ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II: Not only the most efficient

3D rendering: Cinebench, Blender, ...

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

The Asus ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II motherboard is one of the models with Z790 chipsets that came out later, primarily for the 14th generation Intel Core processors (Raptor Lake Refresh). The motherboards with new chipsets are not for those, but they used the “old” ones (Z790, already available with 13th-generation Intel Core processors), to which new technologies were added. Naturally ones that don’t require any changes at the chipset level and are somehow brought out externally. As, for example, the wireless module with WiFi 7. It is already present on the MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk Max WiFi and Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Pro X motherboards we tested earlier.

But the Asus ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II is a different board, which has its own specifics that differentiate it from the two competing models mentioned above.

Asus ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II

When looking for this motherboard, make sure to look for the Roman numeral “II” at the end of the designation (ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II). In fact, there’s an older variant without it (the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi) which doesn’t have WiFi 7, for example, and it lacks some of the other things that the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II has going for it.

The ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II is an ATX-format motherboard (305×244 mm) where, in addition to the first PCIe 5.0×16 slot (from the CPU), there are two more connected to the south bridge of the chipset, the PCIe 3.0×1 slot for simple expansion cards, and then down below there’s one more PCI Express 4.0 slot physically in the ×16 format, but with contacts for only four lanes.

A Q-release button is connected to the first PCI Express ×16 slot, usually for installing a graphics card. This enables the latch to be released from the edge of the motherboard, making removal considerably easier. Especially if you have a large tower cooler. In that case, the slot, or its latch, is very difficult to get to, and such a “remote” access can make things easier.

Compared to the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi, there’s one less PCIe slot, but that’s to allow for the addition of one M.2 slot for an SSD. There are up to five in total, all of which support PCI Express 4.0. The last, fifth slot (M.2_5) on the bottom right is also ready for an M.2 SSD with SATA support. However, there is no PCI Express 5.0 support for the M.2 slot, which is disappointing at this price range. With the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Pro X at a similar or even lower price, it’s there. Asus decided otherwise, apparently also taking into account that most gamers will avoid the M.2 (gen. 5) slot connected to the CPU for the reason of not reducing the number lanes of the graphics card in half, thus eventually dropping its performance.

You can also fit an SSD with an above-standard length of 110 mm into the two slots. At the same time, a cooler is available above each slot at all times before you use any SSD anywhere. These are also eye-catching on this motherboard with their contrast against the dark PCB. The total weight of the SSD coolers is over 200 grams (58+74+79), though they don’t exactly extract the most out of the material. You won’t find any fins on them, they’re just straight profiles, albeit with a large surface area.

You’ll only find fins and tunnels on the VRM coolers, which cool 19 phases (16 of which are Vcore). There is a theoretical load capacity of up to 70A per phase. In practice, of course, it has to be considerably less to keep the board cool at all, and apart from that to achieve optimum power efficiency. Still, the Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi can accomodate and run at maximum performance even the most powerful processor designed for the LGA 1700 platform – the Intel Core i9-14900KS. Even after overclocking via MCE (Multi Core Enhancement), the bottleneck for it will be its cooler rather than the board itself.

The audio adapter is based on the Realtek ALC4080 chip with SupremeFX superstructure. In addition, there is the more powerful Savitech amplifier, but also, for example, a shielding/metal cover filtering electromagnetic noise from other parts of the motherboard. The result is, of course, supposed to be the clearest possible sound in your headphones or speakers.

The backside of the motherboard is plain (no connectors and no backplate), but it is decorated with a large white ROG logo. However, it won’t be visible even in cases with both side panels made of glass. This is because it’s located at the bottom of the PCB, which is covered by the tray inside the case.

Among the external ports, on the I/O panel, there are up to twelve USB ports, two of which are Type-C (and the rest Type-A). However, four of these are 2.0 standard only. These are slow for data transfer, but in turn are suitable for connecting peripherals that don’t require a faster interface. For example, a mouse, keyboard, audio headset or, say, a multifunction device. One of the USB(-C) ports supports the 20-gigabit 3.2 gen. 2 standard and is thus also suitable for super-fast external SSDs.

