The Intel Z490 Overview: 44+ Motherboards Examined

GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D

One of GIGABYTE's most premium models for content creators over the last couple of years has been via its Designare brand. GIGABYTE has changed this for Z490 and has replaced it with the Z490 Vision D which represents a much more subtle aesthetic than other models, but not quite as high-end as previous Designare models. The GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D includes three PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, a 12-phase power delivery, an Intel 2.5 G and Wi-Fi 6 networking pairing, with dual Thunderbolt 3 Type-C and a Realtek ALC1220-VB HD audio codec.

The GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D blends a mixture of black and grey heatsinks, with an all-black PCB, with some integrated RGB LEDs in the rear panel cover and chipset heatsink. A Designaire logo is present on the chipset heatsink, with this signifying the board's lineage for content creators. The board has three full-length PCIe 3.0 slots which operate at x16, x8/x8, and x8/x8/+4, with a single PCIe 3.0 slot. For storage, the GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D has three PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slots, each with its own individual heatsinks, and has six SATA ports with RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 array support. There are four memory slots which support up to DDR4-4800, with support for up to 128 GB of memory capacity.

On the rear panel is two Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C ports, with two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports supporting the boards ESS Sabre DAC UP audio chip. Also present are two USB 3.2 G2 10 Gbps Type-A, with two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. There are dual Ethernet ports on the rear panel, one controlled by an Intel I225 2.5 G controller, and the other by an Intel I219-V Gigabit controller. The Z490 Vision D also includes an Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 wireless interface which adds support for BT 5.1 devices. The five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are powered by a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec, while a pair of video outputs consisting of a DisplayPort 1.4, and HDMI output make up the rest of the boards rear panel.

The GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D includes dual Thunderbolt 3 Type-C boards on the rear panel which puts it as one of just a small select few to feature this, with the Designare rebranded model geared up towards professionals and content creators. With dual Ethernet including Intel's I225 2.5 G controller, Wi-Fi 6 support, and triple PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2, it's clear the Z490 Vision D is going to be popular with those looking for a mixture of premium controllers on a subtle and neutral looking board. The GIGABYTE Z490 Vision D has an MSRP of $299 which seems very reasonable on paper given all of its features.