Asus ROG Maximus z790 Hero BTF
Intel® Z790 LGA 1700 ATX motherboard with hidden-connector design and graphics card high-power slot for clean cable management, 20+1+2 power stages, DDR5 support with AEMP II & DIMM Flex, five M.2 slots, PCIe® 5.0 NVMe® SSD slot onboard, PCIe® 5.0 x16 SafeSlot with PCIe® Slot Q-Release Slim, Intel® Wi-Fi 7 with ASUS WiFi Q-Antenna, two Thunderbolt™ 4 ports, AI Overclocking, AI Cooling II, AI Networking, Two-way AI Noise Cancelation, and Aura Sync RGB lighting
- Intel® LGA 1700 socket: Ready for Intel® Core™ 14th & 13th Gen processors, Intel® Core™ 12th Gen, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® Processors
- Hidden-Connector Design: Delivers an unprecedented level of cable management to PC DIY enthusiasts
- Graphics Card High-Power Slot: Compatible with the PCIe® high-power connector on the graphics card, delivering up to 600 watts through the motherboard
- Robust Power Solution: 20+1+2 power stages with dual ProCool II power connectors, high-quality alloy chokes, and durable capacitors to support multi-core processors
- Optimized VRM Thermals: Massive heatsinks integrated with the I/O cover, joined by an L-shaped heatpipe, and connected to the power stages with high-conductivity thermal pads
- Latest M.2 Support: Onboard PCIe® 5.0 M.2 slot, and four PCIe® 4.0 M.2 slots all with premium cooling solutions
- Abundant Connectivity: Dual Thunderbolt™ 4 USB Type-C® ports, USB 20Gbps Type-C® front-panel connector, six additional USB 10Gbps ports, PCIe 5.0 x16 SafeSlot, HDMI™ 2.1
- High-Performance Networking: On-board Intel® Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Intel® 2.5 Gb Ethernet with ASUS LANGuard
- Intelligent Control: ASUS-exclusive AI Overclocking, AI Cooling II, AI Networking, Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation, AEMP II, and DIMM Flex to simplify setup and improve performance
- Immersive Audio: ROG SupremeFX ALC4082 codec with ESS® ES9218 Quad DAC for up to 32-Bit/384 kHz playback
- Unmatched Personalization: I/O cover with Polymo Lighting, three addressable Gen 2 headers and one RGB header, all configurable with ASUS-exclusive Aura Sync RGB lighting
- DIY Friendly Design: PCIe® Slot Q-Release Slim, M.2 Q-Latch, Q-Antenna, pre-mounted I/O shield, Q-Code, Q-LED, FlexKey button, Start button, BIOS FlashBack™ button, and Clear CMOS button
- Renowned Software: Bundled 1-year AIDA64 Extreme trial subscription and intuitive UEFI BIOS dashboard with integrated MemTest86
News & Updates
The new BIOS enhances the stability of Intel Core 13th and 14th gen desktop processors.
Please refer to support site for the latest BIOS version download and update.
CPU
Intel® Socket LGA1700 for Intel® Core™ 14th & 13th Gen Processors, Intel® Core™ 12th Gen, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® Processors
Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0**
* Refer to www.asus.com for CPU support list.
** Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 support depends on the CPU types.
Chipset
Intel® Z790 Chipset
Memory
4 x DIMM slots, max. 192GB, DDR5
8000+(OC)/ 7800+(OC)/ 7600(OC)/ 7400(OC)/ 7200(OC)/ 7000(OC)/ 6800(OC)/ 6600(OC)/ 6400(OC)/ 6200(OC)/6000(OC)/ 5800(OC)/ 5600/ 5400/ 5200/ 5000/ 4800 Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory*
Dual channel memory architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory module
Supports DIMM Flex
ASUS Enhanced Memory Profile II (AEMP II)
* Supported memory types, data rate (Speed), and number of DRAM modules vary depending on the CPU and memory configuration, for more information refer to www.asus.com for memory support list.
* Non-ECC, un-buffered DDR5 memory supports On-Die ECC function.
Graphics
1 x HDMITM port**
2 x Intel® Thunderbolt™ 4 ports (USB Type-C®) support DisplayPort and Thunderbolt™ video outputs***
* Graphics specifications may vary between CPU types. Please refer to www.intel.com for any updates.
