Z490 AORUS Master

amazon Z490 AORUS Master reviews

Z490 AORUS Master – 2019 was not a successful year for Intel when AMD has launched powerful AMD Ryzen 3000 Series CPU models in tests like in the past but also in many practical tasks and even the “game arena,” which is the “exclusive” land of the “blue team.” Occupying almost the entire high-end processor segment and becoming best-selling CPU models on retail channels like Amazon prompted the “green giant” to launch its 10th generation of Core processors.

Accompanied by the Z490 chipset system and a completely new LGA 1200 socket, escaping the “refresh” shadow of a series of previous CPU generations using the LGA 1151 socket, used continuously for many years, which has been used continuously for many years. It is no longer enough for Intel to “sprout” for larger, more core, “powerful” processors to achieve a more impressive level of power, enough to compete with rivals from the “red team.”

1. Z490 AORUS MASTER – “MASTER” STYLE!

Gigabyte’s product lines’ current “ranking,” the MASTER line of high-end motherboards, is only behind the top-end XTREME series models. Professional users often choose it because few high-end technologies are designed that are redundant for daily use needs.

To “position” for the MASTER product line, Gigabyte always considers this simple. It is still a practical product with its latest products, so coming to the Z490 AORUS Master, it does not use too much decoration. As on the XTREME product line, the company has chosen a much simpler style.

This style can be seen right from the box when the company only leaves the AORUS eagle logo in silver along with the product name. However, it is a bit different from the other two MASTER series released by Gigabyte. The first is the GIGABYTE AORUS X570 MASTER, the TRX40 AORUS MASTER when coated with purple light rays in addition to the traditional orange light.

The back of the box shows some key technologies such as 14-phase VRM circuitry, 2.5 Gigabit LAN, wi-fi 6, a very confusing detail for users that is “PCI Express 4.0 Hardware Design” by reusing the designs and components that the company used to “build” the X570 and TRX40 motherboard models.

There have been quite a few rumors that Intel’s new Z490 chipset will support the PCI Express 4.0 standard to compete with AMD’s X570 chipset, even if it doesn’t receive direct support from the CPUs 10 by Intel. This move is said to be a step that allows Intel to “open” support for PCI Express 4.0 when upgrading to a newer CPU line later.

However, our new motherboard model still only owns PCI Express 3.0 slots. The company has equipped the Z490 AORUS Master with only three PCIe slots with 16x 8x and 4x configurations for all users’ needs, but without any 1x PCIe slot for small accessories like the two MASTER versions from the “red team.”

Although it is still classified in the “rank” of the MASTER product line, the version with the Z490 chipset is designed with a large plate-shaped heatsink extending from the chipset to cover the slots between the devices PCIe slot. This large heatsink creates a “monolithic,” seamless, and solid feeling in the user’s eyes.

Besides, this design also provides better heat dissipation than the removable bar design due to the large contact area with the air. Still, this design is very unfriendly integrated thermal such as the Western Digital Black SN750 or the “genuine” hard drive model AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD manufactured by Gigabyte.

As a high-end product model, it is easy to see that Gigabyte has also “coated” the PCIe slots and RAM ports to enhance the “endurance” of these slots. A more decorative move is as protective as a few years ago because the PCB models on its recent motherboards have been built with new technology standards. They are more durable and difficult to bend under the weight of the card’s graphics.

The power supply circuitry was redesigned by Gigabyte. It became “massive” compared to other motherboard models for Intel processors so far with 14 power phases, two less than 2 phases compared to other motherboard models. Designed on the X570 but can withstand a maximum current load of up to 90A, ensuring the “supply” for Intel’s 10th generation high-end CPUs, especially in the context of “rumor” Intel CPU models. Core i9 10900F possesses ten cores and 20 processing threads capable of consuming up to 224W of power and requiring large AIO water cooling solutions when operating at full capacity for a long time.

The company has also redesigned the heatsink for the power supply to be “more aggressive” than the die-cast aluminum heatsink used on the Z390 version to withstand the amount of heat during full-capacity operation.

Overall, the Z490 AORUS Master shows a larger, stronger, and more stable style than the previous Z390 generation. That is necessary when Intel is also entering the “multiplier” race with the “red team” while still not achieving certain technical breakthroughs to step into the 10nm manufacturing process as expected. In this respect, this high-end version of Gigabyte’s Z490 will provide a solid foundation for fans of the “blue team” in building a high-end PC system.

2. Z490 AORUS MASTER – MULTIPLE “PLAYING DISH.”

Despite possessing a simple design, the Z490 AORUS Master is still equipped with many “games” only for high-end motherboard models, even with many features that have never appeared on the market in previous Z390 motherboard versions.

It can be mentioned simply that wi-fi 6 connection and 2.5GbE LAN provide the fastest and most stable network speeds available today, meeting the needs of fast and stable connection for fast-paced gamers.

Or error clock, allowing users to monitor system problems, extremely convenient for modders who like to mess around or testers who want to test new products and components. This detail appeared on the previous Z390 Ultra version and was warmly received by the community of “players.”

This time, the new detail appearing on the Z490 AORUS Master is the ability to flash the BIOS quickly or switch the BIOS with a small switch, something that is not common when Intel rarely has to update the BIOS the motherboard versions. In the past, this detail also shows that perhaps in the future, Intel will continuously improve the BIOS versions to promote the power of the new 10th generation multi-core CPUs.

Other “playful” features are still available on this motherboard model, such as RGB Fusion 2.0 to control the RGB color lights of the whole system, Smart fan five feature to control the fan to suit operating conditions. Components to balance between cooling performance and system noise.

What is different from the previous generation of Z390 AORUS Ultra motherboards is that the company has “cooperated” with ESSTech to integrate the high-end ESS Saber audio processor chip to improve the integrated sound system on the board. Because of that, the company has omitted the USB DAC-Up feature, which is quite useful for users when using small discrete DACs / Amps to use power and receive data directly from the USB port.

OVERVIEW

Overall, with this launch, the Z490 AORUS Master motherboard product line has had a spectacular “makeover” compared to previous motherboard models for Intel’s CPUs with a larger design, focusing more on power management to be able to “carry” heavy CPUs.

That is a significant change, opening the race for Intel’s multiplier with rival “red team” in the context that the company faces stiff competition in the high-end processor market.

where can you get a Z490 AORUS Master online

GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS Master (Intel LGA1200/Z490/ATX/Intel 2.5G LAN/3xM.2 Thermal Guard/SATA 6Gb/s/USB 3.2 Gen 2/Intel Wi-Fi 6/ESS Sabre DAC/Fins Array II/Gaming Motherboard): Buy it now

GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS Master (Intel LGA1200/Z490/ATX/Intel 2.5G LAN/3xM.2 Thermal Guard/SATA 6Gb/s/USB 3.2 Gen 2/Intel Wi-Fi 6/ESS Sabre DAC/Fins Array II/Gaming Motherboard) (Renewed): Buy it now