Along with the 13th generation Intel Core K series processors, the Z790 chipset can be said to be an improved version of the Z690 chipset. ASUS launched the ROG Maximus Z790 Hero motherboard simultaneously for the top market. Except for the specification difference of the chipset itself, the maximum The modification is to finally add the back plate armor, let’s take a look at its details and performance!
Appearance and Design
The configuration of ROG Maximus Z790 Hero is very similar to the previous generation Maximus Z690 Hero, including 20+1 phase power stage, large-size heat sink, Polymo light display, up to 3 sets of M.2 slots on the board, and ROG Hyper with PCIe 5.0 The M.2 expansion card, and the most talked-about ASUS exclusive Q-Release button, can release the card tenon used to fix the graphics card with a single press.
Although there are not many changes in the appearance, the visual axis is still slightly adjusted. The original dot matrix pattern is changed to elegant twill. The Polymo light display also creates a new style through twill of different thicknesses. The left side of the chipset heat sink is more upward. Mirror veneer adds a noble atmosphere.
Thanks to the Z790 chip, the original 4 PCIe 3.0 lanes of the Z690 are upgraded to PCIe 4.0, so the 3 sets of M.2 slots built in the board are all PCIe 4.0 x4 bandwidth, and the signal of the slot close to the CPU goes to the CPU Channel, the signal close to the PCH chip goes through the PCH channel.
The ROG Hyper M.2 expansion card is still limited by the PCIe 5.0 signal of the 13th generation Intel Core processor and only provides a single x16 or 2 sets of x8, so when the expansion card is installed in the PCIe 5.0 x8 slot on the motherboard, it can only The left slot on the expansion card provides 1 set of PCIe 5.0 x4 signals, and the right slot is invalid. If it is installed in the PCIe 4.0 x8 slot closest to the bottom edge of the motherboard, two sets of PCIe 4.0 x4 signals can be split, and both slots can function normally.
Speaking of the biggest improvement compared to the Maximus Z690 Hero, the Maximus Z790 Hero has added a metal reinforced back plate armor on the back of the motherboard, which not only enhances the heat dissipation on the back of the VRM power supply module, but also improves the structural strength of the motherboard body , finally has the demeanor of a top motherboard.
AI Overclocking
AI overclocking is a feature that has been used on ASUS ROG motherboards for a long time. It can quickly sense the CPU constitution and heatsink strength, and bring in appropriate overclocking clock and voltage values, allowing users to easily complete overclocking.
In the case of an Intel Core i9-13900K processor paired with a ROG Ryuo III 360 all-in-one water-cooled radiator, since the motherboard has unlocked various power consumption restrictions by default, the multi-core full-load clock rate after AI overclocking has not changed, but the single The core operation clock has been slightly increased, and the time test results also show the same.
Summarize
The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero motherboard still exhibits superb design standards in terms of performance, expandability, DIY convenience, and appearance design. This time, it has added the much-anticipated metal-reinforced backplane armor, making it a very versatile top-level motherboard.
Although the rise in prices is irresistible, but for a motherboard priced at NT$ 19,990, the lack of a 10 GbE wired network is still a bit embarrassing.
Considering the price, ROG Maximus Z790 Hero is more suitable for matching with the highest specification Intel Core i9-13900K/KS processor, in order to demonstrate its top strength.
