ASRock has released BIOS updates for all Z390/H370/Q370/B365/B360/H310 series motherboards to support the soon to be released new stepping 9th Generation Intel Core processors. The latest BIOS updates are available for download now from our website or simply update through ASRock APP Shop. New processors are scheduled to launch in Q2, 2019, the latest BIOS for each motherboard are listed as below. BIOS updates for more models will be added soon.

The World's Most Powerful Dual System Computer, Featuring a Triple Stack of NVIDIA's Flagship TITAN RTX Graphics Cards and Three Custom Acrylic Water-cooling Loops.

A pioneer in innovation, system customisation and world-record breaking Overclocks. 8Pack has been creating revolutionary gaming systems for the last decade. Working directly with NVIDIA, Intel and ASUS ROG he's proud to present the Orion X2, a dual system configuration that not only features the most premium selection of enthusiast grade hardware, but offers something that's completely game changing in terms of raw performance.

Remember when we brought you coverage of Gigabyte's watercooling-built Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce motherboard? At the time, we expected its design and feature set to place it some $100-$150 above the original Z390 Aorus Xtreme. Well, color us surprised, as it's being sold not at some $650-$700, but at a staggering $899 if you're lucky enough to live on the other side of the pond (speaking as a Portuguese man over here), or for an outrageous €1087 ($1247) here in my home country of Portugal. And I'm not even kidding.

Perhaps this is part of Gigabyte's push for higher profitability, via higher ASP (Average Selling Price) of its products in order to increase margins, especially on high-tier or halo products. Still, this pricing seems silly. We'll see if the market agrees with the valuation GIGABYTE is throwing behind its Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce motherboard.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, announced that its Z390 and C246 motherboards now fully support 32GB Unbuffered memory per DIMM slot for up to 128GB total memory capacity on 4DIMM configurations, providing increased memory capacity for users. Additional BIOS updates will soon be rolled out to enable support for other 300 series motherboards.

Up until now, 32GB memory per DIMM slot was primarily limited to workstation ready motherboards with registered memory for users to fulfill memory-intensive tasks on their system. GIGABYTE has worked closely with Intel to ensure that GIGABYTE Z390 series motherboards paired with 9th Gen. processors can support 32GB memory per DIMM slot.

Years after year, MSI dominates the memory frequency record to show the strength on overclocking performance. Just in the beginning of 2019, MSI's in-house overclocker, Toppc, pushes the DDR4 speeds to 5.6GHz, setting another barrier using Kingston memory and the MSI Z390I GAMING EDGE AC motherboard by liquid nitrogen cooling. Undoubtedly, this is a revolutionary breakthrough for the Intel 9th generation processors for the first time. This world record not only shows MSI's dominant position on performance for Intel 9th generation processors by using MSI MPG Z390I GAMING EDGE AC and MSI's unique and patented DDR4 Boost technology, but also reveals team-up power with Kingston DDR4 memory.

More information on the record can be found here.

ASUS today announced that its Z390 motherboards will support a maximum DRAM capacity of 128GB via a UEFI BIOS update that's being rolled out from today on the ASUS support site. ASUS will bring this increased memory support to all Z390 motherboards via additional BIOS updates that will be available soon.

Previously, support for 128GB of DRAM was available only on high-end desktop (HEDT) motherboards with eight DIMM slots, such as the Intel X299 platform. Intel recently updated its memory reference code (MRC), enabling the memory controller in 9th Gen Intel Core processors to increase the supported capacity of each DIMM from 16GB to 32GB, resulting in a total system memory capacity of 128GB when populated with two DIMMs per channel (2DPC) on both memory channels. This increased memory support gives users more flexibility for running memory-intensive applications and tasks.

