center sold you an open box motherboard with the thermal pate?
GamersNexus was there....
@@owenness6146 haha! At least they realized the problem was their own and gave me credit for the board.
@@SimplyLewin wow hold it they let u inspect before u buy they the best zero restocking fee i always buy open box never had problem u open it u physically check it and save some money
Microcenter Open Box = The most underrated tool in PC building.
Three editing monitors and two GPUs (pre-shortage) equalled around $500 is discounts
I picked up a vive pro eye full kit for 100$ open box at microcenter. Worked perfectly.
Bought a Powerspec house brand gaming PC recently. I saved 200 going open box. As far as I can tell they returned it over the rgb Fan behavior. One fan did not sync up with the others. After a few reboots it fixed itself. They also didnot enable XMP by default but that was easily fixed.
Also refurbished
Sometimes people just return things they didn’t end up using, and after they’re returned from testing, they get marked down.
I just built a new PC using one of these. Got it for $160 used off of ebay (I know, a gamble. Lots of pictures showed it functioning lol). They are at a really great price now if you're going for an LGA 1700 build. I had originally bought an base model B760 ASRock motherboard but returned it after learning more about VRMs and power phases. I have a 12600K in it now and I want to upgrade to a 13/14th gen i7 or maybe i9 down the road.
A note on the 12900K, from an AMD user. Yes, it uses less power when it isn't being pushed. All CPUs do that, or at least any CPU made within the last many years. The FX-8350 will drop core frequency down to about 800MHz when it's doing very little and only ramps up to full speed when it gets hit with work. So you'd have to go back a long time to find a CPU that doesn't alter its frequency on cores that are inactive. When gaming, usually the 8 e-cores aren't running so it's basically the same thing as an 8 core CPU as far as a game is concerned. If for some reason you're running background tasks then they can run on the e cores.
It wins in gaming by a decent margin, and that doesn't come for free. The cores that are pushing game threads ARE clocking higher to be able to win at gaming. So, it's still consuming more power than other systems, it's just not that huge 245W draw of course for the CPU. I'm betting it's at least around TDP and for games that push CPUs harder, above TDP. A 5600X is pushing about 75W in all-core loads. The 12900K is pushing 245W. Of course these aren't comparable, but when either is gaming, the 5600X is barely sipping power while the 12900K, while not chugging as fast as it possibly can is still taking a pretty good drink of that power. Facts of power consumption vs. performance.
When clocking about the same, I think Zen 3 has the advantage in gaming over Alder Lake in performance AND power consumption. Just wanted to get that out there. Even the 12700K is clocking pretty high when gaming, once again for the cores that have game threads being thrown at it.
And yes, the 12900K beats the 12700K in gaming. It's not a lot, but it's the difference in the boost clocks, just like other generations and brands of CPUs.
Because of the yellow tag from Micro Center! Your ticket to big savings!
Problem is that they don't test returns.
If you buy a bummer, it'll be TWO trips to the store and if the store is more than 20 miles away, it'll make for a long frustrating day. BTDT.
WoW score! Congrats. $70 off and there was nothing wrong with it.
I mean, more of score to buy something less... ridiculous... but whatever.
The lack of innovation in motherboards since the early 2000 don't justify this crazy prices of right now.
I was sure the answer was going to be 'thermal pate on the socket'... ;)
Probably raptor lake is around the corner but $299 for 12700K is so cheap it's almost illegal
Raptor Lake is still like 6 months away, and Zen 4 rumored to come even later, so its not 'right around the corner', and if you end up waiting for Raptor Lake then you'll be saying Meteor Lake is right around the quarter since that launches in Q2.
The age of lots of BIOS updates!
At last CPU/platform is moving so fast it needs updates.
high end gaming boards always needed bios updates for stability and overclocking
SO MUCH ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES!!!! SO MUCH ROOM FOR VRM!!!
I shouted this out in my head when I heard this!
Just got this exact motherboard z690f. i7 12700kf, 32 gigs of gskill ram, 1660 super, water cooled, 650 psu (mustard and ketchup wires). But no display either from the video card or the motherboard even with video card removed and system restarted. still no display on my 1080p sanyo tv. Please any suggestions. Its a lot of dough for a dud :(
Having the same issue now. Did you figure it out?
is that a Lego base plate the MB is mounted on for disply purposes?
The CPU socket protection cover was put on upside down?
Weird timing, I just got an open box MSI Pro Z690-A at Micro Center for $115. I haven't tested it yet because I need a kit of DDR5, but I did ask to see the socket in the store to make sure the pins weren't damaged.
I thought my local computer store selling the Prime Z690M Plus D4 for $170 was a good deal.
Were you able to solve the 4 ram stick issue at DDR5? I'm currently having a posting problem with that motherboard using CORSAIR Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 5200 (PC5-41600)
SP 53 is a *horrible* score, I have to wonder if the VID table readout isn't bugged in the BIOS. I've seen that before where it shows the same VID for every core, which is obviously wrong.
