ASUS Announce Their Z490 Boards

ASUS Announce Their Z490 Boards

PC

ASUS Announce Their Z490 Boards

ASUS have joined in the Z490 launch party with a plethora of their own motherboards. Of course being the new Z490 chipset they're supporting Intel's newly launched 10th Generation CPU's. The ASUS Z490 series will be joined by cousins H470, B460 and H410 motherboards.

ROG Maximus XII Extreme is the top of the ASUS Z490 lineup and deserves to be paired with high end CPUs, graphics cards, fast storage and peripherals. A set of MicroFine Alloy chokes works with teamed power stages and ASUS ProCool solid pins to deliver stable power to the Intel Core CPU.

Maximus XII Extreme gives builders access to memory clocks of 4800 MHz and beyond, allowing them to explore the upper limits of overclocking. It features out-of-the-box compatibility with over 80% of 4600 MHz DDR4 kits and has an onboard POST code LED display next to the Power-on, Retry and Safe Boot buttons.

ROG Maximus XII Apex has an overclocking-optimized six-layer PCB and shares the same 16 teamed power stage design found on Maximus XII Extreme, with a huge heatsink placed on top of the power components to ensure they stay cool. To help deliver the power required by 10th Gen Intel Core CPUs, Maximus XII Apex includes two eight-pin power connectors at its top-left corner to supplement the standard 24-pin ATX connector.

ROG Maximus XII Formula sets the ideal foundation for liquid-cooled builds. Its VRM features a CrossChill water block designed in collaboration with EK Water Blocks. The CrossChill EK III hybrid heatsink is capable of running up to 50°C cooler than standard air-cooled designs. Maximus XII Formula features 10 Gb and 2.5 Gb Ethernet, along with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity. There are also numerous USB ports for connections to peripherals.

ROG Maximus XII Hero (Wi-Fi) delivers balanced performance and is more than ready for the demands of 10th Gen Intel Core CPUs. It can accommodate up to three NVMe storage devices, all cooled by dedicated heatsinks. This board features an Intel WiFi 6 adapter and two Ethernet ports, with one delivering speeds of up to 5 Gbps. Users can take advantage of AI Overclocking for the best clocks and voltage settings at the press of a button, while the ASUS OptiMem III trace layout enables higher memory frequencies and lower latencies.

ROG Strix Z490-E and Z490-F Gaming feature 14+2 and 12+2 power stages respectively, Strix Z490-E Gaming and Strix Z490-F Gaming are ready to overclock the latest 10th Generation Intel Core CPUs with ease. This pair of motherboards features a heatsink with an embedded heat pipe to cool the power stages, and a secondary heatsink to cool the Z490 chipset. Their six-layer PCBs and ProCool II auxiliary power connectors ensure smooth and stable power delivery. Strix Z490-E Gaming has an optional fan that can be attached to the VRM heatsink for additional cooling during overclocking. Four DIMM slots employ a daisy-chain topology for peak frequency potential and can drive RAM to speeds of 4600 MHz and beyond.

ROG Strix Z490-I Gaming is a mini-ITX motherboard featuring a compact eight-layer PCB for signal integrity and passive heat dissipation and features an 8+2 power stage VRM with activate cooling for overclocking. Despite its size, Strix Z490-I Gaming can accommodate two M.2 devices, and they can be found underneath the heatsinks to ensure adequate cooling within the confines of small-chassis builds. A total of 13 USB ports are available, including three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and one Type-C connector at the rear panel.

ROG Strix Z490-H Gaming has large heatsinks covering the chipset and the 12+2 teamed power stages of the VRM. Its memory slots can accommodate DIMMs with speeds of 4600 MHz, too. The motherboard’s three main PCIe slots are reinforced with ASUS SafeSlot for extra durability should users need to move or transport their system with a graphics card or expansion card installed. One of its two M.2 slots has a dedicated heatsink, while a third M.2 E-key slot is available to take in an optional WiFi 6 module. It also features 2.5 Gb Ethernet.

