ASUS has announced its first Z890 motherboards for Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) Processors, and with it comes the specifications for the ROG Maximus Z890 Extreme, a flagship option that counts 24+1+2+2 power stages, beefy heatsinks, 2x PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, NitroPath DRAM technology, and a 3D vapor chamber as some of its key features. This motherboard is joined by several other models, including the ROG Maximus Z890 Apex, ROG Strix Z890-E Gaming WiFi, and ProArt Z890-Creator WiFi, the latter of which is aimed at creators. The specs for the ROG Maximus Z890 Extreme can be found below.
| ROG Maximus Z890 Extreme | |
|---|---|
| Size | EATX |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, Max. 192GB, DDR5 |
| PCIe | 2 x PCIe 5.0 x16 (@x16 or @x8/x8 or x8/x4/x4) 1 x PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Storage | Onboard 2 x M.2 22110 (PCIe 5.0 x4) 1 x M.2 2280 (PCIe 5.0 x4) 1 x M.2 2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4) ROG Q-DIMM.2 card 2 x M.2 22110 (PCIe 4.0 x4) |
| Networking | Wi-Fi 7 1 x Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet 1 x Marvell AQtion 10Gb Ethernet |
| Audio | ROG SupremeFX 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC ALC4082 ESS® ES9219 Quad DAC |
| Rear I/O | 1 x USB 20Gbps port (1 x USB Type-C) 2 x Thunderbolt 5 ports (2 x USB Type-C) 7 x USB 10Gbps ports (5 x Type-A + 2 x USB Type-C) |
| Front I/O | 1 x USB 20Gbps connector (supports USB Type-C with up to 60W PD/QC4+) 1 x USB 10Gbps connector (supports USB Type-C) 2 x USB 5Gbps headers support 4 additional USB 5Gbps ports 2 x USB 2.0 headers support 4 additional USB 2.0 ports |
| Aura | 2 x Gen 2 ARGB headers 1 x 6-pin Gen 2 ARGB header to support two Gen 2 ARGB headers |
| Cooling | 1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header 1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header 2 x 4-pin Chassis Fan headers 2 x 4-pin Radiator Fan headers 2 x W_PUMP+ headers 1 x WB_SENSOR header |
DRAM slots equipped with NitroPath DRAM Technology stand ready for the most advanced DDR5 kits on the market. This motherboard offers four onboard M.2 slots, a whopping three of which are wired for PCIe 5.0 SSDs, and you can easily install two more PCIe 4.0 SSDs with the ROG Q-DIMM.2 add-in card. Two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots are ready for the best graphics cards of today and tomorrow. For enthusiasts with workflows that can be accelerated via a pair of GPUs working in tandem, these slots can run in an x8/x8 configuration.