ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero Motherboard Review

There’s no shortage of great-looking motherboards in 2023, as the overall industry standard has increased quite a lot, but I suppose you could also argue that prices have also increased to reflect that. The higher standards and prices are especially true with the latest gaming motherboards, such as the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 HERO that I have in the office today. It has features on it that make it appealing to high-end workstation builds, but since this is a ROG (Republic of Gamers) board, it’s obviously being pushed more towards enthusiast gamers with deep pockets than it is the business market.

It’s packing some impressive features, as you might expect, with support for both the 12th and 13th Gen Intel CPUs, and with a truly massive 20+1 VRM configuration with 90A power stages and a significant amount of heatsinks and armour on all the hardware, it should deliver some pretty fantastic performance, even on the most demanding benchmarks and usage scenarios. Furthermore, with this being a high-end board, the overall connectivity is increased too, with triple M.2, WiFi 6E, 2.5 GbE LAN, Thunderbolt 4, their latest ROG Hyper M.2 Card (supports 1x PCIe 5.0 or 2 x 4.0), and of course, DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5.

Features

• Intel LGA 1700 socket: Ready for 13th & 12th Gen Intel Core processors and Windows 11, support PCIe 5.0 and DDR5
• Intelligent Control: ASUS-exclusive tools including AI Overclocking, AI Cooling II, AI Networking(GameFirst VI) and Two-Way AI Noise-Cancelation for easy configuration
• Robust Power Solution: 20+1 teamed power stages rated for 90 A, ProCool II power connectors, MicroFine alloy chokes and premium metallic capacitors
• Optimized Thermal Design: VRM heatsinks plus integrated aluminium I/O cover, high-conductivity thermal pad, triple M.2 heatsinks and dual with embedded backplates, and ROG Water-Cooling Zone
• High-performance Networking: Onboard WiFi 6E,Bluetooth V5.2, Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet, and ASUS LANGaurd

For in-depth features and specifications please visit the official product page here.

What ASUS Had to Say

“Returning to the forefront of performance, the maximus flagship series races to pole position, buffed and ready with more power, the Z790 MAXIMUS HERO boasts a powerful and robust 20+1 teamed power solution, DDR5 memory support, PCIe 5.0 technology, massive storage capabilities with 3x onboard M.2 slots and bundled Hyper M.2 PCIe 5.0 ready expansion card, a heavily optimised thermal solution, WIFI 6E and Thunderbolt 4 connectivity and plenty of personalisation options ranging from Polymo lighting through to the exclusive ASUS armory crate technology. The ROG Maximus Z790 HERO puts it all at your disposal together with an arsenal of features and utilities to truly express the PC builder, overclocker, and gaming hero in you.” – ASUS