ASUS Prime Z590-A DDR4 Intel Motherboard

The ASUS Prime Z590-A is an ATX form factor motherboard built on the Intel Z590 chipset, designed for use with Intel LGA1200 socket processors from the 10th and 11th Generation Core lineup, including Pentium Gold and Celeron models. Measuring 12 x 9.6 inches (30.5 x 24.4 cm), it is engineered to deliver stable power delivery, broad connectivity, and a polished aesthetic suited to clean, modern system builds. At the heart of the power delivery system sits a 14+2 DrMOS stage design backed by a six-layer PCB, ProCool solid-pin power connectors, alloy chokes, and high-endurance capacitors. Two large VRM heatsinks with thermal pads transfer heat efficiently from the MOSFETs and chokes, while the Stack Cool 3+ design uses 2-ounce copper layers to draw heat away from critical components. Seven fan and pump headers — including a CPU fan, CPU OPT fan, AIO pump, three chassis fans, and a VRM_HS fan — are all managed by ASUS Fan Xpert 4 and the AI Cooling utility, which adjusts speeds automatically based on real-time thermal data. For storage, three Key-M M.2 slots are provided. The first slot, CPU-attached, supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode exclusively on 11th Gen processors and accepts 2242/2260/2280/22110 drives. The second and third chipset-attached slots support PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA modes, with shared bandwidth caveats on SATA6G_2 and SATA6G_6 respectively. Six SATA 6 Gb/s ports round out onboard storage. Two aluminum M.2 heatsinks help prevent thermal throttling during sustained data transfers. Connectivity on the rear I/O includes one USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port (20 Gbps), four USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (three Type-A and one Type-C), four USB 2.0 Type-A ports, one DisplayPort 1.4, one HDMI 2.0 port, one Intel I225-V 2.5 Gb Ethernet port, five audio jacks, and one optical S/PDIF output. A Thunderbolt 4 header on the board enables add-in card support. Audio is handled by the Realtek S1220A codec delivering 7.1 surround sound with 120 dB SNR stereo playback and 113 dB SNR recording input. The board also features three AURA Addressable Gen 2 headers and one AURA RGB header for ecosystem-wide lighting synchronisation via Aura Sync. Software features include ASUS AI Suite 3 with 5-Way Optimization, AI Overclocking, Digi+ VRM, Fan Xpert 4, Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation, Armoury Crate, and the UEFI BIOS with CrashFree BIOS 3 and EZ Flash 3. Protection features under ASUS 5X Protection III cover DIGI+ VRM, Enhanced DRAM Overcurrent Protection, ESD Guards, LANGuard, Overvoltage Protection, and a stainless-steel back I/O shield. The Q-LED diagnostic system (CPU, DRAM, VGA, Boot Device indicators), M.2 Q-Latch, and pre-mounted I/O shield simplify installation. Verified Specifications: - Chipset: Intel Z590 - Socket: LGA1200 (10th and 11th Gen Intel Core, Pentium Gold, Celeron) - Form Factor: ATX, 12 x 9.6 in (30.5 x 24.4 cm) - Memory: 4 x DIMM, max 128 GB DDR4, up to DDR4-5333 (OC), dual-channel, XMP supported - Storage: 3 x M.2 (Key M), 6 x SATA 6 Gb/s - PCIe Slots: 3 x PCIe x16 (4.0 with 11th Gen / 3.0 with 10th Gen), 1 x PCIe 3.0 x4 - Ethernet: Intel I225-V 2.5 Gb - USB Rear: 1x Gen 2x2 Type-C, 4x Gen 2 (3xA+1xC), 4x USB 2.0 - Audio: Realtek S1220A, 7.1-channel, 120 dB SNR playback - BIOS: 256 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI - Warranty: 3 Years