To go with their monitors and laptops Gigabyte also had multiple high-end motherboards and numerous graphics cards on display at CES 2019. Two of the motherboards that caught are attention were enthusiast offerings including the Z390 AORUS Xtreme which offered a 16 phase IR Digital VRM solution with Pow/Rstage. To go with the beefy VRM, they used a new cutting edge thermal design which uses a fins-array heatsink with a direct touch heat pipe and a NanoCarbon baseplate. Wireless networking has been included via an onboard Intel CNVI 802.11ac 2x2 Wave 2 Wi-Fi with AORUS Antenna. Meanwhile, standard networking is handled by an AQUANTIA 10 GbE BASE-T LAN and Intel Gigabit LAN with cFosSpeed. Other additions include Intel Thunderbolt 3, exclusive RGB Fan Commander and OC Touch. Finally rounding out its features is the 127dB SNR AMP-UP audio with high-end ESS SABRE 9018K2M DAC, LME 49720 and OPA1622 OP-AMP, and WIMA audio capacitors. Just be prepared to pay the price of entry as this motherboard comes with a $599 price tag.

Taking things a step further, Gigabyte also had the AORUS Z390 Xtreme Waterforce motherboard on hand as well. It offers many of the same features as the Z390 AORUS Xtreme but adds in an AORUS all-in-one monoblock for both the CPU and PCH area. It also has Triple Ultra-Fast M.2 slots with PCIe Gen3 x4 interfaces along with their Triple Thermal Guards. To afford this high-end board unless you are an extreme enthusiast you might need to sell a kidney considering its eye-watering $899 price tag. Other motherboards on hand included both the X299 AORUS Master and Z390 AORUS Master which are already available at retail.

"The EVGA Z390 DARK is a 3rd generation model built exclusively for ultimate performance with improved and upgraded component selections, VRM, NVMe I/O, and PCB layout, compared to the flagship X299 DARK."- Illya "TiN" Tsemenko

The power of the DARK side of EVGA's Z390 motherboards is now available! After setting the bar with the X299 DARK, EVGA went back to work to design the next generation of motherboards designed exclusively for the world's top overclockers... or those looking to become one of the world's top overclockers. No effort was spared to improve the power design, layout, or features of the Z390 DARK.

EVGA has already started teasing their Z390 Dark motherboard back in December, showing off its overclocking capabilities. It's not a coincidence that it set the CPU benchmark - the motherboard is built to be EVGA's top-of-the-line offering, with a 17 phase VRM planted on a 10-layer PCB, an EVGA-embedded wireless solution, 3x reinforced PCIe x16 slots, 150% reinforced socket gold content... it's all in for this one.

There are a multitude of connectors on this motherboard, and it has everything you'd expect a high-end motherboard to pack in an E_ATX form-factor, including 3x M.2 key slots (2x 110 mm and 1x 32 mm), an integrated Creative Sound Core3D Quad-Core Audio Processor, 8x SATA 6 Gbps ports, a multitude of USB ports... And it even smiles for the camera.

GIGABYTE Z390 Aorus Xtreme Waterforce features the most over the top illuminated design among motherboards today. A vast DIY liquid monoblock spans almost an entire diagonal of the motherboard, with a nickel-plated copper base, acrylic top, and more RGB LEDs than Times Square. This block cools everything from the CPU VRM to the CPU itself, and the Z390 Express chipset. The coolant channel even passes over the PCH. Underneath all this, the motherboard is identical in layout, connectivity, and features, as the original Z390 Aorus Xtreme. This board could be sold at a $100-150 premium over the $550 original.

The upcoming EVGA Z390 DARK is designed from the ground up to be the world's best overclocking motherboard. Need proof? The EVGA Z390 DARK was recently used by Finland Overclocker, Juhani Luumi AKA LUUMI to set a brand new CINEBENCH 8-Core CPU World Record. Armed with an Intel Core i9-9900K, and EVGA Z390 DARK Motherboard and Liquid Nitrogen Cooling, LUUMI was able to clock his CPU to nearly 7GHz and achieve a score of 3142 cb. A new CINEBENCH 8-Core CPU World Record!