The audio connector selection is poorer than you might be used to. Next to the optical S/PDIF output, there are only two 3.5-millimeter jacks (Line Out and Mix In). Like Gigabyte, for example, Asus is betting that most users won’t be connecting multi-channel analogue systems to their PC.

With the WiFi connectors (7), the way in which the external antennas are connected is noteworthy. Instead of threading (and screwing), there is a faster push-pin based mounting mechanism. Only practice and the number of cycles of insertion and removal before it starts to fall apart will tell how durable it is. However, such extremely intense stresses do not normally (and perhaps ever?) occur.

ARGB LED lighting is only next to the VRM heatsink – on the I/O port cover, where you can highlight the ROG logo in various ways. This is done via the Armoury Crate application, in which synchronization with peripherals connected to the internal (A)RGB headers is also possible, as is tradition.

Please note: The article continues with further chapters.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

What it looks like in the BIOS

EZ Mode is where most of what is most often adjusted as part of basic configuration. There’s also a ReSizable BAR button on the top navigation, which for example, on MSI boards you have to look for in the advanced PCIe settings.

The memory profile or XMP is referred to as the “D.O.C.P.”. Once activated, regardless of version, expect half the memory controller bandwidth with “1500 MHz” (Gear 2) for faster DDR5 memory (over 6000 MT/s).

Compared to the early Asus Z790 boards, one of the new features is the DIMM Flex technology for dynamic management of memory system bandwidth with respect to the workload. We also have a more detailed article on this topic. The idea is to achieve optimum performance and not to degrade it due to excessive temperature of the PMIC circuit, which is on memory such as DDR5.

Even with a processor as powerful as the Core i9-13900K, Asus doesn’t reduce the all-core boost clock speed for AVX2 in factory settings by a negative offset. That’s why it’s also on average 100–250 MHz higher compared to some other boards. Compared to boards with higher CPU core clock speeds, what interferes is more aggressive thermal protection or overall worse cooling, which can also be shaped by different PCB deformations and thus worse contact of the cooler base with the processor IHS.

Load-Line Calibration (LLC) is at level 3 (adjustable…).

The unique Asus feature – MultiCore Enhancement – allows you to choose one of four modes, where you can also get to above-standard CPU clock speeds by “auto-overclocking”, let’s say. Achieving these clock speeds is dependent on the intensity of the workload and the available cooling performance of the CPU cooler. In lower, gaming loads, you can get to higher all-core boost clock speeds even with the most powerful CPUs even with mediocre performance coolers. It then just depends on what kind of temperature at what noise level you consider appropriate.

Power limits management is in the Ai Tweaker (Internal CPU Power Management) tab. We test in two variants, with “4096 W” (i.e. no power limits) and with 125 W for long-term load, while the short-term load is set to PL2 level (253 W) with a Tau timeout of 56 seconds, although this is often not respected after setting it (and higher performance is available for a significantly shorter time), as you can see in the power consumption graphs.

Each of the seven connectors can be customized in the fan management interface. These also support DC control. By default, the regulation is set to “auto”, so the board should recognize whether a fan with three (DC) or four (PWM) pins is connected to it. In case you can’t get to the starting/minimum speed as expected with PWM fans, it’s a good idea to go for PWM control. This is because in rare cases, the board may regulate a PWM fan with a linear voltage (DC), which will typically result in higher start-up speeds.

If you don’t like any of the preset profiles (Standard, Silent, Turbo, Full Speed), you can create your own speed curve. However, it’s a pity that this interface lacks a quick option to change the thermal source on which the fan speeds will be based.

The thermal source can be changed, but a bit inconveniently. You have to find the connector in the Monitor tab (Q-Fan Configuration), where you can change the thermal source from the default “CPU” to for example “VRM” or possibly to another one, for example a custom thermocouple with arbitrary placement inside the case. Hopefully, sooner or later Asus will bring these options out within the Q-Fan Control screen as well, somewhere next to the 2D graph with the curve as other manufacturers have it.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Gaming tests…

The vast majority of tests is based on the methodology for processors and graphics cards. The choice of games is narrower with motherboards, but for this purpose there is no need for more of them. We always use the powerful Core i9-13900K processor, which will highlight the strengths and weaknesses of any motherboard well. In the past we have tested with two processors, including a cheaper, more low-power model, but we don’t do that anymore. The hypothesis that more expensive motherboards might “advantage” cheaper processors in performance has not been confirmed, so it’s rather pointless.

