Intel Z490 Motherboard Review Collection
The Z490 Taichi arrives in a very large box for an ATX board, similar in size to their sizable TRX40 Taichi packaging. Could it be that this board has similarly oversized – and actively cooled – VRM heatsinks? (Yes. The answer is yes.)
Read more @ PC Perspective
In this review, we look at the MSI MEG Z490 Godlike. Priced at $749 MSI delivers where most premium Z490 motherboard that has been loaded with features and then some. Animated OLED screen, 10 Gbit LAN, 2.5 Gbit Lan, AX WIFI, and looks that make this board seem like James Bond himself.
Read more @ Guru3D
Gigabyte has pushed the limits with the Mini-ITX Z490I Aorus Ultra as they are powering the LGA1200 socket with no less than eight VRM phases that are each rated at 90A. That is a mighty level of power and in addition they have constructed the output filters from an array of Surface Mounted Tantalum Polymer Capacitors.
Read more @ KitGuru
EVGA has always gone their own direction and the Z490 FTW isn’t any different. In a lot of ways, this board looks a lot like previous FTW boards like the Z390 and Z370 models. Mostly because of the silver metal cover over the rear I/o and the otherwise plain styling on the rest of the board. EVGA has always been about simple and black and they always avoid lighting which makes the inclusion of RGB lighting an interesting addition.
Read more @ LanOC
The ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 is another board hailing from ASRock’s highly successful Phantom Gaming line. ASRock’s Phantom Gaming family of motherboards was introduced with the Z390 platform not much more than a year ago. The product line features black, red, and gray styling, 2.5 Gb/s LAN, and an emphasis on performance.
Read more @ TechPowerUp
The Asus ROG Maximus XII Extreme isn’t just a hell of a mouthful, it’s also one of the best Intel Z490 motherboards released for the new 10th Gen Comet Lake processors. But it is also one of the most expensive. Like, really expensive. I mean, I could build an entirely respectable gaming rig for the amount of money Asus are expecting us to spend on the Max XII.
Read more @ PC Gamer
Asus ROG Maximus XII Hero (Wi-Fi) is the entry point for the Asus ROG range of Z490 motherboards that support Intel 10th Gen Comet Lake-S. The model name sounds like a minor upgrade from the Z390 Maximus XI Hero however the VRMs have been overhauled with an increase to 14 stages that are each rated at 60A… and that makes a massive difference!
Read more @ KitGuru
The Biostar Z490GTA EVO is a decent board overall, offering updates from the Z390 version to support 10th Generation Intel processors. During short tests, the board performed just as well as the comparison boards. But in longer tests, it was slower. It’s $10 cheaper than the ASRock Z490 PG Velocita, but without an update to enable overclocking, it’s worth spending a little more on something else.
Read more @ Tom’s Hardware
The Asus ROG Maximus XII Hero brings users a slew of modern connectivity, including three heatsinked M.2 slots, a USB 3.2 Gen2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port, high-quality power delivery, and CrossfireX/SLI support. Its performance also matches other similar boards and is a good solution for those in the sub $400 market, though the other boards we looked at have similar features and are priced less.
Read more @ Tom’s Hardware
In our performance metrics, the Hero scored well in power consumption, Boot Time, and was very competitive in our CPU/GPU benchmarks. We did indeed see benchmark differences when using ASUS’ Optimized settings over the Intel defaults, making it well worth enabling for all users, especially as we also saw a lower peak power reading at the wall.
Read more @ AnandTech