• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

ASRock Z490 AQUA

Black Haru

Staff member
Joined
Feb 24, 2010
Messages
1,567 (0.29/day)
Location
Indiana
ASRock is back with another rendition of their ultra premium AQUA motherboards, this time for Z490! The ASRock Z490 AQUA has it all: a powerful VRM, a monoblock to cool it, and stylish looks to boot. Is this what peak performance looks like?

Show full review
 
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Messages
4,304 (1.11/day)
Location
Texas
System Name SnowFire / The Reinforcer
Processor i7 10700K 5.1ghz (24/7) / 2x Xeon E52650v2
Motherboard Asus Strix Z490 / Dell Dual Socket (R720)
Cooling RX 360mm + 140mm Custom Loop / Dell Stock
Memory Corsair RGB 16gb DDR4 3000 CL 16 / DDR3 128gb 16 x 8gb
Video Card(s) GTX Titan XP (2025mhz) / Asus GTX 950 (No Power Connector)
Storage Samsung 970 1tb NVME and 2tb HDD x4 RAID 5 / 300gb x8 RAID 5
Display(s) Acer XG270HU, Samsung G7 Odyssey (1440p 240hz)
Case Thermaltake Cube / Dell Poweredge R720 Rack Mount Case
Audio Device(s) Realtec ALC1150 (On board)
Power Supply Rosewill Lightning 1300Watt / Dell Stock 750 / Brick
Mouse Logitech G5
Keyboard Logitech G19S
Software Windows 11 Pro / Windows Server 2016
Cool board, but man that price is a little too steep in my book. I mean I was expecting around 500-800 dollars, but 1100 is a bit out there even with the premium features and water cooling.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
Messages
3,152 (0.94/day)
Location
Argentina
System Name Ciel / Akane
Processor AMD Ryzen R5 5600X / Intel Core i3 12100F
Motherboard Asus Tuf Gaming B550 Plus / Biostar H610MHP
Cooling ID-Cooling 224-XT Basic / Stock
Memory 2x 16GB Kingston Fury 3600MHz / 2x 8GB Patriot 3200MHz
Video Card(s) Gainward Ghost RTX 3060 Ti / Dell GTX 1660 SUPER
Storage NVMe Kingston KC3000 2TB + NVMe Toshiba KBG40ZNT256G + HDD WD 4TB / NVMe WD Blue SN550 512GB
Display(s) AOC Q27G3XMN / Samsung S22F350
Case Cougar MX410 Mesh-G / Generic
Audio Device(s) Kingston HyperX Cloud Stinger Core 7.1 Wireless PC
Power Supply Aerocool KCAS-500W / Gigabyte P450B
Mouse EVGA X15 / Logitech G203
Keyboard VSG Alnilam / Dell
Software Windows 11
Useless goddess.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
7,074 (1.01/day)
Location
USA
System Name Computer of Theseus
Processor Intel i9-12900KS: 50x Pcore multi @ 1.18Vcore (target 1.275V -100mv offset)
Motherboard EVGA Z690 Classified
Cooling Noctua NH-D15S, 2xThermalRight TY-143, 4xNoctua NF-A12x25,3xNF-A12x15, 2xAquacomputer Splitty9Active
Memory G-Skill Trident Z5 (32GB) DDR5-6000 C36 F5-6000J3636F16GX2-TZ5RK
Video Card(s) ASUS PROART RTX 4070 Ti-Super OC 16GB, 2670MHz, 0.93V
Storage 1x Samsung 990 Pro 1TB NVMe (OS), 2x Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB (data), ASUS BW-16D1HT (BluRay)
Display(s) Dell S3220DGF 32" 2560x1440 165Hz Primary, Dell P2017H 19.5" 1600x900 Secondary, Ergotron LX arms.
Case Lian Li O11 Air Mini
Audio Device(s) Audiotechnica ATR2100X-USB, El Gato Wave XLR Mic Preamp, ATH M50X Headphones, Behringer 302USB Mixer
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1000W 80+ Platinum White, MODDIY 12VHPWR Cable
Mouse Zowie EC3-C
Keyboard Vortex Multix 87 Winter TKL (Gateron G Pro Yellow)
Software Win 10 LTSC 21H2
$800 extra to possibly get 100 MHz.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
14,170 (3.81/day)
Location
Sunshine Coast
System Name H7 Flow 2024
Processor AMD 5800X3D
Motherboard Asus X570 Tough Gaming
Cooling Custom liquid
Memory 32 GB DDR4
Video Card(s) Intel ARC A750
Storage Crucial P5 Plus 2TB.
Display(s) AOC 24" Freesync 1m.s. 75Hz
Mouse Lenovo
Keyboard Eweadn Mechanical
Software W11 Pro 64 bit
If they are going to call it Aqua, at least include some Barbie Girl stickers. :roll:
 
