ASUS RoG Maximus XI Formula Z390 Motherboard Review

A Closer Look

All of the Maximus motherboards are stunning to look at, but few, if any, have as much jewellery as the Formula. It’s got ultra-sleek and smooth cover plates and heatsinks all over it. Everything is reinforced and secured firmly. Plus, where ever possible, it’s either covered in matte black stealthy material or mirror chrome. For those rocking loads of RGB, or chrome tubing on their custom loop, it’s going to shine like a diamond in your rig. Just keep those greasy fingerprints away!

The VRM cooling is built to offer plenty of passive cooling performance. That’s a pretty sizable chunk of metal on the top there. Of course, the two fittings on each end mean you can pump liquid through it for even better cooling performance should you need it. With the heat of the i9-9900K while overclocked, this is a good option to have indeed.

Power Delivery

The socket is flanked with MicroFine Alloy Chokes and a plethora of 10K Black Metallic Capacitors. The CPU is powered by an 8-pin plus an additional 4-pin PSU cable. Overall, this should mean much more stable voltages and help push those extreme overclocks.

Tucked into the right side of the motherboard, there are four reinforced DIMM slots, with support for DDR4 4400MHz+ (OC), and using their Optimem II technology. Here, you’ll also find the USB Gen 2 header next to the 24-pin.

However, up in the top right, you’ll find a small debug LED, and two nicely integrate power control buttons too; handy for use on a test-bench.

Chrome and RGB

There are three full-size PCI slots, of course, they’re not all wired in 16x, with the mid being 8x and the bottom 4x. The top two are reinforced with armour, and there’s that frankly massive shroud over everything else. It looks super clean though and also provides a huge heatsink for the motherboard, and the underlying M.2 mounts.

Tucked into the bottom left, you’ll find the superb SupremeFX audio hardware. It relies on the much-loved ALC S1220 codec and integrates Nichicon capacitors, ESS ES9023P DAC, Switch MosFets, and Gold-plated jacks. This is backed up on the software side with Sonic Radar III and Sonic Studio III for extensive audio customisation and features.

I/O to the MAX

The I/O shield is pre-installed, which is always a bonus. However, there’s a lot more going on here that’s even cooler. From the top, you’ll find BIOS and reset buttons, perfect for when you muck up your BIOS settings. Below that, you’ll find an HDMI port, should you need it. There are six USB 3.0 ports, including one set as a BIOS Flashback port. There are three USB Gen 2 ports, and another in Type-C form factor. Networking, you have Aquantia 5G LAN, Intel Gigabit Ethernet and 2×2 802.11ac Wi-Fi to choose from; not too shabby! Finally, you’ll find the usual audio jacks, all fitted with gold-plating, and there’s an optical TosLink out also.

On the back of the motherboard, a huge backplate adds incredible strength to the motherboard. While it will provide some passive cooling for the PCB also, it acts as a screw-through mounting for the shrouds on the motherboard. This means that everything is locked in securely, and it’s easily one of the most durable motherboards on the market today.