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Z690 Hero 12900k O/C question?

RickSinGA
Level 11
In my past two builds I used the formula boards. Latest/current is XI 9900k running constant at 5.1 for MSFS. Went by Micro-Center yesterday and picked up a Hero (no formulas) and a 12900K. I have always custom looped and included the VRM cooling ports on the formulas.

I plan to try and do 5.3 or 4 on the new build but a little concerned about the lack of cooling on the chip-set.

Should I be worried?

Input would be appreciated.

Rick S.
194 Views
5 REPLIES 5

world
Moderator
It's difficult to gauge exactly if cooling will be an issue since it really depends on the airflow you have in your case, what voltages you set, ambient temperatures, etc.

That said, the heatsinks on the Z690 Hero are pretty large so I don't think there's any specific reason to be worried!

iBruceypoo
Level 16
The ROG Z690 Formula boards are available to purchase at the ASUS US Store.

For myself, I'd take an Apex or Hero over the more expensive Formula Z690, unless you truly love that white aesthetic for a white build.

There's no need to water-cool the VRM on any Z690 ROG board for air or water ambient overclocking, unless that's just something you enjoy doing as an aspect of the hobby, if it makes you happy then it's worth doing. 🙂

I totally understand water-cooling with the Z690 Extreme Glacial as a show-build, an extremely aesthetically pleasing build, it simply is not necessary for cooling the VRM or chipset.

Unless, you simply love all your motherboard thermals way down into the 30Cs or 20Cs and you're running really large rads or MORA3s and yea, and that's just your thing, that's cool. :cool:

My Z590 chipset runs daily at around 42C air-cooled with no active fan on the heatsink using an open air bench, in July cooled by central Air Conditioning lol - I'm happy with that. 🙂
Z790 Epiphenomenal Raptor Bench

ROG Z790 Apex / Intel 13900KS SP111 P121 E93 MC83
Gskill 8000 kit - TM5 stable at 8200MT/s 38 48 48 121 VDD and VDDQ 1.5v
WD_Black SN850X 1TB 7300MB/s Reads 6300MB/s Writes
LG 32in 4K IPS 32UP83A-W

RickSinGA
Level 11
Thanks guys, I am not worried about aesthetics, just curious if anyone thought cooling could be a problem for the VRM etc at 5.3 or 4G and maybe even 5.5 if I hit the lottery.

I have tons of air flow and 2 big rads, so I guess I shouldn't have a problem.

Yes, I see lots of places to get a formula, but I really don't want to go back down to Atlanta to return the Hero if it will do the job.

Guess I have a case of buyers remorse.

Rick S.

iBruceypoo
Level 16
Hey Rick,

Even if you didn't hit the Silicon Lottery, you should still be able to OC your CPU to 5.5Ghz, maybe 5.6 or 5.7.

Just follow the discussion here in this thread about Per-Core overclocking:

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?129692-My-i7-12700KF-overclock
Z790 Epiphenomenal Raptor Bench

ROG Z790 Apex / Intel 13900KS SP111 P121 E93 MC83
Gskill 8000 kit - TM5 stable at 8200MT/s 38 48 48 121 VDD and VDDQ 1.5v
WD_Black SN850X 1TB 7300MB/s Reads 6300MB/s Writes
LG 32in 4K IPS 32UP83A-W

RickSinGA
Level 11
Thanks Bruce, never expected to be able to get close to that.

Only use that PC for MSFS, it should be lightening with those speeds.

Rick S.