Realtek is typically associated with audio, multimedia, and networking controllers for budget PCs, but for several years, the company has been trying to enter the SSD controller market, challenging established players. At this year's Computex, Realtek announced that samples of its RTS5781DL controller with a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface are now shipping to interested parties, so expect actual drives within the next year.

The Realtek RTS5781 is an NVMe 2.0-compliant DRAM-less SSD controller with a PCIe 5.0 x4 host interface designed for mainstream drives. The chip features four NAND channels supporting data transfer rates of 3600 MT/s and supports 4K LDPC error correction to ensure compatibility with contemporary 3D TLC and 3D QLC NAND memory devices. The controller can deliver sequential read and write speeds of up to 10,000 MB/s, with random read and write performance rated at 1.4 million IOPS each. The controller fully supports TCG OPAL 2.0, Pyrite, and AES256 encryption to enable makers of actual drives to address applications with high-security concerns.

Considering the typical development cycle of SSDs, we would not expect products based on the RTS5781 chip to hit the market until well into the second half of 2026, yet the company optimistically expects them to arrive in the second quarter of next year.

Update 12:00 pm (ET) 5/29: A representative for Realtek reached out to us to clarify information about pricing and CAT5E cables used for demonstration. Apparently, the controllers will cost $15 initially, but the price will drop to $10 when quantities get higher. As for CAT5E cables, Realtek wanted to demonstrate that its hardware can work with some CAT5E cables. However, if it does not work in real-world cases, users will need to buy CAT6 cables.

Although there are many higher-end motherboards that feature 2.5GbE or even 5GbE network ports, only some of them feature a 10GbE network adapter due to cost concerns. However, this may change later this year as Realtek is prepping an inexpensive 10GbE controller that is aimed at motherboards. The controller is being showcased at Computex 2025.

The Realtek RTL8127 is a tiny — measuring 9mm x 9mm — network controller with a PCIe 4.0 x1 or PCIe 3.0 x2 interface that supports a wide range of Ethernet speeds, including 2.5 Gbps, 5 Gbps, and 10 Gbps. The RTL8127 controller consumes about 1.95W and supports modern standby modes, which is critical for laptops. The controller integrates hardware-level error correction (ECC) and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) features to ensure reliable connections and data integrity during transmission. Also, the unit features built-in self-loopback diagnostic functions for easier maintenance.

The 10GBase-T technology has been used primarily in servers and high-end workstations, but its adoption for more mainstream PCs has been slow, to put it mildly. Aquantia tried to popularize it for enthusiasts in the late 2010s, then it got acquired by Marvell in 2019, and while the company still sells the AQC107 silicon, it is quite expensive for motherboard integration, and add-on cards are, by definition, more expensive than integrated solutions.

Features of the RTL8127 make it ideal for a range of applications, including integration into motherboards, laptops, add-on Ethernet cards, and various customer premises equipment (CPE). Perhaps more importantly, Realtek plans to sell these chips for about $10, which will make its integration a much more appealing endeavor for motherboard makers.

“We are not selling for $10 in Q4, the current reference price varies for different customers: it would be around $15, some higher, some lower, depending on the quantity,” the representative said. “Since the quantities are not large, the $10 target might not happen this year, but it will happen when the quantity grows larger in the future.”

Even among those who follow the PC industry closely, few people know that in addition to various multimedia and network chips, Realtek also has SSD controllers in its product lineup. That's because for now the company's portfolio only includes modest entry-level RTS5766DL and RTS5772DL controllers. But at Computex 2024 the company introduced quite an amitious SSD roadmap that includes a very high-end RTS5783 controller with a PCIe Gen5 x4 interface.

The highlight of Realtek's roadmap is the RTS5782, a high-end controller set to significantly elevate the company's position in the market for SSD controllers. The RTS5782 features eight NAND channels supporting memory with a 3,600 MT/s interface speed, with support for 4K LDPC ECC mechanisms, and even an LPDDR4X cache. This controller aims for top-tier performance, with a sequential read speed of up to 14,000 MB/s, a sequential write speed of up to 12,000 MB/s, and 2.5 million 4K random read/write IOPS. Currently, the controller is in the planning stage, its release date remains undetermined.

Before the RTS5782 hits the market sometime in 2026 – 2027, the company will offer yet another PCIe Gen4 x4 controller and its first PCIe Gen5 x4 controller, both aimed at entry-level drives.

Realtek's RTS5776DL, a PCIe Gen4 x4 controller designed for lower-end SSDs, is in development now. This one will have four NAND channels and support 3D NAND with a 3,600 MT/s interface, achieving up to 7,400 MB/s sequential read/write speeds and up to 1.2 million 4K random read/write IOPS. Engineering samples are expected in Q4 2024.

Another upcoming model, the RTS5781DL, is a PCIe Gen5 x4 controller with four NAND channels, supporting 3,600 MT/s 3D NAND and 4K LPDC. It targets speeds up to 10,000 MB/s sequential read and up to 1.4 million 4K random read/write IOPS. Engineering samples are anticipated in Q1 2025.

Realtek's ambitious roadmap underscores its commitment to advancing from entry-level to high-end SSD controllers. The RTS5782 represents a key move towards high-performance SSDs, aiming to establish Realtek as a strong competitor in the high-end market. Unfortunately, we have no idea when the RTS5782 will hit the market and whether by that time PCIe Gen6 SSDs will have become available. 

The sanctions imposed following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine aimed to disrupt Russia's military capabilities by limiting its access to advanced chips are working, as Russian entities can no longer get chips directly from American, European, Japanese, and Taiwanese companies. Despite these efforts, Russia continues to obtain advanced processors mainly through indirect channels, primarily involving Chinese distributors, who now control 89% of the market, according to a report from the American Enterprise Institute. 

The sanctions have forced Russia to pay nearly double for semiconductors compared to pre-war prices due to the need to establish new, covert supply chains. The company paid $1,411 per kilogram of chips in 2021 and had to pay $2,730 per kilogram in 2023. Notably, about 89% of semiconductor products Russia acquired since the onset of the conflict have been sourced from China. Surprisingly, Russia even obtained some chipmaking equipment from South Korea and Taiwan.

Chinese distributors, essentially operating in a grey area of international laws, have continued to supply Russian buyers with Western-designed chips after all major companies and countries cut their ties with Russia (not that we were surprised). This process circumvents direct sales bans by routing the transactions through China, where enforcement of these sanctions is laxer, thus maintaining a steady flow of technology into Russia. Due to the U.S. sanctions, neither China nor Russia can lay their hands on advanced processors for AI and HPC, such as Nvidia's H100, at least in mass quantities. 

Additionally, Russia employs the so-called transshipment strategies involving other nations, such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which act as intermediate points for high-tech deliveries, the report says. Entities in these countries receive the initial shipments and then forward them to Russia, effectively masking the ultimate destination and complicating the enforcement of export controls. Based on what we know, such tactics allowed access to chips used in military equipment and technology used by Russian consumers. 

Before the sanctions, Russia sourced its semiconductors through three major avenues: direct imports from Western companies, which includes both direct imports by companies like AMD and Intel as well as sales by major distributors, such as Ingram Micro; Russian-designed chips manufactured abroad, primarily by TSMC; and a small domestic production mainly serving the defense sector. Post-sanctions, direct imports have been severely restricted except for covert routes through countries like China and possible secret manufacturing agreements with Chinese contract makers of chips, such as SMIC and Hua Hong. 

Meanwhile, AEI claims that Russian domestic chip manufacturing remains way too outdated and is limited to serving the defense industry at best. Manufacturers like Angstrem and Micron are heavily reliant on outdated wafer fab tools produced in America and Europe, which is why they have struggled to increase production in the face of sanctions that cut off their access to essential foreign equipment and materials. However, Russia has managed to get some wafer fab tools from countries known to be U.S. allies. 

The report advocates for a new, multilateral export control regime that includes strengthened enforcement mechanisms and recommends involving all U.S. allies to ensure a more cohesive and effective approach to semiconductor export controls. Meanwhile, China is not exactly a U.S. ally but remains a major trade partner. 

Despite restrictions imposed on exports to Russia to prevent technology from fueling its war with Ukraine, Russia has imported over $1.7 billion worth of chips from American and European companies in the first nine months of 2023, reports Bloomberg citing classified customs data. Some chips were intended for client PCs; others could be used by Russia's secret services, and the remaining were dual-use chips that could be used for weapons in its war. Over half of the chips originated from U.S. and European tech giants, the report says.

Classified Russian customs service data seen by Bloomberg indicates that in the first nine months of 2023, over $1.7 billion worth of chips were imported to Russia. Of this amount, $1.2 billion worth of chips were made by a total of 20 companies, including producers from Europe and the U.S., leaving an estimated $500 million worth of chips likely accounted for by other, smaller manufacturers. While imports of chips to Russia reportedly declined in the fourth quarter, it is highly likely that the country still procured over $2 billion worth of various chips in 2023.

Notable brands involved included AMD (including Xilinx), Analog Devices, Intel (Altera), Infineon Technologies, Macom, Marvell, Microchip Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors, STMicroelectronics, Realtek, and Texas Instruments. This significant influx of high-tech components came despite restrictions meant to limit Russia's military capabilities, raising questions about the efficiency of the sanctions and the complexities of global supply chains.

A large portion of these restricted chips reached Russia through re-exports from third countries, including China, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. and EU have been actively trying to block these alternative supply routes, but so far, they have not been very successful. They are particularly focused on stopping the flow of dual-use and advanced goods that have been identified in Russian weapons used in Ukraine or are crucial for their production.

Major companies like AMD, Analog Devices, Intel, Infineon, Marvell, Microchip NXP, STM, and Texas Instruments told Bloomberg that they adhere to the sanctions. They indicated that they had ceased business operations in Russia following the outbreak of war and had implemented rigorous processes to ensure compliance. Additionally, they emphasized their commitment to preventing the illicit diversion of their products (i.e., they specifically prohibit their re-exports to Russia and Belarus), and said they were working closely with relevant authorities to monitor and control the distribution of their chips.

It should be noted that a significant portion of chip sales in the industry are handled by distributors who, in turn, have multiple resellers. The nature of this distribution chain means that manufacturers are not always able to track where their products end up after being sold to these companies, although certain specific military-use chips are subject to stricter tracking requirements.

The situation highlights the challenges faced by the U.S. and the European Union in trying to cut off the supply of advanced technology to Russia’s military. The sanctions were designed to hinder Russia's ability to produce military equipment, such as tanks and missiles. However, the continued import of these chips suggests that Russia has been able to sustain its production of military hardware, which undermines the intended impact of the sanctions.

Meanwhile, the European Union is working on developing a new sanctions package. Several member states are advocating for more stringent measures, especially targeting companies in third countries involved in the trade of these chips, as well as those originating within the EU itself.

 The MSI MAG B760M Mortar is a Micro ATX board that hails from the budget side of the tracks. People looking into the B760 chipset are limited in features compared to the more expensive Z790 platform with all the bells and whistles, but you can still put together a fast and functional system on a budget. You can’t overclock the processor with most B760 boards (you need a board with a BCLK generator), but you can with memory. Priced at $189.99, you get full 12th and 13th-generation Intel processor support, a PCIe 5.0 slot, two M.2 sockets, integrated Wi-Fi 6E and 2.5 GbE networking, and the budget Realtek audio codec all under $200.

The black-on-silver appearance is a nice contrast, if a bit mundane, but it is par for this type of motherboard. It lacks integrated RGB LEDs (Gigabyte and ASRock comparables do) but does have headers to add your own. While it may not look the part of a high-end motherboard, you get some good features, including one PCIe 5.0 x4 slot, capable power delivery, and a 20 Gbps Type-C port on the rear IO panel. It has what you need to get you up and running, but few extras.

Performance on our B760M Mortar is similar to the other B760-based boards we’ve looked at. Where some of the tested boards limit the power (and therefore performance), our MSI, surprisingly, doesn’t use the Intel limits. Instead, anyceiling is in place due to the board thermally throttling our processor as it runs too hot in some of the heavily multi-threaded and longer-running benchmarks. It does well in gaming and lightly threaded applications, though, with results around the average. If you intend to use this board with a flagship-class processor and push heavily threaded workloads, lowering the voltage is best to prevent the CPU from thermal throttling.

Below, we’ll dig into the details of the board and see whether the inexpensive price point makes a spot on our best motherboards list. Before we get into the details, here are the detailed specifications from the MSI website.

Specifications: MSI MAG B760M Mortar Wi-Fi

Inside the Box of the MSI MAG B760M Mortar Wi-Fi

Inside the packaging, MSI includes a couple of accessories to get you started. Since this is from the budget side, you only get the basics.

• Quick Install guide
• SATA Data Cable
• EZ M.2 clip, M.2 screw/standoff
• Wi-Fi antenna
• Cable stickers

Design of the B760M Mortar Wi-Fi

The all-black board with silver heatsinks is built on a 6-layer PCB. The silver heatsinks sport the military theme we’re used to seeing on the Mortar and Tomahawk lines. There’s some branding on the top VRM heatsink and the chipset; otherwise, it’s a simple design. You'll have to look elsewhere if you’re looking for integrated RGB lighting. However, it does have a couple of headers to add your own.

Focusing on the top half of our board, we run into the large VRM heatsink that reaches over and covers the unsightly IO bits. The heatsink is grooved with MSI branding and other black and gray design elements, just like the other heatsinks on the board. Between the VRM heatsink are two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to power the CPU.

To the right of the socket area, we run into four DRAM slots with a single locking mechanism on top. MSI lists support up to DDR5-7000+(OC) with one DPC (DIMM Per Channel) and about par for the platform. Our DDR5-6000 kit (2x16GB) worked without issue in our testing. The Teamgroup DDR5-7200 kit didn’t want to work, but it’s over what the board says it can do, so that was to be expected. Stick to RAM under the listed spec to ensure compatibility.

Just above the socket on the left is the first 3-pin ARGB header. A second ARGB header and a 4-pin RGB header are on the board's bottom edge. You control the attached RGB devices through the MSI Center Utility and the Mystic Light applet, which worked well in our limited fiddling.

Above the DRAM slots in the right corner are two 4-pin fan headers (six total). Each header supports PWM and DC-type fans/pumps. The CPU_FAN1 and SYS_FAN1-4 headers output up to 2A/24W while the PUMP_FAN1 3A/36W. You can easily piggyback a couple of fans on these headers if needed; just be sure not to overload them. Fan control is handled through the BIOS and also worked well using the preset curves or a custom setting.

Continuing down the edge, the next feature is the EZ-Debug LEDs, where four LEDs (labeled CPU, DRAM, Boot, and VFA) light up during the POST process. If there’s an issue, the LED for the problematic section remains lit, giving you a general idea of where the issue is. Below is a 24-pin ATX header to power the board, a front panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C port, and a front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header.

Power delivery on the B760M Mortar can handle our flagship-class processor at stock speeds (remember, this platform doesn’t overclock the processor) without issue. From the 8-pin EPS connector(s), power moves to a Renesas RAA229132 PWM controller and then onto 12x 75A Renesas RAA220075R0 DrMOS MOSFETs dedicated to Vcore. The 900A available to the processor isn’t a lot, but still enough for our Intel Core i9-13900K.

On the bottom half of the board, starting on the left side, we see the budget Realtek ALC897 codec along with the familiar audio separation line (separates the audio from the rest of the board) and a few dedicated audio caps. Audiophiles will certainly be left wanting better, but many users will find the integrated solution sufficient. If not, there are spare PCIe slots to add your sound card.

Speaking of slots, the B760M comes with two full-length slots and one x1 slot. The top slot is reinforced, attaches through the CPU, and runs up to PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds. The bottom full-length slot connects through the chipset and runs at PCIe 4.0 x4. The small middle slot also connects via the chipset but runs at PCIe 3.0 x1 speeds.

Mixed in among the slots are the two M.2 sockets. The top socket, M.2_1, located under a thin heatsink, connects through the processor and runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds. The second socket, M.2_2 (no heatsink), connects through the chipset and runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds. M.2_2 supports PCIe and SATA-based modules, a nice value-add for users at this price point. Not everyone can afford smoking fast, more expensive, PCIe-based M.2 modules. Both sockets handle up to 80 mm devices. Last, we run into two (of four) SATA3 6 Gbps ports along the right edge. If you want to RAID these, the board supports RAID0/1/5/10 modes through the SATA ports (not listed for M.2).

Across the bottom are several exposed headers. You’ll find additional USB ports, RGB headers, and power/reset buttons. Below is a complete list from left to right.

• Front panel audio
• 3-pin RGB header
• (2) System Fan headers
• Thunderbolt header
• 4-pin ARGB header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (2) SATA3 6 Gbps ports
• TPM header
• System panel

On the preinstalled rear IO, the B760M Ace uses a gray background with black labels on all of the ports. You’ll find the MSI MAG branding back here; otherwise, ports and labels dominate the real estate. There are eight USB ports in total: one 20 Gbps Type-C, three USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports, and four USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. Video outputs consist of DisplayPort and HDMI ports. The 2.5 GbE port and Wi-Fi antenna connections also take up space along with the 5-plug analog plus SPDIF audio stack.

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Firmware

MSI’s BIOS for the B760M is the same as other Z790 boards we’ve seen before, except it doesn't allow you to overclock the processor. The menus reside on the sides and information up top, a unique look compared to others. For our B760M Mortar, it still has a black background with red highlights and is easy to read. It also has an informative Easy Mode that displays various information about the system and allows for some changes (boot order and XMP enable). Though different than other UEFIs, it is easy to get around; everything has a place, and many frequently used options are readily available, not buried within sub-menus.

Software

MSI has a single utility, MSI Center, that covers quite a bit of functionality. From hardware monitoring to RGB control with Mystic Light, there are many applets within the software and a one-stop shop to download all of their utilities. I wish there were some overclocking options for boards that support it, however. But for those looking to use the Gamebar feature, Super Charger, or any other utilities, you'll find them in the software.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver. We also updated our games to include F1 22 and kept Far Cry 6. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the 1.2KW monster we used previously) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for testing. 

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

Across our synthetic benchmarks, the B760M Mortar results were hit-or-miss due to the processor thermal throttling. While the power delivery can handle our i9-13900K, running without power limits (default ‘water cooling' setting in the MSI BIOS) makes our processor bang off the limiter, causing slowdowns in heavily threaded applications. A simple negative offset can lower power and allow a CPU like this to stretch its legs. In the end, it was average to slightly below average, but some tests took a significant hit.

Timed Applications

In our timed applications, the B760M Mortar didn’t fare well. It was slower than average in Corona and LAME tests and is currently the slowest result in both Handbrake tests. Again, if you plan to install a high-end processor, you’ll need to get a beefy cooler and tweak the voltage lower to get the most out of it in this type of work.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 4, we’ve updated one of our games, F1 21 to F1 22, while keeping Far Cry 6. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, which can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

The B760M Mortar is a competent gaming board. The 3DMark results were average, while the gaming tests showed it could keep up with much more expensive options. There’s nothing to worry about with gaming performance in our tested titles.

Overclocking

The B760 chipset for Intel doesn’t allow users to overclock the processor (although there are rare exceptions), but you can overclock the memory.

Our DDR5-5600 kit worked without issue during the stress testing and benchmarking, as did the faster DDR5-6000 kit we use to push things a bit. Users buying motherboards at this price point aren’t generally buying ultra-fast and expensive RAM in the first place, so we’re quite happy with our results, even at ‘only’ DDR5-6000.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, Cache and Memory enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC (minus the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. Note we moved to using only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle the chip even when overclocked. Since we’re using less power to get more clocks, those datasets are more novel than useful. We’re also temperature limited on the processor, so adding more power isn’t possible without increased throttling. 

Idle power consumption on the budget B760M was 62 watts, while the load power use peaked at 365W watts. Power use from this board was the least (by average) so far.

VRM temperatures peaked low at just under 50 degrees Celsius. These are so low because the CPU almost immediately starts to throttle because of the high temperatures in the stress test. After an initial several seconds pass, the board slowly lowers power down to prevent thermal throttling of the processor. While the 75A DrMOS MOSFETs aren’t something to brag about, they’ll still handle a high-power processor at stock speeds as this board allows.

Bottom Line

MSI’s MAG B760M Mortar Wi-Fi is an inexpensive option that supports even the flagship-class 12th and 13th-generation Intel processors. For under $190, you get a PCIe 5.0 slot for graphics, two M.2 sockets (both PCIe 4.0, one of which supports SATA-based models), a budget audio solution, and even a fast USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port on the rear IO. For a budget option, it looks good and has most of what users want in the budget space. Performance was fine in gaming and lightly threaded work, but once pressed, our i9-13900K thermally throttled at default settings.

There is plenty of competition. The least expensive of the bunch, the ASRock B760M PG Riptide ($146.99) we looked at recently, was solid and included integrated RGBs, but missing a PCIe 5.0 slot. Gigabyte’s B760M Aorus Elite AX ($169.99) sets itself apart in looks and mixes in with the other competitors hardware-wise. Last is Asus' TUF Gaming B760M-Plus Wi-Fi D4, that’s priced like our MSI ($189.99). The only thing the Asus has going for it is the lower entry price for DDR4 compared to these DDR5 models (Asus doesn’t have a B760M DDR5 option that I’ve seen).

Ultimately, the MSI MAG B760M Mortar Wi-Fi is the best option among these similar boards. It’s the only one board with a PCIe 5.0 slot with a 20 Gbps USB Type-C port on the rear IO. Power delivery can handle our flagship processor; however, if you plan a high-power processor and push all cores and threads for general use, you’ll want to lower the voltage and/or use top-notch cooling to get the most out of the board. Less expensive options are available, but you’d also lose some features making that move down. If you’re in the market for an inexpensive motherboard for the latest and greatest Intel has to offer and want 20 Gbps ports  and a PCIe 5.0 slot, the B650M Mortar is the option in the sub-$200 market.

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The ASRock B760M PG Riptide is a Micro ATX motherboard that supports the latest Intel 12th and 13th Gen Intel processors. Priced at just over $145, it offers a simple black-on-black appearance, with a blue strip on the VRM and a few RGB LEDs hidden under the right side of the board. You get two M.2 sockets and four SATA ports for storage, Realtek 2.5 GbE networking (Wi-Fi not included), memory support listed up to DDR5-7200+(OC), and a budget Realtek audio codec. Ultimately, it’s a full-featured option in the budget Micro ATX space.

The PG Riptide stacks up well against the competition on the hardware front. At this price and with this budget chipset, there’s not much that can go on these boards except for the basics, as the platform limits the potential for high-speed interfaces. 

To keep the price point low, ASRock uses 12-phase VRMs for Vcore, and instead of using more modern (and costly) SPS MOSFETs, we see an old-school configuration using Hi and Low side ICs instead of combined as we’re used to on more expensive models. This isn’t ideal for high-end processors, but it did allow our Intel Core i9-13900K to run the Intel’s defaults, boosting up to 255W for a short time, then limiting itself to 125W and lower clocks. You won’t find PCIe 5.0 x4 slots, a high-end audio solution, or even 20 Gbps Type-C ports at this bargain basement price, but you can run the latest and greatest processors for the platform and DDR5 memory.

Performance-wise, The B760M PG Riptide is all over the map, as it follows Intel’s specifications. You get a full 255W for the processor, and then it ramps down off the turbo boost, limiting it to 125W. For a motherboard of this class, that’s to be expected, especially due to the paltry VRMs powering the processor. It competes with high-end boards in single-threaded applications or in shorter-running, heavily threaded applications. Gaming performance was above average, and Intel’s limits aren’t getting in the way of gaming. If you plan to drop in a high-end processor and utilize all the cores and threads, you’ll find a ceiling on performance compared to other boards that bypass Intel’s specs. 

Below, we’ll dig into the details of the board and see if the PG Riptide finds its way onto our Best Motherboards list. Before we get into our testing and board details, though, we’ll start by listing the specifications from ASRock.

Specifications: ASRock B760M PG Riptide

Inside the Box of the ASRock B760M PG Riptide

Inside the retail box, above the motherboard, is a small handful of accessories. ASRock includes a manual, postcard, two SATA cables, screws for the M.2 sockets(2), and a case sticker. There isn’t much here, though the basics are covered.

Design of the B760M PG Riptide

The B760M PG Riptide comes with a matte-black PCB with black slots, sockets, and heatsinks. The only color is a blue/purple strip with some branding on the left VRM heatsink. The board and heatsink have some lines stenciled on, but it's tough to see the design as they are barely lighter than the board itself. If you’re looking for RGB lighting, the Riptide has you covered with two zones with three LEDs each on the right edge, at the top and bottom. The RGBs are bright and the color is saturated, which makes for a nice glow from below the board, lighting up the inside of your chassis. Overall, it’s a good-looking motherboard for the price, but certainly not a showpiece.

In the upper left corner of our budget board, the first thing we see is the 8-pin (required) and 4-pin (optional) EPS connections to power the processor. Next, we get a closer look at the VRM heatsinks. The left heatsink is the larger of the two, reaching out over the rear IO area and covering some of those unsightly Rear IO bits. On top, the Riptide PG Series branding, in that deep blue/purple color, matches the PCB’s design/patterns.

Moving past the socket area, we find four DRAM slots with locking mechanisms on both sides. ASRock lists support up to DDR5-7200, but as always, your mileage may vary depending on the kit used. Your best chance of success in these fast kits is to stick with the QVL list.

Just past the DRAM slots in the upper-right corner are the first two (of four) 4-pin fan/pump headers. Each header supports PWM and DC-controlled devices. The CPU fan (CPU_FAN1) supports up to 1A/12W and the rest of the headers support 2A/24W. I’d like to see another fan header or two, but you can piggyback a couple of fans on the headers. Just be sure not to overload them as it could damage your board.

Next, we run into two (of four) RGB headers. In this case, there are two 3-pin ARGB headers with an additional ARGB header and a single 4-pin RGB header along the bottom edge. The Polychrome application controls the RGBs and worked well in our limited use syncing with the other products.

Continuing down the right edge, we run into the 24-pin ATX connector to power the board, a front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connector, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C header for the front panel.

Power delivery on our PG Riptide is configured as 14 total phases, with 12 dedicated to Vcore, just like the PG Sonic we recently reviewed (and its twin, the Steel Legend). Power comes from the 8-pin EPS connector and heads down to the Richtek RT3628AE 9-channel PWM controller. Next are the 12 VRMs dedicated to Vcore set up using a Teamed configuration. The VRMs don’t utilize the newer MOSFETs that combine Hi and Low sides, so each phase has two ICs. There isn’t a lot of power available, but it handled our Intel Core i9-13900K following the Intel specs. Not sure I’d let the system run without these limits for long, however. At least not without active cooling on the power delivery.

