More ASUS Z490 Motherboard Specs Sheets Surface: 6-layer Minimum, Optimem III Dual-Rank DDR4 Optimization

[btarunr]

Earlier today we brought you pictures and specs sheets of ASUS' top-tier ROG Maximus XII family of socket LGA1200 motherboards based on the Intel Z490 chipset. The rest of that slide-deck was leaked to the web by VideoCardz, revealing some fascinating specs common across the series. Apparently, a 6 PCB layers is the bare minimum for ASUS' lineup, which probably contributes to the elevated prices across the board. Some of the cheaper 300-series chipset motherboards make do with just 4 PCB layers.

The CPU VRM solutions are a definitely step up from the previous generations, designed to cope with rising electrical requirements of the 14 nm 10th gen Core processors. For the ATX and M-ATX models, 12+2 phase solutions appear to be the bare minimum for the ROG Strix Z490 series, and 9-phase for the cheapest Prime Z490 series. The ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming, which leads the ROG Strix Z490 series, tops the chart with a 16-phase solution that's probably similar to the one on the Maximus XII Hero. There's also a big innovation with memory optimization, series-wide. With its Z490 motherboard series, ASUS is transitioning from T-topology to daisy-chain, across the board. This is combined with the company's Optimem III automated memory optimization feature on select models, which enables you to populate all four slots on your motherboard with dual-rank DIMMs, and yet achieve frequencies as high as DDR4-3600, with timings as tight as CL16.



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[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Asus needs to put 3 m.2 slots on their boards. In fact, just make a motherboard with no sata ports and m.2 slots.

 

[Forge]

Asus needs to put 3 m.2 slots on their boards. In fact, just make a motherboard with no sata ports and m.2 slots.

Gonna have to go with no on that one, dawg.

I happen to like devices that aren't NVMe disks, like network adapters, sound cards, graphics cards, more than 2 SATA ports.

Just because it's what *you* like/want/need doesn't mean it's what anyone else wants. Stop castrating boards and disabling features in favor of more NVMe ports. Don't be cheap, go buy some bigger NVMe disks and copy your crap over like a big boy.

 

[AnarchoPrimitiv]

Asus needs to put 3 m.2 slots on their boards. In fact, just make a motherboard with no sata ports and m.2 slots.

Honestly, at least in the United States, the price of TLC PCIe 3.0x4 NVMe drives are basically the same price per GB as SATAIII SSDs, so there's really no point in buying a SATAIII SSD right now unless you have no M.2 slots or no PCIe slots you can slot an AIC adapter card into.

 

[robot zombie]

Just because some people aren't planning to use sata drives or nvme has gotten cheaper doesn't mean sata can now be excluded... quite a lot of those are still in use and people do still buy them.

I know if I gotta buy a sata card for a new mobo, I'm just buying a different mobo

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Gonna have to go with no on that one, dawg.

I happen to like devices that aren't NVMe disks, like network adapters, sound cards, graphics cards, more than 2 SATA ports.

Just because it's what *you* like/want/need doesn't mean it's what anyone else wants. Stop castrating boards and disabling features in favor of more NVMe ports. Don't be cheap, go buy some bigger NVMe disks and copy your crap over like a big boy.

Then you dont have to buy that motherboard that has 0 sata ports on it. There are others out there that are like me that want to use just m.2 drives and no sata hdds/ssds and the ports go unused. Just because *you* dont find a use for it, doesnt mean others dont and there isnt a reason why an option like this cant exist. If it were to exist and you dont find a use for it, then it's not meant for you. Simple as that.

 

[midnightoil]

The extremely strong VRM on the 'cheap' TUF Gamign Z490 board, that's unheard of for a 'budget' board, hints at just how appalling the power draw is likely to be on these if you try overclocking. We already know it's a disaster at stock.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

The extremely strong VRM on the 'cheap' TUF Gamign Z490 board, that's unheard of for a 'budget' board, hints at just how appalling the power draw is likely to be on these if you try overclocking. We already know it's a disaster at stock.

Doesn't sound cheap this either.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Pretty sure these will be priced similarly or slightly higher than X570 Boards from the same tier.

 

[ebivan]

What? HDMI 2.0 is still not build in and only available on certain mobos (which probably have an additional chip for that...)
So weak intel, its a shame.

 

[Kovoet]

Think I've had every ROG formula board till the X. Till they give me problems I will only use these boards. Love them

 

[TheLostSwede]

Am I the only one noticing the fan cooled VRM's on the mini-ITX board? What was that about fans being so Y2K?
Also, SLI is clearly dead in the water.
Good to see so many boards with 2.5Gbps Ethernet as standard though, but we still need affordable switches.

Asus needs to put 3 m.2 slots on their boards. In fact, just make a motherboard with no sata ports and m.2 slots.

