ASUS ROG STRIX Z490-I GAMING Intel motherboard

Compact Z490 board for 10th and 11th Gen Intel CPUs

This Mini ITX motherboard uses the LGA 1200 socket and Intel Z490 chipset to support Core i9, i7, i5 and i3 processors from the 10th and 11th generations. Two DDR4 slots accept up to 64 GB of dual-channel memory. A single PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot, four SATA 6Gb/s ports and two M.2 sockets provide storage and expansion in a small footprint. Onboard Intel WiFi 6 AX201 and 2.5Gb Ethernet handle networking, while HDMI 2.0a and DisplayPort 1.4 outputs serve integrated graphics.

8+2 Dr. MOS power stages with active VRM cooling

The 8+2 Dr. MOS power stages and ProCool II connector deliver stable current to the CPU during extended heavy workloads. An embedded Delta Superflo fan blows directly across the VRM heatsink, joined by an L-shaped heat pipe that spreads heat to the larger mos heatsink. AI cooling logic adjusts fan speeds to keep the VRM temperature within a 5 Celsius delta of the target, sustaining boost clocks without thermal throttling.

Mini ITX layout demands careful cable routing

The compact board fits Mini ITX cases but leaves little room around the CPU socket for bulky air coolers or thick power cables. The front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header sits at the board edge, so the case cable must be routed before the board is secured. The two M.2 slots share bandwidth with the PCIe slot and SATA ports; populating both can disable a SATA port, so plan the drive configuration before assembly.