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
GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Ultra
As GIGABYTE has moved away from their numbering scheme and elected to use a more prominent gaming scheme, the previous Z370 Aorus Gaming 5 which sat in the mid-range of GIGABYTEs Intel range has been replaced by the Z390 Aorus Ultra. Aesthetically not much has changed as both models have integrated RGB LED lighting at various points across the board including the power delivery and chipset heatsinks and the Z390 does include a total of (insert) RGB headers to further expand the RGB capabilities of the board. Just like the Gaming 5, the Z390 Aorus Ultra has integrated 802.11ac Wi-Fi on top of a single LAN port so users can get the best of both worlds when connecting to a network. GIGABYTE also advertises a 13-phase VRM (12+1) so there should be plenty of headroom available for users looking to overclock the new 9th generation Intel processors.
The Z390 Aorus Ultra shares similar characteristics as the Z370 Gaming 5 such as three full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which operate at x16, x8 and x4 from top to bottom respectively. GIGABYTE has upgraded the previous board as the Z390 Aorus Ultra now has metal slot protection on all of the full-length PCIe 3.0 slots. Also included on the board is three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots.
While both the Z370 Aorus Gaming 5 and the new Z390 Aorus Ultra has three PCIe 3.0 x4/2 M.2 slots, all three slots now include a dedicated M.2 heatsink to aid in heat dissipation on the newer Z390 option. The board also makes use of six SATA slots with support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays. Focusing on memory, the Z390 Aorus Ultra has compatibility with DDR4-4133 RAM and up to a maximum supported capacity of 64 GB across four RAM slots.
On the rear panel, there are three USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A, one USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C and four USB 2.0 ports. Like the Z390 Aorus Master, there are also two USB 3.0 Type-A ports marked with GIGABYTE's DAC-UP audio boost technology. The Z390 Aorus Ultra has support for 2T2R Wave 2 802.11ac wireless networking and the single LAN port is controlled by an Intel I219V Gigabit networking controller. A single HDMI video output is featured for users looking to utilize the integrated graphics on supported 8th and 9th generation Intel processors and the onboard audio which consists of five 3.5 mm audio jacks and an S/PDIF optical output are controlled by a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec.
The GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Ultra is a mid-high end Z390 option which costs $250 aimed towards gamers and enthusiasts looking to make use of multi-graphics card configurations and multiple M.2 storage devices with each slot garnering support for NVMe based drives. A handy LED debugger is also featured meaning users looking to overclock their processors have a handy method of diagnosing failed overclocks as well as POST related issues.
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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.