Best Z490 ITX Motherboards - Asus, MSI, ASRock, Gigabyte

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Asus Z490-I ROG Strix: geni.us/1hqaE
Gigabyte Z490i Aorus Ultra: geni.us/zopPw
ASRock Z490i Phantom Gaming: geni.us/lBjE8
MSI Z490i Unify: geni.us/FAGJ
Cheaper Z490 ITX for 10600K: geni.us/DAhYoR
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[@Owlery]

mate this is a proper mobo review. i dont understand why most reviewers just read the spec list, the io section out when all that information is listed on the manufacturer website. please give us some information that you actually need the board in hand to review. and no, that does not include running benchmarks like 3dmark to compare "performance" of different motherboards. one thing to add though, ram ocing like max frequency and max frequency at 1T would be useful to include, because this showcases the manufacturer's design in trace layouts and bios tunings. but i would imagine that takes ages to complete.

[@Jack-sq9lo]

Love all the itx content from you

[@tobymattingly6432]

I totally agree

[@kamata93]

Him, Hardware Unboxed, Gamers Nexus and KitGuru are the people to go to

[@nathaniel6286]

Please do this again for B550 when they are available. This was super informative.

[@robertohernandez1642]

Yes!!!

[@j0my77]

Yes, will be looking to see the MSI b550 ITX mobo, as they oddly did not make a x570 itx board.

[@kaizmak]

Please make it happen 🙏🏻

[@brianjamesferguson4646]

join the Intel family >:)

[@silentshift444]

finally no more ugly mix of colors just pure black and silver/grey

[@inferno72229]

Honestly I want the mobo maker bringing back the old nasty green PCB with a full blown high end spec, so I can start building a real sleeper pc lol

[@HelloOnepiece]

@@inferno72229 Maybe you want to look into workstation/business/ OEM mobos , i have once seen an x570 with green PCB, it was asus if i remember correctly Edit: I havent found x570 but there is a Pro B460M-C/CSM for 10th gen intel

[@yrly59e]

@@inferno72229 Tyan has an x399 board in all green if you don’t mind a Threadripper

[@enmass90]

I've been using the Gigabyte board since launch day. The original bios from March was causing some weird voltage issues. The most recent bios cut voltages across the board for me on my 10700k. The gigabyte board actually feels like it was designed specifically for the Noctua NH-D15. I have it in the Lian Li TU150 and temps are great! highly recommend this setup.

[@TheCurlz13]

The real question is, what is your workout routine? I need those kind of gains!

[@Redliger54]

Honestly, I'd watch an Optimum Gains channel. This guy's makes stuff REALLY easy to understand, so fitness would be cool too

[@JamesRibe]

Lots of reps with the NCASE M1 for toning. Fewer reps with the Cerberus X for strength.

[@scubasteve5659]

what are you even talking about? you must but super skinny to talk like a guy with an average body is a bodybuilder or something lol in that case you could literally do anything to get this big its called eating and not sitting on your ass all day lol

[@ayokmschangedhisname4393]

@@scubasteve5659 okay big guy

[@dennismarzan5770]

This is the best and most efficient motherboard comparison I've ever watched. Amazing work!

[@AValverde13]

Please do a similar video when all B550 boards are available.

[@kaz8297]

AValverde13 wait are they out of stock or sum? Sorry 4 my noob question

[@danyalreyaz7503]

@@kaz8297 no he just meant when the entire catalogue is released. Sometimes some boards come later so as to encourage the sales of another unconventional but still (hopefully) good model as some people can't wait. But with the pandemic everything is out of stock anyway😕

[@MattsPaddock]

I really enjoyed this one thoroughly! They're all really bulking up around the socket more and more, soon you'll be able to fit only a stock cooler 😂

[@ndrsg3013]

Yeah, one year ago they seemed smaller...lol

[@OCPyrit]

Your videos are great because you cover the most important aspects on point and are still easy to follow.

[@PCBUILDMOD]

Simple and comprehensive analysis of all the most important parameters! 👍

[@odinsplaygrounds]

The MSI is really interesting! Like the looks also and more low profile heatsink. Looking forward to the x670 lineup.

[@WarriorsPhoto]

Good work here Ali. I like your testing methodology and it definitely helps to see this when deciding what parts to buy.

