Z490

Over the years, Intel’s consumer processor lineup has featured its usual array of overclocking ‘K’ models, and more recently the ‘F’ series that come without integrated graphics. The bulk of the lineup however are still the versions without a suffix, the ‘nones’, like the Core i7-10700 in this review. These processors sit in the middle of the road, almost always having a 65 W TDP compared to the 91-125 W overclockable models, but also having integrated graphics, unlike the F family. What makes it interesting is when we pair one of these 65 W parts against its 125 W overclocking counterpart, and if the extra base and turbo frequency boost is actually worth the money in an era where motherboards don't seem to care...

GIGABYTE Z490 Aorus Master Motherboard Review: Clawing at the Competition

Throughout the majority of 2020, we saw an escalating war between AMD and Intel battling for supremacy in the desktop CPU market, which is an obvious win for the...

18 by Gavin Bonshor on 1/7/2021

Intel Core i9-10850K Review: The Real Intel Flagship

When a company like Intel creates a CPU design, the process of manufacturing brings about variation on the quality of the product. Some cores will only reach a certain...

127 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 1/4/2021

Supermicro C9Z490-PGW Motherboard Review: Comet Lake with 32 CPU PCIe Lanes

More widely known for its server-grade models, Supermicro always launches a small number of consumer motherboards, sometimes with some extra flair and hardware we don't see from the regular...

27 by Gavin Bonshor on 12/21/2020

Intel Confirms Rocket Lake on Desktop for Q1 2021, with PCIe 4.0

In a blog post on Medium today, Intel’s John Bonini has confirmed that the company will be launching its next-generation desktop platform in Q1 2021. This is confirmed as...

88 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 10/7/2020

The NZXT N7 Z490 Motherboard Review: From A Different Direction

It's been nearly two years to the day since NZXT last released a motherboard, which was the Z370 N7. NZXT initially used ECS as its motherboard OEM, but has...

46 by Gavin Bonshor on 10/7/2020

ASRock Z490 Aqua Motherboard Review: The $1100 LC Monoblock Flagship

It is no secret that Intel's 10th generation processors are power-hungry. Intel has been squeezing every last drop of MHz out of the 14 nm process with its fastest...

51 by Gavin Bonshor on 10/2/2020

The ASRock Z490 PG Velocita Motherboard Review: It Means SPEED

For the foreseeable future, or at least until Intel's Rocket Lake is likely to be unveiled, Intel's main platform for consumers is currently the Z490 chipset for Comet Lake...

16 by Gavin Bonshor on 9/21/2020

EVGA Launches Z490 Dark K|NGP|N Edition: Built for Overclockers

One of the biggest names on the extreme overclocking scene is Vince 'K|NGP|N' Lucido, who is highly regarded as one of the best sub-zero overclockers. He is a longtime...

59 by Gavin Bonshor on 9/8/2020

The Z490 Mini-ITX Showdown: GIGABYTE's Z490I Aorus Ultra and MSI's MEG Z490I Unify Reviewed

The mini-ITX form factor is as popular as ever, with a handful of options already available for Intel's new LGA1200 socket. Over the years motherboard vendors have been perfecting...

22 by Gavin Bonshor on 8/4/2020

GIGABYTE's New Z490 Aorus Master WaterForce Combo with Bundled 360mm AIO

Up until now, GIGABYTE has reserved the monoblock clad WaterForce series for its flagship Aorus Xtreme models. In an interesting move to further enhance the performance of the Intel...

13 by Gavin Bonshor on 8/3/2020

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Apex Now Available

Back in April, Intel released its Z490 chipset for its 10th generation Comet Lake processors with a choice of over 44 models for users to select from. One of...

20 by Gavin Bonshor on 7/1/2020

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Hero Wi-Fi Review: The Tale of Two Motherboards

Some of the recent discussions around motherboard design are whether the motherboard manufacturers are actually adhering to the CPU vendor specifications. If a motherboard manufacturer improves the base power...

34 by Dr. Ian Cutress & Gavin Bonshor on 6/11/2020

GIGABYTE Announces Z490 Aorus Ultra G2 Motherboard, with G2 Esports Tie-In

Collaborations between hardware vendors and Esports teams isn't a new thing, but it is becoming an apparent and common trend within the industry. GIGABYTE and G2 Esports has announced...

9 by Gavin Bonshor on 6/5/2020

The Biostar Racing Z490GTN Review: $200 for Comet Lake mini-ITX

Small form factor boards are always a key talking point for any desktop market. The usual breakdown on Mini-ITX sales for any given generation is usually around 10%, and...

40 by Dr. Ian Cutress & Gavin Bonshor on 6/5/2020

MSI MPG Z490 Carbon EK X: LGA1200 Motherboard with an EKWB Monoblock

In one of the coolest collaborations of the year so far, MSI and EK Water Blocks have come together to create a new Z490 motherboard, the MSI MPG Z490...

18 by Gavin Bonshor on 6/3/2020

The ASRock Z490 Taichi Motherboard Review: Punching LGA1200 Into Life

In our first Intel Z490 motherboard review, the ASRock Z490 Taichi takes center stage. With its recognizable Taichi clockwork inspired design, a 12+2 power delivery, three PCIe 3.0 x4...

63 by Gavin Bonshor on 5/27/2020

The Intel Comet Lake Core i9-10900K, i7-10700K, i5-10600K CPU Review: Skylake We Go Again

The first thing that comes to mind with Intel’s newest line of 10th Generation desktop processors is one of ‘14nm Skylake, again?’. It is hard not to ignore the...

220 by Dr. Ian Cutress on 5/20/2020

MSI Unveils MEG Z490 Unify Series: Unassuming Style

With the release of Intel's 10th generation desktop processors (Comet Lake-S) looming ever closer, MSI has announced a pair of new Z490 models, the MSI MEG Z490 Unify and...

28 by Gavin Bonshor on 5/11/2020

Intel Z490 Motherboards Available For Pre-Order: From $150 to $1299

In preparation for the launch of Intel's Z490 chipset and Intel's 10th generation Comet Lake desktop processors, Z490 motherboards are now available to pre-order from various retailers. For entry-level...

32 by Gavin Bonshor on 5/6/2020

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