On the bottom of the board, on the left side, we see the Realtek ALC897 audio codec, four capacitors dedicated to audio, and a visible audio separation line designed to minimize EMI. This isn’t the newest or best audio solution. However, many those prioritizing price over fancy features should find the output sufficient.

In the middle of the board, we see a full-length PCIe slot and an open-ended x1 slot. The top primary slot uses reinforcement to protect against shearing from heavy graphics cards. This slot connects through the CPU and runs at PCIe 4.0 x16, while the bottom x1 slot sources its lanes through the chipset and runs at PCIe 4.0 x1. Just below the top slot is a Key-e M.2 socket that supports 2230 Wi-Fi/BT PCIe modules using the Intel CNVio/CNVio2 protocols. Our board doesn’t come with one, but you can purchase one separately for $25 or less and easily add it if needed.

Moving on to storage, our board has two M.2 sockets. The top socket (M2_1), under the heatsink, connects through the CPU with PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) bandwidth. The other socket (M2_2) on the right edge does not have a heatsink and runs up to the same speed. Each supports up to 80mm devices. Four SATA3 6 Gbps ports round out the storage options, with two located on the right edge and two on the bottom. If you’d like to use RAID, you can do so on the SATA ports (RAID0/1/5/10), but RAID support for the M.2 sockets isn’t listed.

Across the bottom of the board are several exposed headers. You’ll find the usual, including additional USB ports, RGB headers, and power/reset buttons. Below is a complete list from left to right.

• Front panel audio
• 4-pin RGB header
• 3-pin ARGB header
• Clear CMOS jumper
• (2) System Fan headers
• Speaker header
• USB 2.0 header
• TPM header
• (2) SATA3 6 Gbps ports
• System panel header

The rear IO plate on the B760M PG Riptide comes preinstalled to the motherboard, which is a nice touch at this price. It sports a black theme with white labels along with Phantom Gaming branding. There’s a total of eight USB ports scattered across the rear IO. You get one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C port, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports, and four USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. For video, the PG Riptide has HDMI and DisplayPorts for those using the integrated graphics on the processor. Last up are the 2.5 GbE port, a PS/2 port for the keyboard and mouse, and three 1/8-inch outputs that comprise the audio stack.

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Firmware

ASRock’s firmware for B760 keeps the same general format as we saw in the Z790 model. The major changes are the updated options/functions for Raptor Lake CPUs. The PG Riptide sports the black and red color scheme of the Phantom Gaming brand. Like the other boards, you start in Easy Mode, which is mostly informative but lets you change a few options (XMP, profiles, boot order, Fan-Tastic Tuning, etc.). Advanced mode displays headings across the top with details below. Here you can tweak everything that can be tweaked, as ASRock includes every option you can think of. Overclocking is easy, with most options on the same page, although some power options are in a different section. It’s a logical layout. The movement is smooth, and it’s easy to read. No complaints from us about the ASRock firmware.

Software

For software, ASRock provides several different options. It has the App Shop to install drivers and software, the Nahimic 3 audio control panel, and the A-Tune application that overclocks your system (if applicable), controls fans, and more. There’s even a pop-up to install drivers when you first boot the system. ASRock’s software provides everything users need to manage and tweak their system.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to 64-bit Windows 11, with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver. Additionally, we updated to F1 22 in our games suite and kept Far Cry 6. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the 1.2KW monster we used previously) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for testing. 

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

Looking at our synthetic benchmark results, the PG Riptide was all over the place with average to above-average results in the Procyon Suite (including Photo/Video editing) and gaming, to some of the slower we’ve seen in 7-Zip, Cinebench, POV-Ray and Blender. It performs this way as our board follows the Intel boost specs out of the box, whereas others tend to have more headroom. You can get more performance by increasing the PL1 value (and overclocking via BCLK).

Time Applications

All of our timed applications are some of the slowest we’ve recorded (again due to following Intel boost specs). Only the PG Sonic we looked at recently was slower in these tests.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of AMD’s Ryzen 7000 platform, we’ve updated one of our games, F1 21 to F1 22, while keeping Far Cry 6. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, which can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

On the other hand, Gaming results were average to above average among our tested samples. 3DMark results were average, while the actual game tests were some of the fastest results so far. It may be slow with heavy CPU use and productivity-type tasks, but it’s a more than competent gamer with these titles.

Overclocking

While the B760 chipset for Intel doesn’t generally allow users to overclock the processor this board does have a BCLK generator, and we got our system to 5.6 GHz and 4.4GHz (P and E cores, respectively), setting the BCLK to 102. We set the voltage to 1.35V, unlocked the power limit, and off we went. Since we used much less power in this manual configuration, the system handled it well, including the power delivery. Unlock the power limit and let it run by default. You’ll get all kinds of thermal throttling of the processor and, eventually, the power delivery, as it’s incapable of sustaining that much power without active cooling.

The board had no issues running the two RAM kits we tested at speeds up to DDR5-6000. ASRock lists support up to DDR5-7200, but we used our DDR5-6000 for overclocked testing as most users buying a budget board won’t reach for the faster options. The kit passed our stress test without flinching. Your mileage may vary as reaching these speeds depends on the memory kit. Stick with the QVL list for the best chance of achieving the highest supported speeds.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, Cache and Memory enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC (minus the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. Please note we moved to use only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as this section aims to ensure the power delivery can handle the chip even when overclocked. Since we’re using less power to get more clocks, those datasets are more novel than useful. We’re also temperature limited on the processor, so adding more power isn’t possible without increased throttling. 

Idle power consumption on our B760M PG Riptide peaked around 60W at the desktop, which is one of the lower values we’ve recorded. Peak power reached 390W, or around the average for the chip/platform in our testing. After the Intel turbo kicks in and reduces the clocks/voltage, power peaks around 220W with the CPU locked to 125W.

VRM temperatures on the PG Riptide, like the Sonic board, don’t have a chance to heat up much, considering the low 125W limit imposed under a minute into testing. The board wants to get hot fast when running the PL2 limit of 253W. Temperatures during our testing were fine, but the power delivery heats up if you manually raise that PL1 limit and leave the Vcore alone. If you push a high-end processor in this board, you can lower the Vcore to help with thermal throttling and performance issues.

 Bottom Line

If you’re in the market for an inexpensive motherboard and don’t need all the bells and whistles the new chips and platform offer, like PCIe 5.0 capability, a B760 board is the way to go. The B760M PG Riptide has everything you need for a smart mainstream system. There are two M.2 sockets and four SATA ports, 2.5 Gb networking (available Key-E M.2 socket for an adapter), a budget audio codec, and power delivery capable of handling our 13900K. It also looks good for such a cheap board and includes RGB LEDs. Performance out of the box is limited to Intel’s spec, so it can limit long-running and heavily multi-threaded activities. You can make some manual changes, such as adding more PL1 power and lowering the Vcore, bringing it back up to par. In short, this is a well-rounded, fair-priced option among its peers, but make sure you understand how you use your system to get the most out of it.

Regarding the competition, Gigabyte has a B760M Aorus Elite AX ($169.99), while Asus has a Prime B760M-A board for $153.99. Gigabyte’s standout feature is the 20 Gbps Type-C port and the contrasting black and grey appearance (also with integrated RGB lighting). Meanwhile, the Asus doesn’t have much, if anything, over either of these boards (and doesn’t have integrated RGBs). MSI’s Pro B760M-A Wi-Fi DDR4 ($169.99) is the most expensive. However, it supports DDR4, so the overall cost to get into the platform is less as DDR4 is still cheaper to buy. It also has integrated Wi-Fi, while that costs extra on the other boards.

Ultimately, The ASRock B760M PG Riptide is easy on the wallet, handsomely featured, and looks good for the price. You don’t get PCIe 5.0 hardware or faster than 10 Gbps USB ports native to the platform, but neither does the competition (MSI has 20 Gbps Type-C, but no PCIe 5.0). A great selling point for this board for overclockers is the integrated BCLK generator, which allows for additional headroom so you can overclock the locked chips. So long as your new system doesn’t require ultra-fast USB ports, or PCIe 5.0 anything, the PG Riptide is the pick of the litter, and it costs around $20 less than its direct competitors.

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The ASRock Z790 Livemixer is a uniquely styled motherboard that hails from the affordable side of ASRock’s product stack – and Z790 boards in general. This SKU is truly new and unique, not based on another board with just a different aesthetic. Sitting above the Pro RS and below the Steel Legend, the $252.99 Livemixer offers a blend of features designed for content creators, including a PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket and card slots, a slew of available USB connectivity, and a VRM capable of powering the flagship Intel CPUs – at least in stock configuration. But the real reason to get this board is for the appearance, as it doesn’t look like anything else I’ve seen over the past 10-plus years. It does remind me of DFI Lanparty boards, though. 

ASRock’s Z790 lineup (at the time of this writing) consists of 13 different motherboards. There you’ll find all the standard sizes and wide-ranging prices, with familiar names like the Taichi, Steel Legend, Riptide, Pro, and our LiveMixer SKU. Prices range from $499.99 (Taichi Carrara) to the ASRock Z790M PG Lightning/D4 at $179.99. There are plenty of options in the existing lineup, although we’re still waiting to see a water-cooled Aqua down the road.

Regarding performance, the Livemixer was average to below average across most of our tests. In part, it performed this way due to heavy thermal throttling at its default settings. We tried setting the BIOS to the 240/280mm cooling option while using our 360mm AIO and still saw significant throttling. You'll have to use a negative voltage offset to get the most out of this board, to prevent the throttling we experienced during testing. That said, most tests were just slightly slower than average, and nothing was significantly out of line, even if this was the slowest tested board in a couple of benchmarks.

Below, we’ll dig into the details of the board and see whether it deserves a spot on our Best Motherboards list. Before we get into our testing and board details, though, we’ll start by listing the specifications from ASRock’s website. 

Specifications: ASRock Z790 Livemixer

Inside the Box of the ASRock Z790 Livemixer

Inside the retail packaging, below the motherboard, are a couple of accessories – literally a couple. You get two SATA cables and five screws for the M.2 sockets (along with a manual).

Design of the ASRock Z790 Livemixer

ASRock’s Z790 Livemixer sits on a black PCB with white and purple paint splatters, along with purple heatsinks and shrouds that yield a unique appearance, or at least color scheme, for motherboards. There’s Livemixer branding written in a graffiti-type font along the bottom of the board and again on the large VRM heatsinks. The purple theme isn’t as neutral as some other boards with a more basic black color scheme, so make sure this is what you want inside your chassis.

If you’re into RGB lighting, the Livemixer has four RGB LEDs on the backside of the board, by the SATA ports, which give off a bright glow that shines inside your chassis. You control the RGBs with ASRock’s Polychrome RGB application. If these adornments aren’t enough, you can add more RGB lighting through the 4-pin or 3-pin RGB headers.

Starting in the upper-left corner of the board, we get a better look at the large, purple-and-white VRM heatsink and the graffiti-style appearance. The VRM heatsinks have a lot of mass and a fair amount of surface area, so they should do a decent job on the MOSFETs below, but we’ll see how well that pans out in or testing below. Just above the left VRM heatsink are two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to power the CPU.

Moving past the clean socket area, we run into four unreinforced DRAM slots with locking mechanisms on both sides. ASRock lists support of up to 128GB at speeds listed to DDR5-7200+(OC). Of course, your mileage will vary, but we did not run into any issues with our basic DDR5-5600 kit or our middle-of-the-road DDR5-6000 kit.

In the upper-right corner (just to the left of the DRAM slots) are the first four (of seven) 4-pin fan headers. The CPU_FAN1 header supports up to 1A/12W, while the CPU_FAN2/EP and CHA_FAN1-5/WP headers all support up to 2A/24W. CPU_FAN2/WP and CHA_FAN1-5/WP can auto-detect if a 3-pin or 4-pin fan is in use, while you’ll have to manually set the others. There are enough headers and power output to support your fans and custom watercooling pumps. Control over these devices is handled through the BIOS or ASRock’s A-Tune software.

Looking down the right edge, we run into the 24-pin ATX power connector for the board, the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C front panel header, and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header.

The power delivery on our Livemixer consists of 16 total phases, with 14 dedicated to Vcore. Power comes from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) onto the Renesas RAA229131 20-phase PWM controller. From there, it heads to the 14x 60A Intersil ISL99360 SPS MOSFETs. While the 840A available for the processor is less than we’ve seen in our previously reviewed boards on this platform, it shouldn’t get in the way of stock or most overclocked operations with the flagship Intel i9-13900K (although thermal throttling does).

On the bottom of the board, starting on the left side, we spy the dated Realtek ALC897 audio codec. There’s an audio separation line, but you can forget about third-party DACs and Amps at this price point. The ALC897 is a budget codec, so discerning listeners, even content creators this is intended for, might be disappointed and want to use a superior external audio solution.

For those who want to use Wi-Fi, the M.2 Key-E Wi-Fi socket for CNVio/CNVIo2-based devices (sold separately) is located just to the left of the PCIe slots. Just above that is a unique connection called Embedded DisplayPort (eDP). As the name implies, the eDP connector is for an LCD monitor that supports eDP. This connector supports eDP 1.4 and a maximum resolution of FHD (1080p) at 60 Hz. ASRock’s 13.3-inch side panel kit is the perfect accessory for this connector.

In the middle of the board are four PCIe slots, three full-length with the top/primary slot reinforced. That top slot supports PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds from the CPU (assuming nothing populates the M2_1 socket, otherwise, it drops back to PCIe 5.0 x8). The other two full-length slots get their bandwidth from the chipset and run at a maximum of PCIe 4.0 x4. The x1 slot in the middle also sources lanes from the chipset and runs at PCIe 3.0 x1 speeds.

Scattered among the PCIe slots are five total M.2 sockets. The top socket connects through the CPU and runs up to PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) speeds, supporting up to 80mm modules. The PCIE1 slot drops back to PCIe 5.0 x8 speeds when this socket is in use. Three of the four other sockets (M2_2/3/4/5) all source their PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) lanes through the chipset and support up to 80mm devices. All but one M.2 socket has a heatsink to keep the devices below from getting too warm.

Interestingly, ASRock states that M2_1 and M2_2 cannot be populated simultaneously. The only reason I can think of offhand to do this is to give the user the option to run the full PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds on the primary slot. According to the company’s chipset diagram from the Livemixer webpage, the 4.0 socket (M2_2) has its own line to the CPU, while the PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket shares bandwidth with the PCIe slot. In short, you can only run four of the five M.2 sockets concurrently, which should be enough for most people.

A second USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connector and the four SATA ports are on the right edge of the board. The SATA ports support RAID0/1/5/10, while the M.2 sockets support RAID0/1/5 modes.

Across the bottom of the board are several exposed headers. You’ll find the usual, including additional USB ports, RGB headers, and power/reset buttons. Below is a complete list from left to right.

• Front panel audio
• 5-pin Thunderbolt AIC connector
• 3-pin RGB header
• 4-pin ARGB header
• (2) System Fan headers
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Clear CMOS jumper
• TPM header
• Speaker header
• Dr. Debug display
• System panel header

The rear IO plate on the Z790 Livemixer comes preinstalled to the motherboard. It sports a black and purple background against white writing and the Livemixer graffiti-like branding. Content creators tend to use many USB ports, and the Livemixer is here to help. There’s a total of 14 USB ports scattered across the rear IO. You get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C ports and two 10 Gbps Type-A ports. There are four more 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports and six USB 2.0 (480 Gbps) ports. Additionally, the board has dedicated Lighting gaming USB ports that use a separate controller for a more stable USB signal and less latency, according to ASRock. On the video side, the Livemixer has HDMI and DisplayPort ports for thoughts with non-KS chips wh don’t want to use a graphics card. Last is the 2.5 GbE and the two-plug plus SPDIF output that make up the audio stack.

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Firmware

ASRock’s firmware for Z790 keeps the same general format as we saw in the Z690 model. The major changes are the updated options/functions for Raptor Lake CPUs. The Livemixer’s background is just as unique as the board, sporting the purple and blue theme against light grey/white labels. You start in Easy Mode, which is mostly informative but lets you change a few options (XMP, profiles, boot order, Fan-Tastic Tuning, etc.).

Advanced mode displays headings across the top with details below. Here you can tweak everything that can be tweaked, as ASRock includes basically every option you can think of. Overclocking is easy, with most options on the same page, although some power options are in a different section. It’s a logical layout. The movement is smooth, and it’s easy to read. No complaints from us about the ASRock firmware.

Software

For software, ASRock provides several different options. It has the App Shop to install drivers and software, the Nahimic 3 audio control panel, and the A-Tune application that overclocks your system, controls fans, and more. There’s even a pop-up to install drivers when you first boot the system. ASRock’s software provides everything a user needs to manage and tweak their system.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver. We also updated to F1 22 for our games and kept Far Cry 6. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows: 

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the 1.2KW monster we used previously) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for testing.

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results and Final Analysis

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

In our synthetic benchmarks, the Z790 Livemixer had average to below average results across the board. Anything that’s a longer-running, multi-threaded benchmark tends to take a hit more than any lightly threaded or single-threaded apps. Even with the BIOS set at the 240/280mm AIO setting (less than our cooling solution, a 360mm AIO), it still thermally throttled the CPU more than other boards.

Timed Applications

Starting with Handbrake, the Livemixer was the second slowest result, behind only the fully unlocked Taichi that thermally throttled the CPU even more. Here again, and like its Taichi sibling, with long-running heavy applications, the voltage used out of the box, despite our robust cooling solution puts a ceiling on performance. LAME encoding was also the slowest of the bunch, but not by much.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of AMD’s Ryzen 7000 platform, we’ve updated one of our games, F1 21 to F1 22, while keeping Far Cry 6. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, which can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

Overall, the Z790 Livemixer is a competent gamer. The 3DMark scores mix it up with the other boards, and the game tests are also up there, especially in F1 22. The Livemixer was a couple of frames per second behind the others in Far Cry 6, but that’s still minimal. According to our tests, you wouldn’t notice the difference between this or any other board we’ve tested when gaming.

Overclocking

When overclocking, we aim to increase the power and add stress to the VRMs. We do so by increasing the clock speed and voltage until we’re at the thermal threshold for the processor during stress testing. However, where these CPUs are allowed to run with ‘boost’ speeds, those speeds are closer to the limit than ever before. 

With our Core i9-13900K, the approach was a bit different. To overclock our chip, we had to lower the voltage from what was recorded during stress tests. We increased the clock speeds of the “P” and “E” cores by 100 MHz and 200 MHz, respectively, over the turbo boost and limited by our cooling. We ended up with  5.6 GHz P core and 4.5 GHz E core clocks using about 1.34V (from DMM). Temperatures peak just under the throttling point with this configuration. And as we’ve noted elsewhere, this is the intended performance for Intel’s flagship CPU.

Overclocking on the Z790 Livemixer was a pain. With most boards, it’s easy to dial in the known voltage value for the clock speeds and go. But with this board, over the course of 2 hours (and a borked OS in the process), I could not get the system to pass a 30-minute stability test. Either the thermal throttling was too much, or the voltage wasn’t enough and it would reboot. You may have better luck with a lesser K-SKU i7 or i5 processor, which is honestly more this board’s speed.

On the memory side, we dropped our Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 kit in the system, enabled XMP, and tested it without issue, as expected.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, Cache and Memory enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC (minus the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. Please note we moved to use only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as the goal of this section is to ensure the power delivery can handle the chip even when overclocked. Since we’re using less power to get more clocks, those datasets are more novel than useful. We’re also temperature limited on the processor, so adding more power isn’t possible without increased throttling. 

Idle power consumption on our Z790 Livestream/i9-13900K combo peaked at fairly low 54 watts at the desktop. Load power peaked at only 325W at the wall, the lowest we’ve recorded with an i9-13900K.

VRM temperatures on the Livemixer ran warm, but well within specification during our stress test. The system peaked at just under 60 degrees Celsius while using stock settings in the stress test. The VRM cooling solution works well on the 60A SPS MOSFETs.

Bottom Line

The ASRock Z790 Livemixer is one of the most unique motherboard designs we’ve seen. The purple graffiti theme and the bright RGB LEDs stand out among modern-day peers. And the board isn’t all about looks. The Livemixer is well-appointed, with the only major thing missing being integrated Wi-Fi. Still, it has five total (though four useable concurrently) M.2 sockets (one PCIe 5.0 x4), a whopping 14 USB ports on the rear IO to connect all your streaming peripherals, and a reasonable price for the platform at $252.99.

The board is not without its drawbacks, however. The audio codec is dated and hails from the budget side of the tracks. Although many will find this one acceptable, for a board designed for content creators, I would like to see a better codec used, such as one from the ALC1200 family (or newer) like some of the competition uses. I would also like to see EZ M.2 latches (both here and across all boards), but that’s a minor complaint. Performance was, at best, average, but many of the heavily multi-threaded and longer-running tests were slower due to the processor thermally throttling more than other boards. The gaming performance was spot on, though. So long as you don’t plan to run heavily multi-threaded operations, or you use something less thermally demanding than our Core i9, you’ll get all the performance you paid for with this board. 

There’s some stiff competition around this $250 price point. MSI’s Pro Z790-A Wi-Fi is $269.99, the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX is $259.99, and the Asus Prime is the least-expensive at $249.99. All those boards include Wi-Fi, which ASRock’s board lacks. If you need better audio, the MSI sports the latest generation codec (Realtek ALC4080). All of these are viable options in the space and, depending on your needs, may be better options.

The Z790 Livemixer, with its unique appearance, is a solid option to build your Raptor Lake-based system on. It has the most USB ports on the rear IO we’ve seen in a while, which is great for those who need lots of external connectivity, including the intended market, content creators and gamers. If you’re in the market for a mid-range board and like the unique look of the Livemixer, it’s a decent and visually unique option. However, other boards around the same price have a less polarizing appearance, better audio, and integrated Wi-Fi.

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AMD and ATI Technologies ULC have filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) that Realtek Semiconductor and TCL Industries Holdings have violated five patents, triggering a USITC investigation of the claims.

The USITC announced that it would investigate certain graphics systems, components thereof, and digital televisions with components from Taiwan-based Realtek and the China/Hong Kong-based TCL Industries Holdings (and its subsidiaries). The allegedly patent-infringing products are all imported into the US for sale, bringing them under the remit of the USITC.

AMD and ATI filed the complaint on May 5, 2022, seeking an exclusion order and cease and desist orders for the sale of the products. The USITC announced the investigation on July 1. AMD and ATI Technologies ULC of Canada, which AMD purchased back in 2006, claims Mediatek and TCL Industries violated five patents covering various graphics technologies. 

The ATI patents include texture decompression techniques, a graphics processing architecture with a unified shader, and a multi-threaded graphics processing system (patents 7,742,053 claims 1-9, 8,760,454 claims 2-11, and 11,184,628 claims 7-12). The AMD patents cover a method and system for synchronizing thread wavefront data and events, and a patent covering a processing unit that enables asynchronous task dispatch (patents 8,468,547 claims 16-21, and 8,854,381 claims 15-20). 

The investigation brings back memories of another USITC investigation triggered by AMD and ATI back in 2017. That investigation centered on patent infringements by LG, Vizio, Mediatek, and Sigma Designs, most of whom settled with AMD. However, AMD eventually sued Mediatek for violating several of its patents. 

AMD and ATI's complaint claims that Realtek and TCL Holdings violated section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The first step of the 'Section 337 Investigation' is for the Chief Administrative Law Judge of the USITC to designate a presiding Administrative Law Judge to oversee an evidentiary hearing to determine if there has been a violation of Section 337. The USITC will give a target date for the completion of the investigation within 45 days.  

If Realtek and TCL are found to be in violation of AMD/ATI's patents, we can expect them to end up paying licensing fees for using the tech — that is if the case follows the traditional trajectory, of course. We've reached out for comment from the companies involved and will update as necessary. 

NZXT has readied its new N5 and N7 series motherboards featuring Intel's Z690 chipset. The company admits the N5 and N7 series Z690 motherboards represent a "long awaited update," for Intel's 12th gen Core Alder Lake processors. This handsome duo is very welcome: Alder Lake chips are still very strongly ranked among the best CPUs for gaming in 2022, and Intel's 13th gen Core Raptor Lake processors should also fit Z690 motherboards.

The NZXT N5 Z690 and N7 Z690 are very similar, but the latter is a rung above the former with features such as a stronger power phase design, better audio, and a super clean look with the PCB largely covered by matte white or matte black finished metal armor. For a clearer comparison between the NZXT N5 Z690 and N7 Z690, check out the specs:

NZXT is sticking with DDR4 for its Z690 motherboards. This is a pragmatic choice, and you can read an in-depth analysis of DDR4 vs DDR5 in our Intel Alder Lake RAM guide.

The first difference highlighted in the specs table concerns the power design. With more power phases and premium 2oz copper PCB, the N7 should be better for CPU overclocking, providing greater stability at higher clock speeds.

Next up, the configuration of storage expansion options varies between the two motherboards. The cheaper NZXT N5 Z690 benefits from an extra M.2 storage slot that supports both PCIe 4.0 x4 and SATA drives. The N7 Z690 strikes back with more powerful Wi-Fi, more/faster USB ports, and an upgraded on-board audio solution. The audio differences will be important to those who aren't going to fit a PCIe sound card or use an external sound card.

NZXT also wants to highlight the built-in RGB headers and control options offered on both these motherboards. They both support four RGB lighting channels and seven fan channels configurable through NZXT CAM.

The new NZXT N5 and N7 Z690 series motherboards are available now, direct from the maker, in black or white finishes. The N5 costs $239.99 and the N7 costs $299.99.

If you're looking for a motherboard and NZXT's new boards don't appeal to you, take a look at our Best Motherboards 2022 for Gaming, by Socket and Chipset.

According to a report by TechPowerUp, Biostar has announced a brand new motherboard at Computex, the X670E Valkyrie. This new model is one of Biostar's first motherboards equipped with the new AM5 socket from AMD and features AMD's flagship X670E chipset for the next generation of Ryzen 7000 processors and associated motherboards, which enables PCIe 5.0 support for graphics and storage solutions.

If history repeats itself, this new motherboard will be Biostar's flagship for the AMD 600 series platform; The Valkyrie name has represented Biostar's flagship motherboards for many years, including Intel versions such as the Z690 Valkyrie.

