The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined
by Gavin Bonshor on April 30, 2020 10:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE Z490 Gaming X
Looking at the non-Aorus models from GIGABYTE's Z490 launch day selection, the GIGABYTE Z490 Gaming X is designed to offer an entry-level point for gamers, with a decent feature set. Included in the specifications are three PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, six SATA ports, and an Intel Gigabit Ethernet port.
Looking at the overall design of the Z490 Gaming X, GIGABYTE has opted to go with a basic black and grey theme, with black and grey accent heatsinks, with a black and grey patterned printed PCB. The board is using two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which run at x16/+4, with three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots, and three PCIe 3.0 M.2 slots. It has four memory slots with support for DDR4-4600 with a total capacity of up to 128 GB, with a decent looking 12-phase power delivery. For SATA devices, the GIGABYTE Z490 Gaming X has six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays.
The rear panel doesn't include any USB Type-C connectivity and instead opts for two USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. A PS/2 combo port allows legacy keyboard and mice to be used, while the five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are powered by a Realtek ALC1200 HD audio codec. The single Ethernet port is powered by an Intel Gigabit controller, while users looking to leverage Intel's integrated graphics can use the single HDMI video output.
Users looking for an entry-level model without premium controllers and standard Gigabit networking will find the Z490 Gaming X more to its liking. Likely aimed more at budget-conscious users than the Aorus counterparts, the GIGABYTE Z490 Gaming X hasn't got a price as of yet, but it's not likely to be above $200. which would put it as one of the cheapest models on the Z490 chipset when it eventually launches.
This page will be updated when more information becomes available to us.
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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.