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Z790 Dark Hero QVL

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tohms

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I've been looking at the Z790 Dark Hero (yes I know all the hype is around the Encore, cheaper, better OC features, etc) and I was looking for some guidance regarding the recent QVL posted on the ASUS website: ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO | Gaming motherboards｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global

I see that both the 8000 + 7600 binned G.SKILL 2x24GB DIMMs are on the QVL(7200 isnt even on the list)

Meanwhile on the G.Skill website, only up to the 7200 binned DIMMs are on the QVL: RAM Configurator - G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd.

Can anyone help me understand this discrepancy or explain how ASUS validates their QVL?

Are there any reports of a better IMC on 14th gen or is this ASUS blowing smoke?

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
Ignore anything that memory kit vendors post. go by what your motherboard manufacturer posts.

Those QVL lists also don't get updated except for once every 4 months or so half of the time. You can never rely on that whole heartedly.

In all my years computing, I probably looked at those charts maybe twice? I've never had an issue. Not to mention I change all the settings anyways.
 
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#4 ·
UnderClockedOverVolted said:
Ignore anything that memory kit vendors post. go by what your motherboard manufacturer posts.

Those QVL lists also don't get updated except for once every 4 months or so half of the time. You can never rely on that whole heartedly.

In all my years computing, I probably looked at those charts maybe twice? I've never had an issue. Not to mention I change all the settings anyways.
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Actually, I would trust neither.
In this particular case, the G.Skill QVL seems more realistic, as I doubt that DDR5-8000 is plug and play on the Z790 Dark Hero, being a 4 DIMM board and all, not to mention the variance in CPU IMC and so on.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
Some of the other folks who are more intelligent than me will be able to give you a more detailed response, but the most significant difference is that Apex has a 2 DIMM configuration. This substantially improves the stability of the RAM at higher speeds.

For reference, I went ahead with the Dark Hero, and purchased the gskill ddr5 2x24 7200 RAM. I was able to get it running at 7600 stable with minimal effort (by mocking the 7600 XMP), and I don't have the talent or the patience of many of the people here.

If I had gone with the Apex, I bet it would have worked at 8200+ XMP.

FYI, gskill has updated the QVL for 14th gen + dark hero to add the 7600 DIMMs (despite the binning between 7200, 7600, 8000, etc, this particular die seems to perform very similarly across all these SKUs).

I'm not totally sure that I agree with sentiment to trust the Mobo manufacturer more than the RAM manufacturer. At least in this case, it seems like gskill has been more accurate (and they will get fewer requests for refunds if they dont overstate the specs on their RAM).

As an aside, it does seem like people are having better luck with IMC on 14th gen, so that could be a part of it as well.
 
#7 ·
tohms said:
Some of the other folks who are more intelligent than me will be able to give you a more detailed response, but the most significant difference is that Apex has a 2 DIMM configuration. This substantially improves the stability of the RAM at higher speeds.

For reference, I went ahead with the Dark Hero, and purchased the gskill ddr5 2x24 7200 RAM. I was able to get it running at 7600 stable with minimal effort (by mocking the 7600 XMP), and I don't have the talent or the patience of many of the people here.

If I had gone with the Apex, I bet it would have worked at 8200+ XMP.

FYI, gskill has updated the QVL for 14th gen + dark hero to add the 7600 DIMMs (despite the binning between 7200, 7600, 8000, etc, this particular die seems to perform very similarly across all these SKUs).

I'm not totally sure that I agree with sentiment to trust the Mobo manufacturer more than the RAM manufacturer. At least in this case, it seems like gskill has been more accurate (and they will get fewer requests for refunds if they dont overstate the specs on their RAM).

As an aside, it does seem like people are having better luck with IMC on 14th gen, so that could be a part of it as well.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I'll probably choose the Dark Hero too. At least it has some more ports and more future proof to me. I just wish it had a 10gbit Lan port too. Just because of that I'm also considering the Gigabyte Master X but this time it's lacking the Thunderbolt ports + it has an older audio chip. So Dark Hero still remains the first in my list.
 
#8 ·
tohms said:
I've been looking at the Z790 Dark Hero (yes I know all the hype is around the Encore, cheaper, better OC features, etc) and I was looking for some guidance regarding the recent QVL posted on the ASUS website: ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO | Gaming motherboards｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global I see that both the 8000 + 7600 binned G.SKILL 2x24GB DIMMs are on the QVL(7200 isnt even on the list) Meanwhile on the G.Skill website, only up to the 7200 binned DIMMs are on the QVL: RAM Configurator - G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd. Can anyone help me understand this discrepancy or explain how ASUS validates their QVL? Are there any reports of a better IMC on 14th gen or is this ASUS blowing smoke? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Go by what gskill states I have a dark hero bought the 2x24 kit they state works on the dark hero QVL list and it won’t boot, the 7200 cl34 kit gskilll states works on they’re QVL does work flawlessly.
 
#9 ·
Google for
Asus DIMM FLEX QVL and you will see that the RAM kits that work for it are all 6800 to 7200 kits.

I am looking to get either a Dark Hero or Formula *Z790 too and already had purchased a 7200CL34 G.Skill kit.
 
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#10 ·
So I’ve been using the dark hero since 14900k release with DIMM flex enabled and it’s pretty cool, I ran memtest and karhu to make sure it’s stable and it didn’t give me any errors. However when I use xmp tweaked settings within bios or try to up the kit I have (7200 cl34) to 7600 cl34 I get errors within 30 minute. I notice a small improvement from DIMM flex in gaming and memory benchmarks like Aida64 and OCCT bandwidth tests I definitely get better results, more copy read and write By a decent margin.
 
#11 ·
So basically XPM 3.0 is not stable with this kit on the Dark Hero? Did you update BIOS to the latest one (at this moment in time it is the 0507 released in 2023/11/17

0507
1.Improve system performance
2.Improve memory module compatibility
Updating this BIOS will simultaneously update the corresponding intel ME to version 16.1.30.2264. Please note after you update this BIOS, the ME version remains the updated one even if you roll back to an older BIOS later.
Before running the USB BIOS Flashback tool, please rename the BIOS file (A5469.CAP) using BIOSRenamer.
 
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#12 ·
I’ve got the latest bios. and XMP is 100% stable, but if you go into bios and enable “Asus tweaked settings“ that’s the one that gives me errors. Regular XMP so 7200 cl34 is 24 hour karhu ram test stable so that’s rock solid. its a Very effective ram test.
 
#14 ·
7200 on ASUS 4 DIMM (Z790 first Gen) is allready not plug and play. 7600 possible with good IMC and superb memory and manual tuning - never ever XMP.
So if they didn't change the Layout for the DARK, forget about the QVL from ASUS.
 
#17 ·
They are included on the G.skill QVL but not on the ASUS one this time. But they are included on the DIMM FLEX page on the ASUS website.

www.asus.com

DIMM Flex Memory Support | Motherboards | ASUS Global

DIMM Flex compatibility requires specific onboard hardware, so users will need one of the latest ROG or ROG Strix Z790 motherboards and supported memory modules to get started with this feature.
www.asus.com www.asus.com
 
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#18 ·
And here they have used the G.skill 7200 CL 34 kit with the Dark Hero 220 BIOS, DIMM FLEX, 13th gen CPU and not a high SP either.

 
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