GeIL - Golden Emperor International Ltd. - one of the world's leading PC components and peripheral manufacturers today announced the new additions to their SUPER LUCE RGB SYNC Series DDR4 memory. The new modules are available in three capacities and speeds: 4133 MHz 16 GB (8 GB x2) CL19-19-19-39 1.40 V, 3600 MHz 16GB (8 GB x2) CL16-18-18-36 1.35 V, and 3200 MHz 16 GB (8 GB x2) CL14-14-14-34 1.35V

The 4133 MHz 16 GB (8 GB x2) CL19-19-19-39 1.40 V DDR4 kits can be the overclocker's new favorite with support for most ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI and ASROCK Z390 and Z370 motherboards as well as giving enthusiasts the room to push their systems to the limit without exception. The 3600 MHz 16GB (8 GB x2) CL16-18-18-36 1.35 V DDR4 kits meets the memory needs for any gaming system using the latest Intel platforms and is an excellent solution for first time overclockers. The 3200 MHz 16 GB (8GBx2) CL14-14-14-34 1.35 V DDR4 kits are compatible with both Intel and AMD AM4 platforms and feature a low latency design to enhance performance and offer the most affordable upgrade option for users.

World leading motherboard and mini PC manufacturer, ASRock, today announces the launch of new Z390 DeskMini GTX series mini PC. Supports latest Intel 9th Generation 8 Core LGA1151 processors, and up to 32 GB DDR4-4000 memory to provide extreme performance in a 2.7 Liter chassis. The new DeskMini GTX series featured with USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C and Type-A interface, delivering up to 10Gbps transfer rate. The built-in addressable RGB header allows connecting the LED strips to create unique lighting effects.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, announced the release of the Z390 DESIGNARE motherboard with full support for the newest 8-core Intel Core i9-9900K processors. The newest addition to the GIGABYTE DESIGNARE series is a feature-packed motherboard that provides content creators the fastest and most efficient tools to showcase their creativity and craftsmanship. GIGABYTE DESIGNARE Series motherboards bring out the best in workstation graphics cards, maximize M.2 SSD and DDR4 RAM performance, and fully support powerful CPUs such as the newest 8-core Intel Core i9-9900K CPU. With built in USB Type-C Thunderbolt , and native USB 3.1 Gen 2 to provide 40Gb/s transmission speed, the board is designed with effective storage performance as a key feature. GIGABYTE Ultra-Durable Technology and exclusive software also bring additional value for digital content creators and design professionals.

"Today's content creators are seeking faster and more efficient performance from their PCs. GIGABYTE created the DESIGNARE series a few years back to fulfill these user demands," stated Jackson Hsu, Deputy Director of the GIGABYTE Channel Solutions Product Development Division. "Z390 DESIGNARE is the newest addition to this constantly evolving content creation focused series and is loaded with features that enable content creators to express their artistic creativity through their PCs with excellent performance and efficiency."

GIGABYTE is readying yet another motherboard on their Designare series, this time, rocking Intel's latest Z390 chipset and support for the latest i9 processors. The Designare stands atop the proverbial pyramid of GIGABYTE's lineup for professionals, and has the specs to match, particularly in the power delivery department, with its 12+1 power delivery phases and 2-layer copper PCB. The usual 4x DIMM slots with 4,266 MHz memory support are present, with metal reinforcement on all slots (including PCIe x16). There are 2x M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slots, with GIGABYTE's M.2 Thermal Guard heatsink.

One very, very interesting feature for this motherboard, if somewhat niche, is the inclusion of a DisplayPort-in port - which will allow users to connect an external graphics card to the motherboard, likely using the iGPU as a pass-through device for the image signal towards the monitor - this could be especially interesting for professionals who carry around an eGPU case and want to add some beefier specs to their desktop - without having to buy another graphics card or going through the hassle of physically installing it on their desktop system.

