GIGABYTE Z490 GAMING X Ultra Durable LGA-1200 DDR4 Desktop Intel motherboard

Z490 chipset ATX board for 10th Gen Intel Core CPUs

This motherboard uses the Intel Z490 chipset and an LGA 1200 socket to support 10th Gen Intel Core processors. It provides four DDR4 DIMM slots in a dual-channel layout and a Direct 11+1 Phase Digital VRM with DrMOS. An enlarged VRM heatsink with a 5W/mK thermal pad handles power delivery thermals. The board is built with Ultra Durable technology and Dual Armor reinforcement.

Suits builders who want CrossFire support

The board offers 2-Way CrossFire multi-graphics support and Dual Armor PCIe slots for heavy cards. Dual M.2 connectors provide PCIe Gen3 x4 and SATA pathways, one fitted with a Thermal Guard. Intel GbE LAN includes cFosSpeed traffic-shaping software. RGB Fusion 2.0 controls addressable and standard LED strips. Smart Fan 5 uses multiple sensors and hybrid headers with Fan Stop. Q-Flash Plus updates the BIOS without a CPU, memory or graphics card installed.

Deciding spec: 11+1 Phase Direct VRM with DrMOS

The Direct 11+1 Phase Digital VRM solution with DrMOS is the specification that determines whether this board meets a build's power-delivery needs. It feeds the CPU through eleven Vcore phases plus one additional phase using integrated DrMOS stages. Buyers who need a different phase count or a discrete MOSFET design should look at other models. The VRM heatsink and thermal pad complete the cooling for this power stage.