Aesthetically, the X670E Valkyrie has taken a large departure from its predecessors and forgone the inclusion of a double-winged logo, which was a staple in previous designs. Instead, Biostar has opted for a more simplistic design featuring no logos whatsoever and has taken to an angular line aesthetic approach featuring black, grey, silver, purple and yellow accents.

We don't have full details about the board's power delivery design but expect it to have a seriously overbuilt VRM system, which was also the case with the Z690 Valkyrie. What we do know are some key specifications, including DDR5 memory support with DIMMs featuring speeds up to 5600 MT/s.

For PCie connectivity, the Valkyrie features dual PCIe 5.0 x16 slots and a single PCIe 4.0 x16 slot. M.2 storage includes a whopping four M.2 slots for SSDs and a fifth M.2 slot for a single Wi-Fi- module. Biostar doesn't say what PCIe generation each slot supports, but we do know that AMD's X670E chipset requirements necessitate one of these M.2 storage slots being Gen 5 supported, at the very least, while the rest are probably running on Gen 4 connectivity.

For I/O, there is a single DisplayPort and single HDMI connector for video outputs -- this will be necessary since all Ryzen 7000 chips will come with RDNA2 integrated graphics. For storage, the board supports an additional six SATA3 ports for 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch hard drives and SSDs.

USB ports consist of two USB 3.2 Gen 2X2 20Gbps ports. We're still waiting to h ear on the rest. Audio consists of a Realtek codec of some sort, and ethernet is running on a 2.5G NIC of unknown origin.

We should know more soon enough, once Biostar releases an official product page to the public.

The Asus Pro H610T D4-CSM motherboard is set for release in the US on Friday. This H610-based motherboard mixes a desktop Alder Lake socket (LGA1700) with twin compact SO-DIMM slots and is powered by an external 19V DC power brick via a barrel jack on the rear I/O panel. By all accounts, it might be a good choice for a compact build or an AiO upgrade.

Asus ITX motherboards typically feature a chipset + 'I' suffix, but this one is a 'T' as it is classified as a Mini ITX Thin design. To keep any system you build using this motherboard suitably thin, definitely opt for a low-profile CPU cooler. Like in a laptop, the SO-DIMM slots are populated by adding the memory modules at an angle and clicking them into place as you lay them down flat. Thus you can add up to the max 64GB of DDR4-3200 memory without any vertical protrusions. There are no expansion slots to populate with add-in-cards. Asus says this ITX board is the standard 6.7-inches (17cm) square but doesn't provide any info about the height.

This is an Alder Lake board with a six-phase digital VRM, and you are limited to desktop processors with a max TDP of 65W, which seems sensible given the design and envisioned purpose by Asus.

We have mentioned the processor, memory, and (lack of) expansion slots, and as a diminutive motherboard, there aren't many other onboard expansion options. The Asus Pro H610T ITX only offers two SATA 6.0 Gb/s ports and one M.2 slot (type 2260/2280, supporting PCIe 4.0 x4 & SATA modes). However, the back panel is a bit better, with its two USB 3.2 Gen2 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, DisplayPort, HDMI port, 1Gb Ethernet jack, twin audio jacks, and the 19V barrel jack. You also have headers to attach up to seven other USB ports, two of which can be USB 3.2 Gen1.

Another feature we haven't mentioned above but is worthy of note is the onboard Realtek 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC. Furthermore, an extra M.2 2230 slot is available, which could be useful for something like a Wi-Fi module.

Lastly, some of the specs of this motherboard suggest it was developed from a design often used for AiO systems or can be used to upgrade some AiOs using standard parts. There are several AiO system-related and flat panel-related headers on this motherboard, as well as an LVDS header which is an option used to connect laptop or AiO displays.

On its product page, Asus talks about how the Pro H610T ITX motherboard is good for businesses with its security, management and serviceability features.

US online retailer Newegg currently has these motherboards up for pre-order, priced at $112.99.

Asus’ ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WIFI hails from the upper mid-range segment of Z690 motherboards. And yes, what constitutes mid-range these days is quite a bit higher than it used to be. Priced at $469.99, the Z690-E Gaming WIFI isn’t cheap, but it’s one of the least expensive Z690 boards with an integrated PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket. But the Z690-E Gaming is more than just the M.2 socket. It has capable power delivery, a whopping 12 rear USB ports, the latest Realtek audio codec, and an appearance fit for any build theme.

Compared to the last-generation Z590-E Gaming, the appearance changed slightly, while more features were added. Like most Z590 to Z690 boards, it’s an iterative update to support Intel’s 12th generation Alder Lake processors and the features that come with it. Outside of the PCIe 5.0 support, Asus improved upon the power delivery, increasing phase count (from 14 to 18) and output (70A to 90A MOSFETs) to support Alder Lake’s higher core-count processors, added another M.2 socket (for a total of five) and upgraded the audio.

The most significant difference, and one of the rare few boards with such a thing, is the integrated PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 socket. Although the Z690 chipset brought PCIe 5.0 support, most motherboards don’t have any PCIe 5.0 M.2 sockets. And if they do, it’s often done via an add-in-card and bifurcation of the primary graphics slot. Asus changed the look a bit outside of that, but it still has the same high-quality ROG Strix vibe. What it doesn’t have anymore is a sub-$400 price point. If this board cost a bit less, it would have a much better shot at landing on our best motherboards list.

Performance with the Z690-E Gaming WIFI was a bit slower than average across our benchmarking suite. The board ended up closer to the slightly slower DDR4 boards, as it followed intel specs closely out of the box. Gaming performance was average through and through, though our AIDA64 memory bandwidth tests were on the higher side of results. Overall, the performance differences aren’t much at all. In most cases, you’d be hard-pressed to notice a difference unless you were benchmarking.

Read on for more, including overclocking results, features, and details that set this board apart. Before we get going, here’s a complete list of the ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WIFI specifications from the Asus website.

Specifications - Asus ROG Strix-E Gaming WIFI

The Strix Z690-E Gaming includes all of the expected basics in its box to get you started, as well as the ROG Hyper M.2 card for additional M.2 drive. Below is a list of everything included with this board.

• (4) SATA 6Gb/s cables 
• ROG HYPER M.2 CARD
• ASUS 2x2 Dual-Band Wi-Fi moving antennas 
• M.2 Q-Latch package 
• M.2 Q-Latch package for M.2 backplate
• M.2 Rubber Packages
• (2) M.2 Screw Packages
• ROG Graphics card holder
• ROG key chain
• Cable ties
• ROG STRIX stickers
• ROG STRIX thank you card
• Support DVD
• User manual

Looking over the board in detail for the first time, it sports a black-on-black appearance, with some branding highlighted on the IO cover and chipset heatsink. The sole RGB element is above the IO bits, with the ROG symbol the prominent feature (controlled via Aura Sync software). The VRM heatsinks are large, heavy and look like they would do a great job cooling the power bits below. The chipset heatsink carries additional branding, including the Strix name in white along with ROG letters and the latitude and longitude coordinates of Asus’ headquarters. The top M.2 socket sports a heatsink and a heatpipe that connects to another smaller heatsink above it.

While the heatsinks and shrouds on the bottom half of the board don’t reach the left edge, it’s still a good-looking board. Overall, the Z690-E Gaming WIFI looks the part of a premium motherboard and would be a great-looking piece to build your Z690-based system with.

As we focus on the top half of the board, we’ll start with the VRM heatsink. Here the two are connected via heatpipe to share the load. The left VRM heatsink is huge, reaching out over the IO cover and integrates the RGB element. While there isn’t a ton of surface area (not many cutouts), there’s a lot of mass. As you’ll see later, the heatsinks easily kept the VRMs below running within specification.

Above the VRM heatsinks are two reinforced 8-pin EPS connectors (only one required) to feed power to the CPU. The socket area is busy, with a lot of black capacitors and other motherboard bits close to the CPU (including two 4-pin fan headers).

To the right of the socket are four DRAM slots that support up to 128GB of RAM. Asus lists RAM speeds up to 6400 MHz, but as always, your mileage may vary. Reaching these speeds is a combination of the right memory kit, a quality memory controller on the processor, and a board (with the right BIOS) that will do it.

Located just above the VRM heatsinks and DRAM slots are the first two (CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT), of eight total 4-pin fan headers. You’ll find two more headers (CHA_FAN AIO_PUMP) just above the top M.2 socket, two more by the SATA ports (CHA_FAN) and another on the bottom edge. As far as power output on these headers, they are all 1A/12W. I would like to see at least one header offer more power, as is common with most other higher-end boards. All fan/pump headers are Q-Fan controlled, except for the AIO_PUMP, which runs at full speed by default.

In the upper-right corner, we run into two RGB headers. On the left is a 3-pin ARGB and on the right is 4-pin RGB. Any RGBs attached to the board use the Asus Aura Sync software to control the lighting. Along the right edge, we first run into the Q-LED display and Q-Code LED. The first is a set of four LEDs (CPU, Boot, RAM, VGA) that light up during the POST process. If an issue arises that prevents booting to the OS, the corresponding LED where the problem lies remains lit. The Q-Code LED gives you more specific details on where the problem could be.

Continuing down the right edge, we run into the 24-pin ATX connector to power the board, a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) connector, and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) port).

For the CPU power delivery, Asus uses a 19-phase “teamed” VRM (two MOSFETs per channel without a phase doubler), with 18 phases assigned to Vcore. Power comes from the EPS “ProCool II” connector(s) onto a 20-channel Renesas RAA229131 PWM controller. Power is sent to the 18 90A Intersil ISL99390 SPS MOSFETs from the controller. The 1,620A available for the CPU is more than capable of handling the flagship Intel Core i9-12900K processor at stock and while overclocked. No worries here, as you’ll be limited by your cooling solution long before the VRMs are a hindrance.

Rotating down to the bottom half of the board, we’ll cover the audio, PCIe slots, M.2 sockets, and other storage connectors located in this area. On the far left, we find the Realtek ALC4080 audio codec, hidden below a shiny faraday cage with the SupremeFX label on it. Asus also includes a Savitech SV3H712 amplifier, designed to improve THD+N performance (from 72 to 83 dB). Additionally, there are several Nichicon-brand audio caps and the familiar audio separation line that make up the audio section. In all, it’s a premium solution that an overwhelming majority will find acceptable.

We spy three full-length PCIe slots in the middle of the board and one open-ended x1 slot. The primary GPU slot (top) runs at PCIe 5.0 x16 and sports reinforcement to prevent shearing and some EMI mitigation. There’s even a “Q-Release” button offset to the right that releases the PCIe lock on this slot, which is a far better solution than jamming a screwdriver in front of the slot to press it the usual lever.

The middle slot sources its lanes from the chipset and runs at PCIe 3.0 x4. The bottom slot also sources its lanes from the chipset and runs at a PCIe 4.0 x4. If you’re planning to use the ROG Hyper M.2 card, your best bet is to put it in the bottom slot as it supports bifurcation and splits to PCIe 4.0 x4 for both M.2 sockets on the Hyper M.2 card (Hyper M.2_1/M.2_2). The small and open-ended PCIe x1 slot gets its lanes from the chipset as well. The M.2 sockets also support RAID0/1/5 modes.

Moving past the chipset, we run into the six SATA ports. While these connect through the chipset as well, two ports use an external controller, which mitigates lane sharing. If you’re into running a RAID setup, these ports support RAID0/1/5/10 modes (only on the native SATA ports). In the end, you can run up to five M.2 devices with all SATA ports occupied. Any sharing comes with PCIe slots when used with the Hyper M.2 card.

Last but not least, across the bottom edge of the board, we find a slew of headers ranging from USB to RGB and even some sensors in between. Here’s a complete list ordered from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• Thunderbolt header
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Temperature sensor header
• TPM header
• System fan header
• Front panel header

Looking at the all-important rear IO area, Asus uses a pre-installed IO plate with a black background and white writing, making the labels easy to read. There are 12 USB ports here, with two Type-C ports (20 Gbps and 10 Gbps), four USB 3.2 Type-A 10 Gbps ports, four 5 Gbps ports, and two USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. One of the latter is dedicated to BIOS Flashback functionality. If you need more, you may want to reevaluate what’s plugged in versus what’s in use.

If you’re using the processor’s onboard video, you have a choice of Displayport (v1.4) or an HDMI port (v2.1). We also find small Clear CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons in this area. Other connectivity includes the 2.5 GbE port, Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections and the five-plug plus SPDIF audio stack. In all, there’s a ton of connectivity back here, folks.

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Firmware

Asus’ Z690 ROG BIOS is essentially the same as what we saw with Z590--save some items new to Alder Lake (P and E core adjustments, to name a couple). The ROG red theme remains, as does the ease of movement through the UEFI. It’s loaded with options and menus, though the most frequently accessed items are easily accessible and not buried several layers down. There’s also an easy mode that’s more of a dashboard with limited functionality. In all, we’re a fan of the Asus BIOS and its logical layout. It has everything you need, and then some, to tweak your motherboard and component settings.

Software

Asus has applications designed for various functions, ranging from RGB lighting control, audio, system monitoring, overclocking and more. Instead of plodding through each application as if it changes for each review, we’ll capture several screenshots of a few major utilities moving forward. In this case, here’s a look at Ai Suite 3, Armoury Crate, Sonic Studio and the Realtek Audio application.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and GSkill sent us a fast and good-looking DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit.

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately. To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates. We’ll keep you posted.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics are a great tool to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

In our synthetic benchmarks, the Z690-E Gaming was average or slightly below most of the boards tested so far. These tests compared more closely to the DDR4 systems, which end up a few percent slower than the DDR5 systems. AIDA64 memory bandwidth results were above average outside of latency, where it was in the middle.

Timed Applications

Starting with the LAME timed test, the Z690-E Gaming posted one of the fastest results at 9.56 seconds (fastest is 9.50 seconds). Corona testing was average, with the Aorus Master completing the test in 52 seconds and mixing with the DDR4 and DDR5 results. Moving on to Handbrake, the x264 test completed in 116 seconds, matching the DDR4 boards and a second or two slower than the rest. The x265 result of 306 seconds was the slowest so far. That said, the majority are only a couple of seconds faster so the difference isn’t that significant. The difference between the fastest and slowest in this test is 12 seconds or around 4%.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum fps value, as that can significantly impact your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the Z690-E Gaming averaged 164 Frames Per Second (fps), with minimums of 140 fps, which is right around our current average. Far Cry 6 averaged 135 fps, with minimums of 124 fps. The minimum matches the highest results, but most are only a couple of fps behind.

3DMark Time Spy scored 14,433 (one of the highest results so far), while in Fire Strike Extreme, the 16,820 is a bit below average. Again, even with DDR4, the difference between motherboards in these 3DMark benchmarks is negligible.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the Z690-E Gaming used 57W, which is around the average of DDR5 boards. Load wattage peaked at 300W, around the average for our Z690 motherboards. Overall, this board is average when compared against the DDR5 motherboards we’ve tested using an Alder Lake-based processor. The Z690-E reaches the same 4.9/3.7 GHz all-core clocks at stock as most others, so we’re all set there.

VRM temperatures on our probes peaked around 52 degrees Celsius during stock testing and reached 48 degrees Celsius when overclocked. At stock settings with all voltages on auto, this board uses more power than what we need for our overclock. These temperatures were well within the operating spec of the VRMs and aren’t out of line compared to other boards. The oversized heatsinks do an excellent job keeping the VRMs running cool.

Overclocking

Overclocking with Alder Lake is slightly different from what we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. To that end, we set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking with the Z690-E Gaming with our flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved painless again. Since we’ve found our required voltage with the first board we used, we plugged in that 1.25V value for Vcore, and off we went testing. There was a fair amount of vdroop when using Asus’ recommended LLC4 setting, but changing that to LLC6 brought things back in line, minimizing any voltage drop.

The 90A VRMs held their own, easily handling the ~210W HWinfo says the processor is using. As we mentioned previously, the only limits in overclocking you have on this board would be keeping the processor cool.

Final Thoughts

After our time with the Asus ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WIFI ($469.99), we like what the board has to offer overall. From the rare integrated PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket and the heatpipe cooling and premium audio solution to the 12 USB ports out back, it’s got almost anything a user is likely to want from a motherboard–or at least a gaming-focused board. Asus gave the updated model an improved look, more robust power delivery, and a higher M.2 count over Z590, along with a significantly higher price point, which unfortunately is basically par for the course.

On the performance front, the Z690-E Gaming was for the most part comparable to the DDR4 boards we’ve tested previously. In other words, in some tests, particularly heavily multi-threaded tests, the board holds back performance just a bit compared to the other DDR5 boards, as it follows the Intel specification more closely than others. But, switch on the Asus Enhancement feature (an option in the BIOS), and it then performs just as well as similarly priced competition. Regardless, the difference in most tests are difficult to notice unless you’re benchmarking. Gaming performance was spot on, so we’re set there.

Competition is fierce at this price point. Gigabyte has the Z690 Aorus Master ($469.99), MSI the MEG Z690 Unify ($489.99), and ASRock has its PG Velocita ($469.99 MSRP). If you want/need five M.2 slots, the Gigabyte, Asus, and MSI have you covered, but only the Asus and ASRock offer PCIe 5.0 M.2 storage. If you’re looking for the latest audio codec, the Asus and MSI boards are the only options out of this group, with the former sporting a Savitech amplifier. All boards have capable power delivery, but the PG Velocita is by far the weakest of the bunch with 60A MOSFETs compared to 90A and 105A on the other boards. In the end, all of these boards are plenty capable. At the same or similar pricing, it’s a toss-up and comes down to wants, needs, and looks as to which to choose. But if you need a lot of USB ports, the ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming wins hands down.

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Expansive carrier boards for the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 certainly aren’t unheard of, but the $99 Interceptor Carrier Board from Axzez, with five SATA ports and four gigabit Ethernet sockets (as reported by CNX Software) certainly stands out.

The Interceptor carrier board is designed to be the center of your NAS. Those five SATA ports are connected via a JMicron JMB585 PCIe to SATA controller to a single 5Gbps PCIe interface, which may create a bottleneck, while the network ports connect to a Realtek RTL8367RB switch. This looks like a board custom-made for a home-made NAS or managed switch, and the only thing it lacks is USB 3 support, as both the Type-A ports built into the board, and the extra two nine-pin headers, are USB 2. Video is taken care of by a pair of full-size HDMI ports capable of 4K 60Hz output. Missing from the board is the ubiquitous 40 pin GPIO. While not strictly necessary for the intended market, it would've been nice to have some basic GPIO options.

A Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye image is available from the company’s website which contains all the necessary drivers, and there's a forum for asking questions on. Pre-orders are currently being taken for the board, which is being offered at $99, to ship in February.

Gigabyte’s Z690 Aero G DDR4 is designed for the Creators looking to get into Intel’s latest platform, without spending a lot of money. The Aero G costs $289.99 and is one of the least-expensive Z690 boards marketed to creators and professional types. The Aero G comes with four M.2 sockets and six SATA ports for ample storage options, plenty of USB ports on the rear IO, the latest Realtek audio codec, 2.5 GbE and integrated Wi-Fi 6, competent power delivery, along with a more professional appearance than many other boards aimed at gamers and overclockers.

Compared to the previous-generation Z590 Vision G, the Z690 version adds more metal, particularly around the VRM area. Gone is the plastic cover over the VRM. Instead you get a large chunk of aluminum that not only looks better but cools better too. Outside of that, there aren’t too many physical changes as the new board keeps the grey/brushed aluminum theme.

Performance on this DDR4-equipped board was similar to the Asus TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WIFI D4 we just looked at. In short, most tests were comparable with DDR5 boards, though some showed significant differences. Between the Aero G and the other DDR4 board we’ve tested, the Aero was negligibly slower. On the memory front, the Aero G ran our DDR4 3600 sticks without issue, though it did default to Gear 2 with some very high latency. Gear 1 worked flawlessly when enabled. It also ran our DDR4 4000 sticks by simply enabling the XMP profile. Read on for much more, including overclocking and any features that set this board apart from others. Before we share what happened with our testing, here’s a complete list of the Gigabyte Z690 Aero G DD4 specifications from Gigabyte.

Specifications - Gigabyte Z690 Aero G DDR4

After opening the box and taking the board out, you’ll find several accessories stashed away under a cardboard partition. It comes with all of the basics to get you started, but not much more. Surprisingly our sample didn’t include a driver disk/DVD, so you’ll have to get those from the Gigabyte website. Below is a list of everything included with the Aero G.

• (2) SATA 6Gb/s cables
• Wi-Fi antenna
• (4) M.2 screws
• Microphone
• User Manual

I was pleasantly surprised with how the appearance of this board had changed at first glance. The distinct Aero/Vision look remains, with the black and silver theme on the heatsinks. On the VRM heatsink, you’ll find Gigabyte and Aero branding, along with a premium brushed aluminum finish. The M.2 and chipset heatsink has the same black/silver contrast as the VRM heatsinks, giving the areas a nice contrast. If you want integrated RGB lighting, you’ll have to look elsewhere or use the headers found on the board. Overall I like the new look. It doesn’t call attention to itself, yet is still capable of being the centerpiece of your build.

Focusing on the top half of the board, we get a better look at the oversized heatsinks and the Aero branding. There’s a strip with a rainbow/color-changing strip giving the board a bit of bling outside of the black, white and silver that covers the majority of the board. The heatsinks are heavily grooved, which increases surface area and cooling ability. Above the VRM heatsinks are two EPS connectors feeding power to the processor. The first is a required 8-pin and the second is an optional 4-pin.

To the right of the socket are four double-side locking DRAM slots that support up to 128GB of RAM at speeds listed to DDR4 5333+(OC). As always, your mileage may vary in reaching these speeds, as it depends on the quality of the CPU’s memory controller and the kit you use.

The first two (of eight total) 4-pin fan headers are located just above the DRAM slots. All headers support both DC and PWM-controlled fans, with each one supporting up to 2A/24W. There’s plenty of power for your fans, AIO, and even a water pump. Off to the right are the first RGB headers. There’s a 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB, with the other two located across the bottom edge.

Along the right edge, working our way up from top to bottom, we run into the 24-pin ATX connector to power the board, two system fan headers, a 2-pin header for a temperature probe, and two more fan headers (Pump and System). There’s also a front-panel USB 3.2 header and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C front panel header. Also in this area are the four Q-LEDs that light up during POST. If the system runs into an issue, the area where the problem is remains lit. Since the Aero G doesn’t have the more informative 2-character debug LED, you’ll have to rely on this high-level information if you have boot issues.

The Aero G is configured with a 19-phase VRM with 16 phases dedicated to Vcore. Power comes from the EPS connector(s) to a Renesas RAA229131 20-phase controller and then to the OnSemiconductor 70A MOSFETs. The 1,120 Amps available certainly isn’t one of the higher values we’ve come across, but it handled our Intel Core i9-12900K when it was at stock speeds and overclocked without concern.

Shifting focus to the bottom half of the board, we’ll work left to right and start with the audio. In the fully exposed audio section, you’ll find the latest generation Realtek ALC4080 audio codec, along with several Nippon audio capacitors. I was pleasantly surprised to see a high-end audio codec in use for a board that’s priced under $300.

In the middle of the board, we’ll start with the PCIe slots. The Z690 Aero G has a total of three full-length slots. The top slot (white) is reinforced and is the only PCIe 5.0 x16 capable. The bottom two full-length slots (black) source their PCIe 3.0 x4 lanes from the chipset. If you’re still into multi-GPU technologies, this configuration supports AMD Quad GPU CrossFire and 2-Way AMD CrossFire.

Located above and between PCIe slots are four M.2 sockets. The top socket, M2A_CPU, connects directly to the CPU and runs up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds while supporting up to 110mm drives. M2P_SB and M2Q_SB also run PCIe 4.0 x2 and support 110mm drives. Finally, the last slot, M2M_SB, supports both SATA and PCIe-based modules up to 110mm. There’s plenty of fast M.2 storage available on the Aero G.

Moving right over the chipset to the board’s edge, we run into Thunderbolt AIC headers and six SATA ports. When M.2 socket M2M_SB is used with a PCIe-based SSD, SATA ports 2/3 are disabled. The worst-case scenario for storage is when you run four PCIe-based M.2 SSDs, you’ll have four SATA ports (instead of six) available. If you don’t want to lose any SATA ports, run a SATA-based M.2 module on M2M_SB, leaving three M.2 sockets for PCIe-based modules and all six SATA ports. The Aero G supports RAID0/1/5/10 modes on the SATA ports.

Across the bottom edge of the motherboard are several headers, including USB, SATA ports, and RGB. Here’s the complete list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• COM port
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• TPM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Q-Flash Plus button
• 4-pin System Fan headers
• Clear CMOS jumper
• Front panel header

Swinging back to the rear IO area, we’ve got a pre-installed IO plate that matches the Aero’s theme. It has a white background with black writing, so the port information is easy to read. There are 10 total USB ports around the back: two USB 3.2 Type-C ports (20 Gbps and 10 Gbps), two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports and two USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. The eight USB Type-A ports should be enough for most users. For video, you can use the HDMI out or the VisionLINK Type-C port. A DisplayPort port is also found on the rear IO and used as an input. Additionally, you’ll find the 2.5 GbE port, Wi-Fi antenna connections, and finally, a 3-plug plus SPDIF audio stack.

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Firmware

Like other boards, Gigabyte’s Z690 BIOS layout is similar to Z590. Since this is an Aero board, the BIOS has a white background with grey/black writing for contrast and readability. The BIOS starts with an informational EZ Mode that displays system information and has limited functionality. You can enable XMP profiles from here, access Smart Fan 6 for fan control, Q-Flash, or the Advanced Mode. Major headers are listed across the top when working in the Advanced portion of the BIOS, with sub-headings below. Everything is easy to find, but many of the common functions for overclocking are located in separate sections, so you have to bounce around a bit compared to other BIOS layouts. I still wish the company would enable page up/down functionality, but the BIOS is easy to read and find what you’re looking for.

Software

On the software side of things, Gigabyte’s primary tool is the App Center. This application is a central repository for all its applications, Windows settings, and other third-party software. Simply download the applications you want, install them, and an icon shows up on the screen. We installed @BIOS (BIOS flashing utility), Easy Tune (overclocking/system tweaking), RGB Fusion 2.0 (control RGB lighting) and last but not least, SIV (monitoring). The Gigabyte website has many other helpful applications, including USB charging, LAN, and more that aren’t covered here. Overall, I like App Center’s small footprint and find its tools helpful.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and GSkill sent us a fast and good-looking DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for launch day testing. MSI and Asus also sent launch day kits.

