Z590 or Z690

[alexjibcam]

@Middleman just thinking. If I send back my 11900k and get a 10900k will I be able to run iGPU?

 

[esafeddie]

@Middleman - I dare say with Mac Model 20,2 with the 11th Gen CPU you cannot run the machine in Headless mode utilising both iGPU and dGPU which I think is a bit of a waste but not a big problem, I mention this mode because that is how I was always running the Z390 and favoured that setup.

As I hopefully explained earlier, with my 11th Gen although I have both iGPU and dGPU but only dGPU can be used Mac Pro1,1 is the better SmBIOS for me plus getting full DRM in Safari, downside no Sidecar.

 

[esafeddie]

@Middleman just thinking. If I send back my 11900k and get a 10900k will I be able to run iGPU?

Yes you will, the downside is you won't be able to use the M.2 Slot directly under the CPU but the other Slots will be available. That is the stupid Quirk about this board.

 

[alexjibcam]

@esafeddie thanks.

Is there anything special I need to do with my setup or just change the system definitions?

Thanks.

 

[esafeddie]

@esafeddie thanks.

Is there anything special I need to do with my setup or just change the system definitions?

Thanks.

No not really, just change the system definition.

 

[zilma-zaz]

@Middleman just thinking. If I send back my 11900k and get a 10900k will I be able to run iGPU?

I found the iGPU slowed things down for me, I went from i9 10900K to 12700KF (iMac20,2 -> macPro7,1) and noticed a big improvement. Even just going from iMac20,2 to iMacPro1,1 which disabled the iGPU helped a lot in Davinci Resolve / Final cut as it forced them to use the 6900XT completely.

At the time I was exporting some H264 which took forever on the iGPU but my 6900XT could spit it out in a few seconds. The real problem was that all the background rendering for effects etc was done on the iGPU for some reason (resolve allowed specifying GPU but would still use the iGPU for the background tasks). I checked this using intel power tool / activity monitor and the AMD GPU stayed idle all the time while the iGPU was maxed out.

I trouble shot this for quite some time as I really didn't want to shell out for a new CPU/Motherboard so soon after building the 10900K, no matter what I did it would use the iGPU for pretty much everything unless the dGPU could be directly specified (like using the AMD codec).
The thing was even the tasks that were supposed to be good at on the iGPU like H264 4:2:0 were actually much slower. Scrubbing was really bad too, I had gone from a M1 Mac mini to this and it felt like a massive step backwards, with the iGPU disabled though it is as good as/better than the M1 Mac for scrubbing.

I also noticed a bump in synthetics/games in graphics with the 6900XT going to PCIe4 + 12700k around 5-10% depending on the test. I would of think it would be similar for the 11900K + PCIe4 over the 10900K.

The only reason I had gone for the 10900K was for the "closer to real mac" thing, the iGPU had not really been a consideration as I had the 6900XT. So once I was convinced that it was holding me back I switched to the 12700K and have been really happy with it. I was seriously considering the 11900K as well just for PCIe4 as my SSD was also PCIe4. I definitely wouldn't look back now with either choice.

 

[alexjibcam]

@zilma-zaz thanks so much for the detailed response. You answered my next question- whether it was worth it! I'll stick with the 11900k with PCIe4.

Hopefully I can get rid of this coil whine though. Was thinking iGPU might fix that.

 

[esafeddie]

@zilma-zaz thanks so much for the detailed response. You answered my next question- whether it was worth it! I'll stick with the 11900k with PCIe4.

Hopefully I can get rid of this coil whine though. Was thinking iGPU might fix that.

Coil whine!!!! Goodness I haven't had that since my old GA-Z87X-OC FORCE, yes it was and is very annoying.

 

[zilma-zaz]

@zilma-zaz thanks so much for the detailed response. You answered my next question- whether it was worth it! I'll stick with the 11900k with PCIe4.

Hopefully I can get rid of this coil whine though. Was thinking iGPU might fix that.

I get coil whine from my 6900XT, the iGPU made no difference. Most high end dGPUs now days are prone to coil whine, some more than others. I had tried switching PSU to see if that helped and it didn't, and its on a new motherboard with the 12700KF.
Only thing I've been able to do to at least dampen it was to change cases to a Bequiet 802 with solid panels (not the glass ones). It makes the whine basically unnoticeable when idle (which was when it was the worst) and has mostly restored my sanity.
Only panel on the case I don't have on is the top one so it can vent, all the others are the sound reducing ones.

 

[alexjibcam]

Hey @zilma-zaz,

Just foloowing up on this. Did a couple of tests there on two identicle machies with RADEON VIIs and i9-9900Ks.

1. Running SysDef- 19,1 (iGPU)
2. Running SysDef- Imac Pro 1,1 (No iGPU)

You are correct. iGPU does indeed slow things down. Not sure why i was getting hung up on it.

Doing a h264 premier export there on a 30min indeticle project timeline we were getting the following export speeds:

1. 19,1 = 28mins
2. iMacPro 1,1 = 18min

Scubbing was also noticebly faster on the iMacpro 1,1.

A lesson for anyone wondering about this. Don't get hungup on iGPU.