At the AORUS Direct event on April 30, Gigabyte announced its new Z490 series lineup of motherboards. These motherboards are designed with Intel's new elite 10th generation desktop processors in mind and feature a new chipset called the Intel Z490 and an impressive array of features. Here is a detailed overview of everything you need to know about these new motherboards, including a breakdown of the exciting technology found on these new motherboards and specific details about each model.

The Z490 motherboard lineup includes a number of new and exciting features not found on traditional desktop motherboards. The most important of these is a new power supply structure called the Extreme Power Design. This structure utilizes 16 phases of 90A power stages, an Intersil PWM controller, and a voltage regulator module (VRM). With these powerful kits, a Z490 motherboard with the Extreme Power Design can deliver a whopping 1440A of power to the rig's CPU, unprecedented in the desktop space. With this kind of power, you can push your processor to the limit without worrying about power issues. In addition, the advanced tantalum polymer capacitors used on some motherboards reduce the risk of voltage spikes by 22%, keeping the entire system stable during gameplay.

Also new is Gigabyte's XTREME MEMORY design, which combines a dual in-line memory module (DIMM) system with shielded memory routing and tantalum polymer capacitors. This construction allows the Z490 motherboard to support RAM speeds of 4800 MHz and higher, which overclocking fans will no doubt appreciate.

To solve the heat problem, Gigabyte has also made significant improvements to the cooling system. The Direct Touch heat pipe system has been enlarged by 33% and the distance between the pipes and the motherboard's aluminum heatsink has been narrowed. In addition to this, the Fins Array cooling system has been upgraded to a louvered design. This narrower groove allows more air to come into contact with the motherboard's heatsink, reducing heat buildup. Finally, many areas of the motherboard have been coated with a special nanocarbon coating, and a base plate of this material has been added to the design. This material dissipates heat better than regular materials, and as a result, the addition of nanocarbon to the Z490 motherboard improves cooling by 10%. All of these different cooling systems combined can reduce temperatures by up to 32 degrees Celsius compared to a motherboard with none.

In terms of aesthetics, Gigabyte focused on giving each Z490 motherboard a striking, angular appearance as part of its "AORUS Universe" initiative. The use of high quality metal on these motherboards matches this style very well and also improves the physical durability of the motherboards. [As a result of all these great new features, motherboards in the Z490 lineup can support all CPU cores at a whopping 5.3 GHz clock speed. For gamers, this means higher frame rates, and for content creators, much faster rendering times, so they can get more done.

The majority of the new Z490 motherboards are AORUS types designed for gamers. The first and most powerful of these boards is the Z490 AORUS XTREME, which Gigabyte calls its flagship motherboard. In addition to all the advanced features and technologies described in this article, it includes top-grade Hi-Fi equipment, Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6 support, triple NVMe SSD slots, PCIe 4.0, and even Thunderbolt 3. Its elite quality makes it the most expensive motherboard at $799.99.

The next board in the lineup is the Z490 AORUS MASTER, a more affordable high-end alternative to the Z490 AORUS XTREME. This board lacks some of the advanced audio equipment found on the XTREME, does not support Thunderbolt 3, and does not have NanoCarbon in its Fins Array system. On top of that, the Extreme Power design has 14 phases instead of 16. However, the price is also quite low at $389.99, making it a favorite overall choice for high-end PC owners.

Next up is the Z490 AORUS ULTRA. This motherboard is in the mid-range of the lineup, as it uses a more traditional power supply structure and features 12 phases rather than Extreme Power Design. Additionally, there are no Hi-Fi audio features. Apart from this, it is almost identical to the Z490 AORUS MASTER, except that it uses NanoCarbon in its fin arrays, which the MASTER does not have. Priced at $299.99, it strikes a good balance between quality and cost.

Following the ULTRA is the Z490 AORUS PRO AX, the cheapest motherboard in the lineup; compared to the ULTRA, there are no new cooling system improvements, and the 12-phase power design does not include tantalum polymer capacitors. Additionally, it has only two NVMe SSD slots. However, all of the other features found in the ULTRA are included, and the price is lower at $269.99.

If you like to build smaller PCs, don't worry, because Gigabyte has you covered with the next motherboard in the lineup, the Z490I AORUS ULTRA. Although this motherboard only comes with 8 phases, it features the advanced Extreme Power Design found on the Z490 AORUS XTREME and MASTER. This means a 90A power stage and tantalum polymer capacitors. No cooling system upgrades or nano carbon plating are included, but given the small form factor of this motherboard, that's not a problem at all. Retail price is $269.99.

While most Z490 motherboards are geared toward gaming, there are a few for content creators, and these variants of the Z490 in the VISION series offer some unique features not found in the AORUS series. The first of these is the Z490 VISION D, the more powerful of the two VISION boards, featuring the same Hi-Fi audio as the Z490 AORUS XTREME and a 12-phase Extreme Power Design. It also supports Thunderbolt 3, 32GB single DIMM memory, and can support two to four DIMMs and two GPUs. It also includes an upgradeable M.2 expansion slot, so you will never run out of storage. It does not feature the upgraded cooling found on many AORUS motherboards, but all connectivity features are the same, including 2.5Gb Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6 support. The price is $299.99.

Another VISION motherboard is the Z490 VISION G. It is identical to the Z490 VISION G in many respects, but it does not include Hi-Fi audio devices and does not support Thunderbolt 3. Instead, it uses USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C. Instead, it uses USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C. At $199.99, the Z490 VISION G is less expensive than the D variant. [Z490 AORUS XTREME WATERFORCE and Z490 AORUS ULTRA G2 Edition. The former is a variant of the XTREME motherboard that incorporates water cooling, while the latter is a version of the ULTRA that features a unique design inspired by Gigabyte's partner G2 Esports. For more information on both of these motherboards, please visit Gigabyte's website.

The Z490 motherboard lineup is Gigabyte's best yet, and if you are a PC user, it has never been more exciting than now. Whether you are an enthusiast looking for the best, a casual PC gamer looking for something affordable and effective, or a content creator looking to take the entertainment world by storm, there is a Z490 motherboard for you.