The Intel Z590 Motherboard Overview: 50+ Motherboards Detailed
by Gavin Bonshor on January 19, 2021 10:15 AM ESTASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero
Another model from ASUS's ROG Maximus line-up is the highly favorable Hero. The ROG Maximus XIII Hero offers Wi-Fi 6E, with dual 2.5 GbE and four PCIe M.2 slots. It uses a slightly different aesthetic compared with the previous Z490 Hero, with RGB LED lighting built into the rear panel cover and chipset heatsink. Still, ASUS's illustration leaves the question open whether or not the power delivery heatsink has them integrated too, which seems unlikely. The new Hero uses an ATX PCB, with a 14+2 power delivery with 90 A teamed power stages. Powering the CPU is a pair of 12 V ATX CPU power inputs.
The ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero includes a nice black and dark gray contrasting design, with three full-length PCIe slots. The top two operate at PCIe 4.0 x16 and x8/x8, while the bottom full-length slot is locked to PCIe 3.0 x4, and there is also one PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. The Hero includes six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays, with four PCIe M.2 slots. Two of the M.2 slots operate at PCIe 4.0 x4, while the other two can support PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA drives. In the top right-hand corner are four memory slots with support for up DDR4-5333, with a combined capacity of 128 GB. In the top right-hand corner of the board is a two-digit LED debugger, with a power on and rest switch pairing just below it.
On the rear panel is two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, with six USB 3.2 G2 Type-A and two USB 2.0 ports. ASUS includes two RJ45 ports powered by two Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controllers, with an Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E CNVi, which also includes support for BT 5.2 devices. For users planning to use Intel's integrated graphics, ASUS includes one HDMI video output. Regarding audio, ASUS is using a SupremeFX ALC404082 HD audio codec, with an ESS Sabre9018Q2C DAC. Finishing off the rear panel is a clear CMOS button and a BIOS Flashback button with a highlighted USB 2.0 port, which users can use to flash the board's firmware.
Typically bridging the gap between the ROG Maximus Extreme and Formula models to the Strix series, ASUS has set a price of $500. While this does seem on the high side of Z590 pricing, which we already know, ASUS does include a stacked rear panel including dual Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, dual 2.5 GbE, Wi-Fi 6E, as well as six USB 3.2 G2 Type-A.
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WaltC - Wednesday, January 20, 2021 - link
If my x570 Aorus Master fan is "active", it has sure fooled me...;) It is not audible.Makaveli - Wednesday, January 20, 2021 - link
I'm on a Asus Prime X570-Pro for just over a year now and I've not heard the chipset fan once totally overblown issue. Drama queens!Samus - Thursday, January 21, 2021 - link
I think it's impressive Intel kept a PCIe4.0 chipset down to 6w TDP. Definitely doesn't need active cooling.Slash3 - Sunday, January 24, 2021 - link
The chipset isn't Gen4.Spunjji - Wednesday, January 20, 2021 - link
Not surprised if they're expecting users to overclock chips that will exceed 200W at stock settings. 😬YB1064 - Thursday, January 21, 2021 - link
Is it just me or are the MSRPs listed utterly insane? Intel has been relegated to a poor man's AMD, yet these crazy prices? As they say, a fool and his money are soon parted.Samus - Saturday, January 23, 2021 - link
I don't think it's actually the chipset costs that are inflating the price of the boards, but the ridiculous power circuit and components required to deliver over 200w of power to the CPU's in order for these board makers to take advantage of PL2.fundead - Wednesday, August 4, 2021 - link
I thought the active fan is for the 10 gig networking chip. It is facing that heatsink which is right next to the vrm heatsink.damianrobertjones - Tuesday, January 19, 2021 - link
Looking at the prices, I'm really, REALLY glad that I bought an AORUS Z490 Elite (£154, new) from eBay. I just don't understand the prices.aidan - Wednesday, January 20, 2021 - link
I've just done exactly the same, no regrets whatsoever