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 DDR5Intelligent Control: ASUS-exclusive tools including AI Overclocking, AI Cooling II, AI Networking(GameFirst VI) and Two-Way AI Noise-Cancelation for easy configurationRobust Power Solution: 20+1 teamed power stages rated for 90 A, ProCool II power connectors, MicroFine alloy chokes and premium metallic capacitorsOptimized 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 ZoneHigh-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 A Closer Look ASUS has long made many of the best-looking motherboards on the market, and it's pretty clear that their latest HERO motherboard maintains that legacy. It actually does look a lot like the old Z690 Hero too, with the VRM heatsink in particular following a similar design, but with some slight changes in the overall shape and size of the heatsinks on the lower half of the board. Interestingly, the Z690 board also used the same or, at least, extremely similar, 20+1 Power Stages that were rated at 90A. Not to say they haven't improved things, but with a configuration like this, there isn't much room for improvement, as this will absolutely crank the best performance out of the latest flagship CPUs regardless. There are two ProCool II connectors for the CPU PSU header, these are thicker pins, more robust soldering, and a metal jacket around the connectors too, for better power and thermal management. Of course, you get the latest DDR5 memory support, with reinforced DIMM slots. Those using this on an open bench will be happy to see on-board power controls too, as well as their programmable Flex Key; handy for overclocking profiles and getting right into the BIOS! On the bottom half, there's a lot more armour protecting the board, your M.2 drives, and of course, adding a lot of mass to deliver impressive cooling performance to the chipset and drive bays too. There are three M.2 drive mounts, all equipped with those screwless locking mechanisms too, which is great. There are two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots too, which no doubt has a big impact on the price of this board, but they're well spaced out too, so thicker GPUs shouldn't be an issue. The top one comes with that quick-release lever, and both of them are heavily armoured too. There's also a Gen4 x8 slot at the bottom. Around the back, there's a significant amount of metal. The motherboard would have been heavy without this, but now it's super heavy, so make sure you're putting this into a sturdy PC case! The metal provides a massive amount of surface area to dissipate heat. However, it also provides a more robust mounting point for the large heatsinks on the front. Rather than bolting them to the PCB, they bolt through into the metal, sandwiching the PCB, which is much better for the hardware in general. As you can see, there are even thermal pads on the back of the VRM for this too. The rear I/O is pretty comprehensive too, offering up three USB Type-C ports, with Thunderbolt 4 support. There are 4 x USB 3.2 ports, as well as five USB 10 Gbps ports. How We Test We continue to update our testing methods around once per year. As such, we re-test older hardware to reflect changes over time. These can be driver updates, Windows updates, game patches, and more; all of which have an impact on performance figures. Furthermore, we update our test benches to newer and more relevant hardware. This means that our new reviews aren’t always comparable to those of older reviews, so please compare the testing methodology on older reviews should you be trying to compare them with newer ones. Replicate Our Results When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory and are kept as simple as possible, although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of a graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you’re looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using the benchmarks available to you. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware tested here to give you a ballpark figure of how much of an upgrade this will provide you with. Motherboard Test Systems Test System (AM5) Motherboard Changes Per Review Review Buy Now Processor AMD Ryzen 9 7900X GPU Zotac RTX 3090 Trinity Review Buy Now RAM Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR5 32GB 5200MHz Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H7 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers Graphics: 516.94 Test System (AM4) Motherboard Changes Per Review Buy Now Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5950X GPU Zotac RTX 3090 Trinity Review Buy Now RAM Kingston Fury Renegade DDR4 32GB 3600MHz Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H7 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers Graphics: 516.94 Test System (Z690) Motherboard Changes Per Review Review Buy Now Processor Intel Core i9 12900K GPU Zotac RTX 3090 Trinity Review Buy Now RAM Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR5 32GB 5200MHz Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H7 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers Graphics: 516.94 Test System (Z590) Motherboard Changes Per Review Review Buy Now Processor Intel Core i9 11900K GPU Zotac RTX 3090 Trinity Review Buy Now RAM Kingston Fury Renegade DDR4 32GB 3600MHz Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H7 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers Graphics: 516.94 Additional Hardware ElmorLabs PMD-USB Power Measurement Device With USB (link) Software We use a variety of software from different developers to assist in our testing and to give us the most consistent results possible. Some applications are specifically used for testing, while others are simply used for monitoring and to aid us in making sure that our results are as accurate as possible. Software Used 3DMark FireStrike & TimeSpy (download)AIDA64 (download)CapFrameX 1.6.9 (download)Cinebench R23 (download)CPU-Z (download)HWMonitor (download)PCMark 10 Express (download)Super PI 2.1 WP (download) Gaming To gauge performance levels which are easily reproduced time after time, by both ourselves and our readers, we now stick strictly to games