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Messages
1,592 (0.74/day)
Location
London, UK
System Name ❶ Oooh (2024) ❷ Aaaah (2021) ❸ Ahemm (2017)
Processor ❶ 5800X3D ❷ i7-9700K ❸ i7-7700K
Motherboard ❶ X570-F ❷ Z390-E ❸ Z270-E
Cooling ❶ ALFIII 360 ❷ X62 + X72 (GPU mod) ❸ X62
Memory ❶ 32-3600/16 ❷ 32-3200/16 ❸ 16-3200/16
Video Card(s) ❶ 3080 X Trio ❷ 2080TI (AIOmod) ❸ 1080TI
Storage ❶ NVME/SSD/HDD ❷ <SAME ❸ SSD/HDD
Display(s) ❶ 1440/165/IPS ❷ 1440/144/IPS ❸ 1080/144/IPS
Case ❶ BQ Silent 601 ❷ Cors 465X ❸ Frac Mesh C
Audio Device(s) ❶ HyperX C2 ❷ HyperX C2 ❸ Logi G432
Power Supply ❶ HX1200 Plat ❷ RM750X ❸ EVGA 650W G2
Mouse ❶ Logi G Pro ❷ Razer Bas V3 ❸ Logi G502
Keyboard ❶ Logi G915 TKL ❷ Anne P2 ❸ Logi G610
Software ❶ Win 11 ❷ 10 ❸ 10
Benchmark Scores I have wrestled bandwidths, Tussled with voltages, Handcuffed Overclocks, Thrown Gigahertz in Jail
£1000.... for god sake! The enticing images and built-in liquid cooling face-lift "PULLED ME IN" and the horrendous price "KICKED ME OUT". A constant reoccurrence nowadays... oh well, back to boring air coolers and AIOs for me.

AQUA my bottom!!! Rebranded: "ASRock Z490 EMPTY YOUR WALLET UNGREEN"
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
2,200 (0.43/day)
Do you guys ever take the "advanced" settings into account when overclocking? I see just the voltage and multiplier being ramped up, while alot of more "tweaks" such as VRM switching frequency and such could be adjusted. Just that alone could lower the required overall core voltage into an OC. Just saying. If your buying a board like this you gotta know what todo with it.
 
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
202 (0.05/day)
Processor Intel Core i9-13900K
Motherboard ASUS ProArt Z690-CREATOR WIFI
Cooling Custom water
Memory G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB DDR5-6400 CL32
Video Card(s) Dell RTX 4090
Storage Sabrent 1TB Rocket 4 Plus
Display(s) MSI MAG 321UPX
Case Fractal Design Meshify 2 XL (Dark Tint)
Power Supply SAMA XP1000W
Mouse DAREU EM901
Keyboard RK ROYAL KLUDGE RK100 (white with blue switches)
If they are going to call it Aqua, at least include some Barbie Girl stickers. :roll:
Come on, ASRock, let's go party! (ah ah ah yeah)
 
Joined
Jun 18, 2020
Messages
9 (0.01/day)
Location
Alberta, Canada
System Name Black Thing
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard Gigabyte B550M Aorus Pro
Cooling Noctua NH-U12S
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws V 2x8GB 3600C16
Video Card(s) XFX RX 5700 XT Triple Dissipation
Storage 1TB Corsair MP600, 4TB WD Purple HDD
Display(s) Samsung LC27JG52QQNXZA (1440p 144Hz VA)
Case Cooler Master NR400 w/ ODD
Audio Device(s) Schiit Fulla 3, Philips SHP9500 + V-MODA BoomPro
Power Supply Fractal Design ION+ 660P
Mouse Zowie EC2-B CS:GO
Keyboard Ducky Shine 7 Blackout (MX Black)
Benchmark Scores no
I'd love to see this board without waterblock branded as the Z490 OC Formula, at at least $600 less.
That would be pretty nifty.
 
