The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTASUS ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming
Moving down the ASUS product stack from the Maximus XII series to the more affordable Strix range, the ASUS ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming is the most equipped from its mid-range gaming-centric options. The ASUS ROG Strix Z490-E includes a Thunderbolt 3 header, with two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, six SATA ports, and an Intel 2.5 G Ethernet controller and AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface pairing. It also features a 14+2 power delivery with a broad set of heatsinks and has plenty of integrated RGB LEDs and RGB headers to allow users to make their systems pop.
Looking at the design, ASUS Strix has an edgy look with its branding on the large rear panel cover and chipset heatsinks, with do include integrated RGB LEDs. The power delivery and chipset heatsinks are connected via a heat pipe, and also helps to keep the two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots running cool. The power delivery consists of a 14+2 design, which is using a teamed setup with an ASP1405I PWM controller in a 7+2 configuration. As mentioned, the ROG Strix Z490-E has two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, with six SATA ports, and has three full-length PCIe 3.0 slots. These operate at x16, x8/x8, and x8/x8/+4, with three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. Memory compatibility is decent with support for up to DDR4-4600 with a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB across four memory slots.
For the rear panel, ASUS has included a single USB 3.2 G2 20 Gbps Type-C, three USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-A, two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and four USB 2.0 ports. A small BIOS Flashback button is present, with a pair of video outputs consisting of an HDMI 1.4b, and DisplayPort 1.4. Controlling the onboard audio composed of five 3.5 mm jacks and S/PDIF optical output is a SupremeFX S1220A HD audio codec. At the same time, networking options include an Intel I225-V 2.5 G Ethernet controller and Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface.
The ASUS ROG Strix Z490-E has an MSRP of $300 and caters to uses looking for a mixture of premium controllers with lots of rear panel USB connectivity. It targets the upper segment of the mid-range and is ASUS's premium Strix model. The Intel 2.5 G Ethernet port and Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface pairing offer plenty of quality networking options, while the pair of PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots with heatsinks offer support for hot running NVMe SSDs.
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Andrew LB - Saturday, May 9, 2020 - link
So these boards bring Wifi6, PCI-Express 4.0, gigabit 2.5, and for people like myself who are upgrading from a Z87 board.... just about everything is a huge leap.... yet you think there is just 'more of the same'? I guess if you're one of those idiots who buys a new CPU every year, then clearly this is not the release for you. Nor would AMD's latest offerings if that same metric is applied.So what's your problem with Capitalism? Do incremental design improvements offend you? Or is it profit that does? Hate to break it to you, but its profit motive that fuels innovation. Collectivism is a cancer and by its very nature hinders progress due to it not rewarding exceptionalism. It's why countries like China don't innovate. Otherwise they wouldn't need forced technology transfers from those who manufacture goods in their country.
Zenzdeluxe - Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - link
Thanks for that. The hypocrisy of these people. Imagine imbibing in the fruits of the capitalist system which besides continuing innovation, provides more spoils at lower price points for everyone than ever before. The audacity of such entitlement and seemingly collectivist / marxist based criticism is mind boggling. Cognitive dissonance off the scale indeed.ilkhan - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Details page for GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Pro AX (copy and paste because who can keep them straight otherwise) makes a big deal of no usb-C, but it's there in the picture...ecjp - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Yeah, I noticed that too. Gigabytes site shows same picture and lists "1 x USB Type-C™ port on the back panel, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support" in the specs, so I assume its an error in the article.gavbon - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Thanks for picking that up. I must have been writing about the wrong board. Apologies, it's updatedregsEx - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
"Integrated into the Z490 chipset is an Intel Wi-Fi 6 CNVi which allows motherboard vendors to integrate its AX200 wireless solutions directly from the chipset with a CRF module."CNVi is an old generation 802.11ac controller. Here it is CNVio2. CRF module is AX201. AX200 is a standalone controller that can work on any system. X570 motherboards with 802.11ax support, for example, packs with AX200 card.
lunaticbunny - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
There are no boards under $200. Seems like this Z490 chipset got the X570 inflation treatment as well.drexnx - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
just like the X570 boards, they've all got seriously beefed up VRMsand maybe the pcie4 tax wasn't just a cash grab? we'll really see when AMD B550 comes out, where those board prices land
Andrew LB - Saturday, May 9, 2020 - link
Plenty of boards under $200.ASUS Prime Z490M-PLUS
GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS Elite
ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-Plus
ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-Plus wifi
GIGABYTE Z490 UD
MSI Z490-A PRO ProSeries
A bunch of Asrock boards will be under $200 as well. You can see many prices already on Amazon.
dgingeri - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
It looks like, potentially, at least Gigabyte has decided to include a decent number of USB ports. I can't tell with the Asus board, but all the rest look to have only 6 USB ports, an annoyingly small number. I have been really annoyed with the lack of USB ports on boards for the last 5 years. Heck, with the old 440BX boards, we had 2 ps2, 4 or 6 USB, 1 or 2 serial, and a parallel port. We've lost the other ports, and internal drives in most computers, and not gained USB ports to compensate for it. External hubs aren't going to do it, either, as those stupid things keep dying in a matter of months.