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately. To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates. We’ll keep you posted.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics are a great tool to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Z690 Aero G results mixed in with the others and were just as performant as the DDR5 boards in most tests. Of course, there were some big differences in performance. 7-Zip, for example, did well in decompression, but the compression score was significantly lower. DDR4 didn’t affect CinebenchR23 or POV_Ray, but the Procyon Suite that includes MS Office, Video and Photo Editing benchmarks were slower overall by a couple percent, just like the Asus DDR4 board.

AIDA test results were as expected, matching bandwidth from the previous DDR4 systems. Latency on the Aero G was the highest result we’ve seen due to running in Gear 2 by default. When we tested with Gear 1, it worked, and the latency value matched the Asus.

Timed Applications

In the LAME test, the A690 Aero G was our slowest Alder Lake result, taking 10.7 seconds to complete. The DDR5 range was from 9.68 to 9.57, so it was significantly slower, at least by percent. Here, the high latency from running the RAM in Gear 2 affected the outcome as it’s nearly 10% slower than the other DDR4 result at 9.9 seconds.

Corona testing was average, with the Aero G finishing in 53 seconds and mixing with the DDR4 and DDR5 results. Both x264 and x265 Handbrake transcoding were slower than average, running just behind the Asus Z690-Plus WIFI D4. There’s nothing extraordinary about the Corona or Handbrake results.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum fps value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the Z690 Aero G averaged 165 Frames Per Second (fps), with minimums of 141 fps, which is higher than average but still close with the other results.  Far Cry 6 averaged 134 fps, with minimums of 115 fps. The minimum fps is one of the lowest results we’ve seen when using Alder Lake again due to the higher latency. That said, it would still be difficult to tell the difference between boards when gaming unless you’re staring at the frame counter.

Our trend of not seeing a significant difference continues in our synthetic benchmarks. 3DMark Time Spy scored 14,227 (lowest result so far), while in Fire Strike Extreme, the 16,837 is around average. Again, even with DDR4, the difference between the tested boards is negligible.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the Z690 Aero G consumed 51W and is the most efficient result we’ve seen so far. Load wattage peaked at 287W, which falls around the average for Z690 motherboards we’ve tested. Overall, this board is the most efficient among any motherboards tested using an Alder Lake-based processor. The board yields the same 4.9/3.7 GHz all-core clocks at stock as most others, so we’re all set there. That said, in most cases, it would be difficult to see the difference in your electric bill unless you’re running these on load 24/7.

VRM temperatures on our Aero G peaked around 52 degrees Celsius during stock testing and almost 60 degrees Celsius when overclocked. These temperatures were well within the operating spec of the VRMs and aren’t out of line compared to other boards. The oversized heatsinks do an excellent job keeping the 70A MOSFETs running cool. The VRM’s and their cooling won’t hold you back on this board.

Overclocking

Overclocking with Alder Lake is a bit different than we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. To that end, we set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking with the Z690 Aero G using the flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved relatively painless as it was with most boards so far. Since we’ve found our required voltage with the first board we used, we plugged in that 1.25V value for Vcore and found a severe case of overvolting. With LLC at auto or even the lowest value, 1.25V was 1.36V actual and too much for our cooling to handle with our stress test. We have to set the Vcore to 1.15V to get 1.26V (according to CPUz) under load. Once we dialed in the voltage, the testing was successful. The 70A VRMs held their own, though we would like to see the overvolting behavior mitigated in future BIOS updates.

Final Thoughts

With this, our second DDR4 Z690 motherboard, we confirmed the performance difference between it and DDR5 is negligible in most cases. However, the difference is noticeable in some tests, especially with compression, where these boards were barely faster than last-generation processors. The $289.99 Z690 Aero G is a full-featured motherboard and a good option for Creators to jump into the speedier platform without spending a premium for DDR5.

So far, the Z690 Aero G is the board that has changed its appearance the most. While it still keeps the ‘Aero’ theme, to me, the changes (adding a more brushed aluminum, to name one thing) yield a more premium appearance compared to similarly priced options. A pretty face means nothing if there isn’t anything behind it though. To that end, the Aero G and its VisionLINK is the least-expensive motherboard that runs video through the USB Type-C port (others that do go through the more expensive and faster, Thunderbolt 4). Creators can add monitors, drawing devices, and more without buying into a board that has Thunderbolt 4 support and could break the bank. Outside of the unique VisionLINK feature, the board improved over its Z590 counterpart by adding another M.2 socket, upgraded power delivery, and of course, PCIe 5.0 support.

There are many boards around the $300 price point, including at least one DDR5 option. We’ve got the Asus TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WIFI D4 ($289.99), the ASRock Z690 Extreme WiFi ($289.99), and the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk ( our DDR5 option at $299.99). If you plan to utilize the Type-C port for video or other peripherals, the Aero G is the only choice at a reasonable price. That said, if you need more SATA storage and fast Wi-Fi, the ASRock includes a 6E-based adapter and eight SATA ports. The Gigabyte and the MSI Tomahawk both use the latest generation audio codec, but the ALC1220 used on other boards is fine for most users. In the end, it’s a toss-up among these boards if you don’t want the flexibility VisionLINK brings to the table.

As complaints go, I can only gripe about how the board overvolts when using the override voltage. The difference in my testing from what we set in the BIOS to what CPUz says was nearly 0.1V– a significant delta. Hopefully, a new BIOS allows the LLC to help more or have the actual voltage closely match what we set in the BIOS. I’m not going to hold DDR4 performance over this board’s head, as the others suffer from the same minor (in most cases) differences.

The Gigabyte Z690 Aero G DDR4 is a competent board, especially for the price. By jumping into a DDR4 solution, you’ll save money reusing your existing DDR4 kit. Or if you’re currently on DDR3, the cost to get into DDR4 is considerably less than DDR5, and DDR5 is tough to find in stock at any price right now. Creators will get the unique VisionLINK I/O capability to help with video and other peripheral connections, four fast M.2 sockets, and plenty of SATA ports to work with. If VisionLINK I/O functionality is a want or a need, the Z690 Aero G is hands down the motherboard of choice at this price creators.

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We’ve tested a couple high-end boards for Intel’s brand-new Alder Lake platform so far. But now we get to dive deep into the first mid-range Z690 board, Gigabyte’s Z690 Aorus Pro. Priced at $329.99, it’s one of the less expensive offerings in the Z690 universe (although there are boards priced as low as $200), but it still has a long feature list enthusiasts should love. There are a whopping 13 total USB ports, 2.5 GbE and integrated Wi-Fi 6 for fast networking, four M.2 sockets, a premium Realtek audio codec, overbuilt VRMs, and an updated appearance. The new look may be polarizing, with its grey-on-black heatsinks, but overall we like what the Aorus Pro delivers as a package very much.

Since this is our first Gigabyte Z690 review, we’ll briefly cover the product stack. The Gigabyte website has a mind-blowing 25 models listed, across the Aorus, Aero, Gaming X, and UD families. The Aorus line has 15 boards, from the halo product Aorus Extreme Waterforce (and non-watercooled Extreme), Tachyon (overclocking centric), Master, Ultra, Elite, and Pro boards. There’s even a Mini ITX board, the Z690I Ultra.

The Aero line consists of three boards (Aero D, Aero G, and Aero D DDR4) that sport a different design aesthetic (white) with hardware geared towards content creators. The Gaming X family has two boards (one DDR5, the other DDR4). Finally, the UD series makes up the budget end of things with five SKUs, including DDR4 options.

On the design front, the Z690 Aorus Pro changed things up, going with less coverage on the shrouds and heatsinks due to PCIe slot placement. The M.2, chipset and top VRM heatsink are all grey, providing a rather stark contrast against the black PCB and other heatsinks. Personally, I prefer the old style that covers more of the board and uses grey more sparingly (like the Z690 Aorus Master). That said, this is still a good-looking board and makes a great focal point for your Z690 build, though the lack of RGB lighting elements may be a turnoff for some.

Looks aside, the Z690 Aorus Pro performed well, mixing in with the other two Z690 DDR5 boards we’ve tested so far. The board led a few benchmarks, including Handbrake (x264), Cinebench R23, POV-Ray, and did a clean sweep in the Procyon Office tests and Photo Editing. RAM bandwidth and latency were spot on with the other results and so were our gaming tests.

Power use was also in the middle of the Z690 boards tested so far. Overall, the Z690 Aourus Pro is a complete package that isn’t too hard on your wallet (by current motherboard standards). Read on for additional information on features, overclocking, and takeaways from our time with the board. Before we do that, here’s a complete list of the Z690 Aorus Pro’s specifications, direct from Gigabyte.

Specifications - Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro

Inside the Aorus Pro’s box are several accessories, including SATA cables, a Wi-Fi antenna, and screws. We didn’t find a disk/USB stick with drivers, but that could be a review sample omission. Worst case scenario, you’d have to download the drivers from the website, but that’s a good idea anyway, to make sure you have the most up-to-date software. Although the accessory list is a bit sparse, most of what you need to get started is here. Below is a complete list of the included extras.

• User’s Manual
• Installation Guide
• (4) M.2 screws
• (4) SATA cables
• (2) Temperature sensors
• RGB extension
• Microphone
• Wi-Fi antenna
• G-connector

Taking a closer look at the Aorus Pro, we see a matte-black PCB, along with some grey lines stenciled on the board matching the heatsinks and shrouds. The VRM heatsink sports the Aorus branding, while the chipset has an Aorus Eagle on with a mirror finish. The black-and-grey board uses reinforcement on the primary PCIe slot and all four DRAM slots to mitigate EMI and and extra support for heavy graphics cards.

Overall, I like the design, but the contrasting grey heatsinks are polarizing. Looks are subjective, but I would like to see more black instead. There’s less heatsink coverage here generally, due to the PCIe slot design and how close the chipset-fed slots are, but that does expose more of the motherboard. On the RGB front, you’ll have to add lights yourself. The board does not include any, much like the MSI MEG Z690 Unify we recently reviewed.

As we focus on the top half of the board, we’ll cover the VRM heatsinks and all of the headers and buttons in the area. The largest feature in this area, the VRM heatsink, consists of two separate chunks of aluminum, with the left VRM bank reaching out over the IO area for that extra bit of mass and cooling. Grooves are cut out in the heatsinks to increase surface area and improve thermal transfer.

The CPU receives power from a combination of 8-pin and 4-pin EPS connectors found on the top edge above the heatsinks. Like most boards, the 8-pin is required, while the 4-pin is optional. I prefer to plug both in, if only to satisfy my OCD. The socket area has a bunch of capacitors around the socket, along with some stenciled writing that displays the brand and model.

To the right of the socket are four reinforced DRAM slots capable of handling up to 128GB of DDR5 RAM. Gigabyte lists support up to DDR5 6200(OC), but your mileage may vary depending on the type of kit used. This is one of the lower speeds listed of the boards we’ve seen so far, but still has plenty of headroom over the base spec of DDR5 4800. Gigabyte didn’t have the information in the manual to share the maximum speeds for more sticks and/or ranks, but it is less than the DDR5 6200 listed. The board did though run our GSkill Trident Z5 2x16GB DDR5 5600 kit without issue.

Just above the DRAM slots, we run into the first set of fan and RGB headers. Starting with the fans, there’s a total of eight 4-pin headers scattered around the board. Gigabyte’s manual doesn’t mention the default mode (PWM or DC) for these headers, but you can switch them through the BIOS. Each 4-pin fan/pump header supports 2A/24W, which should be plenty to power your cooling directly from the motherboard.

To the right of the fan headers are two RGB headers, one 3-pin ARGB and one 4-pin RGB header. The other two headers, one of each type again, sit on the bottom edge of the board. Since the motherboard doesn’t provide its own RGB lighting, you’ll have to use the onboard headers or a third-party solution. If they’re attached to the board, the RGB Fusion software in the App Center controls them.

Finally, on the right edge of the board, we run into the 2-character debug display, a 24-pin ATX connector to power the board, two more 4-pin fan headers, a 2-pin temperature header, a front panel USB 3.2 Gen1 header and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C header. With more and more cases adding USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C ports, having a full-speed header on the board is a welcome sight.

Also found in this area is the four-LED debug feature. These four LEDs correspond with steps in POST: CPU, VRAM, VGA, and BOOT. If there’s a problem in one of these areas during the POST process, the LED where the problem occurred stays lit. This is useful to quickly locate the problem, while the 2-character debug LED gives you more detail through the codes it displays.

The Z690 Aorus Pro comes with a 19-phase VRM, with 16 phases dedicated to Vcore (1x VccGT and 2x VccAUX). Power is sent through the RPS connectors to a Renesas RAA229131 controller, then on to 90A Intersil ISL99390 Smart Power Stages (SPS). Some simple math tells us there’s 1,440A available to the CPU, which is plenty for stock and overclocked operation. You’ll run into cooling limits before the VRM trips you up.

As we move to the bottom half of the board, we see a mostly exposed audio section, PCIe slots, and hidden below the heatsinks and shrouds, four M.2 sockets. Starting with the audio on the left, underneath the faraday cage with the Amp-Up Audio branding is the Realtek ALC4080 codec. This isn’t the flagship chip, but is the latest generation codec, and most users will be satisfied with what it has to offer.

In the middle of the board, we’ll start with the PCIe slots. The primary full-length slot (white) runs at PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds and uses Gigabyte’s Ultra Durable SMD PCIe 5.0 Armor for additional support and EMI protection. The bottom two full-length slots are connected through the chipset and run up to PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds.

Sitting around the PCIe slots are four M.2 sockets. Above the primary PCIe slot, the top socket (M2A_CPU) supports PCIe 4.0 x4 drives up to 110mm. The second slot down, M2C_SB, connects via the chipset and runs both SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4 modules up to 110mm. Lastly, the bottom two sockets (M2P_SB/M2Q_SB) connect via the chipset and support up to 110mm drives and PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds. I’d like to see Gigabyte implement the new screwless M.2 latches here, as we’ve seen on some Asus and MSI boards.

Moving to the right edge on the bottom half of the board, we run into a pair of Thunderbolt headers for use with a Gigabyte add-in card. Just below that are six SATA ports. If you’re looking to RAID your SATA or M.2 drives, they both support RAID0/1/5/10 modes. Since the new chipset has more bandwidth and lane flexibility, sharing between SATA ports and PCIe slots isn’t necessary with this configuration. Last but not least, just below the SATA ports, is a white button used to reset the system. I’m not sure why the company located it here and not next to the power button up top, though.

Across the bottom are several headers, including USB ports and RGB. The Aorus Pro also has temperature sensor headers to control your cooling system better. Here’s the complete list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• RGB demo header
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• TPM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• QFlash+ button
• (4) 4-PIN Sys Fan headers
• 2-pin temperature header
• Front panel header

Shifting focus to the critical rear IO area, one of the first things you’ll notice outside of the pre-installed IO plate are the 13 USB ports. From fastest to slowest, there’s a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port, four USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) ports, four USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gbps) ports, and finally, four USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. In short, I’d be shocked if there weren’t enough back here for almost anyone building a mainstream platform. There are also connections for the Wi-Fi 6 antenna, DisplayPort for video, the Intel 2.5 GbE port, and a simple 2-plug plus SPDIF audio stack. Everything you’d expect to see is here.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s Z690 BIOS layout, like other boards, is remarkably similar to Z590. It starts with an informational EZ Mode that displays system information and has limited functionality. You can enable XMP profiles from here, access Smart Fan 6 for fan control, Q-Flash, or the Advanced Mode. When working in the Advanced portion of the BIOS, major headers are listed across the top, with sub-headings below. Everything is easy to find, but many common functions for overclocking are located in separate sections, so you have to bounce around a bit compared to other BIOS layouts. I still wish the company enabled page up/down functionality, but outside of that, the BIOS is easy to read and find what you’re looking for.

Software

On the software side of things, Gigabyte’s primary tool is the App Center. This application is a central repository for all its applications, Windows settings, and other third-party software. Simply download the applications you want, install them, and an icon shows up on the screen. We installed @BIOS (BIOS flashing utility), Easy Tune (overclocking/system tweaking), RGB Fusion 2.0 (control RGB lighting) and last but not least, SIV (monitoring). The Gigabyte website has a slew of other helpful applications, including USB charging, LAN, and more that aren’t covered here. Overall, I like App Center’s small footprint and found its tools helpful.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and GSkill sent us a fast and good-looking DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for launch day testing. MSI and Asus also sent launch day kits.

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately. To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates. We’ll keep you posted.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics are a great tool to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Z690 Aorus Pro performed well in our synthetic benchmarks and trading punches with the Z690 Hero and 5950X results while easily surpassing the older i9-11900K and i9-10900K (this is a recurring theme so far). It was tied for the fastest board in Cinebench R23 and POV-Ray, though the results between all tested boards are very close.

In UL’s Procyon Office benchmark, the Aorus Pro dominated, leading in every test. For the most part, the differences aren’t significant, but nonetheless, it’s a clean sweep. Procyon Video editing (Premiere Pro) was slower than the rest. In the Procyon Photo Editing benchmark (Photoshop/Lightroom classic), the Aorus Pro takes the lead, but here again, the difference in these tests between our Z690 boards is within the margin of error.

AIDA bandwidth tests are spot on, with the Gigabyte trading spots with the other like boards. There’s nothing out of the ordinary to report from our synthetic testing.

Timed Applications

So far, our LAME tests on Z690 are still within 9/100ths of a second from worst to first. The Z690 Aorus Pro was second in this test, completing it in 9.59 seconds (first is 9.57 seconds). Corona testing came in at 52 seconds, the fastest result so far by one second. For Handbrake transcoding, the Aorus Pro was the fastest in x264, with a time of 112 seconds, while the 301-second result in the x265 portion was last. That result is three seconds slower and within the margin of error/run variance. Here again, the difference between the Z690 boards in all of our timed tests remains nominal.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less of an impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the Z690 Zorus Pro averaged 159 Frames Per Second (FPS), with minimums of 136 FPS which is in line with the other two boards. In Far Cry 6, the story remains the same, as the Z690 Aorus Pro comes in with a 136 FPS average and a minimum of 123 FPS. The minimum was a few FPS higher than the other boards but, at well over 100 FPS, that is difficult to notice when playing the games.

In our synthetic benchmarks, our trend of not seeing a significant difference continues. 3DMark Time Spy scored 14,427, while in Fire Strike Extreme, the Aorus Pro sits at 16,878. Both results land towards the middle of the pack. For gaming, the Z690 Aorus Pro proved itself to be just as capable as any of the more expensive boards we’ve tested so far.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the Aorus Pro used a mere 55W, by far the best result of any Z690-based motherboard (tieing with the i9-10900K on a different board). Load wattage was a different story, with the Gigabyte pulling 333W from the wall, far more than the Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero (296W), and just under the MSI MEG Z690 Unify (340W). This averages out to 184W and lands the Aorus Pro in the middle of the Z690 results so far.

VRM temperatures on our Z690 Aorus Pro peaked at 56 degrees Celsius during stock testing and just over 61 degrees Celsius while overclocked. This result compares well against the even more robust VRMs on the Z690 Unify but runs warmer than the Z690 Hero by several degrees. While it’s nice to compare between motherboards, there’s hardly a difference between running these at 50 or 60 degrees Celsius, as most MOSFETs’ operating range is in excess of 100 degrees C.

Overclocking

Overclocking with Alder Lake is a bit different than we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. To that end, we set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking with the Z690 Aors Pro and the flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved painless since we found our sweet spot and required voltage. We set the clocks to 5.1/4.1 GHz, plugged in 1.25V (actual according to CPUz was 1.26V), and successfully tested the first try. We didn’t have to mess with LLC to get a stable voltage, which was a pleasant surprise.

On the memory side, we haven’t a chance to dig in and play with DDR5 yet. We only had one kit available and a lot of testing to get this and the other Z690 reviews out on time. That said, our current DDR5 5600 kit (from GSkill) is what we’re thinking is around the sweet spot, at least initially. To that end, we were able to set XMP and go, yielding a 600 MHz increase from the maximum rating of the platform. Here’s to hoping that prices come down on RAM over time as these DDR5 kits are expensive.

Final Thoughts

The Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro is a well-rounded motherboard for $329.99. You get a DDR5 motherboard with capable power delivery, four M.2 sockets, 2.5 GbE, and integrated Wi-Fi 6, as well as an updated appearance. Performance results matched or exceeded the other boards we’ve tested so far. There’s not much to complain about, except for the fact that $300 is now mid-range, but that’s across the entire modern motherboard market at this point.

Nothing is perfect, and if I were to pick out a couple of things, I’d like to see Wi-Fi 6E (instead of ‘only’ Wi-Fi 6) as most of the comparable boards use it. That said, you’d only notice the difference between the Wi-Fi if you have ultra-fast internet at home (think GbE-plus) and the router and devices to take advantage of it. Still, if your competition does and you don’t, some will hold that against this board. I’m also not too keen on the contrasting grey heatsinks, but looks are subjective. Along those lines, the Aorus Pro doesn’t have integrated RGB lighting. As much as we joke about how horrible RGB implementations on devices can be, at this price, I’d still like to see a little RGB something.

As far as comparables, a quick trip to Newegg shows the ASRock Z690 Extreme WiFi 6E ($289.99), MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WIFI ($299.99), and the Asus ROG Strix Z690-G Gaming WIFI ($349.99) are priced close to our $329.99 Aorus Pro. Both the ASRock and Asus include Wi-Fi 6E, while MSI is also Wi-Fi 6. If M.2 storage is your thing, only the Aorus Pro has four sockets, but your only choice is the ASRock if you need more than six SATA ports. As usual, all of the comparable motherboards will work for your new build; you just need to figure which one has the features you need with the look you want at the right price.

If you’re looking for a mid-range, $300 motherboard, take a look at the Gigabyte Aorus Pro first. Between the 13 USB ports on the rear IO, four M.2 sockets, and capable power delivery, there’s a lot to love with this board. So long as you don’t require integrated RGB lighting and Wi-Fi 6E out of the box, the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro should be on the shortlist to build your Z690 system around.

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When you have the mindshare of Raspberry Pi in the single-board computer (SBC) arena, you have a big target painted on your back. According to CNX Software, another Raspberry Pi alternative, the KIWI310, is on the way from Axiomtek and it brings some interesting features to the table.

The board itself measures 85 x 56 mm and forgoes the Arm-powered SoCs found in the vast family of Raspberry Pi products. Instead, it’s powered by a dual-core Intel Celeron N3350 processor. For those unfamiliar, the Celeron N3350 is based on Intel’s low-power 14nm Apollo Lake architecture and has a TDP of 6 watts. The processor has a base frequency of 1.10 GHz and can burst up to 2.4 GHz.

You can configure the KIWI310 with up to 8GB LPDDR4 memory and up to 64MB onboard eMMC storage. Regarding connectivity, Axiomtek outfitted the SBC with two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, USB-C (with Power Delivery), a micro HDMI 2.0 port (4K60 output) and Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8111). Other connectors include a 40-pin GPIO header and a standard M.2 Key E 2230 supporting PCIe and USB 2.0 interfaces.

Where things get interesting is with a couple of optional features. For starters, buyers can opt for a 220 mAh lithium-ion battery and the SBC supports 5G connectivity. In the accompanying video, we spied that Axiomtek is using a Waveshare 5G HAT. The video also confirms that the KIWI310 ships with a heatsink in the box. 

The KIWI310 supports Android, Linux and Windows operating systems. However, keep in mind that the SBC doesn’t have onboard TPM so it is not officially supported by Windows 11. However, there are ways to bypass Windows 11's TPM, RAM and CPU requirements.

Unfortunately, pricing and availability haven’t been revealed at this time for the Axiomtek KIWI310, but we’ll update this piece once that information is provided.

ASRock recently revealed its Z690 motherboards for the latest 12th Generation Alder Lake processors from Intel. As spotted by hardware detective momomo_us, ASRock cooperated with Razer on the Z690 Taichi Razer Edition, which was missing from the motherboard vendor's announced lineup.

Ther Z690 Taichi Razer Edition marks the third time that ASRock and Razer have gotten together. The two companies previously worked on the B550 Taichi Razer Edition and X570 Taichi Razer Edition, so it was only fitting to give the Z690 Taichi the same attention. On a hardware level, the Z690 Taichi Razer Edition should be identical to the vanilla Z690 Taichi. The difference resides in the Razer Chroma-inspired aesthetics. It's easy to see that ASRock has revamped the passive heatsinks on the motherboard to blend into Razer's ecosystem. Obviously, the Z690 Taichi Razer Edition comes with full Razer Chroma support right out of the box.

Assuming that there are no surprises under the hood, the Z690 Taichi Razer Edition should sport the same 20-phase power delivery subsystem on an eight-layer PCB with 105A SPS (smart power stages) and premium 90A power chokes. In addition, the motherboard comes with two 8-pin EPS power connectors to ensure your Alder Lake chip gets enough juice during your overclocking journey. In terms of memory support, the motherboard has four DDR5 memory slots, offering support for DDR5-6400+ memory modules, XMP 3.0 and up to 128GB of memory.

The Z690 Taichi Razer Edition has plenty of storage options. You get six standard SATA III ports and three M.2 2280 slots where two are PCIe 4.0 x4 and the remaining one conforming to SATA III speeds. RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 and RAID 10 are supported on the SATA ports, while only RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 5 are doable on the M.2 slots.

As for expansion slots, the motherboard features three PCIe 5.0 x16 expansion slots and one PCIe 3.0 x1 expansion slot. Due to the bandwidth limitation on Alder Lake processors, the PCIe 16 slots function differently, depending on how many PCIe devices you have on the motherboard. For example, the primary expansion slot runs at PCIe 5.0 x16 with a single graphics card, while two will drop both expansion slots to PCIe 5.0 x8. With a third device installed, the expansion slots operate at PCIe 5.0 x8, PCIe 5.0 x8 and PCIe 4.0 x4.

The Z690 Taichi Razer Edition has one HDMI 2.1 port and two Intel Thunderbolt 4 ports if you plan to use Alder Lake's iGPU. Gigabit Ethernet support comes from Intel's I219V controller, while 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet is possible thanks to Killer's E3100G. If you prefer wireless, the motherboard also offers Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth connectivity.

