Computer Shopper - UK (2020-10)

ISSUE392|COMPUTER SHOPPER|OCTOBER 2020

the current value is 1.400V,you can easily switch

to1.405 or 1.395 without having tomanually type

in the numbers. This definitely speeds up the

process of fine-tuninganoverclock that’s

almost stable,but not quitethere.

As always, the motherboard you use doesn’t

meaningfully affect CPU performance at stock

speeds: with both the Aorus Z490 Master and

the MEG Z490 Ace, the Intel Core i5-10600K

scored 248 overall in our benchmarks.

There can be variance in how well certain

boards handle overclocking, although judging by

our tests the Aorus Z490 Master is on equal

terms with its MSI rival here as well. Both

managed the same overclock from 4.1GHz to

5GHz with the same 1.4V VCORE, with heat –

rather than voltage management –being the

main barrier to 5.1GHz.

FIRST CHOICE

If you’re not holding out foracheaper breed

of Z490 motherboard –the £150-odd type,

which Z370 enjoyed so thoroughly –then

know that of the three premium models

we’ve tested, this is the best.

Youget more upgrade slots on the MEG

Z490 Aceand very slightly better rear ports on

the ROG Maximus XII Hero (Wi-Fi), but the

GigabyteAorus Z490 Master still competes

on connectivity and overclocking performance

while excelling in design, and –perhaps most

crucially –costing afew notes less.

JamesArcher

SPECIFICATIONS

PROCESSORSOCKETLGA1200•DIMENSIONS305x244mm•

CHIPSETIntelZ490•MEMORYSLOTS (^4) • PCI-Ex16SLOTS 3

• PCI-Ex1SLOTS^0 • PCISLOTS^0 • USBPORTS4x USB2, 2x
  USB3, 3x USB3.1, 1x USB Type-C•VIDEOOUTPUTS1x HDMI•
  WARRANTYOneyearRTB•DETAILSwww.gigabyte.com•
  PARTCODEAorusZ490Master

USB Type-C connector.AGigabit Ethernet
jack provides awired alternative to the
integrated 802.11ax Wi-Fi, and plush audio
setups are catered forwith an S/PDIF
output alongside extra C/SUB and rear
speaker jacks. An HDMI output can enable
integrated graphics if needed, though this
motherboard is very much made with
dedicated GPUs in mind.
That’s avery similar assortment to the
ROG Maximus XII Hero (Wi-Fi), only with two
fewer USB3 ports and two more USB2 ports.
Still, it’s agreat setup in both quantity and
variety.The Wi-Fi 6antenna,which connects
to the I/O panel by ashort wire,also has afun
little trick: the base is magnetic, so it can cling
to the side of aPCcase or metal desk leg if
you can’t find aflat spot forit.

PLAYING FAVOURITES
The Aorus Z490 Master’s UEFI BIOS won’t
be as easy fornovices to navigateasMSI’s
design, but it’s awell-considered set of
tools nonetheless.
The best bit is the Favourites menu. There
are dozens of settings forexpert tweakers to
playaround with, but if you only ever come
back to the same handful, you can add them
to your Favouriteslist –ifthey’re not already
there –and save yourself the trouble of
having to flick through tabs and scroll
through menus to find the specific options
you want. The core overclocking trio of clock
ratio,CPU VCORE and Extreme Memory
Profile (XMP) are all included by default, so
the Favouritesmenuisalso agoodplace for
less experienced users to start.
Another nice touchisthat if you hit Enter
while highlighting avalue it brings up alist of
potential small-increment changes. With CPU
VCORE, forexample,ifyou bring this up while