The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Master
Sitting just below the flagship Z490 Aorus Xtreme, the GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Master still represents itself as one of its premium offerings. Featuring the same shielded memory routing and a 14-phase power delivery with 90 A power stages and tantalum polymer capacitors, this enthusiast offering includes an Intel 2.5 G Ethernet controller and Intel Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface. It also includes triple PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, six SATA ports, and support for up to DDR4-4800 memory.
It follows a clear Aorus inspired design with a funky rear panel cover, armor around the PCIe slots for a cleaner look, with three PCIe 3.0 x4 slots each with its own individual heatsink. GIGABYTE is using three full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which run at x16, x8/x8, and x8/x8+x4. Other storage options include six SATA ports with RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 array support. A total of four memory slots include support for up to DDR4-4800, with a maximum capacity of 128 GB, operating in dual channel. The 14-phase power delivery is cooled by a pair of aluminium fin array heat sinks, with two 8-pin 12 V ATX CPU power inputs designed to deliver power to the processor.
On the rear panel is 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. There is a single Ethernet port powered by an Intel i225 2.5 G controller, with antenna ports for the Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface which also includes support for BT 5.1 devices. The onboard audio consists of five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output and is powered by a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec and ESS 9118 DAC. A clear CMOS button, HDMI video output, and a BIOS Flashback button which allows users to update the firmware without memory, CPU, and graphics card finish off an impressive rear panel offering.
The GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Master has an MSRP of $389 which is reasonable for the level of features and support on offer. Aimed at gamers and enthusiasts with features including triple PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2, 2.5 G Ethernet, and plenty of USB connectivity, the GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Master is another example of good value, even in the mid to high-end market segment. The Z490 Aorus Master also benefits from future PCIe 4.0 support with Intel's Rocket Lake processors when they eventually do land, which adds some extra longevity to Z490.
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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.