The audio codec on the Z690 Taichi Razer Edition is based on Realtek's ALC1220 solution and boasts 7.1-channel HD audio. The audio system also leverages an ESS Sabre ES9218 DAC and gold-plated audio jacks. In addition, there are five 3.5mm audio connectors with LED lighting and one optical S/PDIF output.

The motherboard isn't short on connectivity, either. The rear panel has two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, four USB 4.0 Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports and four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports. Additional USB ports are available through the internal headers, including two USB 2.0 headers, one USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A connector, two USB 3.1 Gen 1 headers and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C header.

Scan, a retailer in the U.K., has listed the Z690 Taichi Razer Edition for £559.99 (~$766.359). For comparison, the shop has the regular Z690 Taichi up for £539.99 (~$738.98); therefore, the Razer Edition seems to carry a slight 3.7% premium.

MSI’s MAG X570S Tomahawk MAX WIFI is, as you might guess, a refresh of the X570 Tomahawk WIFI. For $289.99, the X570S  model iteratively improves on the previous board, while ditching the chipset fan, and makes a compelling option to build your budget/mid-range AMD Ryzen-based system around. It offers users the latest in audio and Wi-Fi capabilities, along with capable (though not updated) power delivery.

For a bit under $300, you get a 14-phase VRM with 60A MOSFETs capable of driving even our flagship-class AMD Ryzen 9 5950X to its ambient cooled limits. On top of that, the board has a premium Realtek 4000-series audio codec and enough USB ports for most users. It’s missing a 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) port, but that isn’t a deal-breaker for most users. The X570S Tomahawk MAX also includes the latest in Wi-Fi, sporting a Wi-Fi 6E card and carrying over the fast 2.5 GbE from the X570 model. There are plenty of storage options as well, including two PCIe 4.0 M.2 sockets and six SATA ports. In all, the board is a well-rounded option in the budget/mid-range X570(S) space, and compares well against its peers.

On the performance side, the Tomahawk reliably chopped away at most tests, easily mixing in with the other boards we’ve tested. It didn’t lead any benchmarks and stuck close to the average throughout all testing. Its best result was in the PCMark 10 suite, which was above average almost across the board. The worst result was AIDA memory latency, where it was the slowest we’ve seen in a while. However, our other tests didn’t show this difference. Outside of that, it performed well in the 3DMark tests and Far Cry: New Dawn. Overall, the X570S Tomahawk MAX worked well with our power-hungry 5950X.

We were also able to overclock the processor to 4.4 GHz using around 1.25V without concern. Though the VRMs aren’t the most robust we’ve seen, they handled the overclocked CPU without major complaints. Memory overclocking was also easy: We dropped in the other 2x8GB DDR4 3600 sticks, enabled XMP and off we went. Read on for more details on the included features and see if the MSI X570S Tomahawk MAX WIFI lands a spot on our Best AMD motherboards list.

Specifications - MSI MAG X570S Tomahawk MAX WIFI

When we open up the retail box, along with the motherboard we find a basic accessory stack designed to get your PC up and running without a trip to the store. It’s not expansive, but about what we’d expect for a board in this price range. Below is a list of all included accessories.

• User Manual
• Quick Installation Guide
• (2) SATA cables
• (3) M.2 screw/standoff sets
• Installation media (USB)
• MAG sticker/Case badge
• Wi-Fi Antenna 
• Support/Driver CD

Looking at the X570S Tomahawk MAX WIFI for the first time after unboxing, we see the military theme continued on top of a 6-layer matte-black PCB, and some light grey stenciling in the exposed PCIe area. All heatsinks are grey with the area over the IO sporting the MSI name in black and the chipset heatsink, sporting the Tomahawk branding. On the RGB lighting front, the Tomahawk isn’t exactly going to turn your PC into a disco. The only integrated RGB lighting is located under the chipset heatsink. This location gives the board a nice glow with the bright and saturated RGBs. If this isn’t enough, there are onboard headers to add your own.

Overall, the board looks the part of a budget/mid-range offering, but each M.2 socket has a heatsink, and the VRM heatsinks look like they can do the job (and as we’ll see in testing, they can). While this board won’t likely be the showpiece of your build, it will blend in with most themes.

Focusing in on the top half of the board, starting on the left side, we spy the grey metal IO cover that doubles as an additional heatsink. On top is the MSI branding, along with white tick marks running up and down the length of the cover. The VRM heatsinks are not connected, but they both have enough mass and surface area to do the job. Wedged between the VRM heatsinks are the EPS power connectors for the CPU. The 8-pin is required and the 4-pin is optional.

Looking past the clean socket area, we run into four unreinforced DRAM slots that support up to 128GB of RAM and speeds listed up to DDR4 5100 with 1DPC 1R (DIMM Per Channel, one Rank). As always, your mileage may vary as speed compatibility depends on the processor and memory kit used.

Just above the DRAM slots is the first (of six) 4-pin fan headers. The CPU_FAN1 header here automatically detects PWM/DC fans and outputs up to 2A/24W. The PUMP_FAN1 defaults to PWM mode and outputs up to 2A/24W, which is more than adequate for most pumps. Last, SYS_FAN1-4 defaults to DC mode and supports up to 1A/12W. All headers support both modes, with adjustments made in the BIOS. There are plenty of headers and enough output to run your cooling system.

To the right of that top fan header are 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB headers. In total, there are two of each, the others located on the bottom of the motherboard. If the RGBs hiding below the chipset heatsink aren’t enough, you can use these headers to add more. RGB control goes through the Dragon Center software suite and Mystic Light application.

Along the right edge of the board are three more System Fan headers, the 24-pin ATX power connector for the board and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C header. Nestled between the ATX connector and fan header is the EZ Debug section. These four LEDs light up during the POST process, indicating where the boot process is, indicating where a problem is if there are issues. The four LEDs cover the CPU, DRAM, VGA and BOOT. Since the board doesn’t have the more informative 2-character debug display, this is the only tool for troubleshooting non-boot/POST issues.

Investigating the VRM layout, MSI uses a 14-phase configuration, with 12 phases dedicated to Vcore (two for SOC). Power comes from the EPS connectors and feeds the Intersil ISL69247 8-channel controller. Power then moves on to the 12 60A Intersil ISL99360 SPS MOSFETs in a mirrored configuration (no phase doublers, but two MOSFETs get one signal from the controller). In total, there’s 720A available for the CPU, which is plenty to support even our Ryzen 9 5950X while overclocked.

As shift focus down to the bottom half of the board, we find M.2 storage, PCIe slots, and the audio bits. Starting on the left side, we spy the naked Realtek ALC40480 codec and a few yellow Nichicon audio caps. Also visible is the audio separation line that’s designed to minimize EMI for the other parts of the board. I’m happy to see MSI went with a newer audio codec versus saving a few pennies on the last-generation codec. Most users will be perfectly content with the audio on the X570S Tomahawk.

In the middle of the board, we spy two M.2 slots (under the heatsinks) and four PCIe slots. Starting with the latter, there are two full-size slots, with the primary (top) slot reinforced to prevent shearing from heavy graphics cards. These two slots both support PCIe 4.0 speeds, with the top running a full x16 and the bottom running up to x4 speeds. This configuration supports AMD 2-Way CrossfireX. The two x1 slots get their bandwidth from the chipset and run up to PCIe 3.0 x1.

Looking at the M.2 storage, the X570S Tomahawk MAX WIFI sports two sockets above the primary PCIe slot and one below the secondary full-length slot. Both M.2 sockets use simple heatsinks and support SATA- and PCIe-based modules. The top socket is connected to the CPU and supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds, same as the bottom socket (though it’s connected through the chipset).

On the other side of the chipset heatsink are six SATA ports. All ports are fed from the chipset and support RAID0, 1 and 10. With all of the lanes available from the processor and chipset, there’s no lane sharing with M.2, PCIe, or SATA ports. In other words, you can run both M.2 sockets with SATA or PCIe drives and have all six SATA ports running too. Just below the SATA ports is a USB 3.2 Gen1 port for additional front-panel USB.

Across the bottom are several headers, including RGB, USB and more. There’s also a convenient switch in this area to disable the integrated RGB LEDs. Here’s the complete list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• 4-pin RGB header
• TPM header
• (2) Sys Fan headers
• COM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• USB 3.2 Gen1 header
• 4-pin RGB header
• Front panel header
• LED power header

As we shift focus to the rear IO, we see a black pre-installed IO plate that matches the board’s theme and includes the MAG branding stenciled on, along with other labels. From left to right, we spy a legacy PS/2 port, and below that two USB 2.0 ports. To the right are the Wi-Fi 6E antenna connectors. Video output runs through the HDMI port, and just above that are two USB 3.2 Gen1 ports. There are another four USB ports to the right -- three USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A and one 3.2 Gen2 Type-C. In all, the eight ports of varying speeds should be enough for most users. I would like to see a 3.2 Gen 2x2 port, though. Just above the red USB ports is the Realtek 2.5 GbE connector. Finally, on the far right is the 5-plug plus SPDIF audio stack.

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Firmware

To give you a taste of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing most BIOS screens. MSI’s BIOS is unique from the other board partners in that the headings aren’t at the top but split out to the sides. The most frequently used options in each section are easy to find and tend not to be buried deep within menus. Overall, MSI didn’t change things going to X570S, and its BIOS continues to be easy to use.

Software

MSI has changed up its software offerings. We used to have several individual programs to adjust the system. But they’ve been moved to an all-in-one application called MSI Center. The new Software is a central repository for many of the utilities MSI offers. These include Mystic Light (RGB control), AI Cooling (adjust fan speeds), LAN Manager (control the NIC), Speed Up (for storage), Gaming Mode (auto-tune games), among several others--see the screenshots below for details). The User Scenario application has a couple of presets for system performance and is where you manually adjust settings, including CPU clock speeds and voltage, RAM timings, and more.

Overall, I like the move to a single application. The user interface is easy to read and get around in. However, sometimes loading these applications takes longer than I would like to see.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of July 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 10 64-bit OS (20H2) with all threat mitigations applied. We also upgraded our video card and driver to an Asus TUF RTX 3070 using version 461.40. Additionally, our game selection changed, as noted in the chart below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows:

Test System Components

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results and Final Analysis

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including stock boosts), with all power-saving features enabled. Optimized defaults are set in the BIOS and the memory set using the XMP profiles. For this baseline testing, Windows is set to High Performance before switching over to Balanced during power testing, so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics are a great tool to determine if a board runs out of spec, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Advanced memory timings are the one place where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

In our synthetic benchmarks, the X570S Tomahawk MAX performed around average, to slightly below average, in all tests not named PCMark 10. POV-Ray and Cinebench were the slowest of the group, running just short of average. 7Zip was a tale of two tests, where it was just above the median in compression and just below in decompression. That said, none of these results were far off those from other tested boards. PCMark 10 tests were outstanding, as most results were better than other tested boards. In fact, in some tests, the Tomahawk scored the highest of all tested boards so far. AIDA memory results were average as far as transfer rates. However, the latency was the highest we’ve seen so far, and is partly why some scores are lower.

Timed Applications

In our LAME testing, the X570S Tomahawk MAX delivered one of the fastest results, posting a time of 11.73 seconds (average is 11.93 with this dataset), the second quickest result. Corona testing resulted in a time of 47 seconds, which is 1 second slower than average (around a 1.5% difference). Lastly, in our Handbrake testing, the x264 results were close to the average (a bit faster than) at 129 seconds. The x265 test ran in 305 seconds, within the run variance of average (306 seconds, or well less than 1%). None of the results here stuck out as being too different than the rest.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the X570S chipset, we’ve updated our game tests and hardware (video card) to match the Intel platform. We stopped using The Division 2 and Forza Horizon 4 and now use Far Cry: New Dawn and F1 2020, running on the Asus TUF Gaming RTX 3070. The games are run at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset. As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less of an impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. So far, the difference between boards in these tests is slight, with most falling within margin of error differences.

In F1 2020, the X570S Tomahawk averaged 209 Frames Per Second, the slowest result so far. That said, it’s a mere 2 FPS (about 1%) behind the average -- hardly noticeable. This board averaged 134 FPS in Far Cry, which is a 2 FPS (just above 1%) above average. As far as the 3DMark tests go, the Firestrike score of 16,657 was right on average, while the 13,561 score in Time Spy is the fastest result so far, although again, these are all extremely close together.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire ecosystem. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the X570S Tomahawk MAX used 70W, which is slightly better than average (around 76W for these data points). Load wattage peaked at 204W, about 15W (several percent) better than the average of boards in the chart. We saw the CPU fluctuate between 3.7 and 4.2 GHz during testing, which is typical behavior. This averages out to 137W and ends up as one of the more efficient boards we’ve tested thus far.

During temperature testing, our X570S Tomahawk MAX peaked just under 44 degrees Celsius during stock operation, which is one of the cooler results we’ve seen on a board with passive heatsinks. When overclocked to 4.4 GHz, VRM temperatures peaked around 56 degrees Celsius, again one of the cooler temperatures we’ve recorded so far. The heatsinks do a bang-up job keeping things cool, even with the CPU pushed to its ambiently cooled limits.

Overclocking

There are several ways to overclock on AMD platforms, depending on your goals. If your focus is single-threaded performance, you may want to focus on using Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) and adjusting its parameters. If you can use all cores and threads, setting a manual CPU multiplier and voltage is likely the better route. While the latter clips peak single-threaded performance slightly, it increases all core/thread performance over the all-core boost. To that end, we settled on 4.4 GHz at ~1.3V for an all-core/thread overclock.

The Tomahawk MAX had no issues with our 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 5950X. We simply plugged in ~1.3V, adjusted LLC to all but eliminate vdroop, and trudged through the test.

On the memory side, we know AMD is limited to around 3600/3733 MHz when keeping the FCLK at a 1:1 ratio with the memory. With this in mind, we add two more sticks and run 4x8GB at DDR4 3600, which is AMD’s current sweet spot. We were able to set XMP for our review board, and it was stable enough to run through several of our benchmarks. As always, your mileage may vary depending on the memory kit used and the quality of the CPU’s integrated memory controller as to what speeds you can reach.

Final Thoughts

MSI’s MAG Tomahawk boards have been a staple in the budget/mid-range motherboard market for a couple of generations now. The previous board was known for its pricing and well-rounded feature set and brought a military-style appearance. Fast forward to today and the latest Tomahawk in our hands does the same. In addition to the chipset fan deletion, which makes the board silent, it updates Wi-Fi 6 to 6E and updates to the latest audio codec from Realtek. There are some aesthetic changes as well, but they look similar overall, retaining that military theme. In the end, the board is more of an iterative update than some other X570S boards that took the opportunity to update power delivery and appearance more along with other hardware. But for those who would like a budget/mid-range X570 option with the latest generation audio and Wi-Fi, the $289.99 X570S Tomahawk MAX has you covered.

Our Tomahawk MAX WIFI performed well overall and overclocked our Ryzen 9 5950X without issue. Itlooks the part of an inexpensive motherboard, as the heatsinks and shrouds only cover the required components, but certainly doesn’t make you turn away. I would like to have seen MSI update the appearance more, but it’s a decent-looking board that doesn’t draw attention to itself and blends in with most build themes.performance or overclocking side of things either.

As far as comparable options, there aren’t many X570S boards at this price point. ASRock’s X570S Riptide is an actual budget entry at under $200, but Gigabyte has a true competitor in the X570S Aorus Elite WIFI. Asus doesn’t have anything in the price bracket (the Crosshair VIII Hero is $409.99) that’s available, though there are rumors we’ll see some of the Gaming SKUs get a refresh. It feels like although a lot of these X570S boards were announced several weeks ago, they’re still vaporware at the time of this writing. If you look at existing X570 boards, you’ll find plenty out there, but you’ll lose the updated hardware, power delivery, and updates to the appearance that most X570S boards include.

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In the past, MSI’s Tomahawk SKUs have been a fan favorite, offering users a well-balanced feature set at a reasonable price point. While the Tomahawk may not have included all of the latest and greatest hardware, the price and value proposition made it one of the better budget options. Fast forward to today, and we get a chance to test the latest in the MSI MAG Z590 Tomahawk WIFI.

Like its predecessors, this Tomahawk includes several premium features, including the latest Realtek audio codec, solid power delivery, and even a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port. This board is priced at $269.99 and tries to squeeze in the already crowded mid-range segment, vying for your Intel-based build dollars.

With all of its shrouds and large heatsinks, the board looks like it’s ready for business. All (three) M.2 sockets and the chipset sport a basic heatsink, while the left VRM bank uses a large heatsink that reaches out over the rear IO. Thankfully, most of the white/grey stenciling we’re used to seeing has been done away with. If you’re looking for an RGB light show, you’ll have to add that yourself, as the only RGB illumination is around the chipset area. In the end, the updated appearance should work with more build themes than previous versions.

In terms of performance, the Tomahawk did well across most of our tests, ending up right around average. It did well in our LAME benchmark, the Office portion of PCMark 10, AIDA memory bandwidth and more, while it was a bit slower in others such as 7Zip and Corona. The Tomahawk plays games with the best of them too, but tends to use a bit more power on load than other similarly performing hardware. Overall, it’s a handsomely equipped motherboard for the price point and should look good inside your chassis. We’ll cover all the features the Z590 Tomahawk has to offer on the following pages. But first, here are the full specifications from MSI.

Specifications - MSI MAG Z590 Tomahawk

Being a budget-conscious motherboard, the accessory pack in the box consists of the standard items to get you started but doesn’t offer a whole lot else. Below is a complete list of all included extras. At least the drivers come on a USB drive rather than a DVD.

• Quick Installation Guide
• User Manual
• Wi-Fi Antenna
• (2) SATA cables
• (3) M.2 screws
• USB drive (drivers)
• Case badge/sticker

Taking the motherboard out of the box, we’re presented with a black, semi-gloss 6-layer PCB with matching heatsinks and shrouds sporting a brushed-aluminum finish. You’ll also find the MSI, MAG, and Tomahawk branding stenciled on the VRM and chipset heatsinks. The primary PCIe slot is reinforced to prevent shearing from heavy graphics cards and reduces EMI. The M.2 sockets each have their own heatsink though they are not all connected as you see on other, more expensive boards.

On the RGB lighting front, there are several hidden below the chipset heatsink, which gives off a nice saturated glow around that area. If that isn’t enough, the board has four total RGB and ARGB headers (two of each). Overall, the MSI MAG Z590 Tomahawk is a good-looking board for the price and fits in with most build themes.

As we focus on the top half of the board, we’ll start by looking at the VRM heatsinks. On the Tomahawk, the left VRM heatsink not only covers the power delivery but extends out to hide the rear IO bits to the left. Most boards accomplish this with a plastic shroud. However, this is all one piece that increases the mass and surface area. The top heatsink is a lot smaller, but since the MOSFETs under it aren’t stressed nearly as much as those assigned to Vcore, the solution is perfectly acceptable. Located where the two VRM heatsinks meet are the EPS power connectors. Here we find a required 8-pin and optional 4-pin connector.

Shifting focus to the right of the socket area, we run into the four double-sided locking DRAM slots. With four slots, the Tomahawk supports up to 128 GB of RAM at speeds listed to DDR4 5333+(OC). Your mileage may vary as to reach those speeds, you need a great integrated memory controller (IMC) on the CPU and the right sticks. We were able to use both our DDR4 3600 and DDR4 4000 kits by enabling XMP profiles. No additional tweaks were needed.

Next, we run into the first two (of four total) RGB headers in the upper right corner. The board has two 4-pin RGB and two 3-pin ARGB headers. MSI’s Mystic Light software controls these headers and is found in the MSI Center software. On the right edge are the first two (of eight total) 4-pin fan headers. All headers support both PWM and DC-controlled fans/pumps, but you need to select the mode from the BIOS. All system fan headers support up to 1A/12W. The PUMP_FAN1 supports up to 3A/36W, while the CPU_FAN1 header supports 2A/24W. You shouldn’t have any issues running your fans and pumps on the Tomahawk.

Continuing down, we run into the EZ Debug LED. A set of four LEDs labeled CPU, Boot, DRAM, and VGA that light up during the POST process. If something goes wrong in one of those steps, the LED that corresponds to the error remains lit. This is a valuable tool for troubleshooting failed boot situations, especially since the Tomahawk doesn’t have the more informative 2-character debug LED. Below these is the 24-pin ATX power lead, a front panel USB 3.2 Gen1 header, and finally, the front panel USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C header.

The Z590 Tomahawk uses an 18-phase VRM in a 14+2+1+2 (Vcore/GT/SA/VccIO) configuration. A required 8-pin EPS connector sends power to a Renesas ISL6269 12 channel controller, then on to the 60A Alpha and Omega AOZ5312U MOSFETs. These (Vcore only) are set up in a Teamed configuration, where each pair of MOSFETs get one signal without using phase doublers. The 840A available for Vcore is plenty to overclock the flagship Intel Core i9-11900K.

Swinging down to the bottom half of the board, we start on the left side with audio. One of the first things visible is the audio separation line running from the bottom edge to the rear IO area. You can also see the shiny new Realtek ALC4080 codec along with several Chemicon audio caps in varying sizes. You won’t find any amplifiers or included DACs, but this solution is more than acceptable for most users. If you need to tweak your audio, the Audio Boost 5 software is available as well.

In the middle of the board, we find three M.2 sockets along with four PCIe slots. Starting with the PCIe slots, the reinforced top socket (primary video card slot) supports PCIe 4.0 x16 speeds from the CPU. The second full-length slot runs up to PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds from the chipset. This configuration supports 2-Way AMD Crossfire technology. Meanwhile, the x1 slots get their lanes from the chipset and run at PCIe 3.0 x1. If you have a device using the top x1 slot (PCI_E2), the full-length bottom slot runs at x1 speeds.

Located in and around the mid-board are the three M.2 sockets. The top socket, M2_1, supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds and up to 110mm PCIe-based storage devices. M2_2 and M2_3 support up to PCIe 3.0 x4 (32 Gbps) speeds and up to 80mm PCIe and SATA-based storage devices. These slots are sourced from the chipset and share lanes with SATA ports. When M2_2 is in use with a SATA-based module, SATA 2 port is unavailable. SATA ports 5/6 are unavailable when any M.2 module uses M2_3. Worst case scenario is you’re able to run two PCIe-based and one SATA M.2 drive and still have three SATA ports available. The Tomahawk also supports RAID 0 and RAID 1 for M.2 PCIe storage devices if you’re into ultra-fast large file transfers or redundancy.

Moving to the right edge, MSI has cut out a part of the board, which gives it a unique look (and is helpful for cable management). Located on the edge here are four SATA ports angled horizontally, also helping with cable management. Just below this SATA port stack is another system fan header. The last two SATA ports are located on the bottom edge of the board. If you’re into RAID on SATA, the Tomahawk supports RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10.

Across the bottom of the board are several headers, including additional USB, fan headers and more. Below is the complete list, from left to right:

• Front-panel audio
• 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB headers
• (2) System fan headers
• Thunderbolt AIC header
• 6-pin PCIe connector
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (2) SATA ports
• Speaker
• Front Panel
• 4-pin fan header

Last is the rear IO area. The Tomahawk comes with a preinstalled IO plate that matches the overarching theme on the Tomahawk. The IO plate is screwed into the VRM heatsink, which makes the whole setup rigid. From left to right, we see DisplayPort and HDMI ports for video, two USB 2.0 ports and four USB 3.2 Gen1 ports. Next is the Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE port, while below that is the USB 3.2 Gen2 port (red) and the USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port. In all, there should be plenty of USB ports for most users. The Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections and the 5-plug plus SPDIF audio stack are to the right of the Type-C port.

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Firmware

To give you a taste of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing most BIOS screens. MSI’s BIOS is unique from the other board partners in that the headings aren’t at the top, but split out to the sides. All the most frequently used options in each section are easy to find and tend not to be buried deep within menus. Overall, MSI didn’t change much here, moving from Z490 to Z590, and its BIOS continues to be easy to use.

Software

For Z590, MSI has changed up its software offerings. We used to have several individual programs to adjust the system. But they moved to an all-in-one application called MSI Center. The new Software is a central repository for many of the utilities MSI offers. These include Mystic Light (RGB control), AI Cooling (adjust fan speeds), LAN Manager (control the NIC), Speed Up (for storage), Gaming Mode (auto-tune games), among several others (see the screenshots below for details). The User Scenario application has a couple of presets for system performance and is where you manually adjust settings, including CPU clock speeds and voltage, RAM timings, and more.

Overall, I like the move to a single application. The user interface is easy to read and get around in. However, sometimes loading these applications takes longer than I would like to see. To that end, MSI Center did an excellent job of pulling everything in.

Test System

As of March 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 10 64-bit OS (20H2) with all threat mitigations applied. On the hardware front, we’ve switched to all PCIe 4.0 components. We upgraded our video card to an Asus RTX 3070 TUF Gaming and the storage device to a 2TB Phison PS5-18-E18 M.2. We’ve also updated the games to F1 2020 and Far Cry: New Dawn, along with the hardware changes. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted (typically during new platform launches). The hardware used is as follows:

Test System Components

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including stock Thermal Velocity Boost), with all power-saving features enabled. Optimized defaults are set in the BIOS and the memory set using the XMP profiles. For this baseline testing, Windows is set to the balanced power plan.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics are a great tool to determine if a board runs out of spec, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Advanced memory timings are the one place where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

As we move on to performance results, we find a spread depending on the test. For example, 7Zip results were a bit slower than average, while Cinebench results were overall average. POVRay showed that the single-core results are slightly slower than average, while the multi-core results mixed in with the others. Performance in the PCMark suite was above average almost across the board -- a good showing there. Memory bandwidth results in AIDA also floated around the middle of our results. In the end, we didn’t see anything alarming from our synthetic benchmarks.

Timed Applications

LAME testing showed the Z590 Tomahawk as one of the fastest results at 11.28 seconds, bested only by the Biostar Valkyrie (surprisingly). Corona and Handbrake’s results spun a different tale, running slower than average in both of those heavily multi-threaded tests.

3D Games and 3DMark

We’ve recently updated our game tests to F1 2020 and Far Cry: New Dawn. The games are run at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset. As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less of an impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for.

In 3DMark Fire Strike, the 16,132 points scored places it on the lower half of average, but the difference between this group is 200 points or around 1% (run variance). The Time Spy score was also on the lower side of average, but here again, the difference between results is less than 2%, so you’re looking at very little difference from worst to first.

