The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTZ490 Power Delivery
As we do with all of our chipset overviews, we reached out to all of the motherboard vendors about what power deliveries each board features prior to launch. Many more users, compared to previous years, factor in power delivery and its thermal capabilities into their buying decisions. While the power delivery is fundamentally designed to run its relevant processors at default settings without issue, the idea of including a better specification power delivery allows for users to push processors beyond the default settings, as more voltage through the CPU means more voltage and power is handled by the power delivery.
We have reported over previous years of manufacturers embellishing claims of its power delivery and marketing them to do things it just cannot operate effectively and efficiently. We have compiled as much information as we are privy to, which we are trusting vendors to provide accurate details of. A question mark (?) denotes something we haven't been informed of, as we don't want to speculate and guess, as motherboard vendors haven't provided us with the necessary details.
As more information filters into us from vendors, as well as Z490 reviews, we will endeavour to keep the below table updated as frequently as possible. Note that all the information below has come directly from the manufacturer of each model.
| Z490 CPU Power Delivery Comparison | |||||
| Motherboard | Controller | H-Side | L-Side | Chokes | Doubler |
| ASRock Z490 Taichi | ISL69269 (12+2) |
? | ? | - | |
| ASRock Z490 Velocita | ISL69269 (10+2) |
? | ? | - | |
| ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX/TB3 | ISL69269 (8+2) |
ISL99390B (8) |
? | - | |
| ASRock Z490 Steel Legend | ISL69269 (8+2) |
? | ? | - | |
| ASRock Z490 Extreme4 | ISL69269 (8+2) |
? | ? | - | |
| ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme | ASP1405I (8+0) |
TDA21490 (16) |
16 | - | |
| ASUS ROG Maximus XII Formula | ASP1405I (8+0) |
TDA21490 (16) |
16 | - | |
| ASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex | ASP1405I (7+1) |
TDA21490 (16) |
16 | - | |
| ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero Wi-Fi | ASP1405I (7+1) |
TDA21490 (16) |
16 | - | |
| ASUS ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming | ASP1900 (7+1) |
SIC639 (14) |
16 | - | |
| ASUS ROG Strix Z490-F Gaming | ASP1900 (6+1) |
NCP302045 (12) |
14 | - | |
| ASUS ROG Strix Z490-G Gaming Wi-Fi | ASP1900 (6+1) |
SIC639 (14) |
14 | - | |
| ASUS ROG Strix Z490-G Gaming | ASP1900 (6+1) |
SIC639 (14) |
14 | - | |
| ASUS ROG Strix Z490-H Gaming | ASP1900 (6+1) |
NCP302045 (12) |
14 | - | |
| ASUS ROG Strix Z490-A Gaming | ASP1900 (6+1) |
NCP302045 (12) |
14 | - | |
| ASUS ROG Strix Z490-I Gaming | ASP1405I (4+1) |
TDA21461 (8) |
10 | - | |
| ASUS TUF Z490-Plus Wi-Fi | ASP1900 (6+1) |
SIC639 (14) |
14 | - | |
| ASUS TUF Z490-Plus | ASP1900 (4+1) |
SIC639 (14) |
14 | - | |
| ASUS Prime Z490-A | ASP1900 (6+1) |
NCP302045 (12) |
14 | - | |
| ASUS Prime Z490-P | ASP1900 (5+1) |
NCP302045 (10) |
11 | - | |
| ASUS Prime Z490-V | ASP1900 (4+1) |
SIC639 (8) |
9 | - | |
| ASUS Prime Z490M-Plus | ASP1900 (6+1) |
SIC639 (14) |
14 | - | |
| ASUS ProArt Z490-Creator 10G | ASP1900 (6+1) |
NCP302045 (12) |
14 | - | |
| Biostar Racing Z490GTA Evo | NCP81286 (14+2) |
FS4C029 (14) |
FSC028 (14) |
? | NCP81162 (7) |
| Biostar Racing Z490GTA | NCP81229 (12+2) |
FS4C029 (12) |
FSC028 (12) |
? | NCP81162 (6) |
| Biostar Racing Z490GTN | PCP81229 (6+2) |
NCP302155 (6) |
? | - | |
| GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Xtreme WaterForce | ISL69269 (8+1) |
ISL99390B (16) |
? | ISL6617A (8) |
|
| GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Xtreme | ISL69269 (8+1) |
ISL99390B (16) |
? | ISL6617A (8) |
|
| GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Master | ISL69269 (7+1) |
ISL99390B (14) |
? | ISL6617A (7) |
|
| GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Ultra | ISL69269 (12+0) |
SiC620A (12) |
? | - | |
| GIGABYTE Z490 I Aorus Ultra | ISL69269 (8+1) |
ISL99390 (8) |
? | - | |
| GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Pro AX | ISL69269 (12+0) |
SiC620A (12) |
? | - | |
| GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Elite AC | ISL69269 (12+0) |
SiC620A (12) |
? | - | |
| GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D | ISL69269 (12+0) |
SiC651A (12) |
? | - | |
| GIGABYTE Z490 Vision G | ISL69269 (12+0) |
SiC651A (12) |
? | - | |
| MSI MEG Z490 Godlike | ISL69269 (8+1) |
ISL99390B (16) |
? | ISL6617A (8) |
|
| MSI MEG Z490 Ace | ISL69269 (8+0) |
ISL99390B (16) |
? | ISL6617A (8) |
|
| MSI MEG Z490 Unify | ISL69269 (8+0) |
ISL99390B (16) |
? | ISL6617A (8) |
|
| MSI MEG Z490I Unify | ISL69269 (8+1) |
ISL99390B (8) |
? | - | |
| MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Carbon WIFI | RAA229001 (6+1) |
ISL99360 (12) |
? | - | |
| MSI Z490 Gaming Edge WIFI | RAA229001 (6+1) |
ON/NPC81229 (12) |
? | - | |
| MSI Z490M Gaming Edge WIFI | RT3609BE (6+1) |
4C029N (12) |
4C024N (12) |
? | - |
| MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Plus | RT3609BE (6+1) |
4C029N (12) |
4C024N (12) |
? | - |
| MSI MAG Z490 Tomahawk | ON/NCP81229 (6+1) |
NCP302155 (12) |
? | - | |
| MSI Z490-A Pro | RT3609BE (6+1) |
4C029N (12) |
4C024N (12) |
? | - |
| Supermicro C9Z490-PGW | XDPE122284C (6+2) |
TDA21490 (6) |
8 | - | |
| Supermicro C9Z490-PG | XDPE122284C (6+2) |
TDA21490 (6) |
8 | - | |
As we get more and more Z490 boards in for review, we can go deeper into the analysis in each individual review over the upcoming months.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
52 Comments
View All Comments
Andrew LB - Saturday, May 9, 2020 - link
So these boards bring Wifi6, PCI-Express 4.0, gigabit 2.5, and for people like myself who are upgrading from a Z87 board.... just about everything is a huge leap.... yet you think there is just 'more of the same'? I guess if you're one of those idiots who buys a new CPU every year, then clearly this is not the release for you. Nor would AMD's latest offerings if that same metric is applied.So what's your problem with Capitalism? Do incremental design improvements offend you? Or is it profit that does? Hate to break it to you, but its profit motive that fuels innovation. Collectivism is a cancer and by its very nature hinders progress due to it not rewarding exceptionalism. It's why countries like China don't innovate. Otherwise they wouldn't need forced technology transfers from those who manufacture goods in their country.
Zenzdeluxe - Wednesday, September 2, 2020 - link
Thanks for that. The hypocrisy of these people. Imagine imbibing in the fruits of the capitalist system which besides continuing innovation, provides more spoils at lower price points for everyone than ever before. The audacity of such entitlement and seemingly collectivist / marxist based criticism is mind boggling. Cognitive dissonance off the scale indeed.ilkhan - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Details page for GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Pro AX (copy and paste because who can keep them straight otherwise) makes a big deal of no usb-C, but it's there in the picture...ecjp - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Yeah, I noticed that too. Gigabytes site shows same picture and lists "1 x USB Type-C™ port on the back panel, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support" in the specs, so I assume its an error in the article.gavbon - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Thanks for picking that up. I must have been writing about the wrong board. Apologies, it's updatedregsEx - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
"Integrated into the Z490 chipset is an Intel Wi-Fi 6 CNVi which allows motherboard vendors to integrate its AX200 wireless solutions directly from the chipset with a CRF module."CNVi is an old generation 802.11ac controller. Here it is CNVio2. CRF module is AX201. AX200 is a standalone controller that can work on any system. X570 motherboards with 802.11ax support, for example, packs with AX200 card.
lunaticbunny - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
There are no boards under $200. Seems like this Z490 chipset got the X570 inflation treatment as well.drexnx - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
just like the X570 boards, they've all got seriously beefed up VRMsand maybe the pcie4 tax wasn't just a cash grab? we'll really see when AMD B550 comes out, where those board prices land
Andrew LB - Saturday, May 9, 2020 - link
Plenty of boards under $200.ASUS Prime Z490M-PLUS
GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS Elite
ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-Plus
ASUS TUF Gaming Z490-Plus wifi
GIGABYTE Z490 UD
MSI Z490-A PRO ProSeries
A bunch of Asrock boards will be under $200 as well. You can see many prices already on Amazon.
dgingeri - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
It looks like, potentially, at least Gigabyte has decided to include a decent number of USB ports. I can't tell with the Asus board, but all the rest look to have only 6 USB ports, an annoyingly small number. I have been really annoyed with the lack of USB ports on boards for the last 5 years. Heck, with the old 440BX boards, we had 2 ps2, 4 or 6 USB, 1 or 2 serial, and a parallel port. We've lost the other ports, and internal drives in most computers, and not gained USB ports to compensate for it. External hubs aren't going to do it, either, as those stupid things keep dying in a matter of months.