[@thanatosor]

This guy camera and editing skill are why I come here.

[@danielwang3774]

I absolutely love this video and the quality that comes with it. Loving all of the z490 designs. Also nice addition of Dream Fiend in the intro.

[@mrrgb4954]

Do b550 next

[@ArmedandLoaded]

Always superb camera work on your videos. I cant even afford to build an ITX build now but I am watching due to the camera work haha

[@alb9229]

Wish ASUS and Gigabyte were offering Clear Cmos button instead of the useless Q-Flash ( preferably both ) , being able to quickly reset bios instead of having to open the entire case is game changer for SFF bulds !

[@Raglarak]

Nice video ! Please make a video with the bests ATX z490 for i9 10900k OC at 5.3ghz

[@kimlarsen8944]

Nice review, looking forward to see you make review with the Ryzen 4000 desktop in the near future

[@yasiral-hilali7855]

You put a lot of work in to getting the data that you show so effortlessly! Would be awesome to have a video showing your testing process especially when it comes to overclocking or undervolting routines. Thank you.

[@JacobRobertson]

This is the exact decision I'm trying to make right now. Thanks!

[@hwangtom655]

THANKS for the content, exactly what im looking for these days!

[@maximm.6969]

Loved this video. I do not really understand why the msi aswell as the gigabyte board are the cheapest where I live with this kind of VRM Design and features. I really hope you are going to do the same test/video for the B550 Itx boards as soon as they are available. Thx for the awesome content man!

[@delduked]

Man I love pretty the broll looks! So clean and slick bro

[@WoodlinDeamon]

I truly appreciate your emphasis on use-cases and practicality. Thank you for being realistic and insightful.

[@edwardadrian2572]

Hey mate. This video is exactly what I was waiting on. Thanks a lot. Also, could u please do a video to compare z490+10600k vs B460+10700 non-k. These two combo are the same price. Thanks

[@regal8143]

Heads up for those running a similar water cooling set up as Ali has in his Ghost/T1 using an Alphacool Solo LT, research the clearance around the socket beforehand. The Z490 boards have less height clearance than many of the previous Z390 boards due to taller heatsinks, getting in the way of fittings.

[@pepapu7112]

5.2GHz at 1.26V? that's some insane numbers, gotta be right on the verge of instability.

[@MD_Production]

I have no reason to watch this video Bc im an i5-9400f user and i use b360-M mobo But im here to support my guy optimum tech❤

[@charijard98]

i use 9400f with h370 asrock performance, got it second hand for 60 dollar 😊

[@davidcork771]

Hey man, just wanted to say you are by far my favourite tech KZbinr and I recommend you to as many people as I can. Your videos are just so well put together and the effort really shows. Thanks for the incredible content. My wallet does NOT thank you though.

[@VQmarc]

Been waiting on this thank you 🙏🏼

[@Chupanebre637]

Me 10 minutes ago: hey I don’t think I’ve seen an OT vid in my feed for a few days too long...

[@lkn900l]

I'm here for awesome shots

[@pikster89]

Strix X570-I has the 2nd M.2 slot on the back side of the motherboard. This Z490-I has one on the top _and_ one on the back side of the small daughter board.

[@nizzen2]

Tnx for the review! :) I'm running Msi z490 unifi itx with 10900k EK water cooling. Ddr4 @ 4600c16 tweaked. This board is a little monster! 5300mhz all core is no problem. @ ~1.32v

[@TheHulkminator]

what case / cooler you're using, and what are the thermals at this setup of OCing?

[@triliner254]

@@TheHulkminator Like he said, he was using a Custom EK solution but it was not specified what radiator he used.

[@ChrisOstreicher]

The first thing I see is the SMD capacitors for the VCORE VRM on the Gigabyte and the through hole caps for the other boards. I guess I have been watching too much Buildzoid recently.... Anyway, here are Buildzoid's (actually hardcore overclocking) thoughts on these motherboards: AsRock Phantom Gaming ITX: kzbin.info/www/bejne/raaqloODfd-eeNE ASUS Z490I: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnvJlX-nYt5pqKs Gigabyte Z490I Aorus Ultra: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXuWhJJ_apyEh9U MSI Z490 ITX Unify: kzbin.info/www/bejne/an-vpY2cqLmUapo His input on VRMs and memory overclocking are generally pretty insightful.