Moving on to games, The Far Cry: New Dawn result was just above the average, reaching 144 FPS. F1 2020 results were on the faster side at 210 FPS. But here again, the difference between the quickest and slowest (using the Rocket Lake-based processor) was only around 2.5%. In the end, the Tomahawk did well in our gaming tests.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. With Rocket Lake, we needed to disable AVX-512 instruction sets. Otherwise, temperatures are out of control at stock speeds on some boards. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire ecosystem. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

On the power consumption side, the Tomahawk was on the higher side of average at 184W (average with this dataset is 170W). While idle, the system used around 71W, which is below average, while the load wattage reached 296W and is well above average (271W). The 296W reading is tied with the ASRock Z590 OC Formula for the most power used under on this platform load so far.

MSI’s 60A VRM configuration worked well overall, managing our Intel Core i9-11900K CPU at both stock speeds and while overclocked. The VRM peaked at just over 60 degrees Celsius when running at stock speeds, which is on the warmer side of most results so far. We also had some trouble overclocking when we recorded these results. At the time, we were only able to reach 5 GHz. So the results we have here when overclocked are close to the stock results.

After working a bit more on the overclock, we managed to reach 5.1 GHz. However, at that point, the temperature sensors were on another board. That said, the Tomahawk has a sensor on the MOSFETs and it ran around 10 degrees warmer than stock, peaking at almost 80 degrees Celsius. While this is hot, it’s within operational range.

Overclocking

That aside, this board just did not want to stabilize our overclock the first time, despite a couple of hours trying. Either the voltage was too much and caused overheating, or too little, and the overclock wouldn’t pass our stress test. In the end, I moved the board over to the second test bench while I moved on with other reviews and went at it again in the downtime. Finally, I was able to reach 5.1 GHz.

When overclocking the Core i9-11900K, we decided to do so by testing without AVX-512 instructions. When you unlock all of the power limits, you’re thermally limited, with the CPU reaching 100 degrees Celsius in several seconds. Since every board is different in following (or not following) Intel specifications, we’ve removed that variable. The bottom line is that if you need to use these instructions, you’ll need to set a significant offset compared to non-AVX-512 loads. To that end, we settled on a 5.1 GHz overclock at around 1.3V. Our CPU uses around 225W in this configuration, which lands between stock power use (195W) and AVX-512 power use (~265W) and is the end of the line due to thermal constraints.

Overclocking on the Tomahawk was as easy as the rest, at least in terms of getting things set up. We set voltages, disabled and TVB boost(s), and any Adaptive boost, so the clocks hold and are unaffected by these automated features. Most overclocking options were found easily in the OC section, though some power options are found in different sub-sections.

On the memory side of things, the experience was painless. The DDR4 3600 kit dropped in nicely and ran at 1:1 ratio out of the gate and our DDR4 4000 sticks worked by simply applying XMP as well. Bandwidth results in AIDA were as expected, so there’s nothing out of the ordinary here.

Final Thoughts

MSI’s latest Tomahawk motherboard comes to the table as a well-rounded mid-range solution. In addition to the native PCIe 4.0 and Rocket Lake support, the Z590 Tomahawk improved upon the Z490 version by adding Wi-Fi 6E capability and shifting to the latest Realtek audio codec. It still comes with plenty of USB ports, including a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port. Storage capabilities increased with the Z590 version, adding a third M.2 socket. Also worth mentioning is the updated appearance. Although the change isn’t significant, the lack of stenciling and patterns on the PCB and other changes to the heatsinks took the looks up a notch.

Performance on the Z590 Tomahawk was overall average. In most tests, you’d be hard-pressed to notice a difference without looking at benchmark results -- some will. That said, if you’re concerned about the out-of-box performance in productivity/content creation, simply tweak the system so it runs faster. You can enable Intel’s Adaptive Boost Technology if you have an i9-11900K, or overclock other CPUs.

That said, competition is stiff in this mid-range price segment, with each major vendor having at least one SKU in the ballpark. ASRock has the Z590 Extreme WIFI ($247.99), Asus’ closest via price and function is the TUF Gaming Z590-Plus WIFI 6 ($259.99 - review soon!), and there’s also Gigabyte’s Z590 Aorus Pro AX ($269.99). Although looks are subjective, our nod goes to the Aorus Pro AX with more PCB covered with brushed-aluminum heatsinks and shrouds.

Hardware-wise, all of these boards have capable power delivery, but the Gigabyte takes the crown with a 12-phase VRM that uses 90A SPS MOSFETs. Outside of that, only the MSI and Gigabyte sport the latest and greatest 408x audio codec. All boards include at least one 2.5 GbE, but the MSI and ASRock boards are the only ones that include Wi-Fi 6E. That said, Wi-Fi 6E or the latest and greatest audio typically aren’t deal-breakers as many don’t have 6E capable routers (or other devices), nor the ear and speakers to get the most out of the audio codec. It’s a tough choice between them.

Overall, the MSI MAG Z590 Tomahawk is a good-looking and feature-laden motherboard. Out of the box, performance varied depending on the load. However, any differences faster or slower than average weren’t significant. We trudged through overclocking but did reach our goal, albeit with some warm-running VRMs. The Tomahawk has a lot of features you’d expect at this price point and an appearance that fits in with most build themes. If you’re looking for a mid-range board with all the bells and whistles, the Z590 Tomahawk WIFI is a solid option to build your PC around.

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Asus today announced its new ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme motherboard for AMD Ryzen owners. The passively-cooled X570 motherboard arrives to round off ROG's extensive X570 portfolio and compete with today's best motherboards. 

Doing justice to its name, the ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme is an E-ATX motherboard with a power delivery subsystem that conforms to a 18+2 design. Asus equipped the ROG Crosshair VII Extreme with 90A power stages, microfine alloy chokes and 10K Japanese-made, black, metallic capacitors to supply overclockers with a clean power delivery. Two 8-pin EPS power connectors feed the processor with what it needs. Although the ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme doesn't carry the X570S moniker, the motherboard does flaunt passive chipset cooling, similar to the ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero.

The motherboard comes with four DDR4 RAM slots, meaning you can endow the motherboard with 128GB of memory. At the time of writing, Asus hasn't listed the maximum supported memory speed. However, we expect the ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme to support up to DDR4-5100 when paired with a Ryzen 5000 processor.

The ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme provides six standard SATA III ports and up to five M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 slots. Of course, you'll need to have a Ryzen 5000 or Ryzen 3000 to take advantage of the standard; otherwise, the M.2 slots will default back to PCIe 3.0 x4. Three of the M.2 slots are connected directly to the processor, while the other two M.2 slots are linked to the X570 chipset through Asus' ROG DIMM.2 expansion card for M.2 SSDs.

On the expansion side, the motherboard offers two PCIe 4.0 x16 slots and a single PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. The latter is tied to the X570 chipset. In terms of internet connectivity, the ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme delivers 10 Gigabit Ethernet through Marvell's AQtion AQC113CS controller and 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet via Intel's I225-V controller. There's also 2x2 Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 for those who dislike cables.

We spotted eight USB Type-A ports on the ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme's rear panel. The product page isn't complete yet, so we're unsure of their speeds. What's evident is the inclusion of two Intel Thunderbolt 4 ports with support for DisplayPort 1.4 and Thunderbolt video outputs and two DisplayPort-In connections.

The motherboard's audio system is based around Realtek's ALC4082 audio codec with Asus' SupremeFX treatment. Being a premium motherboard, Asus also included ESS Sabre's 9018Q2C DAC/AMP chip.

The ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme is the flagship X570 for Asus' ROG family so it comes with all the bells and whistles, such as a 2-inch OLED display, M.2 latch mechanism for SSDs, graphics card holder - just to mention some.

Asus hasn't revealed the price or release date for the ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme yet.

MSI has launched a trio of H510 mini-ITX motherboards (via momomo_us) to house Intel's latest Rocket Lake and Comet Lake processors. While the motherboards are oriented towards business users, they offer the a rich feature set for the average person as well.

The H510TI-S01, H510TI-S03 and H510TI-S05 carry the LGA1200 socket and are based on Intel's H510 chipset. Unlike your standard mini-ITX offering, MSI's motherboards don't require a 24-pin power connector. They function on a DC-in connector and a standard 4-pin power connector. 

According to MSI, the motherboards support Rocket Lake-S chips up to the Core i9 tier, although the company didn't specify the TDP envelope. The CPU compatibility list wasn't available at the time of the article. However, logic suggests that the H510TI-S01, H510TI-S03 and H510TI-S05 may not support the more power hungry chips due to the modest power layout and power delivery subsystem.

The H510TI-S01, H510TI-S03 and H510TI-S05 are equipped with two DDR4 SO-DIMM memory slots. There is native support for up to 64GB of memory, but frequency varies, depending on the processor. Comet Lake is limited to DDR4-2933 speeds, while Rocket Lake can leverage DDR4-3200 memory modules.

Regardless of the model, you get two conventional SATA III ports and M.2 2280 slot that confirms to the PCIe 3.0 x4 specification for storage. There is no PCIe expansion slot on either of the motherboards. This means that your processor's iGPU will have to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to graphical workloads. This is also where the motherboards start to differentiate themselves from each other. The H510TI-S01 and H510TI-S03 only supply a HDMI 2.0b port and LVDS output, while the H510TI-S05 offers an additional DisplayPort 1.4 output.

MSI equipped the H510TI-S01 with four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports and five USB 2.0 ports, all based on the H510 chipset. The H510TI-S03, on the other hand, arrives with two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports and five USB 2.0 ports from the H510 chipset and two extra USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports from a third-party ASMedia ASM3142 controller. The H510TI-S05 mirrors the H510TI-S03 but provide a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port via an internal header and switches the ASMedia ASM3142 controller for the ASM1074. The motherboards also sports two USB 2.0 headers for four supplementary USB 2.0 ports.

The motherboards' other attributes are the same. Each model utilizes Realtek's ALC897 codec for audio and RTL8111H LAN controller for a Gigabit Ethernet connection. One M.2 E-key slot is available to add a wireless module.

MSI hasn't revealed the availability or pricing for the H510TI-S01, H510TI-S03 and H510TI-S05.

NZXT has joined the Intel Rocket Lake motherboard party with the N7 Z590, bringing PCIe 4.0 capability (with a Rocket Lake CPU), capable power delivery, Intel Wi-Fi 6E, and a unique design aesthetic that easily matches most themes. With an MSRP of $279.99, the N7 positions itself as a strong competitor in the mid-range Z590 space.

NZXT worked with ASRock to bring you this board which appears to be based on the ASRock Z590 Steel Legend. We reviewed that board a couple of months back, and overall liked what ASRock offered at the price point. The N7 Z590, like previous NZXT motherboards, employs unique-looking shrouds/heatsinks that cover most of the board, giving it that signature NZXT appearance. 

Performance-wise, the N7 Z590 did well overall. Its results traded punches with the other boards in most tests. Like the Steel Legend it’s modeled from, this board follows Intel specifications, and in a couple of tests (Handbrake, Cinebench/POV-Ray single thread), the times/scores were lower than the others. To bypass that, simply adjust the power limits up, as the other boards do from the factory. The N7 board set our DDR4 3600 sticks at 1:1 with the memory controller, and we saw solid results in our memory bandwidth and latency tests. Overclocking was a breeze too, as we set our CPU to 5.1 GHz while running the memory at DDR4 4000 (with a few tweaks for stability).

Although you can’t tell the difference by looking at the board, the Z590 version  of NZXT’s board strives to improve upon the last generation and does so with aplomb. The N7 Z590 includes PCIe 4.0 M.2 socket (two total sockets, the other is PCIe 3.0) and a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, additional USB ports including a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C on the rear panel, improved power delivery, and more. We’ll cover these features in detail and more below. But first, here are the full specs from NZXT.

Specifications - NZXT N7 Z590 

Inside the box included with the motherboard are a few accessories. Our review board didn’t even have a driver disk (perhaps because this is a pre-launch sample), but what’s inside should allow you to get going without an extra trip to the store. For drivers, if a disk isn’t included in the retail packaging, you can get them from the NZXT website. Below is a complete list of the included parts.

• Motherboard Guide
• Wi-Fi Antenna
• (4) SATA cables
• (2) Screw package for M.2 sockets

After taking the board out of the box, we get a chance to see the nearly completely covered 6-layer matte-black PCB. Just about the only design cues are the punched-out circles above the chipset and left VRM bank heatsinks. Additionally, some NZXT branding resides on the top M.2 socket cover and over the rear IO area. 

If you’re looking for integrated RGB lighting, you’ll have to look somewhere else, as the N7 Z590 doesn’t include any. That said, the board has two RGB headers, a 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB, along with two NZXT RGB LED connectors. The NZXT CAM software handles all RGB lighting control. Overall, I like how this board looks. The mostly covered PCB gives the board a premium look and feel that matches most any build theme. If a stealthy all-black motherboard isn’t your thing, the N7 Z590 also comes in white.

Looking at the top half of the board, there isn’t much to see outside of shrouds. On the left, the IO cover reaches out over the rear IO chips and touches the left VRM bank. The heatsink doesn’t have a lot of surface area. but does an excellent job keeping the power bits cool, even while overclocked as we’ll see later.

Above the heatsink on the top edge, we find the 8-pin EPS (required) and a 4-pin EPS connector (optional) to feed power to the CPU. To the right are two (of seven) 4-pin fan headers. Each fan/pump header on the board is capable of 2A/24W output, as well as auto-detecting what type of fan is connected (PWM or DC). Continuing right are two 4-pin NZXT RGB headers and two more fan headers.

To the right of the socket area are four unreinforced DRAM slots that support up to 128GB of RAM. NZXT lists supported speeds up to DDR4 4600(OC). This is on the lower side compared to other boards, but most users will run RAM well under that speed. Our DDR4 4000 kit worked with a minor voltage change to the VccIO Memory voltage (0.10+), so we know it’s good to at least that point. Much beyond that and you pay a steep premium for little in the way of gains anyway. 

On the right edge of the board, the only thing visible from the top is the 24-pin ATX for board power and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C front-panel port.

NZXT lists the N7 Z590 as a 12-phase Dr.MOS VRM, which breaks down to a 12+2 configuration for the Vcore and SOC. A Richtek RT3609BE (X+Y=8) 8-channel controller handles the CPU while a Renesas RAA229001 controls the SOC. The eight-channel controller feeds 12 Vishay Sic654 50A MOSFETs for CPU Vcore in a teamed/parallel configuration. In other words, NZXT does not use phase doublers on this board. This configuration is plenty for both 10th and 11th generation CPUs on this platform.

Focusing in on the bottom half of the board, we’re again greeted primarily by shrouds. Hidden underneath on the left-hand side is a Realtek ALC1220 codec, along with five audio caps and a Texas Instruments NE5532 OpAmp. While the ALC1220 codec is a solid audio solution (it was the flagship of Z490) most users are happy with, I would like to have seen the latest and greatest ALC4080/4082 here instead.

In the middle are a few PCIe slots and two M.2 sockets. Starting with PCIe, there are two full-length slots and three x1 size slots. The top slot is PCIe 4.0-capable with a Rocket Lake-based CPU, while the second full-length slot runs PCIe 3.0 x4 max and is fed from the chipset. The documentation doesn’t mention multi-GPU support. But by lane count, it should be able to run 2-Way CrossfireX. The three x1 slots are PCIe 3.0 and fed from the chipset as well. I like the x1 slot location, so you can easily insert an AIC without worrying about the location covering a full-length slot.

The top M.2 socket is located to the right of the top x1 slot. When using a Rocket Lake-based CPU, this socket runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds and supports up to 80mm modules. The bottom M.2 socket runs at PCIe 3.0 and accepts SATA-based modules up to 80mm. The manual does not mention RAID functionality. Worth a mention is that although the M.2 covers are metal, they do not contact the M.2 modules to help with cooling. If you have hot-running M.2 modules, you may want to keep an eye out on temperatures.

As we move further to the right, we pass over the chipset heatsink on the way to the right edge. Here, hidden under the shroud with horizontally oriented connectors, we spy a USB 3.2 Gen 1 header and the four SATA ports. Although most users would be happy with four SATA ports and two M.2 sockets, this is less than most other boards at this price point. Many have three M.2 sockets and six SATA ports, all of which can be active (though not always) in specific configurations.

Across the board’s bottom are several headers, including more USB ports, fan headers and more. Below is the complete list, from left to right:

• Front-panel audio
• UART header
• RGB and ARGB headers 
• (3) USB 2.0 header
• (3) System Fan headers
• Q-Code LEDs
• Clear CMOS jumper
• USB 3.2 Gen 1 connector
• Power/Reset buttons
• Front panel header

Flipping the board around to the rear IO area, we see the black pre-installed IO plate, which matches the colors and design of the rest of the board, along with the NZXT branding in white. In total, there are 10 USB ports: You get four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (3x Type-A, 2x Type-C), four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. A single HDMI port handles video output when using the integrated graphics on the CPU. You’ll also find the Wi-Fi antenna headers, a Clear CMOS button, the Realtek 2.5 GbE and the 5-plug plus SPDIF audio stack.        

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Firmware

To give you a sense of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing most of the BIOS screens.

NZXT worked with ASRock to help develop this board, and it shows with the overall setup of the BIOS. It looks the same except it uses black and purple, NZXT’s colors. Across the top are several headers, including Main, Overclocking, Advanced, Tool, PC Monitoring, and more. Editable fields are on the left, while descriptions of each selection are on the right. 

The BIOS is black, white and purple, matching NZXT’s brand colors while also being easy to read. Most options are found just under the sub-heading(s), and you do not have to dig down to find commonly used features. That said, CPU, DRAM, and Voltage have their own sections. We didn’t have any issues.

Software

On the software side, NZXT uses an all-in-one utility named CAM. The CAM utility controls RGB lighting, overclocking, power, audio, fan speed and more. On the left side of the software are menus/sections, while the right side displays information and is where adjustments happen. Overall, the software worked well in our limited use during testing.

Test System

As of March 2021 we’ve updated our test system to Windows 10 64-bit OS (20H2) with all threat mitigations applied. On the hardware front, we’ve switched to all PCIe 4.0 components. We upgraded our video card to an Asus RTX 3070 TUF Gaming and the storage device to a 2TB Phison PS5-18-E18 M.2. Along with the hardware changes, we’ve also updated the games to F1 2020 and Far Cry: New Dawn. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted (typically during new platform launches). The hardware used is as follows: 

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including stock Thermal Velocity Boost), with all power-saving features enabled. Optimized defaults are set in the BIOS and the memory set using the XMP profiles. For this baseline testing, Windows is set to the balanced power plan.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics are a great tool to figure out if a board runs out of spec, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Advanced memory timings are the one place where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

Starting with the synthetic benchmarks, the N7 Z590’s results were right around the previously tested boards. 7Zip results were on par with the rest. In Cinebench and POV-Ray, the board performed well in the short multithreaded tests (it delivered the highest score in Cinebench, in fact) but was on the slower side in single-thread tests. PCMark 10 results were a bit slower than average.

Timed Applications

We saw the results mixing in with the other tested boards in our timed applications, if slightly below the average. LAME results were about average at 11.48 seconds while the Corona test took 84 seconds - again around the average. Handbrake was a different story. In both tests, the N7 was notably slower than most other boards due to it following Intel specifications out of the box. But raise the power limits in the BIOS and all tests respond positively and mix in with the other boards that behave similarly.

3D Games and 3DMark

We’ve recently updated our game tests to F1 2020 and Far Cry: New Dawn. The games are run at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset. As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less of an impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for.

Our 3DMark tests on this board were right in line with all other tested boards. F1 2020 results were on par with the other tested boards at 207 FPS. This is a tie with three other boards for the slowest result. That said, the fastest, so far, is 211 FPS. The difference is less than 2% and 1% off the average -- so hardly noticeable outside of benchmarking. Far Cry shows the same thing. Here the N7 is tied with two other boards for the second-slowest result at 139 FPS. The boards with raised power limits are in another class, running from 144-148 FPS -- still a difference of a few percent. If you want the most out of this title, you’ll want to unlock those limits on the processor.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. With Rocket Lake, we need to disable AVX-512 instruction sets; otherwise, temperatures are out of control at stock speeds on some boards. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire ecosystem. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

For power use, the N7 Z590 landed in the middle of the pack, averaging 173W. Idle use was 71W, while load was 274W. This was around 15W higher than the Z590 Steel Legend, which it shares a VRM configuration with.

The N7’s 50A MOSFETs handled our system at stock speeds without concern. With the board following Intel’s power limit guidelines and running the TDP after boost runs out, temperatures peaked around 46 degrees Celsius during default operations. Once we removed the limit and overclocked our i9-11900K CPU to 5.1 GHz, the VRM’s peaked at almost 62 degrees Celsius, which lands it in the middle of the pack, running slightly warmer than the Z590 PG Velocita, which has active cooling. Overall, there is nothing to worry about with the VRMs when using ambient cooling.

Overclocking

When overclocking the i9-11900K, we decided to do so by testing without AVX-512 instructions. When you unlock all of the power limits, you’re thermally limited, with the CPU reaching 100 degrees Celsius in several seconds. Since every board is different in terms of following (or not following) Intel specifications, we’ve removed that variable. The bottom line is that if you need to use these instructions, you’ll need to set a significant offset compared to non-AVX-512 loads. To that end, we settled on a 5.1 GHz overclock at around 1.3V. Our CPU uses around 225W in this configuration, which lands between stock power use (195W) and AVX-512 power use (~265W) and is the end of the line due to thermal constraints.

Overclocking with the N7 Z590 was painless. We disabled Thermal Velocity and Adaptive boost and raised the power limits, so the clocks are unaffected by these automated features. The BIOS is laid out nicely, though you’ll have to move sections for simple overclocking. The CPU, Voltage, and RAM each have their own menus.

The N7 Z590 worked with our DDR4 3600 sticks (Gear 1) and didn’t have any issues with the DDR4 4000 kit. AIDA bandwidth and latency tests place this mid-range board above average among all tested boards. Latency was especially quick here, at 45.8 ns, just 0.3 ns behind the fastest result (MSI MEG Z590 Ace). We had no issues getting these kits to work on this board and BIOS for our limited memory testing.

Final Thoughts

If the goal of the NZXT N7 was to provide builders with a simple building experience while keeping gamers in mind with the ‘ideal’ specifications, for the most part NZXT has achieved that. This mid-range motherboard includes capable power delivery, Intel Wi-Fi 6E, PCIe 4.0, two M.2 sockets and more, for $279.99.

On the performance front, the board did well in short tests where it fits within the boost parameters. Once the time budget expired, you can see that some results suffered a bit, but that’s easily fixed by disabling Intel’s power budget. Overclocking went well with the CPU and RAM as the board easily handled the additional stress from faster RAM and higher clock speeds and voltage.

Sadly, nothing in life is perfect. I would like to see six SATA ports instead of the four that are on the board. I know this is done in part to prevent lane sharing and disabling functionality. However, the Z590 chipset does allow you to have six SATA ports and two M.2 sockets and not share (PCIe devices) lanes. Along those lines, I would like to see three M.2 sockets instead of two. Most people won’t miss the third, but there are a few boards at this price point with three. Lastly, NZXT is using a previous-generation audio codec. But this is a minor thing considering it was the flagship and still plenty suitable for most users.

Competition is fierce in the sub-$300 price bracket and typically, with a few features separating similarly priced boards. In terms of appearance, I believe the black NZXT and the Gigabyte look the best in this price range. We’ve reviewed the Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Pro AX ($289.99), and then there’s the MSI MPG Z590 Gaming Plus ($279.99) and the Asus Prime Z590-A ($279.99) that are close in price. All three of these boards have six SATA ports and three M.2 sockets. So if you want more storage than the N7 offers out of the box, you’ll have to look there. Both the Gigabyte and MSI boards also use the latest Realtek ALC4080 codec, while the Asus Prime and the NZXT use the last-generation flagship. With this in mind, I would like to see the price of the N7 lowered a little to compensate for some of the minor differences between it and the competition. Still, if you’re looking for a sub-$300 motherboard, be sure to check out the NZXT N7 Z590, especially if you are all-in on a matching NZXT chassis.

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It seems that Realtek has joined the long list of supply chain bottlenecks. DigiTimes today reported that the company is struggling to meet demand for the various chips manufacturers use in their notebooks, automobiles and other kinds of devices.

In the story, DigiTimes remarked that Realtek has extended their delivery lead times to 32 weeks as the capacity of the foundries is currently tight and there are shortfalls in the supply of the necessary raw materials.

Those chips are found in a wide variety of products. The audio+LAN chips are used in notebooks, for example, and the xDSL chips are being used in "smart city projects" by Samsung. But the shortage of networking equipment might be most worrisome.

Realtek is reportedly falling short of demand for wired networking (Ethernet chips and switches) and wireless communication chips such as Bluetooth. There are alternative solutions, of course, but Realtek is said to supply 70% of the audio+LAN chips used in the global notebook market. Manufacturers can't just find alternative suppliers for all those notebooks—especially during a global chip shortage.

All of this means that Realtek's problems are in many ways the rest of the world's problems. DigiTimes said the company's supply issues have caused production delays for notebook makers, the automotive industry and other sectors.

DigiTimes reports that Dell, HP, and other notebook manufacturers have raised concerns with Realtek, exerting pressure to ship more chips to meet the demand. But with supply issues extending even to Apple, the world's most valuable company, the relaying of concerns seems unlikely to solve the issue.

Those companies will just have to wait for Realtek's chips. Many will also be looking for improved supplies of other chips, display panels, display drivers, and many other components besides. Just don't expect those shortages to be addressed overnight.

Asus just announced the ProART B550-Creator, the first AM4 motherboard to come with Thunderbolt 4 support. The motherboard will be available next month with a price tag of $299.

Like its other ProART motherboards, the ProART B550-Creator arrives with a minimalistic design that features a black exterior accented by gold accents. The motherboard employs a powerful 12+2-phase power delivery subsystem that's cooled by a pair of thick heatsinks. The motherboard feeds the processor with a combination of a 8-pin EPS and 4-pin ATX power connectors. On the memory side, the ProART B550-Creator is equipped with four DDR4 memory slots and accommodates up to 128GB of memory. However, Asus didn't specify up to what memory frequencies are supported.

Storage-wise, the ProART B550-Creator offers four normal SATA III connectors for conventional hard drives and SSDs. There are also a pair of M.2 ports for high-speed storage. Logically, the primary M.2 port adheres to the PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, however, the nature of the secondary M.2 port is uncertain. The ProART B550-Creator's M.2 ports utilize Asus' new M.2 latch mounting system that facilitates SSD installation.