ROG Strix Z490-A Gaming turns heads with its dashing white finish, and that’s further accentuated by rows of RGB LED strips. Specifications-wise, it’s similar to Strix Z490-H, apart from slight differences in the rear USB ports, as well as the availability of a front-panel USB Type-C connector.

ROG Strix Z490-G Gaming (Wi-Fi) caters to microATX enthusiasts with its gaming friendly features and broad connectivity. Though considerably smaller than its ATX siblings, Strix Z490-G Gaming (Wi-Fi) still incorporates a 12+2 teamed power stage design and four DIMM slots. Connectivity comes by way of superfast 2.5 Gb Ethernet and WiFi 6. Two PCIe x16 slots and a PCIe x1 slot can accommodate expansion cards, while two M.2 slots are available for high-speed NVMe storage. A heatsink on the primary M.2 slot keeps the SSD cool under sustained loads.

TUF Gaming Z490-Plus (also in a Wi-Fi option) features a six-layer PCB for better heat dissipation and signal integrity, as well as a 12+2 teamed power stage design with DrMOS components. TUF capacitors with high heat tolerance and ProCool solid-core auxiliary power inputs complement the main power circuitry. There are two PCIe x16 slots available, with one featuring the metal-reinforced ASUS SafeSlot design. Two M.2 slots are on hand for NVMe SSDs, with one of them covered by heatsink to keep thermal throttling at bay.

ASUS ProArt Z490-Creator 10G packs everything a professional creator or developer needs, with the added bonus of additional connectivity features. The I/O panel features two Thunderbolt 3 Type-C connectors powered by the latest generation Intel ‘Titan Ridge’ controller, each capable of speeds of up to 40 Gbps. The Thunderbolt connection also supports up to 12 devices in a daisy chain, and DisplayPort 1.4 video signals. To cater to the graphical needs of content creators and graphics professionals, ProArt Z490-Creator 10G has three PCIe x16 slots so they can install up to three graphics cards in up to a x8-x8-x4 lane topology.

ASUS Prime Z490-A utilises a 12+2 phase teamed power design with DrMOS integrated circuitry, and its six-layer PCB construction improves passive cooling. The DIMM slots can support up to 128 GB of DDR 4 4600 MHz memory. Its two onboard M.2 slots can accommodate 110mm long storage drives. A 2.5 Gb Ethernet controller comes as standard, and that can be supplemented by a CNVi-compatible WiFi module via the M.2 E-key slot. Prime Z490-A also has a dedicated header for Thunderbolt 3 expansion cards.

The most attainable motherboard in the Z490 family, Prime Z490-P features a 10+1 teamed power phase VRM design and support for up to 4600 MHz RAM. Dual M.2 slots are on hand for NVMe SSDs, and that’s further complemented by four SATA ports for large-capacity hard drives. In addition, an E-key slot is available for a WiFi card and a Thunderbolt 3 header for a ThunderboltEX 3-TR expansion card. The main PCIe x16 slot features the reinforced ASUS SafeSlot Core+ design to secure graphics cards in place. Three RGB LED strip headers, two four-pin and one Gen 2 addressable, provide onboard lighting. A Realtek Gigabit Ethernet controller and an ALC887 audio codec round out the main specifications.

Reliable and affordable, the compact Prime Z490M-Plus motherboard is a true workhorse. Its 8+1 DrMOS VRM power stage design offers unwavering power, while heatsinks on the power delivery circuitry ensure consistent power delivery to the 10th Generation Intel Core CPU. Memory is given a boost, too, with the ASUS OptiMem trace design pushing memory frequency to speeds of up to 4400 MHz. An Intel Gigabit Ethernet port can be found alongside USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and Type-C ports. Five onboard SATA ports are ready for HDDs, with two M.2 slots available for NVMe storage devices. The rear I/O panel features DisplayPort, HDMI™ and DVI output., 0, 0, 1, ASUS, Intel, RGB);



Tags: ASUS, Intel, RGB