I'm pretty sure EVGA are pulling out of the motherboard business as soon as they complete their final BIOS patch for Z690/Z790 (the one that makes them 14th gen compatible).

ironage
Well actually EVGA has something called OC Robot, that used to be the best implementation of an Auto-OC Tool.

That only does all-core OC and seems to have struggled to provide a useful OC since 12th gen came out.

Hoggle

B0baganoosh

ironage
Well actually EVGA has something called OC Robot, that used to be the best implementation of an Auto-OC Tool.

That only does all-core OC and seems to have struggled to provide a useful OC since 12th gen came out.

I wouldn't say it's struggling I just would wonder if other options are able to accomplish a higher overclock but I would also wonder if it would be as stable. OC Robot has been a good tool for me at least that gives a very stable overclock without having to really worry that my system is going to crash. At a point you are chasing just a couple FPS while risking instability for the average home user. 

I've seen several people report that it doesn't even complete with their setup since z690 series (even z590 if I remember correctly). That said, there's considerably more benefit from doing a per-core OC in games and the OC-robot doesn't allow that. It will try and drive all-core OC until you thermal throttle. That often results in an overclock that doesn't touch e-cores, is still hot for things like Cinebench, but loses performance over stock settings for gaming, and that's assuming that it completes and gives you an all-core OC that is higher than the stock clocks, which won't happen for anybody not on exotic cooling. This is not really that useful. To give you an example, you could end up with a 13900k that now runs e-cores at stock and all-core at 5.5GHz, but now it won't boost any cores to 5.8GHz. So in essence, you've lost performance from stock. I saw similar scenarios with z590 (11900k) and 12900k on z690. That's why I said what I did. Maybe it works for some people, but all I've seen it do is struggle to provide anything useful. On older CPUs where they didn't really do per-core OC, yes, it was very helpful.

Tom Sunday
Epsolike...EVGA does not have motherboard R&D or manufacturing anymore!
 
Greetings from Stehekin, WA USA: Many thanks Epsolike for your follow-up note. As you can imagine I have been disappointed that EVGA has come to a place and where it stands today! The only good news remaining is that my late 2022 purchase of the Z790 MB should keep me happy and hopefully keep on operating for the next 3-4 years and before my usually scheduled complete new system upgrade. On the MSI topic, you were absolutely correct. But my thoughts were that at least MSI was doing something and stepping-up to the bar. Not perhaps as we enthusiast see it…but at least something tangible and more so than EVGA. I will probably in the next few years tinker with the acquisition of a new AIO, NVME upgrades, new enclosure alternatives, memory etc…to keep things interesting and the feeling of something new keeping me afloat. Be well…Thanks Tom!  
 
 

That is absolutely fair, i can honestly say i was sad/skeptical for a LONG time before coming to terms with the reality that they indeed quit graphics cards and motherboards. Perhaps even disappointed at times like yourself (not necessarily just in relation to the earlier mentioned facts).
I must say i envy everyone a little bit who has the option/gets to have their last Z790 DARK boards, i feel like it's the most appropriate farewell, while ofcourse at the same time hoping that they do receive their BIOS updates for the promised 14th gen compatibility, so they can enjoy the platform for a little while longer! So i think you aren't in a relatively bad hardware "position" right now 

...very likely production has come to an end, some classified here and there, (Newegg and Amazon global store) but no more Z790 Dark.

With all of the original packaging from February this year still in mint condition, I might as well put my Z790 MB including DDR5, Noctua Cooler, Boot M2 and my i9-13^thgen CPU on the market, while the getting is good? And move on with a configuration I know for sure will be around for support and extended warranties? Too bad the 15th gen and an all new matching MB is 10-months plus away and with a bigger bang of specs and performance! Never a dull moment even here ‘off-grit’ in Stehekin, WA!  
 

 
 

Tom Sunday

...very likely production has come to an end, some classified here and there, (Newegg and Amazon global store) but no more Z790 Dark.

With all of the original packaging from February this year still in mint condition, I might as well put my Z790 MB including DDR5, Noctua Cooler, Boot M2 and my i9-13^thgen CPU on the market, while the getting is good? And move on with a configuration I know for sure will be around for support and extended warranties? Too bad the 15th gen and an all new matching MB is 10-months plus away and with a bigger bang of specs and performance! Never a dull moment even here ‘off-grit’ in Stehekin, WA!  

 
Totally up to you, but what would you use in the meantime?
 
Also, as ironage said, 14th gen is a very mild refresh that probably won't bring much improvement worth upgrading to (as you already have 13th gen).
 
If you're looking for longevity, the play right now would be AMD, as Intel's got just the 14th gen refresh in queue for this platform, then it's a new socket again. Ryzen will have at least one more new generation on their current platform, maybe more. So if you were just looking to future-proof, I'd consider something like an ASRock X670E Taichi or B650E Taichi Lite. My reasoning is that their BIOS is pretty good from reviews of it I've seen and they put their fastest m.2 slot up next to the memory, so you can change it without removing the graphics card. They also have one of the best VRMs on AM5 in those two boards. The B650E lite board has less heatsinks on it and a few less features for cost savings, but depending on how many lanes you like to use (PCIe and SATA differences), it can be a nice cost savings. I'm not a massive fan of the looks of their boards, but I've heard less horrible experiences than with any of the other manufacturers, so I think I'd lean towards them...I haven't personally used them, so I guess you'd have to just read reviews.
 
Anyway, your DDR5, m.2, and cooler would likely still be of good use and then there's an upgrade path.
 
If you aren't really considering upgrading in the next 1-2 years anyway, you may as well just use and enjoy the board you have (which should run your 13900k just fine) and know that after ~3+ years you'd be looking at a new motherboard anyway because neither brand keeps the same socket forever. 

selimfollie
What would be the best way to find a z790 dark besides, spending countless hours on ebay and always missing out on one?
Thought there are quite a few classifieds sitting on Newegg and other websites 

You have a ways to go to meet the rules for the EVGA marketplace in terms of getting permissions, but I would think the best chance would be to try and get a used one by posting an ISO (in search of) or WTB (want to buy) post there and see if anybody who has one wants to sell theirs.

Yeah, it would have to be there. Also, you can get your comment level up in some of the general section threads. They'll be obvious which ones lol. One word game, etc.