ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero Wifi DDR5 Intel Motherboard

The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero WiFi is a flagship ATX motherboard built on the Intel Z790 chipset for LGA1700 socket processors. It supports Intel Core 12th, 13th, and 14th generation CPUs — including Pentium Gold and Celeron — along with Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0. Memory support spans four DDR5 DIMM slots with a maximum capacity of 192 GB. The board accommodates a wide speed range from DDR5-4800 up to DDR5-8000+ in overclocked configurations, supports Intel XMP and ASUS AEMP II profiles, and uses a dual-channel architecture. Connectivity is a clear strength. An Intel Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) module delivers 2×2 MIMO across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, with 320 MHz channel bandwidth and transfer rates up to 5.76 Gbps. Multi-Link Operation (MLO) is supported and requires Windows 11 24H2 or later. Bluetooth 5.4 is also included. Wired networking is handled by a single Intel 2.5 Gb Ethernet port with ASUS LANGuard surge protection. Storage options are generous: five M.2 Key-M slots (M.2_1 supports PCIe 5.0 x4 and accepts up to 22110 length; M.2_2 through M.2_5 support PCIe 4.0 x4) plus four SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Two PCIe 5.0 x16 expansion slots — configurable as x16 or x8/x8 — handle discrete GPUs, while a single PCIe 4.0 x4 slot is available for additional cards. The rear I/O panel provides 21 USB ports in total: 2 Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, 6 USB 10 Gbps (5 Type-A + 1 Type-C), and 4 USB 5 Gbps Type-A ports, plus HDMI and Optical S/PDIF audio output. The front-panel USB 20 Gbps header supports up to 60 W Power Delivery and Quick Charge 4+ (PD 3.0 and PPS compatible). Audio is handled by the ROG SupremeFX system using an ALC4082 HD codec paired with an ESS ES9218 Quad DAC, delivering 120 dB SNR stereo playback and 110 dB SNR recording. The front panel supports up to 32-bit/384 kHz playback. For builders and overclockers, the board includes a dedicated Extreme OC Kit with FlexKey, ReTry, and Start buttons. The BIOS FlashBack button allows firmware updates without a CPU or RAM installed. An onboard Q-Code diagnostic display, Q-LED indicators, and AI Cooling II (via Fan Xpert 4) round out the platform management features. AURA Sync RGB lighting is supported via one AURA header and three Addressable Gen 2 headers. Verified Specifications: – Form Factor: ATX, 305 mm x 244 mm x 49 mm – Socket: LGA1700 – Chipset: Intel Z790 – Memory: 4x DDR5 DIMM, max 192 GB, DDR5-4800 to DDR5-8000+(OC) – Expansion: 2x PCIe 5.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x4 – Storage: 5x M.2 (1x PCIe 5.0, 4x PCIe 4.0) + 4x SATA 6 Gb/s – Wireless: Intel Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), 5.76 Gbps max, Bluetooth 5.4 – Ethernet: Intel 2.5 Gb – Audio: SupremeFX ALC4082, ESS ES9218 Quad DAC, 120 dB SNR – USB Rear: 2x TB4, 6x USB 10G, 4x USB 5G – BIOS: 256 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI – Weight: 2.425 kg (board only) – Warranty: 3 years – OS Support: Windows 11, Windows 10 64-bit