Asus Prime Z490-A Gaming ATX - motherboard

ASUS Prime series is expertly engineered to unleash the full potential of 10th Gen Intel® Core™ processors. Boasting a robust power design, comprehensive cooling solutions and intelligent tuning options, Prime Z490 series motherboards provide daily users and DIY PC builders a range of performance tuning options via intuitive software and firmware features.

Tune It Your Way
Comprehensive controls form the foundation of the ASUS Prime series. The Prime Z490 motherboard packs flexible tools to tune every aspect of your system, enabling you to tweak performance settings to perfectly match the way you work – maximizing your productivity.

5-Way Optimization
ASUS 5-Way Optimization makes your PC smart, taking care of complex tuning with just one click. It dynamically optimizes essential aspects of your system, providing overclocking and cooling profiles that are tailored for your rig.
- 5-Way Optimization is an automated tuning utility that optimizes overclocking and cooling profiles for your unique system configuration.
- Fans stay whisper-quiet for everyday computing, and deliver optimal airflow when the system is crunching through CPU- or GPU-intensive tasks.
- A stress test feature allows you to optimize and overclock for CPU- or memory-centric workloads.

ASUS AI Overclocking
ASUS AI Overclocking is an intelligent utility that helps you get the most out of your build by automatically profiling your CPU and cooling system to predict optimal voltage and frequency settings.

Accessible via the AI Suite software in Windows or directly through the UEFI, the intuitive AI Overclocking user interface enables users of all levels. A range of customizable settings are available for seasoned overclockers, and an auto-tuning option is available for beginners.

AI Cooling
ASUS AI Cooling function will automatically manage and control motherboard-connected fans to ensure optimal settings based on current system load and temperature.

UEFI BIOS
The renowned ASUS UEFI BIOS provides everything you need to configure, tweak and tune your system. It offers intelligently simplified options for PC DIY beginners, as well as comprehensive features for seasoned veterans.

Advanced Tuning for Serious Tweakers
An intuitive Advanced mode offered via the UEFI lets you take complete control. A built-in search feature makes it easy to find options, and various Advanced functions let you intelligently make nuanced adjustments so you can dial in performance just the way you want.

Cool to the Core
Prime Z490 series is engineered with multiple onboard heatsinks and an array of hybrid fan headers to ensure your rig stays cool and stable under intense workloads.

M.2 Heatsink
An M.2 drive sits under a passive heatsink to ward off the throttling that can occur with sustained transfers. The heatsink is held in place by easily-removable captive screws, giving you the flexibility to move it to another M.2 slot.

Cooler by Design
Prime Z490 series features comprehensive cooling controls that are configurable via Fan Xpert 4 software or via the UEFI BIOS.

Build on a Solid Foundation
Prime Z490 series is built to handle the additional cores and increased bandwidth of 10th Generation Intel® Core™ processors. A Z490 motherboard provides all the fundamentals to boost daily productivity, so your system will be ready for action with stable power, intuitive cooling and flexible transfer options.

Robust Power Design
Stable power is essential to extract every last bit of performance out of 10th Generation Intel Core processors, Prime Z490 motherboard is geared to cater to the demands of these high-core count CPUs.

ASUS OptiMem II
Revisions to the motherboard's trace routing provide the latest Intel processors with unrestricted access to memory bandwidth. ASUS OptiMem II technology carefully maps memory signal pathways across different PCB layers to reduce vias and adds shielding zones that significantly reduce crosstalk.

Dual M.2 (up to 32 Gbps)
Dual M.2 slots support data-transfer speeds of up to 32 Gbps via x4 PCI Express® 3.0 bandwidth, enabling quicker boot-up and app load times with OS or application drives.
* Actual transmission speeds will be lower than the theoretical maximum speed.

USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A & Type-C
Numerous USB ports support high-end rigs loaded with peripherals, including a front-panel USB Type-C® connectors with fast USB 3.2 Gen 2 connectivity for compatible cases.

Little Things Make a Big Difference
Prime Z490 series adds the nuanced details that improve every experience, from exclusive codecs that provide pristine audio quality to intuitive RGB lighting controls that let you customize your system to create a uniquely personal look.

Realtek Codec and Unique Design Features for Pristine, Powerful Audio
Prime Z490-A utilizes a unique audio codec designed in close collaboration with Realtek — the Realtek S1220A. It also features an unprecedented 120 dB signal-to-noise ratio for the stereo line out and a 113 dB SNR for the line in, providing pristine audio quality. Additionally, an impedance-sensing circuit automatically adjusts gain to ensure an optimal volume range for your headphones.

DTS:X® Ultra adds a spatial audio feature to boost headphones and speakers for enhanced gaming, VR, and extended-reality experiences. DTS:X Ultra supports sound based on channels, scenes, and objects to allow for deeper sonic immersion in enabled content. It also provides post-processing enhancements and device-level tuning for DTS® codecs.

Aura Sync
Outshine the Competition
A well-tuned enthusiast system deserves a matching aesthetic. ASUS Aura offers full RGB lighting control with a variety of functional presets for the built-in RGB LEDs as well as strips and devices connected to the onboard RGB headers - and it can all be synced with an ever-growing portfolio of Aura-capable hardware.

SafeSlot
Protect Your Graphics Card
SafeSlot is the PCIe slot reinvented by ASUS and engineered to provide superior retention and shearing resistance. Manufactured in a single step using a new insert-molding process, SafeSlot integrates fortifying metal for an inherently stronger slot, which is then firmly anchored to the PCB through additional solder points.