[@PauloFerreira-hh6zv]

For those who don't want to overclock, will the Asus ROG Strix B460-I Gaming a good option for the i7-10700 or i9-10900?

[@maaya9438]

Great video! Thank you!!

[@DavidWeinstock1]

Will the asus strix and the 10900k work in the NZXT H1??

[@UltraDXSASC]

I'll be waiting for the B550 version of this video. Maybe B450/B550 would be good to include

[@richardfarmer6570]

Great review. I am glad to see Gigabyte upping their game, I am still using a Z370N and the VRM is pretty weak.

[@rcradiator]

I was kind of expecting TDA21472 70A power stages for the Z490-I Strix considering the X570 variant has the 70A power stages. Instead they got the slightly nerfed TDA21462 60A power stages.

[@atsuro69]

was leaning towards the Z490-I Strix initially until i found out that they had the 60A power stages. Bit the bullet and went for the gigabyte instead. Also, nobody seems to mention that the gigabyte has a 10 layer PCB

[@tuomas_h]

Which of these, if any, can fit the Noctua NH-L12S? It's very difficult to find detailed dimensions on the manufacturer websites.

[@Dionyzos]

I made a quick comparison in Photoshop and it seems like only the Gigabyte board is compatible out of the box without bending the L12S but I'm not 100% sure :)

[@wires3673]

This is such an amazing video. You go so in depth and the visuals are beautiful. Best PC channel on KZbin by far.

[@Faisal-bw9sg]

So clean content, since the beginning of this channel you are getting better everytime

[@Y2Kmeltdown]

Have you tested cooler compatibility like the alpenfohn blackridge. I'm really interested in seeing if it would fit for a k39 build

[@basemmassoud9841]

I am dying for that ncase m1 build u have been teasing

[@BlackCubone]

Yoooooo! Vrm specs in a motherboard review. I hope this becomes more common

[@joostwagelaar8837]

Nice! Can you do a review of the sharkoon QB one?

[@pietrmuffei8874]

Herpez Zooi I had it. Needs some modding like removing the drive cage to get a 28cm card in without scratching it. It is Cheap, flimsy and has bad airflow due to PSU location there is no front air intake. Skip it if you plan to game with your system. It might be good for a htpc/ media tv-pc

[@GTOfire]

You may be fairly uniquely in the possession of a wide selection of high-end ITX motherboards, as well as the Alpenfohn Black Ridge cooler. The cooler has a ton of compatibility problems on ITX boards, but Alpenfohn themselves just say 'yeah well, we can't test everything'. It's about the most ideal air cooler for the Dan A4 case, so owners of that like myself would absolutely love it if you have the time to do some quick test fits to see which Z390/Z490 and AMD motherboards can support the Black Ridge without it hitting VRM heatsinks or I/O shrouds, etc. like it unfortunately does on my Asus Z390I. Thanks for the awesome content, regardless of whether this is something that could happen. :)

[@tobymattingly6432]

Thank you so much for this!

[@Housele]

Biostar's Z490GTN mini-itx board might compete in price against that lower end AsRock one.

[@ininjawrath]

Do you know which if any of these boards will fit an Alpenfohn Black Ridge?

[@UnknownUser-fg3fs]

Worst VRM on Asus boards, what a surprise. It's 9th gen all over again where Aorus has some of the best VRMs available but people will still buying the ROG hype.

[@hobomnky]

its sad that they will continue to be able to hype bs because people keep buying into the marketing. Seeing the blocky metal "heatsinks" on those ROG boards really irritates me

[@therickster6593]

Have said it before, your professionalism exceeds those of you peers (jayz, linus, etc.) in magnitudes ... knowledgeable, straight forward presentation of facts, results, relevance and common sense...

[@vusun123]

I have the Z490i Strix and the i7 10700K in the Ncase M1 with the NZXT X53. MCE enabled and removed all power limits, voltage is 1.13V at full load, 81C in a room temperature of 26C. Another friend of mine with the same spec but using the Z490i Ultra, voltage is 1.27V at full load, so manual undervolt is needed

[@Sync0r]

Just got the Gigabyte board, really pleased with it. Had the Asus Apex before this, so was worried I might not be able to clock it as hard, achieved the same clocks no problem. Running a 10900kf @ 5.5Ghz all core 1.355v load voltage (direct die cooled).

