Supermicro C9Z490-PGW Review: Server DNA Meets Gaming

Software

On the software front, Supermicro uses its SuperOBooster application, an all-in-one monitoring and adjustment tool designed for its motherboards. The software is easy to read and maneuver around and controls the CPU and memory, fans, voltage, and updating the BIOS. SuperOBooster does a good job of presenting system information as well as being simple to use.

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Firmware

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

The BIOS on these Supermicro boards do the job and have improved since they first came out. however, they aren’t as refined as the others. It feels like a server BIOS in that the look is fairly simple. In EZ Mode, you’re able to get an idea of where the system stands and change a couple of options. Using the Advanced mode, you’ll see headers across the top (Main, Overclocking, Advanced, H/W Monitor, Boot, Save & Exit and BIOS Update) with options listed below.

Although the BIOS works just fine, POST takes a lot longer than most consumer-facing motherboards. The way your selection is highlighted works differently so it takes a bit of getting used to. In essence, you have two things highlighted at once and have to hit enter to select the field to get it to move. Typically, the highlight follows the cursor without making a selection.

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Test System

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:

Benchmark Settings

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