ASUS Unleashes ROG Maximus Z790 DARK HERO, New STRIX & TUF Offerings With 14th Gen Intel CPU Support, WIFI 7 & More

Dec 07, 2023

ASUS has introduced three new Z790 motherboards including the flagship ROG Maximus Z790 DARK HERO with Intel 14th Gen CPU support.

At Gamescom 2023, ASUS ROG has introduced three new motherboards that are designed for the upcoming Intel 14th Gen CPUs, supporting enhanced designs and new features. The trio includes a flagship ROG Maximus motherboard known as the Z790 DARK HERO alongside the ROG STRIX Z790 A Gaming WIFI II and the TUF Gaming Z790-PRO WIFI.

The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 DARK HERO is a flagship solution that is outfitted with a 20+1 phase power delivery solution, following are the highlighted features of the motherboard:

All three ASUS Z790 motherboards come with REMP II, AI Cooling II, and AI Overclocking features that enable the fastest CPU & DDR5 memory overclocking capabilities while keeping things cool & in check with the AI Cooling II feature set. The TUF Gaming Z790-PRO WIFI is also the first board in the lineup to support the AI overclocking capability which wasn't present on the previous-gen TUF line of motherboards.

Additional features for the new ASUS Z790 motherboards will include features such as onboard PCIe Gen5 M.2 slots, Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports with up to 40 Gbps transfer speeds, front-panel USB 20 Gbps Type-C ports, PCIe Slot Q-Release, M.2 Q-Latch, Q-LED, and Q-Antennas. The motherboards will also feature support for WIFI 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 solutions using the Intel Gale Peak 2 "BE200" & Killer 1750X discrete solutions.

ASUS also points out that its existing 600 & 700-series motherboards will also be compatible with the upcoming 14th Gen CPUs from Intel after a BIOS update which is available:

Will you upgrade your motherboard to take advantage of the high-performance networking, abundant connectivity, and optimized power solutions of our latest and best Z790 motherboards? Or will you stick with your battle-hardened Z690 or Z790 motherboard while you upgrade to a next-gen CPU? It’s all up to you.

via ASUS

In terms of design, all three ASUS Z790 motherboards feature a ATX form factor with the ROG & TUF Gaming models going with a distinct black color scheme while the ROG STRIX makes use of a two-tone white/black color scheme. The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 DARK HERO also comes with a massive "ROG" logo on the I/O plate which features ARGB illumination. These products are going to launch next month with the introduction of Intel's 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh CPUs. Expect the prices to be slightly higher than the existing models.