Joined
Aug 5, 2020
Messages
199 (0.12/day)
System Name BUBSTER
Processor I7 13700K (6.1 GHZ XTU OC)
Motherboard Z690 Gigabyte Aorus Elite Pro
Cooling Arctic Freezer II 360 RGB
Memory 32GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4 4800MHz 2x16GB
Video Card(s) Asus GeForce RTX 3070 Super Dual OC
Storage Kingston KC 3000 PCIE4 1Tb + 2 Kingston KC 3000 1TB PCIE4 RAID 0 + 4 TB Crucial gen 4 +12 TB HDD
Display(s) Sony Bravia A85 j OLED
Case Corsair Carbide Air 540
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar Essence STX II
Power Supply Corsair AX 850 Titanium
Mouse Corsair Gaming M65 Pro RGB + Razr Taipan
Keyboard Asus ROG Strix Flare Cherry MX Red + Corsair Gaming K65 lux RGB
Software Windows 11 Pro x64
z490 is history in a couple months intel is drowning folks
 
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
9,910 (1.84/day)
Location
Jakarta, Indonesia
System Name micropage7
Processor Intel Xeon X3470
Motherboard Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. P55A-UD3R (Socket 1156)
Cooling Enermax ETS-T40F
Memory Samsung 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Video Card(s) NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800
Storage V-GEN03AS18EU120GB, Seagate 2 x 1TB and Seagate 4TB
Display(s) Samsung 21 inch LCD Wide Screen
Case Icute Super 18
Audio Device(s) Auzentech X-Fi Forte
Power Supply Silverstone 600 Watt
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Sades Excalibur + Taihao keycaps
Software Win 7 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Classified
i have to say, the board itself looks pretty good but i agree the tag is kinda pretty high
 
Joined
Aug 5, 2020
Messages
199 (0.12/day)
System Name BUBSTER
Processor I7 13700K (6.1 GHZ XTU OC)
Motherboard Z690 Gigabyte Aorus Elite Pro
Cooling Arctic Freezer II 360 RGB
Memory 32GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4 4800MHz 2x16GB
Video Card(s) Asus GeForce RTX 3070 Super Dual OC
Storage Kingston KC 3000 PCIE4 1Tb + 2 Kingston KC 3000 1TB PCIE4 RAID 0 + 4 TB Crucial gen 4 +12 TB HDD
Display(s) Sony Bravia A85 j OLED
Case Corsair Carbide Air 540
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar Essence STX II
Power Supply Corsair AX 850 Titanium
Mouse Corsair Gaming M65 Pro RGB + Razr Taipan
Keyboard Asus ROG Strix Flare Cherry MX Red + Corsair Gaming K65 lux RGB
Software Windows 11 Pro x64
1000 dollars for a motherboard as it seems no upgrades insight not soon anyway
 
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
22,673 (6.05/day)
Location
The Washing Machine
System Name Tiny the White Yeti
Processor 7800X3D
Motherboard MSI MAG Mortar b650m wifi
Cooling CPU: Thermalright Peerless Assassin / Case: Phanteks T30-120 x3
Memory 32GB Corsair Vengeance 30CL6000
Video Card(s) ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage Lexar NM790 4TB + Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 980 1TB + Crucial BX100 250GB
Display(s) Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case Lian Li A3 mATX White
Audio Device(s) Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse Steelseries Aerox 5
Keyboard Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
VR HMD HD 420 - Green Edition ;)
Software W11 IoT Enterprise LTSC
Benchmark Scores Over 9000
ELEVEN HUNDRED.

By the time you're done counting that money at the cash register, the next Intel socket is out.
 
Top