INTRODUCTION

   With the Intel Z490 chipset based motherboards finally debuting in the market any day now (if all goes as planned that is) it's important to remember that cost will probably be quite higher compared to Z390 based motherboards (same goes for LGA 1151 and 1200 socket CPUs) so the latter may continue to be a favourite among consumers. On top of that there's always the possibility that early Z490 models may have bugs which will require time to get shorted out via both software and firmware updates so with that in mind Z390 models may hold their ground even longer. So, since there's no specific date for the availability of both the Z490 motherboards and the LGA 1200 socket CPUs today I’ll be testing yet another Z390 chipset motherboard, the ASUS TUF Z390-Pro Gaming.

   For years since its establishment, ASUS aimed to put an ever-greater emphasis on PC gaming. This process resulted in the 2006 founding of the Republic of Gamers brand (ROG), formed for the sole purpose of delivering the most innovative hardcore hardware for truly dedicated gamers. Since then, the efforts of the ROG team have led to a constant flow of PC gaming technology that has become legendary among enthusiasts for its performance. ROG is more than just hardware, though – we take an active part in the global gaming community, helping develop the industry by sponsoring events such as PAX and Dreamhack. Worldwide media have recognized ROG as a leader in PC gaming and overclocking performance, with many of our products winning awards and gaining very positive feedback from hardware pros. With this great response from gamers and the industry, ROG has all the resources it needs to keep working on enabling even better experiences – technology never sleeps, nor should the action!

   The TUF (The Ultimate Force Gaming Alliance) Z390-Pro Gaming by ASUS is a low/mid-end motherboard based on the Intel Z390 chipset which was released in the market in late 2018 and has enjoyed quite high popularity levels ever since, primarily in the gaming community. This specific model features a 10-phase digital design, three full-length PCIe 3.0 slots (x16/x8/x4 - only the top one is reinforced however), three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots, four DDR4 RAM slots (support up to 128GB running at 4266MHz), two M.2 slots (PCIe 3.0 x4 - the bottom slot also features a heatspreader), six SATA 6Gb/s ports (with support for RAID 0/1/5/10), Realtek S1200A 8-channel HD audio card (with Japanese audio capacitors), Intel I219V Gigabit LAN (with cFosSpeed traffic-shaping) and Aura Sync compatibility (single LED zone with 2 RGB headers). In terms of available rear connectors the TUF Z390-Pro Gaming features two USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A ports, four USB 3.0 Type-A ports, HDMI v1.4b output, DisplayPort v1.2 output, PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port and of course the RJ45 port courtesy of the Intel I219V Gigabit LAN and the 3.5mm and S/PDIF outputs courtesy of the Realtek S1200A audio card.