We’ve selected five titles from games we’re testing in two resolutions. There are significantly fewer games than in the CPU or graphics card tests, but these are just enough for the motherboard tests. Few people consider performance in a particular game when choosing a motherboard. But an indicative overview of which motherboard shapes gaming performance in what way (compared to another motherboard) is necessary. To avoid significant discrepancies over time, we’ve reached for relatively older titles that no longer receive significant updates.

These are Borderlands 3, F1 2020, Metro Exodus, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Total War Saga: Troy. With newer games, there might be some performance changes over time (updates) and especially in high resolutions with high details. This is one of the test setups (2160p and Ultra, or the highest visual detail but without ray-tracing graphics) that focuses on comparing performance, for which the bottleneck is the graphics card. In other words, it will be clear from these tests which motherboard can affect the performance of which graphics card to what extent for any reasons. In contrast, a setup with Full HD resolution and with graphical details reduced to “High” will also reflect the CPU’s contribution to the final gaming performance.

We use OCAT to record fps, or the times of individual frames, which are then used to calculate fps, and FLAT to analyze the CSV. The developer and author of articles (and videos) for the GPUreport.cz website is behind both.
For the highest accuracy, all runs are repeated three times and average values of average and minimum fps are displayed in the graphs. These multiple repetitions also apply to non-game tests.

… Computing tests, SSD tests, USB ports and network tests

We test application performance in a very similar way to the processor tests. Almost all tests are included, from the easier ones (such as those in a web environment) to those that push the CPU or graphics card to the limit. These are typically tests such as 3D rendering, video encoding (x264, x265, SVT-AV1) or other performance-intensive computing tasks. As with processors or graphics cards, we have a wide range of applications – users editing video (Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve Studio), graphic effects creators (Adobe Premiere Pro), graphic designers or photographers (Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, Affinity Photo, AI applications Topaz Labs, …) will find their own in the results, and there are also tests of (de)encryption, (de)compression, numerical calculations, simulations and, of course, tests of memory.

SSD performance tests are also important for motherboards. Therefore we test the maximum sequential read and write speeds on an empty Samsung 980 Pro SSD (1 TB) in the well distributed CrystalDiskMark, in all slots. We approach the USB port tests in the same way. We use a WD Black P50 external SSD to test them. It supports fast USB 3.2 gen. 2×2, so it won’t be a bottleneck for even the fastest USB controllers. We report only one result for each USB standard. This is calculated from the average of all available ports.

We won’t deprive you of network bandwidth tests either. We move large files in both directions within a local network between the motherboard network adapters and the Sonnet Solo10G 10-gigabit PCIe card. This from the aforementioned Samsung 980 Pro SSD to the Patriot Hellfire (480 GB), which is still fast enough to not slow down even the 10 Gb adapter.

The results of all performance tests are averaged over three repeated measurements for best accuracy.

CPU settings…

We primarily test processors without power limits, the way most motherboards have it in factory settings. For tests that have an overlap with power, temperature and CPU clock speed measurements, we also observe the behavior of boards with a power limit according to Intel’s recommendations, where we set PL1 to the TDP level (125 W) while respecting the Tau timeout (56 s). The upper limit of the power supply (PL2/PTT) is set in the BIOS according to the official values. For Core i9-13900K it is 253 W, for Core i9-12900K it is 241 W. Aggressive overclocking technologies such as PBO2 (AMD) or MCE (Asus) and similar are not covered in standard motherboard tests.

… and application updates

Tests should also take into account that over time, individual updates may skew performance comparisons. Some applications we use in portable versions that do not update or can be kept on a stable version, but for some this is not the case. Typically games get updated over time, which is natural, and keeping them on old versions out of reality would also be questionable.

