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ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme Intel Z490 Review- Complete Buyer’s Guide in 2021

ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme Intel Z490 

 

Let’s look at why the ROG Maximus XII Hero is considered one of the top-performing boards in the upper mid-of the Asus Z490 family.

Similar to the Gigabyte Z490 Aorus Master, the Asus ROG Maximus XII Hero is in the upper mid-range segment of the Z490 motherboard landscape, priced at around $399.99. In this budget, you get a motherboard with standout features, including 14-phase VRMs, SupremeFX audio, three heatsink-covered M.2 slots, and premium good looks.

Does Motherboard Affect Performance?

The Maximus XII Hero (MXIIH) is from its Republic of Gamers (ROG) line that focuses on gamers developers. Asus currently has 17 different Z490 SKUs, with the Hero Wi-Fi sitting above the Z490-E Gaming ($299.99), priced the same as the overclocking beast Apex ($399.99), and just below the Formula ($499.99), Extreme ($749.99), and Extreme Glacial.

Performance:
Speaking on the performance, the Z490 Hero did pretty okay keeping in mind the boards we tested around the chipset launch, without any noticeable differences. To get to this performance level, you will need to enable MCE in the BIOS or press F3 upon the first boot to bypass the factory Intel limits. What this setting does is it allows the Core i9-10900K CPU to run at 4.9 GHz in most multithreaded tests and get to the 5.3 GHz Terminal Velocity Boost (TVB) mark within its parameters.

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OTHER FEATURES:
Other features on the Maximus XII Hero are a Marvell-based 5 GbE LAN, the latest Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 Wi-Fi/Bluetooth 5.1, 60A power stages, RAM support listed to DDR4 4800+(OC), six SATA3 6 Gbps ports, USB 3.2 Gen2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port, and the SupremeFX S1220 audio codec for integrated audio. Below is a complete list of specifications from Asus.

DESIGN:
Speaking of the design, when you first open the box, the Asus Z490 Maximus XII Hero is quite the hunk. The stylish all-black board boasts well-placed heatsinks and shrouds to shield most of the PCB. The shroud on top has the Maximus XII name stencilled, along with the word Hero below it with RGBs. The chipset heatsink is a glossy black and houses the ROG symbol, also in RGB LED lighting.
MEMORY:
In terms of memory, capacity goes up to 128GB with four 32GB sticks. Right over the DIMM slots are two RGB headers. While to the right is the debug code display. On the far right is a large start button with a smaller Flex Key (reset button) below it. Upon will, you can also customize the Flex key and assign a quick access feature such as Safe Boot or an on/off button for Aura lighting. Last on this half of the board is the 24-pin ATX and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C header.

SLOTS:
The PCIe area is pretty cliche, with three full-length slots and three x1 slots surrounding them. The two main GPU slots, both shielded with Asus Safe slot (metal reinforcement), are fed from the CPU. The bottom full-length slot comes from the chipset, running at x4 speeds. This setup is compatible with both 2-Way SLI and 2-Way CrossfireX.

Pros
  • Capable 14-Phase 60A Power Delivery
  • Three M.2 slots, all with heatsinks
  • 5GB Ethernet and 20 Gbps USB Type-C port
  • 10 USB ports on rear IO
Cons
  • No listed PCIe 4.0 support
  • Access to top two M.2 ports requires GPU removal.
FINAL VERDICT:
Final Verdict The Asus ROG Maximus XII Hero gifts gamers and developers a barrage of modern connectivity, including three heatsinked M.2 slots, a USB 3.2 Gen2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port, high-quality power delivery, and CrossfireX/SLI support. Its performance also matches other similar boards and is a pretty decent solution for those in the mid $400 budget.
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