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
ASRock Z390M ITX/ac
The ASRock is the only manufacturer to release two mini-ITX motherboards at the launch of the Z390 chipset and the Z390M ITX/ac stands out for quite a number of reasons. First of all the Z390M ITX/ac has dual Gigabit NIC with two LAN ports on the rear panel. Secondly, ASRock has managed to cram six SATA ports onto this board with every port featuring straight angled connectors. Memory support on the Z390M ITX/ac is provided from two RAM slots with a capacity of up to 32 GB and support for up to DDR4-4000.
Design wise the Z390M ITX/ac is very simplistic with what seems like a 6-phase power delivery which looks to be running in a 4+2 configuration. The heatsink doesn't look up to much, but the board does feature a single 8-pin 12 V ATX input which does show that the board is more than capable of running the new 9th generation Intel Core i9-9900K, but perhaps not with an overly aggressive overclock applied. There is no RGB LEDs integrated into the board which says this board is more aimed towards professional users and power users looking to build a high spec small form factor system without too much fluff. The board also features a single PCIe 3.0 full-length slot with ASRock Steel Slot reinforcement and just above is a single PCIe 3.0 x4/SATA M.2 slot.
On the rear panel are a pair of USB 3.1 Gen2 (Type-A and Type-C), four USB 3.0 Type-A and two USB 2.0 ports. Users running processors for the integrated graphics capabilities of the 8th and 9th generation Intel CPUs will be pleased to know the Z390M ITX/ac has dual HDMI outputs along with a single DisplayPort. A combo PS/2 keyboard/mouse port is ever present and the board uses a cheaper Realtek ALC887 HD audio codec which is supplemented by three 3.5 mm audio jacks. Wireless networking is supported through an Intel-based 802.11ac Wi-Fi adapter.
While the ASRock Z390M-ITX/ac shares similar traits as the Z390 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ac, the latter is aimed at gamers while the Z390M-ITX/ac is aimed more towards professional users. This is characterized by the inclusion of dual Intel LAN and a lower quality ALC892 audio codec. The price of the ASRock Z390M-ITX/ac is also another indicator with a recommended retail price of $150 along with the lack of gaming-themed stylings as the board features a basic, yet subtle aesthetic.
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Smell This - Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - link
Much.Of.
The.
Same.
2 HSIO lanes per Gen 2 port and WiFi. Wow (rolling I-eyeballs) ...
MadAd - Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - link
58 motherboards, only 13 of which are smaller than ATX. When on earth are we going to move off this outdated oversized format? Its just more of the same every time, so depressing.gavbon - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - link
13 is better than 0, or 12 :DMadAd - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - link
Considering very small form formats (ITX) are harder to build for and only 7 are uATX, a size which is the most useful to transition away from ATX then no, it feels like an afterthought from a lazy industry. I mean who uses more than 1 main video card and 2-4 sticks of ram in a gaming PC these days? Even water builds into uATX isnt that hard to accomplish.After literally decades ATX should be a choice for edge cases not a mainstream build.
shaolin95 - Monday, October 22, 2018 - link
who cares about midge boards!Edkiefer - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - link
All these MB with 2x 8 pin power inputs, is both mandatory and if so I guess new PSU will need 2x 8pin now.entity279 - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - link
so it's ok to just buy SM motherboards now with them being involved in a security scandal?gavbon - Thursday, October 11, 2018 - link
I currently have the Supermicro C9Z390-PGW awaiting to go on the test bench next week, so from a consumers standpoint, I could potentially shed light on that board. As far as the Chinese/Supermicro/Spy scandal goes, I don't want to speculate without the finer details.eastcoast_pete - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - link
Ian & Gavin, thanks for the overview.@ both - Question: I've read that Intel, to deal with its bad planning/capacity problems on 14 nm, has contracted the fabbing of some of its chipsets out to TSMC, specifically in TSMC's 22 nm tech. Is that correct, and did you have a chance to confirm that the new 390s used by these boards are indeed made by Intel on their 14 nm FinFET tech, or are they made by a contractor (TSMC)?
DanNeely - Wednesday, October 10, 2018 - link
AFAIK the chipsets being reverted to 22nm are using Intel's 22nm process in old unupgraded fabs. Doing so would be far less work than porting to a process from a different company; the latter would require massive rework to follow a completely different set of design rules.