[@The_Chad_]

I'm really regretting not paying attention to reviews when I bought my ITX Z490 Strix. I keep getting hard restarts with it and I'm only running a 10400 with a 700W PSU. I've tried a different PSU and RAM and disconnected all USBs, front panal I/O and audio. It won't even get through Windows Install. It looks like A LOT of people are having similar issues. It sucks. ASUS usually make pretty damn good boards. I love my X570 ROG Crosshair Impact. ASUS needs to address this! I don't know whether or not to get a replacement or just get a different brand. I've seen multiple reviews where people got shotty replacement boards, so I'm leaning toward maybe getting a Supermicro. They make bulletproof boards, but their BIOS is lacking.

[@Kjeilen]

Great video. For me the answer is easy cause one thing I really hate is a tiny fan on my motherboards as they tend to make an annoying sound.

[@michaeldia2164]

Great video! You answered all my questions about how capable the AsRock motherboard if it could handle the 10900K.

[@poobalu]

the Asrock board listed for the 10600k had been a huge pain and will barely let you overclock as there is no clear way to disable the long term power limits in the bios

[@1sm0Laitela]

It would be nice to see Alpenföhn Black Ridge compatibility test since you have all those boards at hand. It's often really hard to be sure if the cooler fits on a new board that no one on the internet has got around to test.

[@BL-hj7hi]

Great content, you hit the right amount of detail and got to the point.

[@MartinKincl1993]

All of these look like absolute overclocking BEASTS! I think I will get Gigabyte Z490I and an i7-10700k and see what I can do.

[@shaolin95]

I went gigabyte for z390 but this year I am going Asus. Check real world tests..people having better results OCing, specially memeory with Asus.

[@everope]

What kind of cooling are you looking at?

[@Kaygoooo]

Super informative, super prepared video. All of these boards are fantastic. More subs for this guy!

[@azyborski]

Firstly great review. Love the channel, got yourself a new subscriber. I am currently trying to piece together a build for the NZXT H1 and am stuck between the ASRock Z490M with i7 10700KF or the Gigabyte X570 with Ryzen 7 3800X (both paired with the RTX 2070 super). Both builds are priced the same in my country. I see you mentioned the cheaper Z490M would be suitable for the 10th gen i5. Would it also be suitable for the 10th gen i7 in regards to VRM temps when overclocked? Or would you consider the 3800X combo mentioned above to be the better option?

[@hamzamakia]

I'm trying to do the same exact thing, the 10700K with the ASRock Z490M in an H1 case paired with a RTX 2070 super and I wanna know if the Z490 M would be good with that.

[@airw4ve961]

These videos are such a treasure of information. Love this channel!

[@PokèMyBalls]

I'm getting a MSI Z490i Unify tomorrow for $70. Figured I would find a good review on your channel. :)

[@muhammadzinc5228]

can you use those mobos without those giant obtrusive heatsinks? SFFPCs require a small mobo so we can fit coolers in tiny cases.

[@Maddesen]

I'd love to see a similar review of the Z590's - specifically the ITX-versions 👌🏻

[@WllBrown]

Deadset picked up the same hoodie the other week Nice choice mate

[@arrowdynamlc]

MSi & Gigabyte absolutely killed it here.

[@matthewlin3678]

please do one of these when the b550 it's come out too

[@NeoRazor]

The way that RoG board hides the vrm fan is genius. People really dont like having a fan on their motherboard. But I wonder if it gets enough airflow being hidden back there.

[@jacquesvanderlinde5562]

What about air cooling in a confined space? does the Noctua NH-L12 fit on any of these bords within the Ghost or Dan case?

[@cordes85]

I will get the MSI unify. I usually opt for Asus Rog Strix, to go with their 2080ti strix cards, to save on bloatware, but that M.2 arrangement doesnt look too pretty, as i only need x1, 2TB Nvme drive. I actually have an MSI gaming laptop aswell as these run cooler than Asus generally do, with better copper density, but that is just a generalisation on the many laptops out there. The welcome addition to have TB3, to play with allows for so much better use of an ITX board, for where it used to have to come from another slot on an M-ATX, or ATX boards, to use it. I aim to run the MSI unify and 10 core variation at 5.1-5.2ghz or 5.3 all core, dependant on Silicon lottery. 2x32GB G.skill Royale 3600 ram, with said X52 Nzxt AIO cooler with swapped Noctua industrial 3000rpm variants. In an NCase M1, stick with current 2080ti strix OC, until to sell it for Ampere GPUs You give good VRM messages, which i usually receive from Steve@GamersNexus, but with his MonoTone Voice, yours is nicer. I shall SUB too, having watched a few more vids from yourself.

