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Firmware, Software and Test System

Firmware

Asus’s BIOS for Z590 looks the same as found on previous-generation Z490-based motherboards. Asus uses a red background with white writing on these ROG boards -- a theme we’re all familiar with. Asus starts off in “EZ” mode where it presents some high-level information along with a couple of adjustable options such as enabling XMP and Boot priority. Advanced Mode has a slew of BIOS options, many of which most users will not touch. Asus organized the BIOS well and many of the common functions are easily accessible without drilling deep into the pages. Overall, Asus offers a user-friendly BIOS with enough options to keep the most-advanced user busy.

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Asus ROG Maximus XIII Hero — (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

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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:

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CPU	Intel i9-11900K
Memory	GSkill Trident Z Neo 2x8GB DDR4 3600 (F4-3600C16Q-32GTZN)
Row 2 - Cell 0	GSkill Trident Z Royale 2x8GB DDR4 4000 (F4-4000C18Q-32GTRS)
GPU	Asus TUF Gaming RTX 3070
CPU Cooler	Corsair H150i
PSU	Corsair AX1200i
Software	Windows 10 64-bit 20H2
Graphics Driver	NVIDIA Driver 461.40
Sound	Integrated HD audio
Network	Integrated Networking (GbE or 2.5 GbE)

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Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings	Row 0 - Cell 1
PCMark 10	Version 2.1.2508 64
Row 2 - Cell 0	Essentials, Productivity, Digital Content Creation, MS Office
3DMark	Version 2.17.7137 64
Row 4 - Cell 0	Firestrike Extreme and Time Spy Default Presets
Cinebench R20	Version RBBENCHMARK271150
Row 6 - Cell 0	Open GL Benchmark - Single and Multi-threaded
Application Tests and Settings	Row 7 - Cell 1
LAME MP3	Version SSE2_2019
Row 9 - Cell 0	Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160Kb/s)
HandBrake CLI	Version: 1.2.2
Row 11 - Cell 0	Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4K mkv to x264 (light AVX) and x265 (heavy AVX)
Corona 1.4	Version 1.4
Row 13 - Cell 0	Custom benchmark
7-Zip	Version 19.00
Row 15 - Cell 0	Integrated benchmark
Game Tests and Settings	Row 16 - Cell 1
F1 2020	Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080, TAA, 16xAF (Australia, Clear, Dry)
Far Cry: New Dawn	Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080