Review of the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore Motherboard

 

In our review we will look at the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard. We will examine the main characteristics and capabilities of this motherboard, and also test performance in several popular games.

APPEARANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS

This subsection of our review highlights the main aspects of the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore, such as appearance and hardware configuration.

BRAND HISTORY ASUS ROG APEX

The history of the ASUS ROG Maximus Apex series of motherboards is associated with the company's constant pursuit of innovation and excellence in the field of overclocking. Since the founding of Republic of Gamers in 2006, ASUS has continuously developed motherboards that can meet the needs of elite overclockers who strive to set performance records. In recent years, these efforts have focused on creating multiple generations of ROG Maximus Apex motherboards designed for mainstream Intel CPU sockets. These boards were designed with one goal in mind: to help the world's best overclockers reach the top of the OC rankings.

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex, being the fourth product in this line, demonstrates all the accumulated knowledge and experience gained from legions of elite overclockers. For example, the Maximus XII Apex board set seven world records and achieved top ten global rankings in various benchmarks using the Core i9-10900K processor. These achievements include the DDR4 6666 MHz world record and world records in SuperPi benchmarks.

Additionally, the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore, the latest entry in the series, continues the tradition of its predecessors by reaching new heights in overclocking. With this board, the ASUS overclocking team set a new world record for processor frequency, overclocking the Intel Core i9-14900KF to an impressive 9043.92 MHz. These achievements are not accidental, but are the result of years of innovation and experience accumulated by ASUS engineers, who provide elite overclockers with the tools to achieve leadership.

APPEARANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS

The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore box is made in the ASUS ROG style, which further emphasizes its affiliation with this brand. It retains the black and red tones and is decorated with graphic elements displaying ROG symbols:

ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore is a motherboard specially designed for high-end gaming enthusiasts. Its unique configuration makes it an ideal overclocking tool. Thanks to the powerful power supply and excellent cooling, the board is capable of overclocking the latest 14th generation Intel Core processors to 6 GHz and above. In addition, the optimized layout of DDR5 slots allows for much better timings and RAM frequencies than on standard boards with four DIMM slots.

The motherboard comes with an M.2 PCIe 5.0 expansion card, offering an M.2 slot running in PCIe 5.0 mode. A massive radiator is responsible for its cooling. The ROG DIMM.2 module allows you to easily install two M.2 drives next to the memory slots, where its large heatsinks feed directly into the airflow of case fans.

ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore is also equipped with two eight-pin connectors for powering the processor. This is an unusual feature that can only be found in the most powerful and high-performance motherboards. Dual processor power connections ensure power stability, which is especially important during high loads and system overclocking.

ROG series motherboards have always been distinguished by their advanced capabilities for working with high-speed memory, and DDR5 is no exception. Thanks to optimized routing that connects the memory slots on the ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore, the best memory kits can operate at speeds in excess of 8 GT/s. Advanced users can work with a wide range of settings in UEFI.

Both PCIe 5.0 x16 expansion slots provide an incredible 64 GB/s of bandwidth for compatible devices. To support the weight of massive video cards, they are reinforced with SafeSlot metal fasteners. To make it easier to remove the video card, there is a Q-Release button.

The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard provides rich connectivity and power options. It is equipped with 4 SATA ports. Both traditional hard drives and more modern and faster SATA SSD drives are supported.

In addition, the board is equipped with an additional six-pin power connector. This is a very important feature because it provides additional power to the system, which is especially useful when overclocking and using high-end components.

The rear panel of the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard provides standard PS/2 ports for connecting a mouse and keyboard. Although modern computers increasingly use USB ports for these purposes, PS/2 ports continue to be an important feature, especially for enthusiasts and professional gamers.

ACCELERATION

Modern processor overclocking is an art that requires deep knowledge and experience. Even though modern processors are already hitting the market at the highest possible frequencies, some users may still try to increase the processor frequency in search of additional performance. However, it is important to remember that improper overclocking can damage the hardware and degrade system performance.

Thanks to the powerful overclocking capabilities of the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard, we were able to successfully overclock our Kingston FURY Renegade DDR5 7200 RAM to 7800 MHz. The initial XMP profile at 7200 MHz was installed without issue, and upgrading to 7800 MHz also went without incident. The system remained stable and reliable.

This experience confirms that the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard provides excellent overclocking capabilities. Users do not have to deal with complex settings, since everything works practically out of the box; they just need to select the desired frequency in the BIOS.

 

5200 MHz

 

 5600 MHz

 

 6400 MHz

 

 7200 MHz

 

 7800 MHz

To further illustrate system performance at various RAM frequencies, we conducted testing using the AIDA64 utility. During this testing, we used different RAM frequencies: DDR5 5200, DDR5 5600, DDR5 6400, DDR5 7200 and DDR5 7800 MHz.

 

The test results clearly showed that the best performance was achieved using DDR5 7800 RAM. Data transfer rates at this frequency reached more than 120 gigabits per second, which is an impressive result and confirms the high performance of our system.

These results highlight the importance of using high-frequency RAM in combination with a powerful motherboard capable of supporting such high frequencies. This is especially valuable for those who do professional work or play resource-intensive games.

TEST PART

Test configuration
Test benches	ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore Kingston XS2000 Portable SSD 1 TB - the optimal solution for testing different configurations     32 GB DDR5 7200 KingstonFURY Renegade Kingston FURY Renegade PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
Multimedia equipment	Monitor Philips 326M6VJRMB/00 Seasonic PRIME TX-1000 power supply Cooling system: DeepCool LS720 WH Housing: DeepCool CH510 WH
Software configuration
operating system	Windows 10 21H2/ Windows 11(Alder Lake)
Graphics driver	Nvidia GeForce/ION Driver Release 551.15 WHQL
Monitoring programs	MSI Afterburner

CONCLUSION

The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore is the pinnacle of motherboard engineering for enthusiasts and professional gamers. This board not only supports the latest processors, but also offers unparalleled overclocking capabilities. The ability to easily overclock the memory up to 7800 MHz makes it ideal for those looking for maximum performance in games and compute-intensive tasks. The combination of advanced technologies, innovative design and impeccable reliability makes the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore not just a choice, but an investment in the future of computing technology. This motherboard is a shining example of how ASUS continues to lead the industry by offering products that not only meet, but exceed the expectations of the most demanding users.