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 Z390 Taichi Ultimate
Much of what the ASRock Z390 Taichi Ultimate offers has been outlined above with the 'regular' Z390 Taichi model. The Z390 Taichi Ultimate is also based on the ATX form factor with what from a visual perspective looks like the same 12-phase power delivery and same PCIe layout which consists of three full-length PCIe 3.0 lanes (x16, x8, x4) and has an additional PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. The Z390 Taichi and Z390 Taichi Ultimate share the same memory support with four slots supporting up to 64 GB of DDR4, with support extending up to DDR4-4200. In regards to storage connections, there are three M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4/SATA slots and a total of eight SATA ports.
The main differences between the two Taichi branded models come in terms of controllers as the Z390 Taichi Ultimate adds an additional LAN port to the already inclusive dual Intel-based LAN, an Aquantia 10 G NIC which is one of the only Z390 motherboards to include one. The rest of the rear panel is much of the same with three USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A, one USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C and four USB 3.0 Type-A ports. A Realtek ALC1220 codec handles the onboard audio and ASRock has included a pair of video outputs which consist of a DisplayPort and HDMI 1.4 port. The Z390 Taichi Ultimate keeps eight 4-pin fan headers which makes it one of the most cooling focused ATX boards alongside its younger brother, the Z390 Taichi. To add more, ASRock has included a pair of separate power/reset buttons and has upgraded the Wi-Fi to support 2T2R Wave 2 802.11ac.
The ASRock Z390 Taichi Ultimate at launch costs $300 and is the most expensive Z390 models. Everything about this board has flagship status including a proper triple NIC (unlike the MSI MEG Z390 GODLIKE) with the inclusion of an Aquantia controlled 10 G LAN port, 2T2R 802.11ac Wi-Fi, triple M.2 and plenty of USB 3.1 Gen2 to keep professional users, enthusiasts and gamers satisfied. The board is more targeted towards the enthusiast rather than the gamer, but ASRock makes this clear with the inclusion of the similar spec and closely priced Z390 Phantom Gaming 9 motherboard.
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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.