sam187

Had some issues with in between BIOS versions running XMP on an ASUS TUF Z690 with 4x 8GB G.Skill DDR4-3200 CL14 (reused from my former system). But with both very early and the latest BIOS versions also XMP is running fine with all 4 sticks. Was in contact with ASUS support in Germany, they then involved Taiwan about the topic.

Not listed in Germany? PRIME Z690M-PLUS D4｜Mainboards｜ASUS Deutschland TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 | Motherboards | ASUS Gloabl Pretty happy with the TUF, coming from a Maximus X Formula / 8700k / 32GB DDR4 CL14. Also availability in Germany wasn't an issue (ordered Monday after the launch) and they still are available. Was sceptical that the OC features of the TUF would be more limited compared to the Maximus X, but all you need is there...

Same here, coming from a 8700k (5Ghz all cores) and 32GB DDR4 3200 CL14 I've now ordered the "12700k / Asus TUF Z690 combo". Didn't see the added value of spending an additional 200-300€ for a DDR5 high(er)end board, 300-400€ for a 32GB DDR5 kit and 230€ more for the 12900k. At least not for DCS, where it's (for now) more about single to dual core IPC performance. Hopefully the TUF Board is able to OC one to three P-Cores up to 5.0-5.4, let's see...

Watercool customer since years, wouldn't buy anything else as long as they have something available for the components I'm using. That was my intention using the acryl versions, don't want to open the loop unless it's really needed. Regarding the EPDM tubes, well you can't see if they change their color :lol: But also in the reservoir I can't see any sediments, colour of the fluid also hasn't changed and is still absolulety clear. So far I can absolutely recommend this combination :thumbup:

BitMaster inspired me to perform my first system cleanup since I've built it last year around April. I'm running custom water loop PCs since over 10 years now, mainly because I wanted to have more or less silent while still very performant systems. In the past I've been using automotive radiator additives in my loops as well (e.g. Glysantin G20, G48 ) together with destilled water and clear tubes. Last year when building the new system I decided different, using black EPDM tubes combined with premixed "Aqua Computer Double Protect Ultra" (clear version, they also have colored versions which didn't make sense combined with black tubes). While in the past I also had green rust or milky tubes over time, I can't see any of that after a year in the new build. Hard to catch the clean blocks without reflections on pictures, but I didn't see any need to open and clean them. Also temperatures are still the same like when the system was new, so I'm pretty happy so far... P.S. please spare me the mustard & ketchup comments, couldn't bring it over my heart to not reuse my existing power supply, as it's still more than sufficient to run this system (~350W under load). Next time when I update the graphics card, maybe ;)