AORUS Z390 Master
October, 2018Type
MotherboardPrice
$289.99 USAORUS Z390 Master Motherboard - Unboxing
The AORUS Z390 Master comes in the standard cardboard package. The front is themed in black and orange, a color scheme which has been part of AORUS products for a while now. You can also note AORUS Falcon on the front which looks great and is the first indication that this is the gaming slash enthusiast aimed AORUS product and not the standard Gigabyte product. The AORUS Z390 Master is still branded as Gigabyte's offering but has been designed by the AORUS division as their top of the line product, just a tier below the flagship AORUS Z390 Xtreme.
The front side also lists down support for Intel's 8th generation Core processors (should list 9th Gen). There's also support for Intel Optane memory along with other features such as 12+2 Digital Power, ESS Sabre HiFi, Intel 802.11ac, RGB Fusion, Smart Fan 5 and also revealing that the board utilizes twice the copper as standard PCBs for better current and voltage flow through the electrical circuitry.
The back side of the package lists down the specifications and special features of the motherboard such as the IR Digital VRM solution with PowIRstage, RGB Fusion with Digital LEDs support, ESS 32 bit HyperStream SABRE 9118 DAC and other key features. The main highlights of the board which I am looking forward to see is the Advanced Thermal design which we will be going in full detail in this review.
Inside the package is another box which contains the accessories in the top and motherboard at the bottom. It is very easy to access although the accessories are a bit scattered and things could get messy sorting out the various additions.
There are several accessories included in the package. Following is the full list of accessories in the package.
- User Manual, Installation Guide, Support CD
- 2 x Thermistors
- 2 x ARGB Addressable Cables
- 2 x Soft Touch Ties
- 1 x Wireless Antenna
- 2 x SATA Cables
- 3 x M.2 screws
- 1 x G-Connector for Front Panel Switches
- 1 x Gigabyte SLI HB Bridge
The motherboard is housed on the top section, over the accessories and has the anti-static wrapping to protect it from any built up electrical resistance that can affect the board.
The AORUS Z390 Master motherboard retains the more modern design scheme that we saw on the AORUS Z370 Gaming 7. I am really delighted by the looks of this motherboard as it is one of the best product designs by AORUS to date. AORUS top-tier products are known to be elegantly designed which can be seen on their HEDT motherboards and high-performance graphics cards offerings.
Contents
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The AORUS Z390 Master is a really beautiful motherboard with a powerful stack of features backing it that helps gamers and enthusiast get the most out of their PCs through overclocking. The BIOS can get some refinements but aside from that, the Z390 Master from AORUS is one of our top recommended Z390 motherboards for 9th Gen PC builders.
- Enthusiast Grade Motherboard Design
- Full Support For 8 Core Intel CPUs
- Excellent Design and Build Quality
- Excellent VRM Cooling With Direct Touch heatpipe and fin array heatsink
- Excellent Overclocking Performance
- Backplate with thermal pads integration
- High-Quality Components With 12 Phase IRDigital PWM
- Intel CNVi WiFI + BT5.0 Capabilities
- Triple M.2 slots With Full Coverage heatsinks + Thermal Pads
- Tons of USB 3.1 Gen 2 and Gen 1 Ports
- AORUS RGB Fusion Digital LEDs System Looks Stunning
- ALC1220 + ESS Sabre HIFI DAC Premium sound system
- Durable PCIe and DDR4 DIMM Slot Metal Armor
- Integrated Rear Panel I/O Shield
Pros
- Pricing could be slightly lower
- BIOS needs refinement (Advanced Mode settings don't usually save in profiles, can't tune fan curve properly, lot's of experience required for entry-level overclockers)
Cons
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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