Gigabyte Intel Z490

And how could it be otherwise, the transport came from Gigabyte with its Aorus boards for the new Intel Z490 chipset.

Like the Asus motherboards we saw here recently, the Aorus motherboards inherit a host of features from the Z390-based generation.

And despite the fact that Intel is going downhill, it is very interesting that most motherboard manufacturers continue to release many models compared to what we see on the AM4 front.

But they are probably preparing for those cooler processors that will appear in the next wave. After Intel manages to get rid of those thousand advantages behind 14nm.

Gigabyte motherboards are extremely interesting. So are the Asus. But they lack extremely important features like PCIe 4.0 support. But since processors don’t have those lanes, that’s all, it stagnates at 3.0.

Okay, Gigabyte specifies on their boxes that they are both M.2 PCIe 4.0 slots and video card. But that means Gigabyte has put components and routes in place that would allow it to run the specs of the 4.0 standard. But the processors Intel is rolling out come with 3.0. That’s so you don’t expect to be able to launch a Corsair MP600 and run at full speed.

Maybe when they launch the next generation of processors, you will see something like this. However, note that many slots are connected to the chipset, not directly to the processor. It is possible that more than one 4.0 mode slot cannot be inserted into each motherboard. Who knows

However, Gigabyte and the rest of the manufacturers guessed (I doubt there will be a future processor engineering sample with PCIe 4.0), using the experience gained from building motherboards with AMD that even have PCIe 4.0.

Obviously, the socket is changed. It is now the LGA1200 and the old processors do not fit in this socket. But at least the coldest holes were still the same.

With that said, let’s take a look at the tabs.

Aorus Extreme is a kind of Gigabyte pyramid. It’s one of those motherboards from the top that you can dream of wet, but that you can only pay with sacrifices.

I played with his older sister who was based on the Z390 and was impressed by its build and package. And you can see that clip here.

This time they didn’t include that RGB / Fan controller in the package. But the construction is still solid.

Also, the size of the front radiator has increased and thus there are hardly any open spaces on the PCB where there was a lot of Z390 Aorus Extreme.

They still had the side connectors and I think this is an extremely good idea. In addition to its grouping. For example, the fan connectors are located next to the 24-pin power supply.

Extreme Waterforce is somehow one step higher than the Extreme version. Not only does it come with a monoblock to cool the entire motherboard with liquid, but it also includes that extremely smart and flexible RGB / Fan controller in the package.

Unlike the simple Extreme model, Extreme Waterforce comes “bare” and must mount the monoblock after installing the processor in the socket.

Basically all 3 SSDs will end up being liquid cooled and that’s super cool considering the size of the PCIe 4.0 SSD radiators. Oh Wait. Intel does not have PCIe 4.0. I mean, SSDs don’t get that hot. Yes. Sad as such a cool feature is wasted for PCIe 3.0 SSDs.

Otherwise, the package is absolutely identical to that of the Simple Extreme version.

And see how easily we descend on planet Earth and sit next to a tangible product and whose price, although small, is not as shocking as the previous two versions.

Master is also equipped with 3 M.2 slots, like most high-end Z490 series boards.

For reasons unknown to me, Master is very much like Maximus XII Formula or Hero. The same on the diagonal. I bet the Asus Riujin refrigerator visually adapts to the razors on this motherboard.

Pro AX is a little bit simpler than Master, but that means its purchase price is easier to digest. As in the case of the previous boards, we are dealing with 3 slots for SSD. Only two of these can be covered by the chipset radiator, and the top one has no radiator.

In fact, the top slot is directly connected to the processor rails, and the bottom two are connected to the south bridge.

And slowly we come to the most interesting board in the Aorus portfolio. Because it’s interesting? Because it allows you to build small and strong PCs. The cooling of the VRM is very good for its size.

The coolest part of the cooling system is that it takes heat from the SSD and the chipset through a heat pipe.

The second M.2 slot is located on the back of the motherboard and doesn’t really benefit from any heat treatment. There you will have to do it yourself because Gigabyte doesn’t include anything to cool you down.

But since you have to put a secondary SSD there, you could also use one that doesn’t need serious cooling.