Intel Z390 Motherboard Overview: 50+ Motherboards Analyzed
by Ian Cutress & Gavin Bonshor on October 8, 2018 10:53 AM EST- Posted in
- Motherboards
- Intel
- MSI
- Gigabyte
- ASRock
- EVGA
- Asus
- NZXT
- Supermicro
- Z390
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero
Out of all the manufacturers releasing Z390 motherboards to the market, ASUS has the most with a total of nineteen different models across multiple of their core motherboard ranges. These include the performance inspired and enthusiast-focused ROG Maximus XI series, the gaming and mid-range gaming-inspired Strix range, the more rugged and more recently gaming-centric TUF boards. ASUS has also released a trio of professional-fixated PRIME motherboards.
The gaming range of boards which stretches from the top (ROG Maximus XI Extreme) down through to entirety of the Strix range and down to the bottom (TUF Z390-Plus Gaming) seems pretty comprehensive, with the Maximus XI boards offering comprehensive power deliveries designed to push the new Intel 9th generation (8th generation too) processors up to and beyond their limitations. A lot of the ASUS Z390 boards aimed at gamers include Intel Gigabit LAN with Realtek based ROG Supreme-FX S1220 HD audio codecs on the mid-range and higher-end offerings scattered across the different price points.
One of the major points to note on the Maximus XI Hero, Code and Formula boards is they share a very similar PCB which leads us to think the main differences separating them comes through the aesthetic and the inclusion of better quality controllers as the range goes up in price. Also similar is that each of the ROG Maximus XI Hero, Code and Formula all have an 8-pin + 4-pin ATX 12 V CPU power inputs with a similar looking power delivery on the surface; we did reach out to ASUS for more information and if we receive it, we will provide an update.
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero, WIFI & Black Ops 4 Edition
The ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero (Z390) represents the lowest of the higher tier Maximus range of motherboards and since their introduction to ASUS's motherboard arsenal back on the Z87 chipset, the ROG Maximus VI Hero. Five iterations of the Hero later and we're at the XI which includes a Supreme-FX S1220 8-channel HD audio codec and includes a single Intel I219V Gigabit LAN.
One thing the ASUS Z390 gaming boards has plenty of is RGB and the Maximus XI Hero does have it with two key areas featuring integrated LEDs; the rear panel cover and the chipset heatsink. The Maximus XI Hero also features two addressable RGB headers along with two regular RGB headers. The power delivery from the surface looks like it may be a 10-phase setup operating at 8+2 or 6+4, with a nice sized black colored finned heatsink. The front of the PCB has two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots with only one of these supporting SATA too. Both M.2 slots have heatsinks and in addition, the board has a total of six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays also present.
The PCIe on the ROG Maximus XI Hero consists of three full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which operate at x16, x8 and x4 (x8/x8 or x8/x4/x4) with the top two slots having ASUS Safe Slot protection to strength them up; also included are three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. There's a total of four RAM slots with support for DDR4-4400 with a total capacity of up to 64 GB.
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero WiFI Rear Panel IO
On the rear panel is a combined total of eight USB ports which are comprised of three USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A, one USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C and four USB 3.0 Type-A ports. The Wi-Fi enabled model has an Intel 9560 2T2R Wave 2 802.11 Wi-Fi adapter with Bluetooth 5 support and both models make use of a single Intel I219V Gigabit powered LAN port, with five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output powered by the SupremeFX S1220 HD audio codec. Also included is a pair of video connectors for the integrated graphics which consists of an HDMI 1.4b and DisplayPort 1.2 output.
The ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero's MRSP is currently unknown and is the base model for the higher end Maximus models. The board is targeted at gamers with features such as an S1220 HD audio codec. ASUS also offers a ROG Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi) which is likely to cost between $10 and $20 more, with the only difference being the inclusion of an 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter.
ASUS has also released a Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 themed model called the ROG Maximus XI Hero Black Ops 4 edition which has the exact same feature set as the above Hero (Wi-Fi) model, but with military COD BO4 inspired RGB logos on the rear panel and chipset heatsink. The special edition ROG Maximus XI Hero Black Ops 4 motherboard availability and pricing is currently unknown.
