The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE Z490I Aorus Ultra
Catering to the small form factor market, the GIGABYTE Z490I Aorus Ultra has pretty high-end for a mini-ITX model. It is using a direct 8-phase power delivery with 90 A power stages and tantalum polymer capacitors making it a solid option for enthusiasts. Other features include dual PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, an Intel 2.5 G Ethernet controller, Intel's AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface, and an HDMI 2.0 video output.
It follows a similar design and theme to the ATX sized GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Ultra with gunmetal grey heatsinks which is a common feature on Aorus models. There is just one area of integrated RGB LED lighting which can be found on the right-hand side of the board. Due to its small size, there is just one full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slot. In recent times, mini-ITX motherboards have been getting better and better, and GIGABYTE has put two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots on board, both under a front-mounted M.2 heat sink. This includes four straight angled SATA ports which support RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. There are two memory slots with support for up to DDR4-4800, with a maximum capacity of 64 GB.
One of the most prominent features on the rear panel of the Z490I Aorus Ultra is that it includes an HDMI 2.0 video output which can be used with Intel's integrated graphics. In addition to this, there is a DisplayPort video output, while the boards three 3.5 mm audio jacks are controlled by a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec. Looking at the networking, it is using an Intel i225 2.5 G Ethernet controller which powers the single Ethernet port, with antenna connectors for the Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface which also has support for BT 5.1 devices. In terms of USB, there is a single USB 3.2 G2 20 Gbps Type-C, one USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-A, two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. Finishing off the rear panel is a Q-Flash BIOS Flashback button for flashing the board's firmware without a processor, memory, or graphics card installed.
The GIGABYTE Z490I Aorus Ultra is a solid mini-ITX offering for users that aren't interested in Thunderbolt 3 (ASRock include this) and is looking to build a solid small form factor gaming system with a single graphics card. It has plenty of rear panel connectivity, good networking support, and the 8-phase power delivery with 90 A power stages look solid. At launch, the GIGABYTE Z490I Aorus Ultra has an MSRP of $269.
This page will be updated when more information becomes available to us.
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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.