The ProART B550-Creator provides three PCIe x16 and two PCIe x1 expansion slots. Since the motherboard's product page isn't available, the speed of the expansion slots are unknown.

Being a motherboard tailored to professionals and creative artists, the ProART B550-Creator naturally has the latest in connectivity. The motherboard flaunts two Thunderbolt 4 ports as well as dual 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports. The rear panel also shows a pair of USB 2.0 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, a combo PS/2 connector, a DisplayPort In connector and a standard HDMI port.

The ProART B550-Creator's audio system is based on Realtek's ALC1220A audio codec. The codec itself is isolated from the other components of the motherboard. The system also includes audio-grade capacitors and an integrated amplifier. The motherboard supplies five 3.5mm audio jacks and one SPDIF-Out connector for connecting your audio devices.

In addition to the features mentioned previously, the Z490 FTW WiFi includes Intel Gigabit LAN, six SATA ports, two M.2 sockets (neither with heatsinks), onboard power/reset buttons and seven 4-pin fan/pump headers for cooling. Below is a complete list of specifications from EVGA.

EVGA may be better known for graphics cards and power supplies, but the company has also been pushing into the motherboard realm for years, though with far fewer products than competitors like MSI or Gigabyte.The EVGA Z490 FTW WiFi that we’re looking at here sits at the ‘bottom’ of the company’s Z490 product stack, with the high-end Z490 Dark ($699.99) sitting above as the only other board on Intel’s current platform. You won’t find a Micro ATX or Mini ITX board from EVGA, just the ATX FTW and E-ATX Dark.

For $329.99 (at the EVGA store), the Z490 FTW includes a robust 14-phase VRM, Realtek and NU Audio sound, a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port, and integrated Intel Wi-Fi 6/AX201 capabilities. All in all, it’s a well-apportioned motherboard, although its looks are somewhat raw compared to similarly priced products.

On the performance front, the Z490 FTW WiFi performed as expected, mostly blending in well with our other Z490 results. Though there weren’t any alarming differences, the board was a bit slower in some tests, but not alarmingly so. The capable VRM handled our power-hungry Intel Core i9-10900K at stock speeds as well as the 5.2 GHz all-core/thread overclock, so there’s no issues on that front.

Specifications - EVGA Z490 FTW WiFi

The EVGA Z490 FTW WiFi comes with several accessories to get you started. The box includes SATA cables, installation guides, a rear IO plate, WiFi antenna, and more. Conveniently, instead of a driver disk, EVGA includes a small USB flash drive that contains all of its drivers (and the manual). I wish more partners would start doing this, as optical drives have become increasingly less common in today’s builds. Below is a list of what is included in the box in addition to the motherboard.

• EVGA Quick Installation Guide
• Rear Case I/O panel
• 2x SATA cables
• 2x M.2 thermal pads
• 2x WiFi antenna
• Case badge
• USB flash drive (drivers)

On the RGB front, the FTW WiFi includes a small strip of addressable RGBs under the right side of the chipset heatsink. The implementation is subtle, but the LEDs bright and the color is saturated. If the integrated lighting isn’t enough, the board has a 3-pin ARGB header and a 4-pin RGB header located by the power and reset buttons to attach more.

The first thing we noticed about  Z490 FTW WiFi is that it bucks the trend, forgoing shrouds and other accouterments designed to cover the PCB. Other boards at similar price points tend to include more flashy  shrouds and other coverings designed to pretty up the board and hide the PCB. That said, this board doesn’t look bad, with its flat-black PCB, slots, and connectors. However, some users may prefer a board with those included, especially at prices above $300.

On the top half of the board, we get a closer look at the matte-black heatsinks covering both VRMs, as well as a vented silver shroud covering the IO bits. On the shroud is the EVGA branding, along with the Z490 FTW model name written in a contrasting black. Nestled between the VRM banks are an 8-pin (required) and 4-pin (optional) EPS connector for sending power to the CPU.

To the right of the socket area are four black DIMM slots with locking mechanisms on both sides. The Z490 FTW WiFi supports up to 128GB of DDR4 with speeds listed to DDR4 4400. The listed specification is lower than several other comparable boards.

Hidden just above the top VRM heatsink are two 4-pin CPU fan headers rated for 24W/2A each. Note that these two headers control fans by PWM only. The other five fan headers support both PWM and DC control, as well as the same 24W/2A output as the CPU fan headers. It’s nice to see all headers support more than the basic 12W/1A, as this yields additional flexibility for stacking fans on any header.

Located on the right edge of the board are power and reset buttons, dual 2-character debug LEDs and a vertical USB port (used for BIOS flashback purposes/easy access when on a benching table). The dual debug LEDs spin through POST codes when powered on and by default settle with temperatures. There are options in the BIOS for these to display different voltages (Vcore, DRAM, System Agent, etc) as well. For the extreme overlocker or those who plan on using this motherboard on a benching station, this can come in handy.

Last up on the top half of the board, below the debug LEDs, is the 24-pin ATX power lead for the motherboard and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen2 header.

Moving on to power delivery, EVGA lists the VRM as 14 total phases. Power is sent from the EPS connector(s) and handled by an Intersil ISL69138 dual output, multiphase (X+Y ≤ 7) controller. Vcore consists of 8-phases using 60A Intersil ISL99227BFRZ-T single power stages. While not the most robust we’ve seen, it is certainly comparable and capable at the $300-plus price point, handling our Intel Core i9-10900K without issue, even when overclocked.

Looking at the bottom half of the board, the most prominent feature may be the huge yellow audio caps located in the bottom-right corner. These caps are downstream from the premium Realtek ALC1220 codec that’s located above the caps. We don’t see any shielding nor the distinct audio separation line here. However, the integrated audio will still be sufficient for most users.

In the middle of the board are three PCIe slots and two M.2 sockets. On the PCIe side, both slots are full-length and use metal reinforcement around the connector for EMI protection and to prevent shearing. The top slot is the primary GPU slot and works at x16. The second slot will work up x8 when the first is in use. This slot configuration supports up to 2-Way Nvidia SLI. The single x1 slot sources its bandwidth from the chipset and is located below the x16 slots. Thankfully, this slot is a usable location, compared to the layout of some motherboards where it gets blocked by graphics cards.

Around the PCIe slots are the two M.2 sockets. Both sockets support modules up to 110mm long. The top M.2 socket (M.2 2) supports PCIe 3.0 x4 (32 Gbps) devices, while the bottom slot (M.2 1), supports PCI- and SATA-based drives. The Z490 FTW WiFi does not share bandwidth with the SATA ports, as four are native and the other two are controlled by a third-party ASMedia controller.

To the right of the PCIe/M.2 area is a small chipset heatsink that houses the addressable RGB lighting found on the board. The front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 header is oriented horizontally and offset from the SATA ports (a ‘notch is taken out of the motherboard so it sits flush with the edge) which helps with cable management.

Just below it are three SATA ports. Four of these (the top four) are native ports, while the ASmedia ASM1061 controller supplies the other two ports. The four native ports support RAID0, 1, 5, and 10. According to EVGA, the third-party ports primarily exist for legacy OS support, mainly for benchmarking and overclocking with specific applications. That said, the board is not guaranteed to fully support any OS prior to Windows 10 x64, as EVGA (other board partners as well) doesn’t offer drivers for legacy operating systems.

Across the bottom edge are a slew of headers and ports, all of which are angled horizontally, again helping with cable management. You’ll find fan and audio ports, USB headers, and more. Below is a complete list in order from left to right.

• Front panel audio
• (3) DC/PWM fan headers
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Front panel connectors
• BIOS selector switch
• BIOS SafeBoot button

Flipping the board around to the rear IO, about the only thing that stands out is a lack of an integrated IO plate (though a plate is included in the accessories). At this price, I’d like to see these integrated, but do understand this is more of a purpose-built track car than it is a daily driver with luxury appointments.

That out of the way, we find seven USB ports, Two 3.2 Gen1 ports, Four 3.2 Gen2, and a single USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type -C port. Video outputs consist of an HDMI port and DisplayPort. In addition to the 5-plug plus SPDIF audio stack, you’ll also find the Wi-Fi antenna connections, a legacy PS/2 port and a BIOS/CMOS reset button. 

Software

On the software side, EVGA has a single application, EVGA ELeet X1, with a new UI and codebase and a simple-to-use interface. The software is able to monitor your system, including temperatures and voltages as well as detailed system information. The new-look Eleet X1 was easy to use with all the options you need right in front of you.

Firmware

To give you a sense of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing a majority of the BIOS screens.

EVGA also updated its BIOS, which now boots to a screen giving you four options, Default (to run with default settings), Advanced (to enter BIOS w/o default settings), Gamer Mode (conservative overclock), and the EVGA OC Robot to automatically overclock your PC. The same black and light-green/blue theme is still a staple of EVGA firmware. Displayed across the stop is monitoring/status information, while any editing of system settings occurs in the bottom three quarters of the screen.

The majority of options for overclocking are found in the OC section, with Memory in… you guessed it, the Memory section. This configuration is logical, though some may find it more convenient to have these under one heading. Regardless, the majority of the selections used for overclocking and other board functionality are easily found without digging deep into submenus. Overall, the BIOS is configured well and easy to work with.

Test System / Comparison Products

Our test system uses Windows 10 64-bit OS (1909) with all threat mitigations applied. The motherboard BIOS used is the latest non-beta available to the public, unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows:

For this review, we’ll be directly comparing the EVGA Z490 FTW ($329.99 @ EVGA store) to the Asus ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming ($299.99) and the ASRock Z490 PG Velocita ($259.99).

Benchmark Settings

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All standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including stock Thermal Velocity Boost), with all power-saving features enabled. Optimized defaults are set in the BIOS and the memory is set using the XMP profiles. For this baseline testing, Windows is set to High Performance, except for during power testing, where we switch to Balanced so the PC idles properly.

**The red bar represents the board we are reviewing, not the fastest/slowest result for a given chart.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics are a great tool to figure out if a board is running out of spec, as identical settings should produce extremely similar performance results. Advanced memory timings are the one place where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance though, and those settings can impact some testing.

In our synthetic benchmarks, the EVGA Z490 FTW performed admirably in most tests, easily mixing in with other results. Multi-threaded results in Cinebench and POV-Ray were spot-on while the single-core ended up a bit slower than most boards.

Timed Applications

Looking at the timed applications, the 13.1s time in LAME testing was the slowest of all the boards we’ve tested so far, while the Handbrake tests were spot on versus the other motherboards.

3D Games and 3DMark

We’ve recently updated our game tests to more The Division 2 and Forza Horizon 4. The games are run at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset. As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less of an impact on most games. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for.

Our gaming and 3DMark results showed similar performance to all of the other Z490 motherboards we’ve tested. In fact, the 3DMark results are the fastest we’ve seen so far by a small margin. There are no concerns from the results here.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

For power testing, we used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled using peak power consumption value within the first minute. The wattage reading is taken from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire ecosystem (minus the monitor). The only variable that changes in these reviews is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the EVGA Z490 FTW WiFi idles at 51W, which is in the lower half of all Z490 motherboards tested. But load testing with AIDA64’s stability test reached 283W peak at the wall, placing it with the upper half of all results. The resulting 167W average is  right about in the middle, 1W above the average of all boards listed.

Moving on to the VRM temperatures, compared to the Asus E-Gaming and ASRock PG Velocita (which have active VRM cooling), temperatures were a lot warmer with the EVGA, reaching nearly 75 degrees Celsius at stock speeds and 77 degrees Celsius with the CPU overclocked to 5.2 GHz and ~1.35V. Though warm, these are designed to operate between -40°C and 125°C, so there is still plenty of headroom and nothing to be concerned with.

Overclocking

As we’ve seen with all previous Z490 reviews, the FTW WiFi ran our Core i9-10900K CPU at 5.2 GHz and 1.35V, keeping the CPU around 90 degrees Celsius. The 60A MOSFETs will handle anything you can throw at them in ambient cooling situations, as well as sub-ambient. Voltage readings were all over the place in third-party software, though EVGA’s Eleet X1 did read it correctly. Vdroop was easily mitigated by raising the LLC (to -50%), but this is typical of most boards on this platform.

On the memory side of things, we installed our DDR4 4000 kit, set XMP and away we went. Like many other motherboards, the FTW also set VccSA and VccIO much higher than needed, around 1.35V and 1.25V respectively. We ended up at 1.2V for VccSA and 1.1V for VccIO for stability, which is a lot lower, and subsequently the CPU ran a bit cooler as well.

Final Thoughts

The EVGA Z490 FTW performed well in our testing suite, with a majority of results in line with the other Z490-based motherboards we’ve tested. The VRM’s, though they ran warm, easily handled our Intel Core i9-10900K at stock and while overclocked, pushing the limits of our 3x120mm AIO, not the board.

Features-wise, the dual debug LEDs, motherboard-mounted USB port, and power/reset buttons, are attractive to those who use this primarily as a benchmarking machine. The dual M.2 slots are par for the course, but it would be nice to see at least one of these sockets include a heatsink to keep any hot-running NVMe modules running cooler, as we saw with the Z490 PG Velocita and the Asus Z490 E-Gaming. I would also like to see 2.5 GbE instead of 1 GbE, but that isn’t a dealbreaker for most users at this point. The USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port is a plus versus the 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) ports were used to seeing.

The raw appearance of the board reminds me more of a purpose-built part, with looks taking a back seat. That said, the FTW WiFi isn’t unattractive, but both of our direct comparison boards include additional shrouds/heatsinks that some may prefer. Personally, I’d rather a board like this than one with covered in shrouds and RGB LEDs all over the place.

There’s a lot of competition in that $275-$330 Z490 price bracket, with all major partners sporting at least one entry in that class. Between like-priced boards, the MSI MEG Unify sports the highest-rated VRMs (eight 90A MOSFETs), though the EVGA will happily run an i9-10900K to at least it’s ambient cooled limits. If the board’s appearance isn’t a concern, the EVGA Z490 FTW is a solid board to build your Z490 based system from, though there are similarly appointed, less-expensive options available.

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Bleu Jour, the French PC manufacturing company, announced two CPU options for their small, cube-shaped mini PC known as the Kubb Graphite edition. According to a report from TechRadar, it will offer both an Intel and Ryzen option for the CPU.

This announcement comes from the IFA 2020 tech expo in Berlin. It measures in at 4.7" x 4.7" x 4.7" (12cm x 12cm x 12cm) forming a cube shape with notably sharp edges and corners.

One version of this new mini PC will offer an embedded Ryzen R1606G chip, while the other comes with a V1605B. However, the two share comparable specs with similar options to upgrade. The base model comes with 8 GB of LPDDR4 that can be upgraded to 32 GB. Both support Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth and include a Realtek Gigabit Ethernet adapter.

The new PC includes a wide selection of colors and more for the outer shell. Buyers can choose from options like graphite and quartz or even indulge in sleek options like the mirror shell. There are some basic colors to choose from, including things like "passion red," fuschia, chocolate, and champagne.

The price you pay will vary depending on the hardware you choose to upgrade. The most basic V1605B model with Linux Mint costs around $803.84 (€679). Adding additional shells and choose the Windows 10 OS option will increase the final price. If you want to check out this minimal mini PC rig, head over to the Bleu Jour website.

First, there was a mortar, bazooka and tomahawk in MSI's MAG (MSI Arsenal Gaming) lineup. Now, there's a torpedo. Continuing its love of military-theme model names, MSI recently announced the MAG B460 Torpedo motherboard for Intel 10th Generation Comet Lake-S processors.

Conforming to the typical ATX form factor, the MAG B460 Torpedo will debut with a 13-phase power delivery subsystem and a single 8-pin EPS power connector to supply juice to your best CPU. The presence of four DDR4 RAM slots means the motherboard can accommodate up to 128GB of DDR4-2933 memory.

The MAG B460 Torpedo's storage options consist of six SATA III ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 arrays and two M.2 slots. Both M.2 slots leverage a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, but there are some limitation. For starters, the primary M.2 slot is the only one that can house M.2 SSDs up to 110mm in length. The secondary M.2 slot is compatible with drives up to 80mm. 

Additionally, Intel Optane drives are only supported on the secondary M.2 slot.

Expansion possibilites aren't too shabby on the MAG B460 Torpedo. MSI equipped the mothjerboard with two PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. The first PCIe 3.0 slot runs at x16, of course, and is directly linked to the Comet Lake-S processor. The second PCIe 3.0 slot, however, is confined to x4 because it's powered by the B460 chipset.

If you're keen on using the integrated graphics from your Comet Lake-S chip, the MAG B460 Torpedo provides one HDMI port and one DisplayPort output for your displays. The first supports resolutions up to 4096 x 2190 at 30 Hz refresh rates and the latter does 4096 x 2304 at 60 Hz.

The MAG B460 Torpedo comes with a single 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, which is possible thanks to the Realtek RTL8125B controller. The rear panel features a combo PS/2 port, two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, as well as five 3.5mm audio jacks and an optical S/PDIF out. 

Further expanding the port selection are one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C , one USB 3.2 Gen 1 and two USB 2.0 headers. 

MSI didn't reveal the pricing for the MAG B460 Torpedo. However, CompSource has the motherboard up for $116.25, making the MAG B460 Torpedo just a bit cheaper than the MAG B460 Tomahawk that retails for $139.99.

MSI’s B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi is a Mini ITX motherboard based around the mid-range B550 chipset. Priced at $199.99, it’s a motherboard with capable (but not the best) VRMs, multiple M.2 slots, integrated Wi-Fi, four SATA ports, and six USB ports on the rear IO. Read on as we dig down into performance and features to flesh out the differences between this and other B550 Mini-ITX size boards and see if it’s a worthy option in this compact-mid-range field.

MSI’s B550 product stack currently consists of 12 boards, ranging from the Pro B550M Pro-VDH Wi-Fi  ($109.99), several MAG and MPG class boards including the popular B550 Tomahawk ($179.99), and the flagship B550 Gaming Carbon Wi-Fi ($219.99). MSI’s lineup has something for just about every AMD Ryzen system builder, including Micro ATX- and Mini ITX-size motherboards.

In our testing, the B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi performed well in the majority of benchmarks, matching the other B550 boards we’ve tested so far, generally landing within a standard margin of error. The board handled stock operations without issue, boosting our Ryzen 9 3900X to 4.6 GHz and 4.3 GHz (two core/all core boost), respectively. Overclocking was also successful in running the CPU at 4.3 GHz. Read on to find detailed specifications and performance results. 

MSI MPG B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi Specifications

Features

 Starting with the accessories, our B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi includes the expected basics (though not much else), which is typical of today’s motherboards at this price point. 

• Driver DVD
• Quick Install guide
• User Manual
• Two SATA cables
• Wi-Fi antenna
• Case badge
• Two M.2 Screws

MSI went with a less-is-more look with this board. The 8-layer PCB is all black, as are the VRM and chipset heatsinks. The VRM heatsink extends out over the rear IO area, covering all the bits below. Stenciled in grey on top of the heatsink is the MSI name, along with the company’s iconic gaming dragon. The chipset/M.2 heatsink includes a tiny fan, which was inaudible during testing. Outside of that, the DIMM slots and all other connectors are black.

The B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi doesn’t include RGB lighting onboard, but does have a 3-pin header for those who cannot live without it and will bring their own. Overall, it's a stealthy black board that will fit in with most build themes.

Since this is a compact Mini ITX board, we’ll start the tour at the top and go around clockwise, covering all the details. In the top-left corner is a single 8-pin EPS connector that sends power to the VRMs. To the right of it, above the mounting bracket, is a set of four debug LEDs. The debug LEDs will turn on and off during the POST process. If there is a problem with any of the four areas (CPU, DRAM, VGA or Boot), that LED will stay lit, informing the user where the POST is hung up. The debug LED is a valuable tool to have for troubleshooting, especially without the 2-character debug display often found on larger boards. 

The far-right edge sports the two single-sided latching DIMMs slots that are capable of supporting 64GB of RAM with speeds listed up to DDR4 4600+. To the right are two (of three) 4-pin fan headers. The CPU and Pump headers output 2A/24W and 3A/36W respectively, which should easily support a couple of fans and most pumps. Below these headers is the 24-pin ATX connector, while below that are four vertically oriented SATA ports (which support RAID0, 1, and 10). Just underneath those ports is a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 header.

On the bottom portion of the board, we see a few headers along with a single full-length PCIe 4.0 (x16) slot. The headers in this area are for the front panel (audio and buttons) and additional USB 2.0 ports. Hidden under the chipset heatsink and fan is the first M.2 socket. This socket supports both PCIe- and SATA-based modules, up to 80mm. The second M.2 socket hides on the backside of the motherboard. The M.2 slots support RAID0 and RAID1 on NVMe drives.

Also in this area is the Realtek ALC1200 codec, along with a couple of capacitors (yellow) dedicated to the audio. While this isn’t the premium ALC1220 or 1220-VB codec, most users will be satisfied with the sound, regardless. 

MSI implemented a 10-phase (8+2, Vcore + SOC) VRM with a Monolithic Power Systems MP2855GUT controller. Details are scarce on this controller, but since we don’t see doublers for Vcore, that leads us to believe it has nine discrete channels. The digital PWM controller then feeds eight 60A MP86936 MOSFETs for Vcore. While this isn’t the most robust power delivery on the Mini-ITX B550 boards, it handled our Ryzen 9 3900X without issue at stock and while overclocked, without burning up or causing other issues.

Flipping the board around to the rear IO, we first see an integrated IO plate, six USB ports (USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A/C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen1, and 2x USB 2.0), 5-plug analog plus SPDIF outputs for the audio and a BIOS Flashback button. There is a single HDMI output for video, as well as the ethernet port and 

Software

MSI doesn’t offer an excessive amount of software, but it covers all the bases. The utility section of MSI’s support page for this board includes an MSI-skinned version of CPUz, Realtek Audio control and Dragon Center. Dragon Center (DC) is a one-stop-shop to monitor the system, control any RGB lighting (Mystic Light), LAN, and gaming highlights. DC is relatively comprehensive, though it is missing software-based overclocking and fan controls.

MSI Dragon Center

Nahimic

Firmware

To give you a taste of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing a majority of the BIOS screens. MSI’s layout is informative and straightforward to use in EZ Mode or Advanced, with the latter separated into the more familiar sections on the main page. When overclocking, you’ll find the most frequently used options on the initial BIOS screen in the OC section. Overall, the MSI BIOS is easy to navigate and read, with plenty of options to tweak your system.

Test System and Comparison Products

Our test system uses Windows 10 64-bit OS (1909) with all threat mitigations applied. The motherboard BIOS used is the latest non-beta available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows: 

For this review, we’ll be comparing the MSI MPG B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi ($199.99) against the full-size B550 motherboards we’ve tested, the MAG B550 Tomahawk ($179.99), Gigabyte B550 Aorus Master ($279.99) and the Asus ROG Strix B550-F Gaming Wi-Fi ($209.99). As soon as we can get other Mini-ITX size boards from the B550 family, we’ll have better direct comparisons. 

Benchmark Settings 

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including stock Thermal Velocity Boost), with all power-saving features enabled. Optimized defaults get set in the BIOS and the memory uses its XMP profiles. For this baseline testing, we set Windows to High Performance, except for power testing that uses the Balanced plan for the PC to reach an idle state.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetic benchmarks are a great tool to figure out if a board is running out of spec, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Advanced memory timings are the one place where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

In our synthetic benchmarks, the B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi’s results were right in line with the other, ATX B550 motherboards we’ve tested. We haven’t seen a lot of deviation in most of these tests, except perhaps with the PCMark suite which can be a bit temperamental at times.

Timed Applications

In our timed application tests, LAME and Handbrake, the Gaming Edge Wi-Fi’s times we spot on against the other B550 motherboards.

3D Games and 3DMark

We’ve recently updated our game tests to The Division 2 and Forza Horizon 4. The games are run at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset. As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less of an impact and most games at this resolution in the first place. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for.

During our gaming and 3DMark tests, MSI’s Mini ITX board kept up with all other B550-based products without issue. 3DMark Fire Strike, Time Spy, and our two games continue to show very little difference with all boards, within a small margin-of-error range.

Power Consumption and VRM Temperatures

For power testing, we use AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading comes from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire ecosystem. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

When our system was at idle (using the AMD Balanced power plan in Windows), the Gaming Edge Wi-Fi pulled 47W from the wall, a value tied for the lowest idle wattage we’ve seen so far. After applying the AIDA64 stress test load, power use peaked at 216W from the wall, leaning towards the higher end of consumption.

Our B550 Gaming Edge Wi-Fi and its 8-phase (Vcore) 60A VRMs handled both stock and overclocked testing without issue. During the stock runs, the hottest point on the VRM peaked just under 50 degrees Celsius (Hwinfo didn’t display a MOS sensor). After overclocking to 4.3 GHz and 1.35V, temperatures increased a few degrees and peaked at 56 degrees Celsius, well within the operational parameters of the MOSFETs. 

Note that the dip on the chart around the 18-minute mark was from the chassis fan falling on the VRMs for a brief time, not any throttling.

Overclocking

There are several ways to overclock on AMD platforms, depending on your goals. If your focus is single-threaded performance, it’s best to tweak PBO and let the motherboard and CPU figure it out under the parameters entered. If you are looking for better multi-core/thread performance, you will overclock all cores to the same speed. Part of our goal is to test the capability of the motherboard, so we chose the more power-hungry option, 4.3 GHz and 1.35V for an all core/thread overclock. The Gaming Edge Wi-Fi handled our 12c/24t Ryzen 9 3900X overclock without issue. Vdroop was mitigated well by the default setting (auto); no other tweaks were necessary. We simply set the voltage to a static 1.35V and 43x CPU multiplier, then off we went to stability testing.

Final Thoughts

MSI’s B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi ($199.99) proved to be a competent performer in our stock benchmarks, as well as the overclocking we put it through. The power delivery, while not the most robust, handled our 12c/24t Ryzen 9 3900X with poise. Features-wise, the tiny board managed to stuff two M.2 slots, four SATA ports and a fair amount of USB ports on the rear IO (and headers). About the only thing missing is lighting. You’ll have to bring your own RGB via a header on the board.

At this price and form-factor, the B550I Gaming Edge’s direct competitors are the Gigabyte B550I Aorus Pro AX ($179.99), ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax ($199.99) and the Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming ($229.99). The most significant difference between these boards outside of price is the VRM capability (the other boards have better power delivery), audio (not that many would notice a difference), officially supported memory speeds and aesthetics/integrated RGB lighting (ASRock and Gigabyte integrate the LEDs).