** Support 4K@60Hz as specified in HDMI 2.1.
*** VGA resolution support depends on processors' or graphic cards' resolution.
Expansion Slots
Intel® CoreTM Processors (14th & 13th & 12th Gen)*
1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slot (support x16 or x8 modes)**
Intel® Z790 Chipset
1 x PCIe 4.0 x4 slot
* Please check the PCIe bifurcation table on the support site (https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1037507/).
** When M.2_1 is enabled, PCIEX16(G5)_1 will run x8 only.
- To ensure compatibility of the device installed, please refer to https://www.asus.com/support/ for the list of supported peripherals.
Storage
Total supports 5 x M.2 slots and 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports*
Intel® CoreTM Processors (14th & 13th & 12th Gen)
M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 5.0 x4 mode.)**
M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode.)
Intel® Z790 Chipset**
M.2_3 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
M.2_4 slot (Key M), type 2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
M.2_5 slot (Key M), type 2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
* Intel® Rapid Storage Technology supports PCIe RAID 0/1/5/10, SATA RAID 0/1/5/10.
** When M.2_1 is enabled, PCIEX16(G5)_1 will run x8 only.
Ethernet
1 x Intel® 2.5Gb Ethernet
ASUS LANGuard
Wireless & Bluetooth
Intel® Wi-Fi 7*
2x2 Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)**
Supports 2.4/5/6GHz frequency band***
Support Wi-Fi 7 320MHz bandwidth, up to 5.76Gbps transfer rate.
Bluetooth® v5.4****
* Compatible with Windows 11 or later.
** Wi-Fi 7 MLO(Multi-link Operation) full functions support will be ready in Windows 11 2024 Platform (Windows 11 24H2) or later.
*** Wi-Fi 6GHz frequency band and bandwidth regulatory may vary between countries.
**** The Bluetooth version may vary, please refer to the Wi-Fi module manufacturer's website for the latest specifications.
USB
Rear USB (Total 12 ports)
2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 ports (2 x USB Type-C®)
6 x USB 10Gbps ports (5 x Type-A + 1 x USB Type-C®)
4 x USB 5Gbps ports (4 x Type-A)
Front USB (Total 9 ports)
1 x USB 20Gbps connector
2 x USB 5Gbps headers support 4 additional USB 5Gbps ports
2 x USB 2.0 headers support 4 additional USB 2.0 ports
Audio
ROG SupremeFX 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC ALC4082*
- Impedance sense for front and rear headphone outputs
- Supports: Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel MIC Jack-retasking
- High quality 120 dB SNR stereo playback output and 110 dB SNR recording input
- Supports up to 32-Bit/384 kHz playback on front panel
Audio Features
- SupremeFX Shielding Technology
- ESS® ES9218 QUAD DAC
- Gold-plated audio jacks
- Rear optical S/PDIF out port
- Premium audio capacitors
*The LINE OUT port on the rear panel does not support spatial audio. If you wish to use spatial audio, make sure to connect your audio output device to the audio jack on the front panel of your chassis or use a USB interface audio device.
Back Panel I/O Ports
2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB Type-C® ports
6 x USB 10Gbps ports (5 x Type-A + 1 x USB Type-C®)
4 x USB 5Gbps ports (4 x Type-A)
1 x HDMITM port
1 x Wi-Fi Module
1 x Intel® 2.5Gb Ethernet port
5 x Gold-plated audio jacks
1 x Optical S/PDIF out port
1 x BIOS FlashBack™ button
1 x Clear CMOS button
Internal I/O Connectors
Fan and Cooling related
1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header
1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header
1 x 4-pin AIO Pump header
4 x 4-pin Chassis Fan headers
1 x W_PUMP+ header
Power related
1 x 24-pin main power connector
2 x 8-pin +12V power connector
1 x Graphics card high power slot
1 x 12V-2X6 Auxiliary power connector
Storage related
5 x M.2 slots (Key M)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
USB
1 x USB 20Gbps connector (supports USB Type-C®)
2 x USB 5Gbps headers support 4 additional USB 5Gbps ports
2 x USB 2.0 headers support 4 additional USB 2.0 ports
Miscellaneous
3 x Addressable Gen 2 headers
1 x AURA RGB header
1 x FlexKey button
1 x Front panel audio header (F_AUDIO)
1 x Start button
1 x 10-1 pin system panel header
1 x Thermal sensor header
1 x Q-Installation Switch
Special Features
Extreme OC Kit
- FlexKey button
- Start button
Extreme Engine Digi+
- 10K Black metallic capacitors
