ROG Strix motherboards take the basic DNA of our ROG Maximus series and distill it into more attainable designs that provide exceptional gaming performance and outspoken style. The highest-performance model in the lineup is the ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WiFi II. These new motherboards join our existing Z790 and Z690 motherboards, which also support Intel’s latest and greatest chips through a simple firmware update. There’s a lot to go over with the new additions to our Z790 motherboard family: they mark the debut of our first WiFi 7 motherboards, for one, and we’re increasing the number of models with onboard PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots. They offer our latest game-changing innovations like DIMM Flex, and they make the process of building a PC easier than ever with their DIY-friendly features. Read on for all the details, but if there’s a specific topic you’re interested in, follow the links below to jump ahead to a specific section.

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The Hero adds a host of features that go beyond purely gaming necessities and appeal to content creators, too. As a WiFi 7 motherboard, the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II will make waves with its support for the latest wireless standard alone. But that’s far from the only upgrade offered by the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II. We’ve boosted its M.2 slot count up to five, and each of those slots has robust cooling with a built-in heatsink. The rear I/O selection now includes a total of 12 USB ports to ensure that you have the connectivity that you need. And we’ve bolstered the VRM cooling solution with massive heatsinks and high-conductivity thermal pads. ROG STRIX Z790-A GAMING WIFI II The bottom half is mostly covered in heatsinks and shrouds hiding the PCB below. On the left side, just below the Supreme FX branding, hides the Asus-brand Realtek ALC4082 codec. Currently, this is the best codec on motherboards and it's supplemented by an ESS ES9218 Quad DAC and several dedicated audio capacitors. If the onboard solution isn’t good enough, you’ll have to buy a dedicated add-in card. Anyone who's used an ASUS motherboard in recent years will (hopefully) agree with me as to how simple the UEFI user interface is. There's an "EzMode" available out the gate that's best suited to those who aren't familiar with such systems, but really so long as you don't mess around with values and the like, the chance of you breaking something is low. Now, AEMP II offers even more flexibility. With the latest firmware update, AEMP II allows users to optimize the performance of a four-DIMM DDR5 RAM configuration, even with a mixture of different brands and dies. Increasing the memory capacity of your build by adding additional DIMMs has never been easier — with AEMP II, you can get optimized memory performance even when all four memory modules are not an exact match, provided that all four DIMMs have the same capacity. * Results may vary according to the capabilities of your CPU and memory modules.

Finally, this motherboard simplifies your build process and provides helpful diagnostics tools. The pre-mounted I/O shield eases an important installation step, and the PCIe Slot Q-Release button and M.2 Q-Latch system streamline the process of installing and upgrading your graphics card and storage drives. ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO WiFi 7 features requires WiFi routers and client devices with WiFi 7-supported operating systems to support the corresponding features.The ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero gives you high-end networking options. WiFi 7 support will let you access the latest generation of wireless networking when you pair this motherboard with a WiFi 7 router. For those who prefer wired connections, a high-bandwidth 2.5Gb Ethernet port awaits. Starting with the upper left-hand corner, we get a closer look at the RGB element that has matching diagonal lines running through the display. It’s much better looking than the dot-matrix style we saw in previous generations. It isn’t terribly bright, but the colors are saturated, and it looks good. Control over this and any other RGB devices attached to the board are handled through the Asus AURA RGB software (found within Armoury Crate). The TB4 ports can carry a DP 1.4 signal, which gives you the option of triple display support when added to the single HDMI 2.1 port. USB: Up to 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports, 1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2, 6x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 8x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 4x USB 2.0 When ROG Hyper M.2 card is installed on PCIEX16(G5)_1, Hyper M.2_1 slot can support PCIe 4.0 x4 mode. When ROG Hyper M.2 card is installed on PCIEX16(G5)_2, Hyper M.2_1 slot can support PCIe 5.0 x4 mode. When ROG Hyper M.2 card is installed on PCIEX16(G4), Hyper M.2_1 and Hyper M.2_2 slots can support PCIe 4.0 x4 mode.

The VRM heatsinks are quite heavy, have a lot of surface area with the deep miter cuts, and share the load through a heatpipe that connects the two parts. They did a great job cooling the power bits below when running our flagship Intel Core i9-13900K, as you’ll see later in the review. Along the top edge are two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to feed the CPU power. To the left of those is an LED that lights up if the plug isn’t connected. ASUS Z790 motherboards are equipped with up to two PCIe 5.0 slots ideal for video cards. Select models even feature an onboard PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot, a bundled ROG Hyper M.2 card or a PCIe 5.0 M.2 Card, putting you on the cutting edge of GPU and storage device technology.The classic anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion was a watershed moment for manga and anime. Combining high-stakes mecha action and gripping psychological drama, it transfixed a generation of anime enthusiasts. Last year, we gave fans of the series an all-new way to immerse themselves in the designs and themes of Evangelion with a series of PC components and peripherals based on EVA-01. Now, we’re releasing a new set of ROG x Evangelion gear — but this time around, we’re focusing on the unmistakable colors and designs of Asuka’s EVA-02. Across the bottom of the board are several exposed headers. You’ll find the usual: additional USB ports, RGB headers, and even some headers dedicated to custom watercooling (flow and temperatures)power/reset buttons. Below is a complete list, from left to right.