ASUS ROG STRIX-I Gaming Z490 Motherboard Review

Peter Donnell / 5 years ago

We really don’t see too many mini-ITX motherboards these days, and mATX boards even less so. However, we’ve been lucky enough to receive the new ASUS ROG STRIX Z490-I Gaming motherboard, which looks perfect for those wanting big performance in a compact form factor. It’s part of their STRIX series, so you know it’s got to be pretty good to fit in with that range, and it’ll be tuned heavily towards the gaming market. It’s certainly one fantastic looking motherboard, and despite the compact form factor, it still promises a lot of features and big performance.

ASUS ROG STRIX-I Gaming Z490 Motherboard

Despite being a smaller motherboard, it still manages to pack an impressive 8 + 2 Power Stage, so it should be pretty capable at pushing good clock speeds out of the new 10th Gen Intel flagships. Plus, despite only having dual DIMMS, it’ll support the newer Double-Capacity DDR4 modules, allowing 32GB per slot. There are dual M.2 mounts, there’s two networking options, high-end audio on-board, and plenty more beyond then. That goes quite a long way to explain the premium price tag, but if the performance is as good as we hope, it’ll be worth every penny.

Features

Socket LGA 1200
Intel Z490 Chipset
ProCool II Power Connector
8 + 2 DRMOS Power Stage
Upgraded Chokes
AI Overclocking / Cooling / Networking
Double Capacity DIMM Support
Dual M.2
Intel WiFi 6 and 2.5G
Sonic Studio III

What ASUS Had to Say

“Any mini-ITX build with ROG Strix Z490-I Gaming motherboard as its backbone is going to punch well above its weight. With boosted power delivery, innovative active cooling design, plus the all-new Triple-decker Heatsink, ROG Strix Z490-I Gaming is the perfect compact platform for the latest Intel® Core™ processors.” – ASUS