Intel’s launch of a whole series of CPUs comes with it a new chipset and new socket. That also means new motherboards and the motherboard companies aren’t messing around with the number of options that have available. That means everything from cheap to crazy expensive. The Z490 Aorus Master is one of Gigabyte's higher-end boards and today I’m going to check it out. I’ve been extremely impressed with Gigabytes boards, especially on the higher end for the last few years due to their VRMs and cooling capabilities. With Intel pushing things even farther on what is still a very small socket size I am excited to see what the Aorus Master has to offer! Let’s check it out.
Product Name: Z490 Aorus Master
Review Sample Provided by: Gigabyte
Written by: Wes Compton
Amazon Affiliate Link: HERE
Specifications |
|
CPU |
Support for 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i9 processors/Intel® Core™ i7 processors/Intel® Core™ i5 processors/Intel® Core™ i3 processors/Intel® Pentium® processors/Intel® Celeron® processors in the LGA1200 package L3 cache varies with CPU (Please refer to "CPU Support List" for more information.) |
Chipset |
Intel® Z490 Express Chipset |
Memory |
Intel® Core™ i9/i7 processors: Support for DDR4 5000(O.C.) - 3000(O.C.) / 2933 - 2133 MHz Intel® Core™ i5/i3/Pentium®/Celeron® processors: Support for DDR4 2666/2400/2133 MHz memory modules 4 x DDR4 DIMM sockets supporting up to 128 GB (32 GB single DIMM capacity) of system memory Dual channel memory architecture Support for ECC Un-buffered DIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode) Support for non-ECC Un-buffered DIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8/1Rx16 memory modules Support for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules (Please refer to "Memory Support List" for more information.) |
Onboard Graphics |
Integrated Graphics Processor-Intel® HD Graphics support: 1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096x2160@30 Hz * Support for HDMI 1.4 version and HDCP 2.3. Maximum shared memory of 512 MB |
Audio |
Realtek® ALC1220-VB codec * The front panel line out jack supports DSD audio. ESS ES9118EQ DAC chip Support for DTS:X® Ultra High Definition Audio 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel Support for S/PDIF Out |
LAN |
Intel® 2.5GbE LAN chip (2.5 Gbit/1 Gbit/100 Mbit) |
Wireless Communication module |
Intel® Wi-Fi 6 AX201 WIFI a, b, g, n, ac with wave 2 features, ax, supporting 2.4/5 GHz Dual-Band BLUETOOTH 5.0 Support for 11ax 160MHz wireless standard and up to 2.4 Gbps data rate * Actual data rate may vary depending on environment and equipment. |
Expansion Slots |
1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x16 (PCIEX16) * For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16 slot. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x8 (PCIEX8) * The PCIEX8 slot shares bandwidth with the PCIEX16 slot. When the PCIEX8 slot is populated, the PCIEX16 slot operates at up to x8 mode. 1 x PCI Express x16 slot, running at x4 (PCIEX4) (All of the PCI Express slots conform to PCI Express 3.0 standard.) |
Multi-Graphics Technology |
Support for NVIDIA® Quad-GPU SLI™ and 2-Way NVIDIA® SLI™ technologies Support for AMD Quad-GPU CrossFire™ and 2-Way AMD CrossFire™ technologies |
Storage Interface |
1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2P_SB) 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2A_CPU) 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe x4/x2 SSD support) (M2M_SB) 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10 * Refer to "1-9 Internal Connectors," for the installation notices for the M.2 and SATA connectors. Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready |
USB |
Chipset: 2 x USB Type-C™ ports, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support (1 port on the back panel, 1 port available through the internal USB header) 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) on the back panel 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (2 ports on the back panel, 2 ports available through the internal USB header) Chipset+2 USB 2.0 Hubs: 8 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports (4 ports on the back panel, 4 ports available through the internal USB headers) |
Internal I/O Connectors |
1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector 2 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connectors 1 x CPU fan header 1 x water cooling CPU fan header 4 x system fan headers 2 x system fan/water cooling pump headers 2 x addressable LED strip headers 2 x RGB LED strip headers 3 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors 1 x front panel header 1 x front panel audio header 1 x USB Type-C™ header, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers 1 x noise detection header 2 x Thunderbolt™ add-in card connectors 1 x Trusted Platform Module header (For the GC-TPM2.0 SPI/GC-TPM2.0 SPI 2.0 module only) 1 x power button 1 x reset button 2 x temperature sensor headers 1 x Clear CMOS jumper 2 x BIOS switches |
Back Panel Connectors |
1 x Q-Flash Plus button 1 x Clear CMOS button 2 x SMA antenna connectors (2T2R) 1 x HDMI port 1 x USB Type-C™ port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red) 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports 1 x RJ-45 port 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector 5 x audio jacks |
I/O Controller |
iTE® I/O Controller Chip |
H/W Monitoring |
Voltage detection Temperature detection Fan speed detection Water cooling flow rate detection Overheating warning Fan fail warning Fan speed control * Whether the fan (pump) speed control function is supported will depend on the fan (pump) you install. Noise detection |
BIOS |
2 x 256 Mbit flash Use of licensed AMI UEFI BIOS Support for DualBIOS™ PnP 1.0a, DMI 2.7, WfM 2.0, SM BIOS 2.7, ACPI 5.0 |
Unique Features |
Support for APP Center * Available applications in APP Center may vary by motherboard model. Supported functions of each application may also vary depending on motherboard specifications. @BIOS EasyTune Fast Boot Game Boost RGB Fusion Smart Backup System Information Viewer USB TurboCharger Support for Q-Flash Plus Support for Q-Flash Support for Xpress Install |
Bundled Software |
Norton® Internet Security (OEM version) cFosSpeed XSplit Gamecaster + Broadcaster (12 months license) |
Operating System |
Support for Windows 10 64-bit |
Form Factor |
ATX Form Factor; 30.5cm x 24.4cm |