Now the gaming processor war is about to begin in earnest. In particular, in the case of the 11th generation core processor, Intel has a considerable handicap because the starting point itself is made with the same 14nm process as the 10th generation core processor, but the introduction of a new architecture is trying to improve performance. Fortunately, last month, through CES, we launched a new Intel 500 series chipset that can be used simultaneously with the current 10th generation core processor.This new chipset lineup includes overclocking functions that were only supported by the previous top model Z series. It even pulled down the series and made a move to actually match the starting point with the AMD Ryzen camp. In fact, this part, strictly speaking, feels like eating mustard while crying, but it seems to be a good point created in the processor market competition in that I reluctantly supported the part that was possible in the past.
As the Intel 500 series chipset motherboards, which were unveiled in January in advance, gradually went on sale in Korea or abroad, interest in this new motherboard seems to have increased. Today, for the first time, I would like to take a look at the ASUS ROG Strix Z590-A GAMING WiFi motherboard, which is the ASUS Z590 chipset motherboard.
■ Asus ROG STRIX Z590-A GAMING WIFI (STCOM)
▲ Brief specifications: Intel (Socket 1200) / (Intel) Z590 / ATX (30.5×24.4cm) / Power: 14+2 phases / DDR4 / Memory capacity: up to 128GB / XMP / VGA connection: PCIe4.0 x16 / Graphics output : HDMI, DP / PCIe slot: 4 / M.2: 3 / SATA3: 6 / USB 2.0: Rear 5 / USB 3.1: Rear 4 / Rear 1 / Wireless LAN / 2.5 Gigabit LAN / UEFI / LED Light / LED Header / M.2 Heatsink / AURA SYNC
Since the socket of the processor itself maintains the same LGA1200 as the existing 10th generation, it is hard to find any difference from the Z490 chipset motherboard in terms of appearance. However, to differentiate the product from Asus, the ROG Strix Z590-A gaming motherboard is finished in a “black-silver” tone to give it a fairly neat and sophisticated appearance.
Perhaps the item that many people will be interested in is the “memory overclocking” part. According to the ASUS website, the 11th generation core processor has revealed that it supports overclocking up to DDR4-5333 when configured with dual channels. The third-generation core processor is said to automatically support DDR4-3200 / 2933/2800/2666/2133 made in the JEDEC standard. However, it was confirmed through testing that the 10th generation core processors could also be used normally in the case of memory supporting DDR4-3200, but this part is the same memory in the motherboards based on the Z490 chipset, which recently started supporting SAM. As it supports the specifications, it can be seen that it is not a big surprise.
▲ Motherboard BIOS information checked through CPUID software and whether the Core i9 10900K processor recognizes DDR4-3200 CL22
There are six SATA3 ports natively supported by the Z590 chipset, which is not much different from the previous generation Z490 chipset. ROG Strix Z590-A GAMING motherboard was on-board with a structure that connects SATA connectors horizontally in a row to minimize interference with the graphics card.
This motherboard has a total of 4 RGB LED headers, one with 12V 4-pin RGB headers and the other 3 with 5V 3-pin ARGB headers. As it has a total of 4 ARGB pin headers, it can be easily connected to various peripheral devices such as AIO coolers and RGB-supported fans in the system case.
In addition to the standard 24-pin connector, the power and connection installed in the system are connected by two 8-pin 12V and 4-pin 12V connectors.
The power supply of the main board is made in the 12+2 digital VRM standard, and all have an aluminum heat sink and a heat pipe connecting the two to sufficiently cool the heat. And as it is made of silver tin-aluminum, it boasts a refined appearance.
The PCIe x16 slot connected to the graphics card has different specifications for each installed processor. The 10th generation core processor is Gen3 and the 11th generation core processor is Gen4. Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 30 series and new Radeon 6000 series support PCIe Gen4, but it is not yet showing a big performance improvement, but it officially supports the SAM, which helps you quickly access the graphics card and PCIe NVMe SSD, so there is little performance. You can see improvement.
The ROMBIOS onboard of the mainboard is located near the PCIe slot, and Asus’ SupremeFX sound codec uses the Realtek ALC4080 codec, but in terms of specifications, it is the same as the ALC1200. In addition, a separate analog amplifier for headset output is onboard.
PCIe 4.0 NVMe connection is only supported by Intel’s 11th generation processors so far, and is located between the processor socket and the PCIe x16 slot, which is directly connected to the processor’s 4 PCIe lanes. It should be noted that if you are using a 10th generation core processor, you cannot use NVMe Gen4 SSD, and you must use two Gen3 slots connected to the Z590 chipset.