In short, just count on the fact that the accuracy of the results you are comparing with each other decreases a bit as time goes on. To make this analysis easier, we’ve listed when each board was tested. You can find this out in the dialog box, where you can find information about the date of testing. This dialog is displayed in the interactive graphs, next to any result bar. Just hover over it.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Methodology: How we measure power draw

<In contrast to the Z690/B660 tests, we’ll simplify it a bit and measure only the CPU power draw on the EPS cables. This means that (also for the sake of best possible clarity) we omit the 24-pin measurements. We have already analysed it thoroughly and the power draw on it doesn’t change much across boards. Of the ten boards tested with an Alder Lake processor (Core i9-12900K), the power draw at 12 volts of the 24-pin connector ranges from 37.3–40.4 W (gaming load, graphics card power supply via PCI Express ×16 slot), at 5V (memory, ARGB LEDs and some external controllers) then between 13.9–22.3 W and finally at the weakest, 3.3-volt branch, the power draw of our test setup tends to be 2.2–3.6 W.

On top of the CPU power draw, which also takes into account the efficiency of the power delivery, this adds up to some 53–66 W under gaming/graphics load and only 15–25 W outside of it, with the graphics card idle. We already know all this from older tests, and it will be no different on the new boards, and as the number of measurements increases, reducing measurements that worsen orientation is beneficial. But from the text above, you know how much to add for the total power draw of the motherboard components to the CPU’s majority power draw.

The situation will be a bit different on AMD platforms, for those we will deal with what is the power draw on which branch of the 24-pin, but already in a separate article that will better highlight this topic. In a large comprehensive motherboard test, these measurements disappear, they do not attract enough attention.

We measure the power draw of the CPU (and its VRM) on the power supply cables, with calibrated Prova 15 current clamps and a calibrated Keysight U1231A multimeter. The clamps measure the electric current, the multimeter measures the electric voltage. In the union of these two electrical quantities, we finally obtain the exact power draw. We measure this in different loads on the CPU. The maximum multithreaded load is represented by Cinebench R23.

Lower, gaming load by Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p@high), single-threaded load by audio encoding (reference encoder 1.3.2, FLAC with bitrate 200 kbps) and idle power draw is measured on the Windows 10 desktop when only basic operating system processes and launchers of some test applications are running in the background.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Methodology: Temperature and frequency measurements

By far the most critical part in terms of temperatures on the motherboard is the power delivery (VRM) for the CPU. This is where we return to the Fluke Ti125 thermal imager, which produces temperature maps that can be used to locate the average temperature, as well as the hottest point. We record both these values (average and maximum temperature on the Vcore) in graphs, and we will later evaluate the efficiency of the VRM heatsinks based on the maximum one. However, we lack a suitable thermometer for that yet. Of course, the thermovision is implemented without a heatsink, and a thermocouple needs to be installed on the hottest MOSFET to detect the reduction of temperature with a heatsink. This will be added soon.

Thermal imaging always relates to operating with the more powerful of the pair of test processors. With it, the differences and possible limitations or impending risks (for example, even from thermal throttling) become more apparent. In order to have a good view of the VRM, we use an Alphacool Eisbaer 360 liquid cooler with the fans fixed at full power (12 V) instead of a tower cooler (from the CPU tests). The temperature tests also include CPU temperatures for completeness, and we also test the efficiency of the supplied SSD heatsinks as part of the motherboard tests. These are already included with virtually all better motherboards, and so the question naturally arises whether to use them or replace them with other, more finned ones. We will test these heatsinks on a Samsung 980 Pro SSD during ten minutes of intense load in CrystalDiskMark. Finally, the temperature of the chipset’s southbridge and the cooling efficiency in this direction is noteworthy as well.

All tests are conducted in a wind tunnel, so full system cooling is provided. This consists of three Noctua NF-S12A PWMs@5V (~550 rpm) . Two of which are intake, one is exhaust. But the three fast AIO fans also function as exhaust fans, so there is negative pressure inside the case.

The temperature at the entrance to the tunnel is properly controlled and ranges between 21-21.3 °C. Maintaining a constant temperature at all times during testing is important not only for the accuracy of the temperature measurements, but also because a higher or lower ambient temperature also affects the eventual behaviour of the processors’ boost. And we also properly monitor and compare the clock speeds, whether under all-core load or even single-threaded tasks. We use the HWiNFO application to record the clock speeds and temperatures of the cores (sampling is set to two seconds).

