The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Ultra
Representing GIGABYTE's mid-range Aorus series is the Z490 Aorus Ultra with virtually identical aesthetics when compared with the Z490 Aorus Master. It's also a step up in spec too for enthusiasts with its direct 12-phase power delivery, with use nanocarbon fins for the and direct touch heat pipes on the heatsinks with GIGABYTE claiming it improves heat dissipation. Included in the specifications is an Intel 2.5 G Ethernet controller, Inte's AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface, three PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, and three full-length PCIe 3.0 lanes with support for up to two-way NVIDIA SLI and three-way AMD Crossfire.
The GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Ultra has a black and grey theme with PCIe slot armor, with integrated RGB LEDs in the rear panel cover and a large Aorus logo on the chipset heatsink. It has three full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which operate at x16, x8/x8, and x8/x8/+4, with three PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, and six SATA ports. Cooling the 12-phase power delivery driven by an ISL69269 PWM controller is a nanocarbon fin array heatsink, with an 8-pin and 4-pin pair of 12 V ATX CPU power inputs. Memory support is improved over Z390 with four slots capable of running up to 128 GB of DDR4-4800.
On the rear panel is one USB 3.2 G2 20 Gbps Type-C, three USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-A, two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and four USB 2.0 ports. A single HDMI video output allows users to use Intel's integrated graphics, while the three 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are powered by a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec. For networking, GIGABYTE is using Intel's I225 2.5 G Ethernet controller, with an Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface which also adds support for BT 5.1 devices.
The GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Ultra has an MSRP of $299 and is comparable with the Z490 Aorus Master in many ways, including controller set and aesthetics. The main differences come in the power delivery, with the Z490 Aorus Ultra opting for a true 12-phase setup, with the Master opting for a 6+1 design with doublers. Both are solid offerings in the upper end of the mid-range, but the Z490 Aorus Ultra is a solid offering on paper, with GIGABYTE implementing plenty of premium features at a good price point.
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DanNeely - Thursday, April 30, 2020 - link
I really hate when new articles are inserted below the lead spot because it's hit or miss if I ever notice them. I missed this one during several visits to the site and only found it when Google suggested it in response to a search I made.Jedibeeftrix - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
agreed, i found this by accident, and check AT twice or more a day.sunshinerevans55 - Sunday, May 3, 2020 - link
I basically make about $12,000-$18,000 a month online. It’s enough to comfortably replace my I was amazed how easy it was after I tried it . This is what I’ve been doing old jobs income, especially considering I only work about 10-13 hours a week from home… www.iⅭash68.ⅭomYB1064 - Monday, May 4, 2020 - link
This must have taken some writing. Kudos to the author(s). A good one stop article for anybody planning on going the Intel route. Intel seem to be adept at packaging old milk (not wine) in a new bottle. At least increase the number of PCIe lanes...boozed - Monday, May 4, 2020 - link
I recommend using the RSS feed, then you get everything and you get it chronologically.Exodite - Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - link
+1 on RSS!The "magazine layout" that plagues many sites and makes it impossible to distinguish between old articles, new articles and commercials can thankfully still be avoided through RSS.
Wardrop - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
Funny that ASRock are the only manufacturers to have a mATX X570 motherboard for AMD's platform, yet for Intel they're the only one's NOT to have a mATX motherboard.Beaver M. - Saturday, May 2, 2020 - link
You mean they are relevant again, because they have fixed their stereotypical USB issues?Marlin1975 - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
So in other words a re-spin of previous chipset with little to no real useful extra features but will require a new board. Classic intel. This is one of many reasons my last system was Intel and my new system is AMD now.Unless you are a intel fanboy why keep supporting this?
regsEx - Friday, May 1, 2020 - link
New networking controllers, support for PCIe 4 CPUs (RKL-S that will be released in future).Some boards also have USB Gen 2x2 support with external ASMedia controller. I know no any X570 board with USB Gen 2x2 support. Only Gen 2x1.