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gavbon - Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - link
Thank you Hickory, will update now; this information wasn't available to us at the timebill44 - Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - link
All this boards, but only 1 with Thunderbolt 3. Looks like Thunderbolt 3 is dead (free or not).Type C ports and HDMI 2.0 is in short supply too.
Hopefully next year, we can have two or more USB C (maybe even 3.2), HDMI 2.1, PCIe 4/5 and Thunderbolt 3/4 (Titan Ridge?). Or maybe not, just the same old things hoping for 2020/21.
DanNeely - Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - link
There's no licensing fee for TB, the controller chip itself still costs money (IIRC $20 or $30) and still eats 4 PCIe lanes. Worse, IIRC to make the video out feature work they need to be CPU lanes; meaning that adding it means your main GPU slot is an x8, and the secondary one only x4.gavbon - Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - link
Yeah it's a case of certain vendors opting to dismiss including TB3 ports, which only seems sensible on mini-ITX boards where PCIe lanes aren't too much of an issue. Consumer choice is important though and I'm still glad ASRock has included it; it could be a key buying decision for some!gamingkingx - Friday, October 12, 2018 - link
Just too bad it is only wired as a x2.. And it is wired into the chipset as far as I am aware, so you are gonna max out your I/Os pretty fast.bill44 - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - link
Sure, anything you add will cost something. The are plenty of non-gamers who prefer TB3 vs x16.This also highlights how old current PC architecture is. Either we need more PCIe lanes, or faster lanes. Otherwise, all advances will be hindered.
Up to 6 USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports? You’ be lucky to get 4. Why can’t we have 6 Gen2 ports and the rest Gen1 an no antiquated USB 2.0? PCIe resources.
All new peripherals use Type C, but this boards generally give you only 1 (saving money on redrivers). USB 3.2 (20 Gbps)? When it comes around, ithis too will need more PCIe lanes. M.2. PCIe 3.0 x4? All lanes are maxed out; the only way forward is faster lanes.
In the past, Gigabyte was a TB3 champion including the functionality on many of their boards. Now, not a single one.
Cost saving by motherboard makers? Prioritising gamers? Or simply no demand for TB3.
The outcome is the same.
repoman27 - Thursday, October 18, 2018 - link
Intel merely said that they planned "to make the Thunderbolt protocol specification available to the industry under a nonexclusive, royalty-free license" sometime this year. This hasn't happened yet, and is referring to the protocol spec, not the silicon that Intel produces. If and when they decide to do this, ASMedia or whoever could then begin development of their own Thunderbolt controllers. This means that third-party controllers probably won't appear in shipping products until sometime in 2023.As for the currently available Thunderbolt 3 controllers, tray prices range from $6.45 to $9.10. But you also need a USB Type-C and PD controller, power switch, and high-speed mux which runs around $4.59, plus the connector and a few other bits. I don't believe Intel charges a royalty on finished Thunderbolt products, but they do require licensing and certification which are paid for by the OEM and may add significant cost to relatively low-volume products.
AFAIK, Windows PCs are still required to connect Thunderbolt controllers via the PCH. Apple is the only one using PEG lanes for Thunderbolt, and they don't do that on the 27-inch iMacs where it might adversely impact the GPU.
Dug - Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - link
I hope it's not dead. Far more useful than USB C. I would be fine with USB C except there doesn't seem to be a good USB C to USB C hub, which really restricts how many devices you can use. I'm really glad to see it on ASRock itx board so I can attach a portable SSD array.imaheadcase - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - link
Tons of monitors of USB-C, anker sells USB-C hubs, I don't think i've seen thunderbolt in a desktop PC to date though. That best part of USB-C is being able to just plug phone into it and copy paste to desktop files (no Microsoft didn't invent that, it was always that way by default in windows)Valantar - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - link
TB3 is far from dead, it just has little use in desktop PCs. Have you looked at laptop lineups recently? TB3 is _everywhere_. My workplace (a major university here in Norway) has moved entirely to TB3 docking solutions as they're the only full-featured and universal(-ish) solution.eGPUs are useless on desktops. Desktops don't need docks. USB 3.1 is plenty fast for external storage, and if you need faster storage, desktops can fit that internally. The only real use cases for TB3 on a desktop are TB3 networking (for fast direct transfers between PCs) and adding things like extra NVMe or >GbE networking on ITX boards that don't have room for that and a GPU.