Published: April 30, 2020 | Source: ASUS | Author: Tom Logan

ASUS Prime Z490-A Preview

Up Close – More Detail

The Prime has two 22110 M.2 slots for all your superfast storage needs, with the primary one beneath a very attractive heatspreader.

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Tucked away between the PCIe x1 slot and the back heatsink are the headers for a system fan and your AIO pump. Funny how, not that long ago, AIOs were crazy things for the rich overclocker and now nearly everyone uses them.

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Information on the power phases is currently a little thin on the ground. It’s often the case when we’re a few weeks out from launch. The most we can tell you is that it is a 12+2Â phase DrMOS setup.

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We’ll never get used to the white stripes on the back of the Prime. We understand why they do it, but it just gives us a headache. Thankfully once it’s installed you never see it, but look at it here in max-o-vision it’s a bit too much. First up we have the HDMI 1.4b and DisplayPort 1.4 outputs alongside some USB 2.0 ports for your keyboard and mouse. Yes, HDMI 1.4b.

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Moving further down the Prime there are the full suite of USB 3.2 Gen1 and Gen2 ports in Type-A and Type-C styles.

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Whilst the bottom has us with the Intel I225-V 2.5G LAN that is a key features on all the Z490 motherboards. With the audio jacks for the Realtek S1220A sitting in their usual spot.

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