128 GB or 192 GB on Z690 Formula with 12900k?

[Spindlwood]

Update - I installed the 192 GB kit: Corsair CMK192GX5M4B5200C38

Everything booted up quickly and at the 5200Mhz speed using XMP I. When testing, what put me at 98% used memory before has me at 20% now, which of course was the expected result. I'm very pleased so far. 

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I need to upgrade from my 32 GB config for video editing. Based on how quickly my Premiere Pro / After Effects projects run out of memory, I figured I should go for 128 GB or 192 GB, instead of starting with less and finding out I'm still maxed out. But, what I've read suggests that these boards don't work well (or at all) with 4 sticks of DDR5. So my question is, has anyone had success with a Z690 Formula and 128 GB of DDR5 or 192 GB?  If so, which RAM and what settings?

I'm only going off of what I see on the QVL page and see the following options. Any advice on what you would choose and why would be appreciated.

If I choose to go with 2 sticks, is the 2x48 GB Corsair option using Spectek B a decent choice and what are the possibilities of adding 2 more sticks of these in the future for 192 GB even though that combination isn't on the QVL?

64 GB

• Kingston ($193) KF552C40BBK2-64 2x32GB 5200 40-40-40-80 1.25v (would allow adding 2 more modules for 128 GB)

• G.SKILL ($240) F5-5600J2834F32GX2-TZ5RS 2x32GB 5600 28-34-34-89 1.35v

• CORSAIR ($240) CMT64GX5M2X5600C40 2x32GB 5600 40-40-40-77 1.25v

• G.SKILL ($195) F5-6000J3040G32GX2-RS5K 2x32GB 6000 30-40-40-96 1.4v

96 GB

• CORSAIR  ($270) CMK96GX5M2B5600C40 2x48GB  5600   40-40-40-77  1.25v (Spectek B)

128 GB

• Kingston ($365) KF552C40BBK4-128 4x32GB 5200 40-40-40-80

192 GB

• CORSAIR  ($630) CMK192GX5M4B5200C38 4x48GB  5200  38-38-38-84  1.25v (Micron or Spectek B)

My system:

• Asus ROG MAXIMUS Z690 FORMULA

• i9-12900K

• Corsair 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-4800 CL40 - CMK32GX5M2A4800C40 (Memory was all I could get during the component shortage)

• Bios: 3603
• No overclocking / undervolting

[achugh · Accepted solution]

Hi @Spindlwood mixing 2 different kits is not supported and not recommended. So whatever you decide get it as a kit and stick with it. In other words, either get a kit with 2 sticks or get a kit with 4 sticks. DDR5 does not help you add more sticks in future without issues.

You will also benefit from reading https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/technologies-explained/memory-kits-overclocking-and-what-you-may-not-k... post which also has a link to a YouTube video explaining about memory.

On my system (see details in signature) I went with 192GB with a kit having 4 sticks on the QVL for my board to avoid all these memory issues.

You have to keep in mind (as is explained in the YouTube video), the more memory you add, the slower speed the kit will come with. So you have to choose now between slightly more speed or future proofing with slightly more memory. I went with future proofing with slightly more memory and my kit runs at 5200 MT/s because I have loaded all 4 DIMMS to get to 192 GB.

Lastly, Adobe Applications like Premiere Pro and After Effects will get better performance from the Video Encoders on your GFX card. It is for this reason I went with RTX 4090 as it comes with 2 encoders. All other RTX 40 series cards come with 1 video encoder.

I hope this information helps you more forward. Good luck!

[Spindlwood]

Thanks for your reply. I had ordered a 128 GB kit yesterday,  but after reading your post, the word "future-proof" stood out. I don't  like regrets and the possibility of using more than 128GB is not far fetched - especially when I move to 4k video editing. I had to get over feeling embarrassed (192 GB is a lot of memory) and the naysayers on Reddit who don't understand (e.g. "32 is enough for editing videos."). Anyway, I placed an order tonight for the same 192 GB kit you have (Corsair CMK192GX5M4B5200C38) as it's the one on my QVL as well. I hope it works with the 12900k. I'll have it on Friday.  I believe my 3080 ti only has 1 encoder, but I've got too much invested in it to upgrade.