ASUS’ ROG Strix Motherboards are pretty much-established products, especially in the enthusiast space. It’s not just about the ROG Strix Tax, but because Asus undeniably offers one of the best motherboard tiering and differentiation. We’ve been using the ROG Strix X570-E for our AMD Ryzen 7 3700X benchmark and as we switch to Intel, we opted for the ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming motherboard, the same ROG Strix E-tiered motherboard albeit in Intel colors.
Intel’s 10th generation processors are one of the most awaited releases for 2020 as it is supposed to be the company’s response towards AMD’s Ryzen 3000 and 4000 series based on the Zen 2 Architecture under the 7-nanometer process. The launch of the new 10th generation processors marks that Intel doesn’t want to easily give up its gaming crown as the brand also targets AMD’s position in productivity by adding more cores to its mainstream desktop lineup. While many consumers are upset about Intel’s 10th-gen processors still being produced under the 14nm lithography, Intel surely did invest in R&D to refine the 14nm process for their CPUs to keep up with the competition. PC Enthusiasts are riled up as the market gets competitive again which means better pricing and more options for consumers.
The Intel 10th-gen Comet Lake processors use the LGA 1200 socket, thus requiring a new generation of motherboards. The first wave of motherboards supporting the LGA 1200 socket uses Intel’s Z490 chipset, which is the successor of the Z390 chipset. Let’s discuss what’s new with the Z490 chipset in the form of the ASUS ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming motherboard as well as ASUS’ own improvements to make this motherboard a decent pair for your Intel 10th Gen CPU.
Asus ROG Strix Z490-E Gaming Specifications
| Socket | LGA 1200 |
|---|---|
| Chipset | Z490 |
| Form Factor | ATX |
| Voltage Regulator | 16 Phase (14+2) 50A, Teamed |
| Video Ports | (1) HDMI (v1.4b),(1) DisplayPort (1.4) |
| USB Ports | (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2, Type-C (10 Gbps), (3) USB 3.2 Gen 2, Type-A (10 Gbps), (2) USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-A (5 Gbps), (4) USB 2.0, Type-A |
| Network Jacks | (1) 2.5 GbE |
| Audio Jacks | (5) Analog + SPDIF |
| Legacy Ports/Jacks | ✗ |
| Other Ports/Jack | Wi-Fi Antenna |
| PCIe x16 | (3) v3.0 (x16/x0/x4 or x8/x8/x4) |
| PCIe x8 | ✗ |
| PCIe x4 | ✗ |
| PCIe x1 | (2) v3.0 (x1) |
| CrossFire/SLI | AMD 3/2 Way CrossFireX and Nvidia 2-Way SLI |
| DIMM slots | (4) DDR4 – DDR4 4600(OC) |
| M.2 slots | (1) PCIe 3.0 x4 / SATA + PCIe (up to 110mm), (1) PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe only (up to 110mm) |
| U.2 Ports | ✗ |
| SATA Ports | (6) SATA3 6 Gbps |
| USB Headers | (1) USB v3.2 Gen 2 (Type-C), (1) USB 3.2 Gen1, (1) USB v2.0 |
| Fan/Pump Headers | (7) 4-Pin |
| RGB Headers | (2) Aura Addressable RGB (3-pin), (2) Aura RGB (4-pin) |
| Legacy Interfaces | ✗ |
| Other Interfaces | FP-Audio, TPM |
| Diagnostics Panel | Yes |
| Internal Button/Switch | ✗ |
| SATA Controllers | ✗ |
| Ethernet Controllers | (1) Intel I225-V (2.5 GbE) |
| Wi-Fi / Bluetooth | Intel AX201 (802.11ax, MU-MIMO, 160 MHz) / BT 5.1 |
| USB Controllers | ✗ |
| HD Audio Codec | SupremeFX S1220A |
| DDL/DTS Connect | ✗/ DTS Sound Unbound |
| Warranty | 3 Years |
Grant is a Financial Management graduate from UST. His passion for gadgets and tech crossed him over in the industry where he could apply his knowledge as an enthusiast and in-depth analytic skills as a Finance Major. His passion allows him to earn at the same time help Gadget Pilipinas' readers in making smart, value-based decisions and purchases with his reviews and guides.