Now, many people mount it with a separate small screw included in the standard mounting of the NVMe SSD for fast speed. It is also true that it was inconvenient as it had to be mounted through a separate screw, but Asus changed the mounting method with a plastic guide, giving a considerably high convenience when installing.
▲ The installed WD BLACK SN750 showed 3,480 MB/s continuous reading and 3,000 MB/s continuous writing according to the specifications. (When Core i9 10900K processor is installed)
A total of three supplied M.2 2280 SSD heat sinks were made of full-aluminum and had an appropriate thermal pad attached to the rear.
The IO shield on the motherboard has completely removed the PS2 legacy port, and has a display port for the processor’s built-in HD graphics output, an HDMI port, 4 USB 2.0 and 4 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, plus 2 USB Type C ports. Have. One of the USB Type-C ports that can be seen in the picture is printed with SS20, and this port is a Thunderbolt port that supports USB 3.2 Gen2 x2.
Lastly, although a separate heat sink is not applied to the bottom of the main board, it is stylishly printed in white tone with the ROG Strix pattern and pattern to add a small but stylish look.
■ Asus ROG STRIX Z590-A GAMING WIFI BIOS View
Finally, let’s look at the BIOS configuration of this motherboard. In advance, however, there was no significant difference between the BIOS of the previous generation Z490 chipset-based Asus motherboard and the UI.
If there is a change, through the top menu ReSizeBAR SAM support You can check the stability during partial and memory overclocking tests. MemTest86 added thisTurned on.
■ Application of MemTest86, God’s Hansu for memory overclocking stability
In the case of memory overclocking test, you have to load Windows until now, and then test the stability with a separate test program, but in the case of this motherboard, you can verify the stability directly on the BIOS, so it can be considered that it has a very convenient function. .
Among Asus motherboards, this MemTest86-applied product seems to be mainly focused on higher-end products, but I think it may be the addition of a function that created only the proper harmony between Intel and Asus, which Intel cares about memory overclocking considerably for the platform. Perhaps through this function, you can easily check the stability after overclocking the memory you want to use or use. The version installed in the current BIOS version was V 9.0 beta. However, it seems that the BIOS update through Harvest Asus will always be available to update to the latest version.
■ Asus ROG Strix Z590-A Gaming Wi-Fi, a Motherboard Taking Another Step
It is still unknown how much performance will be improved due to the time remaining for the official release of Intel’s 11th generation core processor, but the important thing is that the motherboard for this processor can be seen as being improved to a fairly high level. In particular, in the case of the power supply of the motherboard, it is expected to have a high TDP due to the squeeze of the existing 14nm process, but this also naturally rises as AMD 500 series motherboards require a high level of power supply, and now Intel motherboards Power units that can withstand high-level TDP have become the trend. In particular, the more I go to the high-end motherboards introduced through today’s article…
And MemTest86, which is basically installed in the BIOS introduced at the end of this article, seems to be a considerable “hand of the gods”. As mentioned earlier, the 11th generation will not actually show a large overclocking success rate, so the extra performance must be extracted by raising the memory clock like AMD. do. For this, memory clock overclocking is essential, and it is possible to process the cumbersome verification process on a BIOS that does not require a separate operating system booting, providing high convenience. But in retrospect, why didn’t we first put this feature on AMD Ryzen chipset-based motherboards? This part is probably because the AM4 socket supports a fairly large number of processors and expands the size of the BIOS, but it was a big factor in the cost increase for Asus, the motherboard manufacturer.
Anyway, today, through the Intel Z590 chipset motherboard, take a look at the ASUS ROG Strix Z590-A GAMING WIFI motherboard, which can be seen as the final destination of the last motherboard supporting up to the last 14nm process processor and DDR4 memory, and finally NVMe Gen4. I saw. There were two things I felt while writing this article. The first is the question of why it is so late to make a full-option function board suitable for the current peripheral situation, and the second is that it feels that it has come to the end of using the last DDR4 memory. And finally, I heard a little that Intel is getting a little bit more conscious.
As with the latest chipset and Asus’ high-end motherboard, the price is evil. Currently, the price of this product has been released at 450,000 won, but the price difference is about 120,000 won to 150,000 won as the predecessor Z490-A GAMING motherboard is sold at about 300,000 won.