Maintaining a constant temperature at the intake is necessary not only for a proper comparison of processor temperatures, but especially for objective performance comparisons. The clock speed development, and specially the single core boost, is precisely based on the temperature. Typically in summer, at higher temperatures than is normal in living quarters in winter, processors can be slower.

Temperatures are always read as maximum (both from the VRM thermovision and average, but still from the local maximum values at the end of Cinebench R23). For Intel processors, for each test we read the maximum temperature of the cores, usually all of them. These maxima are then averaged and the result represents the final value in the graph. From the single-threaded workload outputs, we extract only the recorded values from the active cores (there are usually two of these, and they alternate between each other during the test). For AMD processors it is a bit different. They don’t have temperature sensors for each core. In order to make the procedure methodically as similar as possible to the one we apply on Intel processors, we define the average temperature of all cores by the highest value reported by the CPU Tdie (average) sensor. However, for single-core workloads we already use the CPU sensor (Tctl/Tdie), which usually reports a slightly higher value that better corresponds to hotspots of one or two cores. However, these values as well as the values from all internal sensors should be taken with a grain of salt, the accuracy of sensors across CPUs varies.

Clock speed evaluation is more accurate, each core has its own sensor even on AMD processors. However, unlike the temperatures, we write the average values of the clock speeds during the tests in the graphs. We monitor the temperatures and clock speed of the CPU cores in the same tests in which we also measure power draw. Thus, sequentially from the lowest desktop idle load in Windows 10, through audio encoding (single-threaded load), gaming load in Shadow of the Tomb Raider to Cinebench R23.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Test setup

Note.: Graphics drivers used at the time of testing: Nvidia GeForce 466.77 and OS Windows 10 build 19045.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

3DMark

We use 3DMark Professional for our tests and from the tests, Night Raid (DirectX 12), Fire Strike (DirectX 11) and Time Spy (DirectX 12). In the graphs you will find the CPU sub-scores, the combined scores, as well as the graphics scores. From this you can see to what extent a given CPU is limiting the graphics card.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Borderlands 3

Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: None; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

F1 2020

Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: off, Skidmarks Blending: off; test scene: built-in benchmark (Australia, Clear/Dry, Cycle).

Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: TAA, Skidmarks Blending: off; test scene: built-in benchmark (Australia, Clear/Dry, Cycle).

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Metro Exodus

Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Extreme; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: off; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Highest; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: TAA; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Total War Saga: Troy

Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 11; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra; API DirectX 11; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

PCMark

Geekbench

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Speedometer (2.0) and Octane (2.0)

Test environment: To ensure that results are not affected by web browser updates over time, we use a portable version of Google Chrome (91.0.472.101), a 64-bit build. Hardware GPU acceleration is enabled as well, as it is by default for every user.

Note: The values in the graphs represent the average of the scores obtained in the subtasks, which are grouped according to their nature into seven categories (Core language features, Memory and GC, Strings and arrays, Virtual machine and GC, Loading and Parsing, Bit and Math operations, and Compiler and GC latency).

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Cinebench R20

Cinebench R23

Blender@Cycles

Test environment: We use well distributed projects BMW (510 tiles) and Classroom (2040 tiles) and the renderer Cycles. Render settings are set to None, with which all the work falls on the CPU.

LuxRender (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Adobe Premiere Pro (PugetBench)

Test environment: PugetBench tests set. We keep the version of the application (Adobe Premiere Pro) at 15.2.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

DaVinci Resolve Studio (PugetBench)

Test environment: set of PugetBench tests, test type: standard. App version of DaVinci Resolve Studio is 17.2.1 (build 12).

