The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE Z490 Vision D
One of GIGABYTE's most premium models for content creators over the last couple of years has been via its Designare brand. GIGABYTE has changed this for Z490 and has replaced it with the Z490 Vision D which represents a much more subtle aesthetic than other models, but not quite as high-end as previous Designare models. The GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D includes three PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, a 12-phase power delivery, an Intel 2.5 G and Wi-Fi 6 networking pairing, with dual Thunderbolt 3 Type-C and a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec.
The GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D blends a mixture of black and grey heatsinks, with an all-black PCB, with some integrated RGB LEDs in the rear panel cover and chipset heatsink. A Designaire logo is present on the chipset heatsink, with this signifying the board's lineage for content creators. The board has three full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which operate at x16, x8/x8, and x8/x8/+4, with a single PCIe 3.0 slot. For storage, the GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D has three PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, each with its own individual heatsinks, and has six SATA ports with RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 array support. There are four memory slots which support up to DDR4-4800, with support for up to 128 GB of memory capacity.
On the rear panel is two Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C ports, with two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports supporting the boards ESS Sabre DAC UP audio chip. Also present are two USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-A, with two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. There are dual Ethernet ports on the rear panel, one controlled by an Intel I225 2.5 G controller, and the other by an Intel I219-V Gigabit controller. The Z490 Vision D also includes an Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface which adds support for BT 5.1 devices. The five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are powered by a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec, while a pair of video outputs consisting of a DisplayPort 1.4, and HDMI output make up the rest of the boards rear panel.
The GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D includes dual Thunderbolt 3 Type-C boards on the rear panel which puts it as one of just a small select few to feature this, with the Designare rebranded model geared up towards professionals and content creators. With dual Ethernet including Intel's I225 2.5 G controller, Wi-Fi 6 support, and triple PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2, it's clear the Z490 Vision D is going to be popular with those looking for a mixture of premium controllers on a subtle and neutral looking board. The GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D has an MSRP of $299 which seems very reasonable on paper given all of its features.
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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.