Building a mini-workstation based on Z890 and choosing a motherboard currently, wondering if the ASUS ProArt Z890 is worth it.
The main appeal is built-in 10 Gb Ethernet. But is this Marvell AQtion 10Gb chip reliable, performs as expected, etc on Linux and Windows?
My other consideration is the MSI PRO Z890-A. “Only” a 5 Gb Ethernet solution from Realtek here. Not bad for the price range but with 10 Gb prosumer switches starting to hit the market, I’ve been thinking a lot about going 10 Gb on this new build. And with how scarce PCIe slots are these days, I’d like to avoid having to use an add-in NIC if at all possible.
Both boards have ALC1220P audio, which I prefer over the USB-based stuff many boards use, e.g. ALC4082.
Prices to consider:
- ASUS ProArt Z890 - $675 (ouch)
- MSI PRO Z890-A - $390
Spending an extra ~$300 for 10 Gb feels a bit iffy! But there are also other benefits I guess:
- I prefer the styling on the ProArt.
- TB5 is cool but I don’t know if I will use it.
Good Linux support is also important, and supposedly, ProArt boards are generally well supported on Linux?
I’ve seen Wendell mention some positive things on YouTube which gives some confidence but haven’t seen any detailed account so don’t know how much he’s tested it yet. By contrast, have seen even less about whether the MSI PRO would work well on linux… which makes me lean to the ProArt.