ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-I Gaming WiFi Motherboard Review

ASUS are the masters of mini-ITX, often creating many of the most powerful and feature-packed motherboards in this size class. This is often done by providing external hardware and a stacked PCB design, and I'm happy to report that the new is no ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-I Gaming WiFi exception. It comes packed with features for the PC gaming enthusiast that are sure to make it a big hit with Intel 12th and 13th Gen users! ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-I Gaming WiFi When it comes to the CPU, it makes do with a 10+1 VRM configuration, a far cry from the big ATX motherboards, but keep in mind, it is a mini-ITX motherboard and this should still be plenty to hit boost clocks on the more powerful CPUs. There's the fantastic ROG Strix Hive too, which I've seen on other models from ASUS, but it's basically a desktop device that features OC controls, a sound card, a volume control knob and more. Having the soundcard external allows them to stack more USB, SATA, additional M.2 slots, and more onto the PCB of the motherboard. Features Intel LGA 1700 socket: Ready for 13th Gen Intel Core processors & 12th Gen Intel Core, Pentium Gold and Celeron ProcessorsSFF Innovations: ROG Strix Hive moves OC controls and connectivity to the desktop while allowing for a larger audio solution, and the ROG FPS-II Card vertically mounts USB and SATA portsRobust Power Solution: 10 + 1 power solution rated for 105A per stage with ProCool II power connectors, high-quality alloy chokes, and durable capacitors to support multi-core processorsOptimized VRM Thermals: Thick heatsinks with integrated I/O cover high-conductivity thermal pads, and connected with an L-shaped heatpipeMulti-Layer M.2 Stack: Both a PCIe5.0 M.2 slot and a PCIe 4.0 M.2 are sandwiched between thick heatsinks in a space-saving and thermally-efficient arrayAbundant Connectivity: Two Thunderbolt 4 ports, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C rear I/O port and front-panel connector, four additional USB 3.2 Gen 2 and Gen 1 ports, PCIe 5.0 x16 SafeSlot, and HDMI 2.1High-Performance Networking: On-board Intel Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and Intel 2.5 Gb Ethernet with ASUS LANGuardIntelligent Control: ASUS-exclusive AI Overclocking, AI Cooling II, AI Networking and Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation to simplify setup and improve performance What ASUS Had to Say "Rules are made to be broken. Smashing the conventions of what a mini-ITX motherboard can do, the ROG Strix Z790-I’s power delivery rivals that of full-scale titans and its stacked thermal array is more than a match for multi-core behemoths. It also expands the boundaries of connectivity, with the innovative ROG Hive, a hybrid audio and USB hub with an added twist - an AI Overclocking button makes tuning so easy, it feels like cheating." - ASUS A Closer Look It's certainly a great-looking motherboard, with a surprisingly massive set of VRM heatsinks relative to the size of the motherboard itself. Of course, that's a good thing, keeping your VRM cool is a big advantage for CPU performance. There's a ProCool II power connector too, which features more durable pins, soldering and a metal sleeve around the connector. Under all that lovely armour, you can see there's a 10+1 VRM configuration, which features 105A stages, alloy chokes, and 10K capacitors, which is again all fantastic and I wouldn't expect less from a high-end motherboard like this. Further down, you can see there are two slots above the PCIe mount, allowing for some add-in PCBs that stack up to provide a PCIe 5.0 M.2 and a PCIe 4.0 M.2 to be sandwiched between the stacking and thick heatsinks, while also forming the chipset heatsink too. The heatsinks look great though, and I love the mixture of digital textures and reflective surfaces that makes up the board's design. Below the heatsink, you'll find a single PCIe 5.0 slot, which is heavily reinforced so dealing with the bulk of a modern GPU shouldn't be an issue for it. The rear I/O certainly looks interesting, as it seems to be missing a few bits, most notably the audio jacks. As I said though, they're on the Hive desktop unit. Here you do get three Type-C ports, and some USB 3.2 10Gbps Type-A too, so connectivity is great if you're using a lot of high-speed external storage. Furthermore, with WiFi 6E and 2.5 GbE LAN, networking is pretty swift too. The Hive features a Type-C, and Type-A BIOS flash port, headphone and microphone jacks, and the Flex/Bios keys too, so there's no need to reach behind the PC to get to the goodies anymore. 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. Small it may be, but mighty it certainly is as it leads the pack for Timespy with a staggering 21541 points! Less is clearly more, not that this board is truly lacking. 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. Even in Express, it still delivered a strong result, with 7211 putting it just behind the much larger Prime Z790-A, and even beating the Z790 EXTREME! 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. The SuperPi test is a great benchmark for CPU and memory performance, and again, the completion time was exactly the same as the mighty ROG MAXIMUS Z790 EXTREME. 