The Intel Z590 Motherboard Overview: 50+ Motherboards Detailed
by Gavin Bonshor on January 19, 2021 10:15 AM ESTASUS ROG Strix Z590-A Gaming WIFI
The ASUS ROG Strix Z590-A Gaming WIFI is a four-letter distinguished Strix Z590 model, with a very subtle silver and white aesthetic on a black PCB. Some of the A's primary features include support for up to DDR4-5333 memory, three PCIe M.2 slots, six SATA ports, and an Intel 2.5 Gb Ethernet controller. Design-wise, the board uses silver, and white heatsinks, with ASUS Strix branding on the chipset heatsink and an RGB-enabled ROG logo on the rear panel cover.
Towards the board's center is three full-length PCIe 4.0 slots that operate at x16, x8/x4, and x8/x4/+x4, with a single PCIe 3.0 x4 half-length slot. For storage, the Strix Z590-A has three M.2 slots, one operating at PCIe 4.0 x4, and two with support for PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA drives. The board also has six SATA ports arrayed in a single file along the right-hand side, with support for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. In the top right-hand corner is four memory slots with support for up to DDR4-5333, with a maximum combined capacity of 128 GB.
On the rear panel are a single USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C, four USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, and five USB 2.0 ports. Included for users planning on using Intel's UHD integrated graphics are a DisplayPort and HDMI video output combination, with a single RJ45 port powered by an Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller. The five 3.5 mm audio jacks are powered by a ROG SupremeFX ALC4080 HD audio codec, with a USB Type-C audio port which is quite rare. ASUS doesn't specify which Wi-Fi 6 interface it is using, but it's likely an Intel AX200 or AX201. Finishing off the rear panel is a small BIOS Flashback button.
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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