[@lequangsang4368]

Thanks for the review bro, now I know what to buy in the future.

[@RussellRobinson77]

Still rocking my old Asus z87i deluxe! Seems like the MSI takes the win this round

[@chessmyantidrug]

Before going into this video, I've been eyeing the MSI Z490i Unify. One of two ITX boards with Thunderbolt, the other being the ASRock Z490 Phantom Gaming ITX, but they offer a USB 3.2 header. Now to see what Ali has to say. Looks like if/when I decide to move to Comet Lake, the MSI board will be my choice! I plan on going with the i7-10700K because spending over $500 for a CPU sounds silly to me. Hopefully my Scythe Big Shuriken 3 won't have any compatibility issues.

[@jeffreygeurts]

Will the cheaper asrock board be able to support OC on the 10600K (+-5GHz) ?

[@thorshardware4048]

Personal update the unify is the same price as the gigabyte I would get that. I have the gigabyte and it’s a cool board I personally don’t like the usb2.0 splitter it just adds more cables that aren’t needed. It runs well for sure but I think the unify is nice looking.

[@ajrofficial06]

Take my sub! amazing video quality. I appretiate the honest review!

[@MikeRomo]

This was super helpful, thank you!!

[@QuantumBraced]

Kind of surprised some of these don't have an optical out. I have an external DAC and I prefer to connect it via optical, it should be a standard port on any board over $150.

[@raymond5263]

Please do this again for X570 when they are available. This was super informative.

[@thegangstadawg007]

Why are these so much more expensive than z390 itx boards? Between $270 and $300 is rediculous

[@hobomnky]

totally agree, and thats on top of some features being removed like the optical and 5.1 audio outputs

[@kickazzdrummer666]

I love how abundant ITX motherboards these days are compared 10 years ago.

[@austinyoo8162]

Thank you for the review! Ive been watching your itx contents for while and loving it so much! Would you please try asrock's cheap board,too? Thank you again!!

[@Hyp3rGG]

Was waiting for this.

[@forresttaylor1253]

It’s been a while but I still came back to this review to ensure I was getting the best ITX out there for my i5. I love everything about this channel!

[@northernhemisphere4906]

what you got still running good

[@2muchjpop]

Can't wait for b550 itx boards. My next PC in a couple of weeks

[@TSUNAMI17]

This was such a helpful video. Thank you.

[@TheGameBench]

Man... I really wish the Asus had an SPDIF out.... still I think that might be the one I replace the Z370i I'm currently using in mu game room rig. Now all we need to see is some thermal testing on ITX sized coolers with these K CPU's. I don't need the added performance over what's currently in that machine, but the temps are are potential compelling reason for me to upgrade.

[@dallatorretdu]

I would like to see a brute force approach to z490, like that gorgeous x570 Impact

[@anthonyt4981]

I wish Asus made a mini itx for the Maximus line

[@igg5974]

Best one for nzxt h1? Planning on a build

[@karlfredrikv7183]

I wonder about the same. Have ordered nzxt h1 and want to go with Intel

[@radiantav]

Important bit: only ASRock Z490 board has non-CNVi mini PCIe slot for WiFi/Bt. Thus if you Hackintosh, it's the only option. Luckily, it's a good option.

[@dtaanic]

This I why I just ordered it after a month of research with i7 10700K. I already got my FormD T1 case. The CPU cooling part is not resolved yet. Any suggestions with Air cooling? I read many conflicting things on that subject.

[@PHOBIAx57x]

Great review. Hoping you'll do something similar when B550 comes out :)

[@CrucialParadox]

Great review! Now, pls tell me which one to pick for FormD T1 case

[@anin_z9845]

I'v got my aourus ultra z490i with i7 10700k just for gaming and I'm so satisfied...