Sorry, Intel doesn't have that many PCIe lanes available...
It's a non issue on X570 boards...

What? HDMI 2.0 is still not build in and only available on certain mobos (which probably have an additional chip for that...)
So weak intel, its a shame.

If you want HDMI 2.0 you have to buy an Atom CPU, sorry, Celeron or Pentium...

 

[midnightoil]

Pretty sure these will be priced similarly or slightly higher than X570 Boards from the same tier.

Unless Intel marketing budgets strike again, they should be a lot more expensive than equivalent X570 SKUs. Not that their X570 boards are by any means weak, but these are way beefier.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Unless Intel marketing budgets strike again, they should be a lot more expensive than equivalent X570 SKUs. Not that their X570 boards are by any means weak, but these are way beefier.

I think the absence of pcie gen 4 will prevent that as the majority of the cost increase in x570 was the chipset. Msi new X570 Tomahawk has 14 60 amp power stages, a 6 layer pcb, and pcie gen 4 and is only suppose to be priced at $210 for example when it releases next month.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I think the absence of pcie gen 4 will prevent that as the majority of the cost increase in x570 was the chipset. Msi new X570 Tomahawk has 14 60 amp power stages, a 6 layer pcb, and pcie gen 4 and is only suppose to be priced at $210 for example when it releases next month.

Don't forget the more expensive PCIe 4.0 re-drivers. As they were 2-3x the cost of the PCIe 3.0 ones at launch.

 

[Berfs1]

Why do some have dP 1.2 and other dP 1.4?

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Don't forget the more expensive PCIe 4.0 re-drivers. As they were 2-3x the cost of the PCIe 3.0 ones at launch.

Yeah, I meant pcie gen 4 implementation as a whole is quite a bit more expensive than gen 3. At the same time vrm wise these boards look slightly better so my guess is they will use that as an excuse to charge equivalent or slightly higher. At least with the 10 core those vrm will likely be needed and I hope manufacturers don't make the same mistake as they did with Z390 where some of the boards didn't support the 9900K very well.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Sorry, Intel doesn't have that many PCIe lanes available...

Tell that to Gigabyte.

Z390 AORUS MASTER G2 Edition (rev. 1.0) Key Features | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Lasting Quality from GIGABYTE.GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ motherboards bring together a unique blend of features and technologies that offer users the absolute ...

www.gigabyte.com

 

[TheLostSwede]

Tell that to Gigabyte.

Z390 AORUS MASTER G2 Edition (rev. 1.0) Key Features | Motherboard - GIGABYTE Global

Lasting Quality from GIGABYTE.GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ motherboards bring together a unique blend of features and technologies that offer users the absolute ...

www.gigabyte.com

You're aware that if you want to use all three M.2 slots on that board, you lose two SATA ports, plus the PCIe x4 slot loses half of its bandwidth? So no, Intel doesn't have that many PCIe lanes available.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

You're aware that if you want to use all three M.2 slots on that board, you lose two SATA ports, plus the PCIe x4 slot loses half of its bandwidth? So no, Intel doesn't have that many PCIe lanes available.

But again, I am not using any sata ports so it doesnt matter nor am I using the PCIe x4 slot. So there is 0 issue. In fact, I have NEVER used a PCIe x4 slot.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

But again, I am not using any sata ports so it doesnt matter nor am I using the PCIe x4 slot. So there is 0 issue. In fact, I have NEVER used a PCIe x4 slot.

Umm your 2 nvme drives should be using pcie x4 on your Code unless you manually capped their speeds to x2.......

 

[TheLostSwede]

But again, I am not using any sata ports so it doesnt matter nor am I using the PCIe x4 slot. So there is 0 issue. In fact, I have NEVER used a PCIe x4 slot.

I have and I am on my current board, which still supports 3x M.2 without disabling lanes on the PCIe x4 slot...
You need to join the 10Gbps Ethernet club

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

I have and I am on my current board, which still supports 3x M.2 without disabling lanes on the PCIe x4 slot...
You need to join the 10Gbps Ethernet club

And that's you. The board im proposing just wouldnt be for you. Just for people like me. I get no use from a pcie x4 slot. It goes unused.
I wouldnt be able to afford the gear to make that possible.

 

[TheLostSwede]

And that's you. The board im proposing just wouldnt be for you. Just for people like me. I get no use from a pcie x4 slot. It goes unused.
I wouldnt be able to afford the gear to make that possible.

Right...
Well, I'm sure I can introduce you to some people that can help design a custom board for you, if you got a few hundred thousand dollars to spare...
That would truly be a board for only you...

 

[Ex amd fanboy]

Memory controller in Comet Lake is just insane. Can`t wait for some B-Die overclocking results