The Ultimate Z590 Motherboard Guide

ASRock

ASRock is coming to market with a strong lineup for this launch. They’ll have 12 new motherboards, which are all pretty much just evolutions of their Z490 boards, but that is no bad thing. We still have the truly gorgeous Taichi at the top of the range, but I can’t help feel it looks a lot more understated than their previous designs, but we have no doubts it’s tuned for extreme performance.

The Extreme comes in two variants, one with WiFi 6 and one without. However, it still packs a lot of features and will no doubt appeal to many high-end system builders that don’t want to pay the big premium for the Taichi.

Want something lighter and with more RGB? The Steel Legend is an exciting looking range, offering up two models again, one with WiFi 6. These boards come with a silver/steel coloured armour, big heatsinks and more, aiming towards high-end gaming builds.

The Pro4 is a little more sensible, offering a small amount of RGB but mostly bringing in design elements via its graphic printed PCB. It’s obviously a lot more stripped-down, with a focus on the CPU performance. This is a good choice for those who want great performance but don’t need additional networking and storage hardware.

My personal favourite right now is the Phantom Gaming series. Even the most affordable Gaming4 model for mid-to-high-end gaming builds comes with a solid feature set. Plus, it’s the first one here that’s available in both ATX and mATX variants. Furthermore, that’s followed by the mATX Z590M Pro 4.

However, the flagship Z590 PG Velocita is the best looking board they’re launching and brings in the flair I feel was missing from the Taichi. They’re similarly equipped too, and it seems the Velocita is just another flavour for the enthusiast market.

ASRock only has a single mini-ITX board for this launch, the Z590M-ITX/ax. They’ve proven that mini doesn’t have to mean limited features once again, as it’s got extremely fast memory support, high-end audio, dual LAN, WiFi 6 and much more beyond.

Check out the AsRock Z590 official product page here.

Z590 Taichi

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 14 Phase Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR4 5000MHz (OC)
• 2 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x1
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, 2 x Thunderbolt™ Type-C
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 8 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 2 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 2 x Thunderbolt™ 4/USB 4.0 Type-C (40Gb/s)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C (20Gb/s)
• 2 x Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A (10Gb/s)
• 8 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (8 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Killer E3100G 2.5G LAN, Intel^® Gigabit LAN
• Killer AX1675x 802.11ax(WiFi 6E) + BT 5.2
• Lightning Gaming Ports (Patent Pending)
• ASRock Graphics Card Holder (Patent Pending)

Z590 Extreme WiFi 6E

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 14 Phase Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR4 4800MHz (OC)
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, DisplayPort
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 6 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 2 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C (20Gb/s)
• Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A+C (10Gb/s)
• 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• 6 x USB 2.0 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Dragon 2.5 Gigabit LAN, Intel^® Gigabit LAN
• Intel^® 802.11ax(WiFi 6E) + BT 5.2
• ASRock Graphics Card Holder (Patent Pending)

Z590 Extreme

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 14 Phase Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR4 4800MHz (OC)
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1, 1 x M.2 Key-E for WiFi
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, DisplayPort
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 6 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 2 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C (20Gb/s)
• Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A+C (10Gb/s)
• 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• 6 x USB 2.0 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Dragon 2.5 Gigabit LAN, Intel^® Gigabit LAN
• ASRock Graphics Card Holder (Patent Pending)

Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 14 Phase Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR4 4800MHz (OC)
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, DisplayPort
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC897 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 6 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 2 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C (20Gb/s)
• Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A+C (10Gb/s)
• 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• 6 x USB 2.0 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Dragon 2.5 Gigabit LAN
• Intel^® WiFi 6E (802.11ax) + BT 5.2
• ASRock Graphics Card Holder (Patent Pending)

Z590 Steel Legend

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 14 Phase Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR4 4800MHz (OC)
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1, 1 x M.2 Key-E for WiFi
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, DisplayPort
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC897 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 6 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 2 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C (20Gb/s)
• Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A+C (10Gb/s)
• 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• 6 x USB 2.0 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Dragon 2.5 Gigabit LAN
• ASRock Graphics Card Holder (Patent Pending)

Z590 Pro4

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 14 Phase Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR4 4800MHz (OC)
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1, 1 x M.2 Key-E for WiFi
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, DisplayPort
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC897 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 6 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4), 2 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C (20Gb/s)
• 2 x Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 (10Gb/s)
• 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• 6 x USB 2.0 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Dragon 2.5 Gigabit LAN
• ASRock Graphics Card Holder (Patent Pending)

Z590 PG Velocita

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 14 Phase Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR4 4800MHz (OC)
• 2 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x1
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, DisplayPort
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 6 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 2 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C (20Gb/s)
• Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A+C (10Gb/s)
• 10 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (6 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Killer E3100G 2.5G LAN, Intel^® Gigabit LAN
• Killer AX1675x 802.11ax(WiFi 6E) + BT 5.2
• CPU Direct Source LAN (Patent Pending)
• Lightning Gaming Ports (Patent Pending)
• ASRock Graphics Card Holder (Patent Pending)

Z590 Phantom Gaming 4/ac

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 8 Phase Power Design
• Supports DDR4 4800MHz (OC)
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC897 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 6 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4), 2 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C (20Gb/s)
• Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A+C (10Gb/s)
• 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• 6 x USB 2.0 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Intel^® Gigabit LAN
• Intel^® 802.11ac WiFi + BT 5.1
• ASRock Polychrome SYNC

Z590 Phantom Gaming 4

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 8 Phase Power Design
• Supports DDR4 4800MHz (OC)
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 3 x PCIe 3.0 x1, 1 x M.2 Key-E for WiFi
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC897 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 6 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 2 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Front Type-C (20Gb/s)
• Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A+C (10Gb/s)
• 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• 6 x USB 2.0 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Intel^® Gigabit LAN
• ASRock Polychrome SYNC

Z590M Phantom Gaming 4

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 8 Phase Power Design
• Supports DDR4 4800MHz (OC)
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x1, 1 x M.2 Key-E for WiFi
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC897 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 4 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 1 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 2 x Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 (10Gb/s)
• 8 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (4 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• 4 x Front USB 2.0
• Intel^® Gigabit LAN
• ASRock Polychrome SYNC

Z590M Pro4

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 12 Phase Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR4 4800MHz (OC)
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16, 2 x PCIe 3.0 x1
• 1 x M.2 Key-E for WiFi
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, DisplayPort
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC897 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 4 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4 & SATA3)
• 1 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 2 x Rear USB 3.2 Gen2 (10Gb/s)
• 7 x USB 3.2 Gen1 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front, 1 x Front Type-C)
• 6 x USB 2.0 (2 x Rear, 4 x Front)
• Intel^® Gigabit LAN

Z590M-ITX/ax

Features

• Supports 10th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors and 11th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• 8 Phase Dr.MOS Power Design
• Supports DDR4 5066MHz (OC)
• 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16
• Graphics Output Options: HDMI, DisplayPort
• 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC897 Audio Codec), Nahimic Audio
• 4 SATA3, 1 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 1 x Ultra M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x4 & SATA3)
• 1 x Rear USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C (20Gb/s)
• 5 x USB 3.2 Gen2 (4 x Rear, 1 x Front Type-C)
• 2 x Front USB 3.2 Gen1
• 3 x USB 2.0 (1 x Rear, 2 x Front)
• Dragon 2.5 Gigabit LAN, Intel^® Gigabyte LAN
• Intel^® 802.11ax WiFi 6E BT 5.2