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Overall, it’s a nice-looking and well-equipped choice, but some people will be turned off by the high price. At the time we wrote this, Asus had thirteen Z790 motherboards available. There are all the usual SKUs, like the ROG Maximus Extreme ($999), the Maximus Apex ($699), the Z790-E Gaming WIFI ($499).
The ROG Maximus Z790 Hero from Asus. This high-end motherboard, which costs $629.99 right now, has a lot of features and the classic high-end look of ROG Maximus motherboards. You get twelve USB ports on the back I/O, Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports, a total of five M.2 sockets, top-of-the-line audio, and strong power delivery to support the latest Raptor Lake processors.
The ProArt Z790-Creator ($469), and the Strix line, which has a lot of different boards (including an ITX model). There are also the Prime and TUF Gaming boards, which are better for people on a budget. This is about as strong a motherboard stack as you can get on a single chipset.
Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero SPECIFICATIONS
| Socket | Intel LGA1700 |
| Form factor | ATX |
| Storage | 5x M.2, 6x SATA |
| Memory support | 4 slots: max 128GB DDR5 (up to 7800MHz) |
Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero review: Design
When you take the Hero out of the box, you can tell it’s a good product just by how heavy it is. The black-on-black design is built on an 8-layer PCB, and the heatsinks and shrouds have some silver accents and branding.
The heatsinks are big and heavy. The VRMs are cooled by deep notches, and the top M.2 socket is cooled by a big heatsink. Above the rear IO area, there is an RGB element that lights up some ROG branding. This is the only RGB element built into the board. Any way you look at it, the Z790 Hero looks like a high-end motherboard. You can buy this motherbord from its official website.
Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero review: Performance
Because “Phase Doublers” are used, Asus calls the 20+1 power stages its “Teamed Power Stage Design.” This makes sure that the performance is at its best and keeps the voltages and temperatures in check. Intel’s i9 13900K, even if it’s overclocked, to this? Don’t worry, these VRMs can handle the hot monster without even breaking a sweat!
Even though both the Z690 Hero and the Z790 can handle the latest CPUs, the Z790 is a bit faster. When it comes to DDR5, Z790 is more stable and allows faster RAM kits to be overclocked more. Asus says it’s because of better signal routing. So, overclockers, you’re welcome. Go have fun.
Price and availability
Around the back, we have some of the best ways to connect. The two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports are a nice bonus, and they are worth some of the price of the board on their own. Add to that six USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and four Gen 1 ports, and you’ll be set for a few years.
When you add the single HDMI 2.1 port to the fact that the TB4 ports can carry a DP 1.4 signal, you can connect three displays.
ALC4082 audio and ESS Quad DAC are part of Asus’s high-end audio solution. Wi-Fi 6E should be there, and 2.5G Intel LAN should be the minimum. At this price, the lack of 5G or 10G LAN is disappointing.
Final words
The Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero is the best Z790 motherboard we’ve seen so far, but it also costs a lot. If we could choose any Z790 motherboard so far, it would be the Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero.
You get Thunderbolt 4 support and a high-power Type-C header for your case that can charge even the newest laptops as well as smartphones and tablets. Also, you get a lot of water-cooling and testing features, a great EFI, and a lot of USB ports on the back.
Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero Ratings
Pros
- 12 USB ports
- +Five total M.2 sockets
- +20–Phase, 90A VRMs
Cons
- Expensive
- No 5G or 10G LAN
FAQS
Is Z790 hero worth it?
The Asus ROG Maximus Z790 Hero motherboard is well made, has a lot of features, and looks good. From the 40 Gbps ports to the top-of-the-line audio, there aren’t many boards that look better or have better specs. But boards with hardware can be found for less than $630.
How much power does ASUS Z790 hero use?
The Z790 Hero used the least power at idle (60W) of all the boards we looked at. During the stress test, the load power consumption peaked at 392 watts, which puts it in second place behind the unrestricted Taichi, which lets the 13900K run wild.
What are the benefits of Z790?
Intel’s Z790 platform lets you use PCIe 5.0 on both the PCIe x16 slots and the M.2 slots, so you can easily swap in next-generation technology. With DDR5 memory, you can unlock next-generation gaming and computing that keeps getting better over time.