During testing for our Intel Core i9-9900K review we found out that new ASUS Z390 motherboards automatically install software and drivers to your Windows 10 System, without the need for network access, and without any user knowledge or confirmation. This process happens in complete network-isolation (i.e. the machine has no Internet or LAN access). Our Windows 10 image is based on Windows 10 April 2018 Update and lacks in-built drivers for the integrated network controllers.

Upon first boot, with the machine having no LAN or Internet connectivity, we were greeted by an ASUS-specific window in the bottom right corner of our screen, asking whether we'd like to install the network drivers and download "Armoury Crate". This got us curious and we scanned the system for any files that aren't part of the standard MS Windows installation. We discovered three ASUS-signed files in our Windows 10 System32 folder, which, so it seems, magically appeared on our harddrive out of thin air. Upon further investigation we also found a new, already running, system service called "AsusUpdateCheck."

GIGABYTE today revealed its Z390 AORUS XTREME motherboard. Built around Intel's Z390 chipset with support for the company's latest and greatest CPUs under the 9th Gen Core series, the Z390 AORUS Extreme brings with it a slew of features and top-tier specs that make it one of the most complete motherboard offerings in the market. From 10 GbE Aquantia LAN, a 16-phase DRM, 802.11ac WiFi, audio powered by the premium ESS SABRE 9018K2M DAC... and RGB.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards and high-performance storage solutions is proud to announce the launch of its latest motherboard featuring the Intel Z390 chipset. The new COLORFUL iGame Z390 Vulcan X joins the family of high-performance, gamer-inspired products of the COLORFUL iGame family. The new motherboard will support the latest Intel 9th-gen processors as well as 8th-gen processors in LGA1151 package. Designed to bring the best platform for gamers, the new COLORFUL iGame Z390 Vulcan X is geared with the most innovative technology from COLORFUL to improve both performance and stability to give gamers the best gaming experience.

Intel's newest 9th-gen offers up to 8-cores with the brand new Core i9 series which aims to deliver the best performance for gamers, content creators, power users and professionals. The iGame Z390 VulcanX is equipped with a 14-phase digital power design to deliver stable power to the processor and allow overclockers to unleash the full potential of the new 9th-gen Intel Core processors. COLORFUL has engineered the VRM for the best stability equipped with high-quality components including full tantalum capacitors.

It seems that by the time NDA drops on Intel's latest and greatest mainstream processor platform, we will have known more about it than ever before with similar launches. GIGABYTE joined the club with the release of their Z390 overclocking (OC) guide specific to their AORUS-branded motherboards. This contains a lot of useful information in general, and we certainly recommend taking a look at it in the source linked in the full post. As it is, a few items in the guide caught our eye- in particular, a direct quote saying "As you can tell from the last screenshots, the CPU temperature of the i9-9900k is quite high. This is something that we've noticed on almost all the processors. For this reason we suggest you to use a custom water-cooling and adjust the TjMAX Temperature to 110°C."

The quote references their guide to achieve a stable 5 GHz overclock on all cores on the Core i9-9900K, which was cooled via a custom watercooled setup and a Vcore ranging from 1.3-1.4 V. GIGABYTE's internal testing thus indicates that these higher end, unlocked 9000-series CPUs will run incredibly hot if you wish to push them, and the soldered IHS may not be as effective in cooling these dense processors as we may have hoped. Indeed, with news of the 28-core Xeon using thermal paste for the IHS, it appears that Intel may be conflicted on optimal cooling when battling the Core Wars with AMD.

