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 Prime Z390-P
In comparison to the above ASUS Prime Z390-A, the aesthetically more 'out-there' Prime Z390-P has a white and black theme stretching as if a wave of triangles flew through the air and splattered across the board in what can only be described as rays. This board also features a set of basic looking heatsinks without a rear panel cover with all of the appeal coming from the onboard set of controllers and componentry, with a clear focus on the value being the ulterior motive of this particular offering.
The most basic of the ASUS Z390 range still retains impressive support for DDR4-4266 with up to a maximum of 64 GB across the four RAM slots allowed. The PCIe configuration is also basic with a full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slot and two full-length PCIe 3.0 x4 slots and three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots offering support for two-way CrossFire multi-graphics card configurations. Storage support is offered through two M.2 slots with support for both PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA drives, and a more basic looking set of four SATA ports which all feature cheaper straight-angled connectors.
A pair of USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A and four USB 3.0 Type-A ports make up the boards USB connectivity with a pair of PS/2 ports and a DisplayPort and HDMI duo of video outputs on the board. The cheapest and basic of the ASUS Z390 motherboards has a Realtek RTL8111H Gigabit LAN port and Realtek ALC892 powered trio of 3.5 mm audio jacks which completes the rear panel.
The ASUS Prime Z390-P loos set to release as the cheapest Z390 board with the MSRP remainign unknown as of yet. The most basic and entry-level board offers a Realtek controller pairing which cuts down as much cost as possible, even with the use of straight-angled SATA ports to shave as much cost off as humanly possible. The Prime Z390-P is probably not the board to be considering for one of the new 8-core Intel Core i7-9900K processors, especially where overclocking is concerned due to the small and lightweight looking power delivery heatsinks.
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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.