- MicroFine alloy choke
ASUS Q-Design
- M.2 Q-Latch
- PCIe Slot Q-Release Slim
- Q-Antenna
- Q-Code
- Q-Connector
- Q-DIMM
- Q-LED (CPU [red], DRAM [yellow], VGA [white], Boot Device [yellow green]) with DRAM Detection
- Q-Slot
ASUS Thermal Solution
- M.2 heatsink backplate
- M.2 heatsink
- VRM heatsink design
ASUS EZ DIY
- BIOS FlashBack™ button
- Clear CMOS button
- CPU Socket lever protector
- ProCool II
- Pre-mounted I/O shield
- SafeSlot
- SafeDIMM
AURA Sync
- AURA RGB header(s)
- Addressable Gen 2 header(s)
Software Features
ROG Exclusive Software
- ROG CPU-Z
- DTS® Sound Unbound
- Internet Security (1 year full version)
ASUS Exclusive Software
Armoury Crate
- AIDA64 Extreme (1 year full version)
- Aura Creator
- Aura Sync
- Fan Xpert 4 (with AI Cooling II)
- GameFirst
- Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation
- Power Saving
- Sonic Studio
AI Suite 3
- Easy Optimization with AI Overclocking
- TPU
- DIGI+ Power Control
- Turbo app
- PC Cleaner
MyAsus
Intel® Unison™
Adobe Creative Cloud (Free Trial)
WinRAR (40 Days Free Trial)
UEFI BIOS
AI Overclocking Guide
ASUS EZ DIY
- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
- ASUS EZ Flash 3
- ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode
- ASUS MyHotkey
MemTest86
BIOS
256 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS
Manageability
WOL by PME, PXE
Accessories
Cables
1 x ARGB RGB extension cable
4 x SATA 6Gb/s cables
Additional Cooling Kit
1 x Thermal pad for M.2
1 x DDR5 fan holder
Miscellaneous
1 x ASUS WiFi Q-Antenna
3 x M.2 backplate Q-Latch packages
3 x M.2 backplate Rubber Packages
1 x Q-connector
1 x ROG stickers
1 x ROG key chain
1 x M.2 rubber package
1 x ROG VIP card
Installation Media
1 x USB drive with utilities and drivers
Documentation
1 x Quick start guide
Operating System
Windows® 11, Windows® 10 64-bit
Form Factor
ATX Form Factor
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )
Motherboard Review: Asus ROG Maximus z790 Hero BTF
I have used many motherboards in the past, but one of the biggest reasons I have chosen Asus as the primary motherboard manufacturer is because they use high quality capacitors on their motherboards. One of the biggest reasons why a motherboard will start to fail is because low-quality capacitors were used and start to go bad after a few years.
I started buying the TUF motherboards that Asus makes, and the motherboard lasted me over 10 years. So, this time around, I felt confident upgrading to the ROG Maximus z790 Hero. They use 10K Black metallic capacitors on this motherboard.
There are a few other good reasons why I chose this motherboard. First, because this is a BTF motherboard. The meaning of BTF is "Back To The Future". All that means is that all the cables to the motherboard are on the back of the board in order to make wiring easier and keeping the front of the board looking clean. I was going to use the Corsair case for my PC build. The Corsair 6500 Series case supports the BTF motherboards and has a dual chamber keeping air cooling more efficient. The speeds of the processors are much faster now, but that also equates to more heat.
Secondly, the reason why I chose this motherboard was because it has a lot of great features. It supports the latest processors from Intel. It also supports the latest storage devices M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 5.0 x4 mode).
Networking is very important to me. This motherboard supports 2.5GB Ethernet, while also supporting Wi-Fi 7. Some people might ask why you would need Wi-Fi, if you have an Ethernet connection. The answer is redundancy. If my Fiber optic connection goes down for whatever reason. I would be able to switch over to my cellphone's hotspot if needed. I will be using the computer as a workstation, so it definitely meets all my criteria's.
Now if you are a gamer, this is the perfect motherboard as well. It will be able to support up to Gen 5 graphics cards. As I am writing this review, only gen 4 graphics cards are on the market. I am waiting until next year when the new Gen 5 graphics cards come out to upgrade my graphics card. This motherboard gives you lots of tools to Overclock your processor and memory. This board supports up to DDR5 8000+(OC). Also, the motherboard supports XMP 2 at the moment. I am not sure if there are any plans to upgrade to XMP 3 in future BIOS updates.