ASUS expanded its Workstation motherboard series with the new WS Z390 Pro, a socket LGA1151 board based on Intel Z390 Express chipset, featuring out-of-the-box support for 9th generation Core processors. Built in the ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of one 24-pin ATX, two 8-pin EPS, and an optional 6-pin PCIe power. A 10-phase VRM (likely 8+2 phase incorporating smart-doubling on the Vcore side). This board appears to be using a PCI-Express 3.0 x48 bridge chip to convert 16 gen 3.0 lanes from the CPU to two x16 downstream slots, which are further split to four x8 slots, depending on how you populate the slots. The slot configuration options are x16/x16/NC/NC or x16/x8/x8/NC or x8/x8/x8/x8. An additional open-ended x4 slot wired to the PCH makes for the rest of the expansion.

Storage connectivity includes two each of M.2-22110, and U.2 ports, each with PCI-Express 3.0 x4 wiring; and six SATA 6 Gbps ports. Networking interfaces include two 1 GbE ports, one of which is driven by Intel i219-LM, and the other Intel i210-AT. USB connectivity includes six USB 3.1 gen 2 ports on the rear panel, from which one is type-C, two additional USB 3.1 gen 2 ports by header, and a USB 3.1 gen 1 2-port header. The 8-channel onboard audio solution combines an EMI-shielded Realtek ALC S1220A codec with audio-grade capacitors, a headphones amp, and ground-layer isolation. We expect a price of around $350 for this board.

Today, we have seen several reports that suggested Principled Technologies (PT) published misleading information in our recent study comparing Intel's gaming processors to AMD's. We apologize for our delay in responding, but it's been a busy day, and we wanted to be as thorough as possible in addressing inquiries concerning our testing. We'll address specific questions and share more detail on our methodology in a moment, but we first must respond directly to attempts to call our integrity into question.

For almost 16 years, we have tested products for our clients because they trust our integrity. We have worked not just for any one company but for dozens of the leading technology firms, including rivals such as Intel and AMD, Microsoft and Google, Dell and HP, and many others.

Almost exactly one year after introducing six-core Coffee Lake processors alongside Z370 motherboards, Intel is back with more cores, higher clocks and the new Z390 chipset. The new 9th Generation Intel Core processor family offers up to eight cores and 16 threads of parallel processing horsepower that's perfect for content creation, heavy multitasking, and other demanding workloads. With clock speeds as high as 5GHz on the flagship Core i9-9900K, these new processors also raise the bar for gaming performance, especially if you're streaming, recording, and chatting simultaneously.

ASUS is excited to support this new generation of Intel processors with a wide variety of new motherboards based on the Intel Z390 chipset. The collection is led by a diverse cast from the Republic of Gamers that elevates gaming and overclocking to new heights. ROG Strix offers more streamlined alternatives that include a mighty Mini-ITX model, while TUF Gaming focuses on the essentials to hit more affordable price points. Outside the gaming sphere, the Prime family serves up signature ASUS features in a professional package, and the WS sets the stage for serious workstations and prosumer builds.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, demonstrates two extreme DDR4 RGB specifications on the latest Intel Z390 chipset, including DDR4-4800MHz CL19 16GB (2x8GB) and DDR4-4500MHz CL19 32GB (4x8GB). Both kits are built with high performance Samsung DDR4 B-die ICs and provide the fastest XMP speed of each capacity configuration.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is excited to announce Trident Z RGB DC series DDR4 64GB (32GBx2) memory kits. Utilizing the latest Double Capacity DIMM technology closely developed with ASUS, the Trident Z RGB DC series DDR4 memory is able to provide double the maximum capacity of DDR4 UDIMM modules on select ASUS Z390 chipset motherboards.

The Intel Z390 chipset is built for the extreme performance of Intel's first 8-Core processor for desktop motherboards. EVGA Z390 boards are designed for the purpose of everyday tasks, exceptional performance, hardcore gaming, and, of course, overclocking. Featuring EVGA's latest GUI BIOS with OC Robot and in-BIOS stress testing, the ability to flash the BIOS without a CPU, and EVGA Nu Audio, these boards offer a little something new for everyone. Although the EVGA Z390 FTW is the first board available, you should always be careful of what's waiting in the Dark….