ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Apex Motherboard, Image/ASUS
The world’s premier professional overclockers using new ROG Maximus Z890 Apex motherboards have been able to achieve 5 world records, 19 global first-place records and 31 first-place records according to ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG). This performance level was accomplished using the Maximus Z890 Apex and the latest Intel Core Ultra processor (Series 2) lineup and the latest high-performance memory kits.
ASUS has reportedly designed Apex motherboards exactly for this purpose of helping the world’s most talented overclockers dissolve barriers and achieve record breaking results:
The ROG Maximus Z890 Apex takes the series to new heights with a sizeable 22+1+2+2 power solution ready to take Intel Arrow Lake processors to the stratosphere. But the true strength of the Apex is in its memory layout. In order to fully optimize copper trace pathways to the integrated memory controller, the Apex features two DIMM slots instead of four, sacrificing raw capacity to enable record-breaking frequencies.
Record Breaking Performance
Equipped with Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285K famed overclocker Elmor maximized performance the ROG Maximus Z890 Apex and pushed this CPU to 7488.8MHz using an innovative overclocking setup:
The overclocking was conducted with liquid helium using the AI LN2 pot, a project by 3D Systems, Diabatix, ElmorLabs, and SkatterBencher. This LN2 pot was designed with generative AI technology from Diabatix that allowed the team to rapidly explore a stunning range ofa design alternatives. The output of the Gen AI process was unlike anything else on the market, and it required the cutting-edge 3D printing tech of 3D Systems to bring to life; but the results speak for themselves.
Another milestone achieved by overclocker BenchMarc using the Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285K and the ROG Maximus Z890 Apex pushing a memory kit all the way to 12,066MT/s for a new world record.
Another Word about Memory Usage
The latest Intel Core Ultra processors (Series 2), users have the choice between Gear 2 and Gear 4. Gear 4 operates the CPU memory controller at a quarter of the memory clock speed, and is the normal and most compatible setting for most Z890 motherboards. Yet Gear 4 has higher memory latency:
However, Gear 4 comes with a tradeoff in the form of higher memory latency. In this regard, Gear 2 is demonstrably better, and that is especially true in the 6400-9000MHz frequency range. For example, the Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285K and DDR5-8000 have 18.8% lower latency when switched from Gear 4 to Gear 2, according to AIDA64.
Therefore using Gear 2 instead of Gear 4 permits a memory kit to perform above its specifications. The combination of DDR5-9000 with Gear 2, an extremely fast CUDIMM kit with the Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285K recorded faster memory read speeds and 12.48% lower latency than the alternative using Gear 4. ASUS currently sets the default setting as Gear 2 for the ASUS Z890 motherboards so no extra memory settings tweaking is necessary.
Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285K | ||
Benchmark | Record | Overclocker |
CPU-Z Frequency (LHE) | 7488.8MHz (First Place) | Elmor |
Memory Frequency | 12066MT (World Record) | BenchMarc |
3DMARK CPU Profile 1T | 1793 (World Record) | Elmor |
3DMARK CPU Profile 2T | 3560 (World Record) | Elmor |
3DMARK CPU Profile 4T | 7044 (World Record) | Elmor |
3DMARK CPU Profile 8T | 13242 (World Record) | Elmor |
Y-CRUNCHER Pi 1B | 11.446 s (First Place) | OGS |
Cinebench R11.5 | 111.98 pts (First Place) | BenchMarc |
Cinebench R15 | 9355 cb (First Place) | BenchMarc |
Cinebench R20 | 23692 pts (First Place) | OGS |
Cinebench R23 | 60840 pts (First Place) | BenchMarc |
Geekbench 3 Multi | 179845 (First Place) | CENS |
Geekbench 3 Single | 12204 (First Place) | BenchMarc |
Geekbench 4 Multi | 136028 (Global First Place) | OGS |
Geekbench 5 Multi | 38267 (First Place) | OGS |
GPUPI for CPU – 1B | 25s 523ms (First Place) | OGS |
7-Zip | 271180 MIPS (First Place) | OGS |
HWBOT x265 Benchmark 1080p | 290.985 fps (First Place) | OGS |
HWBOT x265 Benchmark 4k | 70.224 fps (First Place) | OGS |
XTU 2.0 | 22465 (Global First Place) | OGS |
Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 265K | ||
Benchmark | Record | Overclocker |
Y-CRUNCHER Pi 1B | 12.718 s (First Place) | OGS |
Cinebench R11.5 | 93.72 pts (Global First Place) | OGS |
Cinebench R15 | 7731 cb (Global First Place) | OGS |
Cinebench R20 | 20045 pts (Global First Place) | BenchMarc |
Cinebench R23 | 51360 pts (Global First Place) | OGS |
Geekbench 3 Multi | 151185 (Global First Place) | OGS |
Geekbench 3 Single | 11529 (First Place) | BenchMarc |
Geekbench 4 Multi | 119833 (Global First Place) | OGS |
Geekbench 4 Single | 12109 (First Place) | BenchMarc |
Geekbench 5 Multi | 34087 (Global First Place) | OGS |
Geekbench 5 Single | 2983 (First Place) | BenchMarc |
Geekbench 6 Multi | 27088 (First Place) | BenchMarc |
Geekbench 6 Single | 4068 (First Place) | BenchMarc |
GPUPI for CPU – 100M | 2s 07ms (First Place) | BenchMarc |
GPUPI for CPU – 1B | 30s 529ms (First Place) | OGS |
GPUPI for CPU 3.3 – 100M | 1s 816ms (First Place) | BenchMarc |
GPUPI for CPU 3.3 – 1B | 30s 393ms (First Place) | BenchMarc |
wPrime – 1024m | 30s 555ms (First Place) | BenchMarc |
7-Zip | 231088 MIPS (First Place) | OGS |
HWBOT x265 Benchmark 1080p | 251.787 fps (Global First Place) | OGS |
HWBOT x265 Benchmark 4k | 60.506 fps (Global First Place) | OGS |
XTU 2.0 | 18811 (Global First Place) | OGS |
Intel Core Ultra 5 processor 245K | ||
Benchmark | Record | Overclocker |
Y-CRUNCHER Pi 1B | 16.957 s (First Place) | OGS |
Cinebench R11.5 | 66.91 pts (Global First Place) | OGS |
Cinebench R15 | 5523 cb (First Place) | OGS |
Cinebench R20 | 14249 pts (First Place) | OGS |
Cinebench R23 | 36695 pts (First Place) | OGS |
Geekbench 3 Multi | 108408 (Global First Place) | OGS |
Geekbench 4 Multi | 94502 (Global First Place) | OGS |
Geekbench 5 Multi | 26518 (Global First Place) | OGS |
7-Zip | 170571 MIPS (First Place) | OGS |
HWBOT x265 Benchmark 1080p | 184.438 fps (Global First Place) | OGS |
HWBOT x265 Benchmark 4k | 44.829 fps (Global First Place) | OGS |
GPUPI for CPU – 1B | 43s 27ms (First Place) | OGS |