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. Both the multi-core and single-core performance are holding remarkably consistent throughout these benchmarks, with a competitive score of 2272 on the single core, which is again faster than the Z790 EXTREME, but then again, even its multi-core score outpaced the ASUS flagship, so yeah, this thing is fast! 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. Even in our memory benchmarks, where I really just want to see it in the ballpark of what is expected of our memory kit, it's actually still pushing a bit of a lead and scored our second highest, so to say I'm impressed is an understatement. The latency is a little on the high side, but as you can see, that's largely the norm for these newer DDR5 motherboards. Oh and it's still faster than the Extreme again, ha, go figure. 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. Weirdly the gaming performance lags behind a little bit in some of our benchmarks, it's not that it's bad, it most certainly is not, but it's clear that the larger motherboards have an advantage in gaming, which typically taxes storage, memory, CPU and GPU together unlike most benchmarks that focus on one or two aspects at a time. 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. 174 FPS average is the lowerest here, but the 1% lows are strong and not too far off the pace of the big boys, but again, if FPS if your only goal, mini-ITX seems to have pros and cons. 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. Of course, flipping all that on its head, it then delivered some killer performance in Spiderman... So I guess there's some give and take here. 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. Again good performance here, and once again I'm happy to see those strong 1% lows, as that will help with a smoother gaming experience vs just having a high frame rate. 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 more features a board has the longer it tends to take to boot, and it's fair to say this one is pretty packed, so it's not too surprising to see it being a slow booter, along with a few other ASUS boards for that matter. 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 heatsinks on this motherboard are pretty big, at least, they're big for a mini-ITX motherboard, so while they do run quite warm, I'm pretty happy as the temperatures are not at a point of being a concern, and as we saw, the CPU performance was exceptional so it's most certainly not throttling. 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. Power consumption is a little higher, but again, when the motherboard is delivering many class-leading benchmark scores, it's clearly not burning that power for no reason, and higher power for higher performance is fine with me. 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 overall operating costs are pretty average though, perhaps a little hot on the idle performance, but if you're working and gaming a lot, it's on par with other high-end motherboards. How Much Does It Cost? There is some good news and bad news regarding this motherboard, the first is that you can buy it now, but then the bad news is that it's pretty damn expensive. It's on Amazon for a painful £426.43 which is a tiny bit under the £429.99 MSRP. However, you can buy it direct from ASUS right now for a more reasonable £388.88, so be sure to shop around for the best price. Overview This motherboard is pretty fantastic, but obviously, it's quite a specialist item too, most notably due to its form factor being small and its retail price being rather high. Clearly, it's built for the enthusiast PC users out there, but while it is expensive, I can't say that it is overpriced, as it has a level of features and performance that more than justify the asking price. When it came to our benchmarks, it's a total beast and even managed to out perform many larger and more expensive motherboards in CPU-bound tasks. The 10+1 VRM and the heatsinks may be limited, but they're very well engineered, as our CPU was able to deliver fast and consistent benchmarking performance. Gaming performance wasn't the best, but I'd never call it bad, it's a fast motherboard and for those building a compact gaming PC, you'll not find anything faster in this size class. Its connectivity is next level too, and moving the soundcard, some USB ports, audio controls, and even the BIOS/Flexkey to the external Hive controller allowed ASUS to cram in two M.2 storage slots above the PCIe 5.0 slot, making this motherboard more versatile and easy to use on a day-to-day basis. You get all the benefits of a smaller motherboard and PC but don't lose out on that high-end level of connectivity. Should I Buy One? It's pretty expensive, but when it comes to mini-ITX motherboards, I can't think of any other I would rather invest in. It's very well made, offers more storage options than other boards of its size, and the addition of the desktop Hive unit to provide audio and I/O without needing to reach the rear of your computer is a game changer. Of course, when it comes to performance, it's one of the fastest motherboards I've tested, even outpacing the flagship ASUS EXTREME in many benchmarks.