The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined

GIGABYTE Z490I Aorus Ultra

Catering to the small form factor market, the GIGABYTE Z490I Aorus Ultra has pretty high-end for a mini-ITX model. It is using a direct 8-phase power delivery with 90 A power stages and tantalum polymer capacitors making it a solid option for enthusiasts. Other features include dual PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, an Intel 2.5 G Ethernet controller, Intel's AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface, and an HDMI 2.0 video output.

It follows a similar design and theme to the ATX sized GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Ultra with gunmetal grey heatsinks which is a common feature on Aorus models. There is just one area of integrated RGB LED lighting which can be found on the right-hand side of the board. Due to its small size, there is just one full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slot. In recent times, mini-ITX motherboards have been getting better and better, and GIGABYTE has put two PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots on board, both under a front-mounted M.2 heat sink. This includes four straight angled SATA ports which support RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. There are two memory slots with support for up to DDR4-4800, with a maximum capacity of 64 GB. 

One of the most prominent features on the rear panel of the Z490I Aorus Ultra is that it includes an HDMI 2.0 video output which can be used with Intel's integrated graphics. In addition to this, there is a DisplayPort video output, while the boards three 3.5 mm audio jacks are controlled by a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec. Looking at the networking, it is using an Intel i225 2.5 G Ethernet controller which powers the single Ethernet port, with antenna connectors for the Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface which also has support for BT 5.1 devices. In terms of USB, there is a single USB 3.2 G2 20 Gbps Type-C, one USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-A, two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. Finishing off the rear panel is a Q-Flash BIOS Flashback button for flashing the board's firmware without a processor, memory, or graphics card installed.

The GIGABYTE Z490I Aorus Ultra is a solid mini-ITX offering for users that aren't interested in Thunderbolt 3 (ASRock include this) and is looking to build a solid small form factor gaming system with a single graphics card. It has plenty of rear panel connectivity, good networking support, and the 8-phase power delivery with 90 A power stages look solid. At launch, the GIGABYTE Z490I Aorus Ultra has an MSRP of $269.

This page will be updated when more information becomes available to us.