CONCLUSION

   Ever since i got back to reviewing motherboards many of you have contacted me asking why i don't push the I9-9900K to the max with each motherboard (i can however verify that we hit 5.4GHZ with the Z390 Dark and 5.2GHZ with the MPG Z390 Gaming Pro Carbon and the Z390 Aorus Master effortlessly) and the answer is very easy, far too many have done so already. Instead testing every motherboard to arrive in the lab with the same exact overclocked frequencies (not including slight variation to voltages as expected between models) and the exact same hardware components (RAM/Cooler) to see which one delivers better performance is nowhere near as common which is why i chose to go with that instead (the same methodology/principle will of course apply for all upcoming motherboard reviews). With that out of the way the Z390 Aorus Master is clearly the jack of all trades, it has very good overclocking abilities (it was easy to hit a stable 5.2GHZ and even though it’s not quite as good as the stable 5.4GHZ I easily hit with the Z390 Dark we need not forget that these two belong in entirely different price segments mainly because of their OC capabilities), sports very good durability/endurance features (such as reinforced PCIe and DDR4 DIMM slots, solid plated power connectors and a rear base plate) and on top of that it features good performance (not to mention looks) M.2 heatspreaders for all 3 connectors and can be equipped with up to 128GB or DDR4 RAM. Now I can’t really say that I was impressed with the performance of either the Realtek ALC1220-VB audio card (still prefer the Creative Sound Blaster Recon3D model used in the Z390 Dark) or the cFosSpeed internet enhancements used with the Intel I219-V 1 Gigabit LAN (virtually no difference with network performance measurements taken with the other two Z390 boards) but it goes without saying that not everything is meant to stand out (at least nowhere near what manufacturers make them out to be).

   With just weeks (if not days) away from the official launch of the Intel Z490 based motherboards the Z390 Aorus Master model by GIGABYTE retails for USD279.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 280Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which although balanced could drop more once the new line is out (the same goes for all Z390 models). At the end of the day however the Z390 Aorus Master is still a very good LGA1151 mainboard primarily aimed for use with Core I9-9700Χ/9900X CPUs so if you’re planning to build such a system this is certainly among your best choices and that’s why it also gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Great Build Quality (Rear Base Plate)
- Very Good OC Potential (12 Phase Design)
- RGB Features (RGB Fusion)
- 3 Reinforced PCIe 3.0 Slots
- 4 Reinforced DIMM Slots (Support Up To 128GB)
- M.2 Aorus Heatspreaders
- BIOS Switches, OC Button & Digital Display
- Available BIOS Settings

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- VRM & Z390 Chipset Heatsinks Not Linked (Cooling Efficiency)
- Realtek ALC1220-VB Audio Performance