Help Choosing Between 2 Different CPU's for Mini Itx build

[Woomack]

I thought that the mobo was DOA for the first 3-4 hours. Additionally, I wasted some time as I thought that something was wrong with the motherboard, and I disconnected the 8-pin CPU cable on the PSU side (I hadn't noticed I did that when I was cleaning the PSU). The long training was another thing, and one more was the need to power down the PSU completely and clear CMOS for 10-15 seconds. On new motherboards, you don't even have to unplug the PSU. On higher ASUS mobos, you can clear CMOS even when the PC is turned on ... it will restart with default settings once you push the clear CMOS button. I guess I'm already used to new motherboards and how easily they can perform some things compared to old/standard stuff.

Once the initial training passes, then the motherboard posts really fast. Restart -> OS takes 5-6 seconds. There are no problems with stability, no coil whine, or anything like that. I was thinking of getting 4x M.2 SSD and test RAID, but I don't want to spend $300 for tests only, and if I buy, then at least 2 more VP4300 2TB (I have 2 already) or something like Crucial T500 1TB (500GB would be enough, but they cost $20 less per SSD than the 1TB version and in some stores prices are the same).

It just passed Blender 4.0.0 with a score of ~388, so it's a bit better than 13700K. Considering that the CPU uses up to 150W and some other comparable CPUs 200-250W, then it's a pretty good result.

 

[Brenda23]

It's interesting that the new motherboards have such handy features as CMOS clearing right from the button - progress doesn't stand still! I myself am used to the good old ways like removing the battery, but such innovations sound tempting.

 

[Woomack]

Batteries are often in hard to access places, like next to graphics card slots (have to remove a graphics card), under heatsinks (some new higher series motherboards), or like on Minisforums motherboards, on the back, so you have to remove the motherboard to disconnect the battery (it's on a cable). If the motherboard doesn't have a button on the back, then I usually connect 2 wires to clear CMOS pins (can use a regular button with 2 wires from an old PC case). It works the same way.

I had a chance to check Kingston Fury Impact 6000 SODIMM with the XMP profile and it looks like it's the only SODIMM memory that will let to change VDD/VDDQ voltages. The motherboard doesn't have options to change memory controller voltages, but I could still reach 7000MT/s.
Here is a quick test at 7000 and some more relaxed timings. I had no time to play with timings, but it should work at something like 34-42-42, maybe tighter. 7200 posts, but I get blue screens each time I try to enter Windows. I guess the memory controller voltage is too low, and as I mentioned, I can't adjust it. I'm still happy with the 7000. I only hope it can be stabilized.
If I set tREFI at 65k, then it will go below 60ns latency. However, it wasn't stable on other RAM at lower clocks, so I doubt it will work at 7000.




In short:
- The motherboard supports 48GB modules - tested on Crucial 2x48GB 5600
- The motherboard may have problems reading SPD and XMP - it can't see 5600 SPD profile in Crucial RAM, it sees everything in G.Skill and Kingston, but mixes up some additional timings like the timing table was slightly wrong
- It has most main timings and VDD/VDDQ adjustable from BIOS ... however, voltages work only on RAM with XMP, on other kits, it runs as 1.1V
- Max memory clock on a regular RAM with SPD only - 6400 and timings like CL38-40-40, max memory clock on XMP memory - 7000 and timings like CL34-42-42 (not tested for stability)
- At default, the CPU TDP is lower than specified - 120W, but can easily bump it above the max TDP. The CPU slightly passes the maximum specified TDP, which is 150W. The registered max was ~155W.
- The CPU supports overclocking. The motherboard doesn't support CPU overclocking except for a higher TDP limit. Intel XTU was supposed to support it, but Intel excluded this CPU for some unknown reason.

One quick photo of the current ITX PC where the mobo is installed:

 

[Evilsizer]

 

[Woomack]

Typical YT "reviewer". He just installed everything without even adjusting or showing anything above auto/standard.

Btw. AMD BD790i mobo doesn't have RAM settings adjustments, and RAM won't run above 5200. If you get the XMP RAM or anything above 5200, then there is a chance it will run at 4800 instead of 5200. For example, Kingston Impact 6000 with XMP runs at 4800. Kingston Impact 5600 with only SPD runs at 5200.

On the BD790i, you can't OC the CPU or RAM, but you can adjust TDP, forcing the CPU to keep max clock all the time ... as long as cooling is good enough. I have no idea if the 100W in the video was real or just a software bug, as clocks were not stable, and scores were lower than expected (at least lower than I have on my mobo). The default TDP is 55W. The CPU can go up to 120-125W when the TDP is unlocked at 150W+.

The CPU in rendering and other multitasking is a bit faster than the 13900HX on the BD900i mobo. It also heats up less. On the other hand, it has fewer options to adjust, and RAM performance is only standard with the best kit available at 5200 CL40-40-40.
I also noticed that even at 55W TDP, it has no problems boosting up to a max of ~5.45GHz on most cores while gaming. It just sets a lower average clock when all cores are under load. In short, if you run a game that mainly uses 2-6 cores, then those 2-6 cores will run at max clock all the time, while others will drop to ~2.5-4GHz. On desktop Ryzens, the max boost is only on 2 cores, and the average is lower than on this mobile CPU. Considering the low TDP, it's pretty amazing how fast it is. Once you unlock TDP up to 120W+, you will see all 32 threads running up to 5.45GHz.

 

[Flamethrower1972]

Ya I think a lot of those people do not fully understand what they are doing. I think it is best to come to a form like this to ask questions and you will get better results.

 

[Woomack]

I have an AMD mobo in my gaming PC since I can't really test RAM on this mobo, and as I mentioned, it uses less power and is a bit faster in games. I'm also curious how long it will work problem-free 24/7
Intel mobo is for tests right now as I can overclock RAM and adjust some more settings. Some SODIMM reviews are on the way.

One surprise. AMD mobo starts very fast. RAM training takes a couple of seconds. Power-up -> Windows desktop takes 4-5 seconds.
Intel mobo is training RAM for ages, like 3-5 minutes, depending on RAM ... unless it's Kingston Impact with enabled XMP, as then it's training a couple of seconds. Once RAM settings are saved, it starts very fast, but a bit slower than the AMD mobo.

M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD performance is just right on both versions. I was thinking of getting 4 SSDs and setting RAID, but prices for anything reasonable are too high, and I only have 2 from a similar series. I don't really want to spend $300 to run a couple of tests.

It's possible to set bifurcation on the PCIe slot -> 8x8 or 4x4x4x4. I know some users ask for that.

If you have any questions, then ask as I could probably test it already.

__________

Even though I have some fun, I'm not sure if I would recommend these motherboards over something more regular from ASUS or other brands with a large BIOS team. Now, it's great, but it's not problem-free, and seeing Minisforum jump to new products every couple of months suggests that the support can be limited in some time.
Btw. if I'm right, then the QVL includes all 1 ... literally 1 memory kit. I guess I have more experience with SODIMM kits on Minisforum motherboards than the manufacturer. I have already tested 6 different kits: 2x16GB, 2x32GB, and 2x48GB. Also, SPD/PnP and XMP kits. Some of them, in theory, shouldn't even work. It is also a surprise how such a small brand can release a motherboard that, without problems, works with RAM at 6400-6800 (maybe with some luck 7000 too, but I can't stabilize it), and the largest brands had problems stabilizing DDR5 above 6000 for over a year.

One screenshot with stability test on Kingston Impact 6000 CL38 @ 6800 CL32 ~1.40V