Without getting our hands on the other Mini ITX size boards (yet), it’s tough to declare an outright winner among these diminutive B550 based motherboards. For just under $200, the MSI B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi showed that it is more than capable of handling our Ryzen 9 3900X, even when overclocked. Suppose you are looking for a Mini ITX size motherboard and want to save some money by going to B550 chipset. In that case, the MSI MPG B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi is a viable option to build your system around, though if you crave that RGB lighting and better power delivery, there are other options available. Some are even priced less.

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We recently reviewed high-end Intel Z490 motherboards from most of the major partners and found overbuilt VRMs and feature lists long enough to compete with the longest of the Harry Potter series. At the time, we missed out on the ASRock Z490 Aqua as the board they sent initially was pre-production. Fast forward to today and we have the proper version ready for a deep dive.

The Z490 Aqua, like the other flagship Z490 boards, is quite impressive. For $1105.99 (yes, you read that right), the Aqua's claim to fame is the integrated water block designed to cool the CPU and VRMs. The only other Z490 motherboard like this is the Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Extreme Waterforce ($1299.99). Outside of the monoblock, the Aqua implements a robust 16-phase 90A VRM, integrated Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C ports, premium Realtek audio and a fancy, informative OLED display. Overall, it is a well-rounded and well-built motherboard, but it’s going to cost you.

Performance-wise, the Z490 Aqua was comparable to all the other boards we’ve tested so far that haven't been locked down to intel specifications (namely Biostar’s boards). The only outliers were in PCMark10 Application Start-up test and the Cinebench and POV-Ray single thread, where the ASRock was the slowest (though not by much). Outside of those, the rest of the testing, including gaming performance, was in line with the competition. In the end, you wouldn’t know the difference between these boards in performance without seeing the benchmark numbers, which is what we have come to expect.

Along with the features mentioned earlier, the Aqua also comes with an Aquantia 10 Gigabit ethernet port, Intel Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax, three M.2 sockets (all with heatsinks), eight SATA ports and enough fan and pump headers to run a custom water loop from. Below is a complete list of specifications from ASRock.

ASRock Z490 Aqua Specifications  

Features

As you’d expect given the price, the Z490 Aqua includes quite a bit of accessories that all sit in boxes below the motherboard. You’ll find the usual parts including SATA cables, Wi-Fi antenna, screws, etc. On top of this, also included are several fittings designed for hard tubing, which is a great value add. That said, I question why the company chose hard tube fittings over soft, as I imagine most users are still building custom loops with soft tubing, which is easier to build with. Below is a list of everything included in the box along with the motherboard. 

• Quick Installation Guide, Support CD
• (4) SATA Data Cables
• ASRock SLI_HB_Bridge_2S Card
• ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antenna
• Thermal Compound
• (5) Spare Thermal Pads
• (4) Spare Screws for MOS and Chokes
• (4) Spare Screws for CPU Sockets
• (6) Spare Screws for M.2 Heatsinks
• (2) 90° Tubing Elbow Fittings
• (6) G1/4" to 14mm Tube Fittings
• 2 x G1/4" Plugs
• 2 x G1/4" to 14mm 90° Rotary Fittings
• 1 x Ball Valve
• 8 x Rubber Cushions for CPU Socket (2 sets)
• 3 x Screws for M.2 Sockets
• 2 x Standoffs for M.2 Sockets

The Z490 Aqua’s appearance has the look of an $1100 plus motherboard, with the majority of its black PCB covered by a silver aluminum shrouds/heatsinks and the massive water block that cools the CPU and VRMs. The EATX size board has a unique design aesthetic, with a notch cut out around the SATA ports (presumably for easier cable routing).The top right corner is cut off/flat, as well. Only the Z490 Apex from Asus and Z490 FTW/Dark have used similar designs. 

RGB lighting elements are integrated into IO cover, monoblock, as well as on top of the chipset heatsink. Unlike with some motherboard-based RGB, the colors here are saturated and very bright, especially on the CPU block where light shines through the water and off the reflective coating inside.

Above the rear IO is a shroud that contains a black-and-white OLED screen that displays information covering CPU voltage, temperature, fan speed, system status and POST details. The content on the OLED is also customizable through the BIOS. Overall, the Z490 Aqua is a good-looking board and with that water block, also one of the heaviest I’ve had my hands on.

Starting on the top half of the board, two-thirds of this area is covered by the rear IO shroud and the monoblock. Wedged between the block and shroud are two 8-pin EPS plugs (one is required). The block itself takes in water directly on top of the CPU, sending it around the block in a clockwise motion to the outlet on top. We didn’t measure flow rates, but it doesn’t look to be restrictive. 

To the right of the monoblock are four single-side locking DIMM slots capable of supporting up to 128GB of RAM and speeds up to 4700+(OC). I’m surprised to see the board without reinforcement on the DRAM slots, but it is consistent styling. Just above the DRAM slots are the first two (of eight) fan headers, the CPU fan connector and CPU/WP connector, the latter able to output 3A/36W.

Just to the right of the DIMM slots in the upper-right corner is the first two (of four) RGB headers, a three-pin addressable and 4-pin RGB. Also located in this area are the power and reset buttons as well as the safe boot and retry buttons, which are helpful when overclocking and trying to dial in your settings. Sliding further down the right edge are the 24-pin ATX for motherboard power and two more 4-pin fan headers (2A/24W capable). Just below these is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 headers.

Power delivery on the Aqua is, as expected, overbuilt. The 16-phase VRM uses a 12-phase (X+Y+Z=12) Intersil ISL69296 controller that manages the Vcore phases. Power is sent to ISL6617A phase doublers, then on to fourteen 90A ISL99390 MOSFETs. This configuration allows for a whopping 1260A just for the CPU. Overclocking using ambient or even extreme cooling methods will not be a problem with this setup. We didn’t have any issues with our Core i9-10900K running at 5.2 GHz with all cores and threads.

The bottom half of the board is mostly covered in the silver aluminum shrouds, which double as heatsinks for the three M.2 sockets surrounding the PCIe slots. On the far left, mostly hidden outside of the audio caps (yellow Nichicon, red WIMA), is the Realtek ALC1220 premium codec. Also hidden is an ESS9218 Sabre DAC that supports higher-impedance headphones, up to 600 Ohms. The premium codec and audio bits should be satisfactory for most users.

In the middle are several PCIe slots and between them, the M.2 sockets. Starting with the PCIe slots, there are a total of three full-length slots, all of which are reinforced. The top two slots are fed from the CPU, while the bottom is sourced from the chipset. The slots breakdown to x16/x0/x4, x8/x8/x4 and support AMD QuadFireX, 3/2-Way CrossFireX, and Nvidia SLI (including Quadro cards). In addition to the full-length slots are two x1 slots that are also fed from the chipset. Be aware that if you use a two-slot or larger graphics card, one or both of these slots are covered and cannot be used.

The ASRock Z490 Aqua has three M.2 sockets, all of which have heatsinks for keeping warm-running NVMe M.2 modules cool. The top two slots support up to 80mm devices with the top (M2_1) supporting PCIe devices only while M2_2 (middle socket) supports both SATA and PCIe. The bottom slot supports up to 110mm drives and SATA/PCIe devices.

There will be a fair amount of lane sharing going on with this motherboard. The M2_1 shares lanes with SATA ports 0/1. If either is in use, the other will be disabled. M2_2 and SATA ports 4/5 also share lanes. If either is in use the other will also be disabled. M2_2 shares lanes with PCIe 5 and SATA 3. If either of those is in use, the others will be disabled. That said, there’s enough storage options here for most builders. Even with all three M.2 sockets populated, you will still have three functional SATA ports available. 

On the far right, we see that unique ‘notch’ with the eight horizontal-facing SATA ports. Six of these SATA ports are sourced from the chipset and support RAID0, 1, 5 and 10, while the other two exist thanks to an ASMedia ASM1061 controller. With all of the lane sharing going on due to the three M.2 sockets, the third-party ports are a welcome sight, unaffected by any M.2 devices.

Across the bottom edge of the board are several headers covering a variety of functions. Below is a list in order from left to right. 

• Front panel audio
• UART header 
• 3-pin aRGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• (2) System fan headers
• Dr. Debug LED
• System Panel headers

The rear IO area consists of 10 total USB ports, including the Thunderbolt 3 Type-C ports. The Thunderbolt ports run at 40 Gb/s in Thunderbolt mode or 10 Gb/s for USB 3.2. In addition to those, the Aqua includes another USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port for a total of three Type-C ports -- the most we’ve seen in quite a while. As far as Type-A ports, the Aqua includes three USB 3.2 Gen 2 and four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports. You likely won’t run out of USB ports on this motherboard.

For video, the board includes an HDMI port as well as two Mini DisplayPort inputs for use with the Thunderbolt ports. On the left side is the clear CMOS and BIOS FlashBack button, along with the Wi-Fi antenna connections. We also see a standard 5-plug analog and SPDIF outputs for audio (curiously located in the middle of the rear IO) and two Ethernet ports for the Realtek 2.5 GbE and Aquantia 10 GbE.

Software

On the software side, ASRock includes programs for a variety of applications including RGB lighting control, overclocking and an App Shop designed to download and update your applications and drivers. ASRock doesn’t have a single program to house all of these applications, so you will have to download them separately. Below we’ve captured several screenshots of the App Shop, Polychrome Sync, A-Tune, and the Nahimic 3 audio program.

Firmware

To give you a sense of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing a majority of the BIOS screens.

ASRock’s BIOS is one of the more user-friendly and good-looking UEFIs out of the major brands. Using a black background with white writing and sky-blue highlights, it’s easy to read. The Taichi’s gear/clockwork theme also finds its way in here.

At first boot, you’re greeted by Easy Mode, a more information-based page than tweaking, though you can adjust some things (XMP profiles, canned fan settings, etc). Going into the Advanced Mode, we see several headings across the top. The BIOS is deep and includes a lot of functionality, with the most frequently used items easily accessible and not buried within sub-menus.

Test System and Comparison Products 

Our test system uses Windows 10 64-bit OS (1909) with all threat mitigations applied. The motherboard BIOS used is the latest non-beta available to the public, unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows: 

For this review, we’ll be directly comparing the ASRock Z490 Aqua ($1,105.99) to the other flagship Z490 boards we’ve tested, Asus’ ROG Maximus XII Extreme ($849.99), the MSI MEG Z490 Godlike ($749.99), and Gigabyte’s Z490 Aorus Extreme ($799.99). 

Benchmark Settings

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All standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including stock Thermal Velocity Boost), with all power-saving features enabled. Optimized defaults are set in the BIOS and the memory is set using the XMP profiles. For this baseline testing, Windows is set to High Performance, except for during power testing, where we switch to Balanced so the PC idles properly.

**The red bar represents the board we are reviewing, not the fastest/slowest result for a given chart.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics are a great tool to figure out if a board is running out of spec, as identical settings should produce extremely similar performance results. Advanced memory timings are the one place where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The flagship ASRock Z490 Aqua performed well in most tests, though it was one of the worst in PCMark10 application startup as well as Cinebench and POV-Ray single thread. Outside of those, the Aqua performed where expected in the synthetic benchmarks.

Timed Applications 

The timed applications show slightly different results. In the LAME testing, the 12.7s time ties for the slowest result, while both Handbrake tests were right around the other results.

3D Games and 3DMark 

We’ve recently updated our game tests to more The Division 2 and Forza Horizon 4. The games are run at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset. As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less of an impact on most games. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for.

Our gaming and 3DMark results showed similar performance to all of the other Z490 motherboards we’ve tested. There are no concerns from the results here.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures 

If this is the front time you’ve seen power use for Core i9-10900K, it may be a bit shocking. With loads reaching almost 200W at stock speeds (because most boards allow for a higher draw than intel’s spec), many users will be hard-pressed to keep these cool and get the most out of the chip. For power testing, we used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled using peak power consumption value within the first minute. The wattage reading is taken from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire ecosystem (minus the monitor). The only variable that changes in these reviews is the motherboard; all other parts are the same (except for the Aqua and its custom cooling requirement).

The ASRock Z490 Aqua used the most power at idle, 69W at the wall, compared to all the other Z490 boards we’ve tested so far. Part of the reason is due to the pump we’re using, along with the fans that use more power than those found on the Corsair H150i Pro we normally use. Load wattage was also on the higher side, peaking at 273W during our test. This averages out to 171W, putting it on the higher side of power use as configured, but you likely won’t notice on your power bill.

As expected, the VRMs on this board ran cool at stock speeds, never even reaching 40 degrees Celsius on our sensor (they peaked around 43 degrees Celsius according to HWMonitor using the hottest value). The Asus and Aorus flagship boards (ROG Maximus Extreme and Aorus Extreme) were both well over 40 degrees, approaching 50 degrees. Our cooling loop for the Aqua consists of a single EKWB 3x120mm Coolstream SE radiator, along with a couple of mid-range fans set on high. 

Overclocking the CPU to 5.2 GHz @ 1.35V with all cores and threads showed a slight increase in temperatures, up to about 45 degrees Celsius, nearly 10C less than the other boards. Where our Corsair H150i Pro AIO could barely keep up with just the CPU, the custom loop managed to keep things under control with both the VRM and CPU. I have to admit going into this test I was unsure how it would work out. With a longer test, perhaps temperatures would rise a couple of degrees, but this board will still run cooler than the air-cooled motherboards. The big question is if that is worth the $1,100-plus board price.

Overclocking

As we’ve seen with all previous Z490 reviews, the Aqua was able to run our Core i9-10900K CPU at 5.2 GHz and 1.35V, while also keeping the CPU around 90 degrees Celsius. The 90A MOSFETs will handle anything you can throw at them in both ambient and sub-ambient cooling situations. Water cooling the VRMs allowed them to run over 10 degrees Celsius cooler than the other boards, so we did see tangible results for the money. We had to raise LLC a bit to compensate for vdroop, but this is typical of most boards on this platform.

On the memory side of things, we installed our DDR4 4000 kit, set XMP, and away we went. Like many other motherboards, the Aqua also set VccSA and VccIO much higher than needed, around 1.35V and 1.25V respectively. Motherboards do this to favor stability, but many set them way too high. We ended up at 1.2V for VccSA and 1.1V for VccIO for stability, which is a lot lower and ran a bit cooler.

Final Analysis

The ASRock Z490 Aqua performed well in our testing suite, trading punches with all of the other Z490 boards we’ve tested. Where the Aqua excelled is its ability to keep the VRMs and CPU cool under its massive monoblock. To that end, the overbuilt 16-phase VRM was at least 10 degrees Celsius cooler than the air-cooled counterparts. The big question is if the integrated block is worth the $1105.99 price tag. 

The Z490 Aqua includes other features found on flagship-class motherboards, including the large OLED screen, premium audio codec/DAC, Aquantia 10 GbE, Wi-Fi 6 AX201, and the incredibly robust power delivery. That, said for the price tag, I would like to see onboard water temperature and flow sensors like all of the other flagship Z490 boards reviewed previously. For a motherboard that has no other option but to use watercooling, it feels like a glaring omission. For those planning on buying this motherboard and using hard tubing, the included fittings are welcomed and will save you some money. If you plan on soft tubing, you’ll still have to buy the fittings and the included fittings will just look pretty in the box.

As for competition, the Aqua’s direct competitor is the Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Extreme Waterforce that also includes the monoblock cooling, but it costs even more at $1299.99. Hopefully we’ll be able to review this board down the road. Outside of that, the Asus ROG Maximus Formula ($499.99) offers a hybrid cooling option that will cool the VRMs with air or water (not the CPU, note) and with that, a much lower price. You can also look at companies like EKWB who make monoblocks for a few motherboards but, typically, this is limited to just a few boards and doesn’t look nearly as good as those designed from the vendor.

In the end, ASRock’s Z490 Aqua is a good-looking board with all of its aluminum heatsinks, shrouds, and monoblocks covering the majority of the PCB. The RGB LEDs shine brightly through the block and can brighten up a room. Hardware-wise, it has one of the most capable VRMs, and outside of missing some water cooling headers, is very handsomely appointed. If you want to build a system based on a motherboard that has an integrated water block that cools both the CPU and VRMs, this is the least-expensive option of the two Z490 models, and is a viable option to build a high-end custom water-cooled system.

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It seems like an unusual time to release a B450 motherboard, but Biostar has done just that and launched the B450NH for AMD's chips. The motherboard accommodates Ryzen processors from Summit Ridge to Matisse and Ryzen APUs from Bristol Ridge through Picasso.

The B450NH, which is based on the B450 chipset, comes in a mini-ITX form factor with two DDR4 memory slots. The motherboard supports memory speeds up to DDR4-4000 and capacities up to 64GB. Surprisingly, the B450NH plays nice with both non-ECC and ECC memory modules.

Biostar equips the B450NH with four SATA III connectors that support RAID 0, 1 and 10 arrays. However, you only receive one M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 slot for ultra-fast SSDs up to a maximum length of 80mm. There is a small catch though. Older APUs, such as Bristol Ridge and Raven Ridge processors only support SATA-based M.2 drives.

Biostar's B450NH incorporates two Realtek products. The RTL8111H Ethernet controller provides a single Gigabit Ethernet port for Internet connectivity. The ALC887 audio codec, on the other hand, handles the audio responsibilities. The motherboard comes with three 3.5mm audio jacks for your audio devices.

The motherboard has a HDMI port and D-Sub port, but you'll need to pair it with a Ryzen APU to make use of them since Ryzen processors lack integrated graphics. The rear panel also houses a PS/2 combo port, four USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports and two USB 2.0 ports. For added connectivity, Biostar has placed a USB 2.0 header and USB 3.2 Gen 1 header on the B450NH with each header capable of delivering up to two corresponding ports.

Biostar didn't reveal the pricing or availability for the B450NH.

ASRock’s mid-range Z490 Taichi is an interesting beast. The Taichi brand has a track record of using capable, high-quality VRMs, a well-balanced feature set, premium appearance and a price point that doesn’t break your build budget. The Z490 Taichi version continues that trend with a 14-phase VRM (12 for Vcore), USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 rear Type-C, Intel Wi-Fi 6, premium Realtek Audio and a moderate $369.99 price. While that price is higher than Z390 version, the increase ($90) is proportional to most other models when stepping up from Z390 to Z490 boards.

ASRock brought a slew of motherboards to its Z490 lineup (13 according to the company’s website) from the flagship Z490 Aqua (review upcoming), the Z490 PG Velocita we reviewed already, to the Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 which we’ll review soon. Classic boards such as the budget-oriented Z490 Extreme 4 ($184.99) also make an appearance on Z490.

Focusing on our Z490 Taichi, we found performance to be spot on with the other Z490 boards we’ve tested. In Handbrake testing, the Taichi did well matching the quickest times, while our MS Office testing showed it towards the bottom third of results. Gaming results were also close to the other boards, with the Taichi scoring well in the 3DMark and games,  matching other boards. Overall, performance is right where we’d expect it to be.

In addition to some of the premium features mentioned above, the Z490 Taichi includes eight SATA ports (most boards have six), three M.2 sockets (other boards typically have two), Realtek ALC1220 audio with DACs and audio caps, Realtek 2.5 GbE and even fans on the VRM heatsinks. In other words, this board is appointed well. 

Specifications

Features

The Z490 Taichi’s accessory stack doesn’t include a lot, but there’s enough to get you started. Thankfully, the company includes a screwdriver for its curious use of Torx screws on the chipset/PCIe heatsink. Here’s a list of what ships in the box along with the board. 

• Quick Installation Guide, Support CD
• (4) SATA Data Cables
• ASRock SLI_HB_Bridge_2S Card
• ASRock WiFi 2.4/5 GHz Antenna
• ASRock Screwdriver
• (3) Screws for M.2 Sockets
• (2) Standoffs for M.2 Sockets

At first glance at the Z490 Taichi, we see ASRock has updated the appearance, carrying over the gear/clockwork style designs, mixed with multiple RGB zones. The black and copper design aesthetic on the chipset and stenciled design on the PCIe area is one of the classiest looks we’ve seen out of ASRock (aside from perhaps the Z490 Aqua).

The RGB LEDs are located in three areas - the chipset heatsink, left VRM bank heatsink and underneath the right edge of the board. Between the high-end design and well-implemented RGB lighting, ASRock has done a great job mixing in the board’s identity while still producing a design that should work with most build themes.

Zooming in to the top half of the board, we see large shrouds and heatsinks covering the VRM area, along with four DIMM slots. The shroud on the left is made of metal with a matte finish, and it extends out over the left VRM heatsink. The VRM heatsink(s) also house three small fans to help keep things cool. This is especially true when using an AIO or custom water cooling where airflow around the socket tends to be lacking compared to an air cooler. These fans were quiet at default and not heard over our Corsair H150i Pro AIO -- a much different experience than we had a couple of months back with the Z490 PG Velocita. Thankfully a BIOS update has fixed that board since our review. 

Feeding power to the VRMs are two 8-pin EPS connectors sandwiched between the VRM heatsinks -- only one 8-pin is required. To the right of the top VRM bank, between the RAM slots are two (of 8 total) 4-pin fan headers.

To the right of the socket area are four DIMM slots supporting up to 128GB of DDR4 RAM, with supported speeds up to DDR4 4666+(OC). Surprisingly, the memory slots are not reinforced, but this really doesn’t matter much in the overall scheme of things. On the far right edge, we find a 3-pin addressable RGB header (two total), the 24-pin ATX connector, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 connectors (one oriented vertically and one horizontally) a 4-pin RGB LED header (one of two), and the front panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header.

ASRock utilizes a 15-phase VRM in a 12+2+1 (12 for the Vcore) configuration, powered by an Intersil ISL69289 (eight channel) controller. The CPU phases are 50A Vishay Sic654 MOSFETs using Intersil ISL6617 phase doublers. While this isn’t the most robust power delivery we’ve seen on Z490 motherboards, it is more than the Z490 Velocita (10-phase @50A) and plenty for ambient overclocking. 

Sliding down to the bottom half of the board, most of it is covered by shrouds and heatsinks, as we’ve mostly come to expect on this class of board. On the far left side is the audio section and where the Realtek ALC1220 chip is hidden. The premium audio codec pairs with an ESS SABRE9218 DAC for front panel audio. Filtering is handled by Nichicon capacitors and high-end WIMA audio caps. In short, the majority of users should find this audio implementation satisfactory.

The PCIe area includes three full-length slots and two x1 connectors. The three full-length slots are reinforced to prevent shearing from heavier video cards. The top two PCIe slots are fed from the CPU and break down to a x16/x0 or x8/x8 configuration. The bottom full-length slot is fed from the chipset and runs in x4 mode (it also supports NVMe SSDs as boot drrives). The two x1 slots are fed from the chipset. This configuration supports AMD Quad CrossfireX, 2/3-Way CrossfireX and NVIDIA 2-Way SLI. 

In between the PCIe slots are three M.2 sockets. The top two sockets, M2_1 and M2_2, support up to 80mm modules while the bottom socket, M2_3, supports up to 110mm devices. M2_1 supports PCIe modules only while M2_2 and M2_3 support both PCIe- and SATA-based devices. With three modules, there is quite a bit of lane sharing going on. Instead of trying to write it out, the picture below will explain it more concisely than I ever could. The big difference here we haven’t run across before is that the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port will downgrade bandwidth in specific situations.

On the right side past the chipset area is where the eight SATA ports live. Six of these are native to the chipset, while the other two (the bottom two ports) use an ASMedia ASM1061 chip. RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10 are supported on the main ports. Below the slots are two more fan headers. Note, the CPU fan supports up to 1A(12W), the Chassis/water pump fan headers (CHA_FAN1/WP, CHA_FAN3/WP, CHA_FAN4/WP, CHA_FAN4/WP, CHA_FAN6/W can handle 2A(24W) while the CPU_FAN2/WP supports 3A(36W). 

Running along the bottom edge of the motherboard is a crowded strip of buttons and headers. Below is a complete list starting from left to right.

• Front panel audio
• Thunderbolt 3 header
• RGB header
• Addressable RGB header
• (2) System Fan headers
• Clear CMOS jumper
• TPM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Dr. Debug LED
• Power/Reset and Reset CMOS buttons
• System Panel header

The rear IO on the Taichi is fairly busy with connectivity. What first jumps out to me is the location of the audio stack. The 5-jack plus SPDIF unit is typically found on the right side of the rear IO, however, on the Taichi it’s in the middle. I don’t recall seeing that configuration before.

That out of the way, there are eight total USB ports, including a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port, two 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, and five USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports. Although there are “only” eight ports here, that should be enough for most users. If you’re using a CPU with an integrated GPU, your signal will come from either a DisplayPort or HDMI port. Outside of the two Ethernet ports is a BIOS flashback button and a legacy PS/2 port for that keyboard or mouse that just won’t die.

Software

On the software side, ASRock includes programs for a variety of applications including RGB lighting control, overclocking and an App Shop designed to download and update your applications and drivers. ASRock doesn’t have a single program to house all of these applications, so you will have to download them separately. Below we’ve captured several screenshots of the App Shop, Polychrome Sync, A-Tune, and the Nahimic 3 audio program. 

App Shop

Polychrome Sync

Nahimic 3

A-Tune

Firmware 

To give you a sense of the Firmware, we’ve gathered screenshots showing a majority of the BIOS screens.

ASRock’s BIOS is one of the more user-friendly and good looking UEFIs out of the major brands. Using a black background with white writing and sky-blue highlights, it’s easy to read due to the stark black and white characters. The Taichi’s gear/clockwork theme also finds its way in here. for a unique look matching the board.

At first boot, we’re greeted by the Easy Mode, a more information-based page than tweaking, though you can adjust some things (XMP profiles, canned fan settings, etc). Going into the Advanced Mode, we see several headings across the top. The BIOS is deep and includes a lot of functionality, with the most frequently used items easily accessible.

Test System and Comparison Products 

Our test system uses Windows 10 64-bit OS (1909) with all threat mitigations applied. The motherboard BIOS used is the latest non-beta available to the public, unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows: 

For this review, we’ll be directly comparing the ASRock Z490 Taichi ($369.99) to the Gigabyte’s Z490 Aorus Master ($389.99), MSI MEG Z490 Ace ($399.99) and the Asus ROG Maximus XII Hero ($399.99). The charts now include all Z490 based motherboards we’ve reviewed for comparison. 

Benchmark Settings