default profiles. Given how powerful most modern cards are getting, we've began using more demanding profiles for most games, but will otherwise state on a per game basis if we use other profiles beyond High, Ultra, Maximum or their respective equivalent at all resolutions. V-Sync is always disabled in our testing, and all FPS caps that can be removed are. We also enable XMP and Resizable bar technology across all platforms to keep things as fair as possible. Games While we test a lot of games, it's not possible to display all of the data on the website or in our videos. Instead, we include access to all of our testing data for our Patreon members (link), where members get a ton of other benefits as well. What we do however, is display charts for averages across all game titles to give a better picture of performance across all titles tested. Cyberpunk 2077Horizon Zero DawnMarvel's Spider-Man RemasteredMicrosoft Flight Simulator 2020 Resolutions 1080p (Full HD) Some tests will also include features such as NVIDIA DLSS and Ray Tracing. However, these will be clearly labelled and may only appear in reviews for graphics cards that support those features. Power Consumption Not being content on simply reading total system power draw at both idle, we now have the ability thanks to the ElmorLabs PMD-USB device that allows us to measure power draw directly through the EPS power connectors. We test at idle, during gaming load, of which we measure drawing a run of Cyberpunk 2077 and during Cinebench R23 at load too. We also use a GW-Instek GPM-8212 power meter to measure the complete system power at the wall to get an idea of how each motherboard compares to one another. VRM Temperatures We take temperature readings after 10 minutes of desktop idle with no background programs running, then take the recorded maximum delivered during the same runs as when we measure power consumption, being during our Cyberpunk 2033 run, and during Cinebench R23 at load too. 3DMark Timespy Extreme Time Spy Extreme is a new 4K DirectX 12 benchmark test, available in 3DMark Advanced and Professional Editions. You don’t need a 4K monitor to run it, but you will need a GPU with at least 4 GB of dedicated memory. With its 4K Ultra HD rendering resolution, Time Spy Extreme is an ideal benchmark test for the latest high-end graphics cards. The CPU test has been redesigned to let processors with 8 or more cores perform to their full potential 3DMark is available on Steam here. Right off the bad, the performance looks decent here, not the fastest, but most certainly in the ballpark for Z790 and 21060 points is certainly no slouch. PCMark 10 Express PCMark 10 features a comprehensive set of tests that cover the wide variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace. With a range of performance tests, custom run options, Battery Life Profile, and new Storage benchmarks, PCMark 10 is the complete PC benchmark for the modern office. Available now on Steam. It rocketed ahead in PCMark 10, actually, I'm not sure why, but the result was repeatable and it shows that overall system performance is excellent! Super PI 2.1 WP Super PI is a single-threaded benchmark that calculates pi to a specific number of digits. It uses the Gauss-Legendre algorithm and is a Windows port of a program used by Yasumasa Kanada in 1995 to compute pi to 232 digits Available now on Super PI. It absolutely crushed it in Super Pi too, and don't forget, lower is better here, so 4.47 in a new record for us, and very impressive indeed. Cinebench R23 Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 23 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user. Best of all: It’s free. Available now on Maxon. In Cinebench, 37194 is a strong score, and 2215 on single core too. Not the fastest here, but most certainly not holding up the performance either. AIDA64 AIDA64 is a system information, diagnostics, and auditing application developed by FinalWire Ltd that runs on Windows, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Tizen, Chrome OS and Sailfish OS operating systems. It displays detailed information on the components of a computer. Available now on AIDA64. Memory performance is right on the money too, and again, there are higher results here, but only by a fraction. Overall though, this is within a good target for the DDR5 memory we're running. The latency is a touch higher than some, but again, it seems that's pretty common on Z790, so it's not something I'm concerned about in the slightest. Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG set in the megalopolis of Night City, where you play as a cyberpunk mercenary wrapped up in a do-or-die fight for survival. Improved and featuring all-new free additional content, customize your character and playstyle as you take on jobs, build a reputation, and unlock upgrades. The relationships you forge and the choices you make will shape the story and the world around you. Legends are made here. What will yours be? Available now on Steam. Right, this is a ROG board, which means it should be good for gaming and well... it was! It scored the highest average and 1% lows in Cyberpunk by quite a significant margin! Horizon Zero Dawn Experience Aloy’s entire legendary quest to unravel the mysteries of a world ruled by deadly Machines. An outcast from her tribe, the young hunter fights to uncover her past, discover her destiny… and stop a catastrophic threat to the future. Unleash devastating, tactical attacks against unique Machines and rival tribes as you explore an open world teeming with wildlife and danger. Horizon Zero Dawn is a multi-award-winning action role-playing game – and this Complete Edition for PC includes the huge expansion The Frozen Wilds, featuring new lands, skills, weapons and Machines. Available now on Steam. Not the fastest in Horizon, but still certainly pushing good numbers and on the higher end of the Z790 average. Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered Developed by Insomniac Games in collaboration with Marvel, and optimized for PC by Nixxes Software, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on PC introduces an experienced Peter Parker who’s fighting big crime and iconic villains in Marvel’s New York. At the same time, he’s struggling to balance his chaotic personal life and career while the fate of Marvel’s New York rests upon his shoulders. Available now on Steam. Fantastic 1% lows here of 127, and very close to the top for the average performance; a very fast motherboard indeed. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 The Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year (GOTY) Edition celebrates all the positive feedback, reviews and awards garnered, but it is also a “Thank You” to our fans – new and old – that have made Microsoft Flight Simulator such a phenomenon. Best of all, the Microsoft Flight Simulator Game of the Year Edition will be available as a free update for existing players on PC. Available now on Steam. It completely fell flat on its face here though, absolutely have no idea why either, as we retested and got the same again. Very odd, but I can only think it would be a hiccup somewhere in the storage speeds. Boot Time So as I mentioned, benchmarks are for the most part pretty useless, especially when all boards on the same platform, using the same CPU, GPU and memory, perform within a range of each other with the only benchmark that we did that actually shows something being the boot time as this really is board specific, especially with the way they work with DDR5 through the memory training they have to do. The boot time is a little slower, but this is to be expected on these more feature-packed motherboards which literally have more things to load up. However, it did outpace the STRIX I Gaming and the EXTREME, so that's still impressive at 37.05 The other key areas that are worth focussing on though comes down to VRM temperatures, which can differ wildly depending on the amount, the capacity of the current that can pass through them, and of course how the various heatsinks handle that power, which in turn, creates heat. VRM Temperatures The VRM configuration on this motherboard is largely identical to that of the older Z690 version of the HERO. The old one peaked at 53c with our 12900K, so this one hit just 54c with the more potent i9-13900K after a 1-hour stress test, which is pretty damn fantastic. I'd happily run this CPU hard all day and night and not have any concerns about the VRM temperatures. Power Consumption Power consumption is measured at idle, during a Cinebench R23 run and during a gaming benchmark run of Cyberpunk 2077, which is a very CPU-intensive game. By getting 3 performance metrics, it allows us to see a better picture of the average user and what they are typically going to see in terms of power draw for just the processor itself. The board does use a lot of power, even at idle, but that's not all that surprising given the board has such a large VRM configuration, which takes in more power to provide more stable and cleaner power delivery at the cost of efficiency, and while it is using more power, that's largely reflected with faster performance too. Operating Costs With the cost of living increases across the world, especially when it comes to the cost of electricity, it's worth looking at the cost of running a processor and how it compares to similar products on the market. By taking the average cost per kWh, we can calculate a rough running cost at idle, during a simulated workload test (Cinebench R23), to give us worst-case scenario costs, as well as gaming costs during a run of Cinebench R23. US Dollars (USD) British Pound (GBP) The increase in power consumption is going to result in higher operating costs too, of course. While it does use similar power to rivals at high loads, if the system is idle a lot, the ROG boards do tend to be quite thirsty. How Much Does It Cost? The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero motherboard is an absolute monster, but strangely, I think it's pretty fantastic value for money, relatively speaking. The top boards from the likes of AORUS and ASUS are the best and worst part of £1000. While the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero is "only" £688.99, despite delivering equal or greater overall system performance in our benchmarks. Overview Why would someone spend another £300-400 for the next model up if you can get performance that's as good or better at this price range? Connectivity, and I'd say most gamers would be just as happy with the gaming performance spending £200-300 less, if they didn't need all the connectivity that the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero has to offer. The flagship boards all have 10Gbps LAN, more Gen 5 M.2 slots, and more ultra-fast USB formats. However, unless you're really using all that, and I mean REALLY using it, you're throwing money down the drain. Even this motherboard, which has two PCIe 5.0 slots, and Thunderbolt 4, both of which add significantly to the overall cost as you need more controllers and hardware in general to handle it. I do like the dual PCIe 5 design on this board though, as ASUS provide you with a usage for it. Obviously, the top slot is perfect for a graphics card. However, you also get their Hyper M.2 PCIe 5.0 ready expansion card included, so in addition to the three M.2 mounts on the motherboard, the card can add another Gen5 drive or two Gen4 drives, to really push your storage and RAID configurations up to the next level (Raid 0, 1, 10, and 5 supported). Of course, you get a plethora of other goodies too, such as their impressive AURA SYNC RGB integration, the powerful SONIC STUDIO III, which has HRTF-based surround sound for headphones and uses their latest ROG SupremeFX 7.1 HD Audio hardware. There's fast 2.5 Gbps LAN and WiFi 6E, although both are now pretty much a standard on high-end boards, and that rear I/O should be more than enough for any enthusiast built. Should I Buy One? The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero motherboard ticks all the right boxes, delivering some of the fastest gaming and system performance on the market, while also maintaining impressive temperatures despite its slightly higher power draw. If you want flagship speed at 2/3 the price of the top model, then the Hero is hard to beat.