Final Thoughts on the ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Hero Motherboard
When a new chipset comes out we sort of expect the same line of boards from all of the major players, and ASUS is no exception to that. What really sets ASUS apart is that while we expect an updated design and maybe better connectivity ASUS goes much further with improvements that sometimes fly under the radar at first glance. With the ROG Maximus Z890 Hero there are quite a few.
With NitroPath DRAM ASUS has completely redesigned the DRAM slots on the board to enhance signal integrity. This leads to increased headroom across multiple configurations. PCIe Slot Q-Release Slim is an ingenious way they’ve completely removed the button to release your graphic card and it just works! Talking about things that just work you also have M.2 Q-Latch, M.2 Q-Slide, and M.2 Q-Release. All of these work seamlessly and make M.2 installation a breeze.
When it comes to a Z890 motherboard the ROG Maximus Z890 Hero has all of the features you would want. A very strong VRM to handle the top-end Intel Core Ultra processors, Thunderbolt 4, six M.2 slots (three of which are Gen 5), WiFi 7, and so much more! If you need USB ports there are 11 on the rear I/O, 3 of which are Type-C. On top of that you are going to get even more via headers, with the USB 3.2 gen 2×2 being able to deliver 60W of power delivery.
The BIOS on this board has not changed all that much since the previous generation, which is not a bad thing as I feel ASUS has one of the best BIOS’s out there. They have added Q-Dashboard which gives you a birds-eye view of all of your connected devices on the board, which is really convenient.
ASUS gives you pretty much every option you want when it comes to system tuning and overclocking, but what if you are a beginner? All of these options can be really daunting. That is why I love ASUS’s AI overclocking feature. ASUS actually puts a chip on the board itself which does all of the heavy lifting when it comes to getting the best performance (overclock) out of your system. The best part about it is that it is a single click either in the BIOS or in the Armoury Crate software. No more researching what each setting does or what you need to change.
The only real downside to this board is that if you populate the bottom two Gen5 M.2 slots your graphics card is only going to run at x8 speeds, not the full x16. This of course is a platform limitation, not a limitation of the board itself.
Right now you can pick this board up at our favorite online retailer for $699.99. Overall ThinkComputers gives the ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Hero Motherboard a 9 out of 10 score and our Recommended Award!
Pros:
– Sleek design
– Great performance
– 11 USB ports on the rear I/O and Thunderbolt 4
– Six M.2 slots
– Solid power phase design
– NitroPath DRAM tech
– Ease of use features for the graphics card and M.2 slots
– WiFi 7
Cons:
– Graphics card slot drops down to x8 speed if you install drives in the bottom 2 Gen5 M.2 slots