Cool MB but I have a ryzen chip. Do they have the exact same board just AM4?
Hmmmm ya I think I will wait until the 13th gen Intel cpus is out. My i7 11700f is running like a champ so far with my 3060 ti Eagle OC card. :)
Im still on a Rtx2080 and it works great for 2560x1440p gaming. I bought a new monitor lady month an Asus 2k 175hz Gsync, and then decided to build a new alder lake rig. Nothing fancy, my old rig was from 2015.
12600k,Asus prime D-4 mb, 32g of 3200mhz ddr4, Samsung evo pro 1t main drive. Have 4.5t total storage. Lian Li cpu cooler , 1000w evga ps fully modular. Insoent around 1200.00 iirc, ....
I had a nice mITX/mATX case sitting around and a nice sound blaster z sound card, sound blaster 2.1 speaker set up. Good for 2 years and then will build a top of the line rig.
I would upgrade GPU before CPU, if you can buy one of course.
The two fan headers right next to each other towards the rear of the board, the one facing the front of the motherboard is a 12V pump header, not a fan header. I have the DDR4 version of this board and the big difference other than this one is black with DDR5, is that it has TOSLink. The DDR4 version does not.
I’ve had many builds with all the brands of motherboards and still end up back at Strix unless there’s a very good reason to choose something else.
I decided that Strix was just a color scheme, so I use TUF (also a color scheme) and Prime (ASUS brand for boards without a color scheme). Only the Intel Z and AMD X chipset Prime boards are good. For B series chipsets, I use TUF.
I love the yellow tag!
What are your thoughts on the I7?
Extremely good value, basically the same top of the line gaming performance as the more expensive 12900k, better multithreaded performance than the more expensive 5900x, and the 12700(f,k) is pretty reasonable to cool with a 240mm AIO or big tower cooler. The 12700(f,k) is probably what most people who are building nice rigs should buy these days.
Did Steve from GN return it as a test for Micro Center? 😂
My brain is broken. I still associate green with AMD and Radeon with ATI.
What a fun mini game 😃
what tangible benefit does the Strix board give over a Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4? They seem nearly identical in feature set but the gigabyte is much cheaper
Asus is almost always the most expensive feature for feature, however I have always had good experiences with their customer support, if it’s a significant difference in price I’ll just go with the cheaper board, but if they are close enough I get the asus board. For instance when I got my x570 I was debating between the asus hero and the gigabyte master, difference was about 10%, so I felt the asus was the better value based on past experiences. At 20+% save your money and get the cheaper board.
microcenter open box > just needs a bios update
Newegg open box > socket smashed, clear proof it's not your fault, they blame you for it
If I see a yellow tag, I buy
BIOS version is not the likely reason for return in my opinion.
I am guessing someone bought this motherboard before looking at DDR5 pricing, or they thought that it supported both DDR5 and DDR4 because they heard that the CPU supports both so they wanted a board that supports both too not realising that the motherboards generally are one or the other only. When they found out their DDR4 ram doesn't fit it went back to the store.
I'm all about the open box discounts lol. 5800x for 50percent off? A week after it came out? And the box is only slightly stepped on by like a rhinoceros or and elephant or something? I'm in
It's more like 10%
@@TheDaswilhelm typically yea. This thing was mangled. Worked fine tho
I consider it more of a 50/50 toss up, e.g. Gamer Nexus and Newegg. That being said I respect the chase, even if I'd rather play it safe more often than not.
@@QuantumConundrum it really depends on the product. I'd never buy an open boxed hard drive, for example
If you look at the very detailed Igor's Lab review of 12th gen, they end up quite a bit more efficient than Ryzen in gaming, because Intel has the superior single threaded performance, so when they both end up pulling like 70w in gaming, Intel pulls ahead in efficiency.
Because they could not fit their DDR4 in it.
All that and a proper use of Digress.
Something something not Newegg openbox 🤣
1666 vieuws all hail the great Jeff BezozBob
ahaa 06:23
OOOWWWW ! ! ! I want one... 👀
Is the built-in Intel wifi/bluetooth unreliable as previous releases? My Strix B550-I is complacent with its mediocrity
Just swap it with a Intel AX200 or AX210 M.2 just about the best you can get unless you want to pay for the Killer version which is based on the same chipset.
@@profosist AX200 is what I have. The bluetooth has been pretty jank.
bluetooth has been jank for a while on wifi cards. I always have to use a dongle
@@BlackUdon looks like my comment got caught as spam. I was trying to say make sure you have the latest and most up to date drivers direct from Intel they are usually way more up to date.
@@marcogenovesi8570 I'd agree but I'd say that hasn't been the case since you have been able to just drop a laptop WiFi - BT card into a desktop motherboard
Ever checked out Memory compatibility with ASUS? 98% of it is unreleased prototype memory manufactures never release.. and they never update them in new BIOS updates. ASUS has the least amount of compatible ram in the industry.
Nonsense. have you ever checked it?
Im never gonna buy Asus ever again. Absolute trash.