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Visual effects: Adobe After Effects

Test environment: set of PugetBench tests. App version of Adobe After Effects is 18.2.1.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

HandBrake

Test environment: For video conversion we’re using a 4K video LG Demo Snowboard with a 43,9 Mb/s bitrate. AVC (x264) and HEVC (x265) profiles are set for high quality and encoder profiles are “slow”. HandBrake version is 1.3.3 (2020061300).

x264 and x265 benchmarks

Naposledy sme sa zaoberali základnou doskou, ktorá, ktorá je aj vďaka nižšej cene vhodná najmä na použitie s lacnejšími procesormi. Teraz tu máme o zhruba 50 eur drahšiu Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master DDR4. Príplatok tu má jasné opodstatnenie a odzkadľuje sa na lepších vlastnostiach. Napájacia kaskáda je výrazne efektívnejšia, chladiče sú účinnejšie a výbava je celkovo bohatšia, vrátane svetielok.

Audio encoding

Test environment: Audio encoding is done using command line encoders, we measure the time it takes for the conversion to finish. The same 42-minute long 16-bit WAV file (stereo) with 44.1 kHz is always used (Love Over Gold by Dire Straits album rip in a single audio file).

Encoder settings are selected to achieve maximum or near maximum compression. The bitrate is relatively high, with the exception of lossless FLAC of about 200 kb/s.

Note: These tests measure single-thread performance.

FLAC: reference encoder 1.3.2, 64-bit build. Launch options: flac.exe -s -8 -m -e -p -f

MP3: encoder lame3.100.1, 64-bit build (Intel 19 Compiler) from RareWares. Launch options: lame.exe -S -V 0 -q 0

AAC: uses Apple QuickTime libraries, invoked through the application from the command line, QAAC 2.72, 64-bit build, Intel 19 Compiler (does not require installation of the whole Apple package). Launch options: qaac64.exe -V 100 -s -q 2

Opus: reference encoder 1.3.1, Launch options: opusenc.exe –comp 10 –quiet –vbr –bitrate 192

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Adobe Photoshop (PugetBench)

Test environment: set of PugetBench tests. App version of Adobe Photoshop is 22.4.2.

Affinity Photo (benchmark)

Test environment: built-in benchmark.

Topaz Labs AI apps

Topaz DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI. These single-purpose applications are used for restoration of low-quality photos. Whether it is high noise (caused by higher ISO), raster level (typically after cropping) or when something needs extra focus. The AI performance is always used.

Test environment: As part of batch editing, 42 photos with a lower resolution of 1920 × 1280 px are processed, with the settings from the images above. DeNoise AI is in version 3.1.2, Gigapixel in 5.5.2 and Sharpen AI in 3.1.2.

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

WinRAR 6.01

7-Zip 19.00

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

TrueCrypt 7.1a

Aida64 (AES, SHA3)

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Aida64, FPU tests

FSI (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Kirchhoff migration (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Python36 (SPECworkstation 3.1)

SRMP (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Octave (SPECworkstation 3.1)

FFTW (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Convolution (SPECworkstation 3.1)

CalculiX (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

RodiniaLifeSci (SPECworkstation 3.1)

WPCcfd (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Poisson (SPECworkstation 3.1)

LAMMPS (SPECworkstation 3.1)

NAMD (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Memory tests…

… and cache (L1, L2, L3)

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

M.2 (SSD) slots speed

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

USB ports speed

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Ethernet speed

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Analysis of power draw without power limits

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Analysis of power draw with power limits

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Achieved CPU clock speed w/o power limits…

… and with power limits

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

CPU temperature

…. and with power limits

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

VRM temperature w/o power limits…

… and with power limits

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

SSD temperature

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Chipset temperature (south bridge)

Relative to computing (or gaming) performance, it has the lowest power consumption at factory settings. And the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II also sits among the more modern motherboards available for the Intel LGA 1700 platform. It’s already from the “second wave”, where network connectivity has been upgraded (to WiFi 7) and for example the support for DIMM Flex, useful for memory with extremely high bandwidth, is also new.

Conclusion

In many ways, the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II is a truly remarkable motherboard. Of all the Z790 chipset models tested so far, it has the highest efficiency, across a variety of load types. From very high to minimal, corresponding to an “idle” Windows operating system. In that situation, the CPU power consumption of few boards is lower, and the same statement holds true for higher loads, where “as low as possible” power consumption is perhaps an even more important feature.

We didn’t see below 300W with the Core i9-13900K in Cinebench R23 (MT) on any motherboard’s EPS cables. The computing performance is high, so it can be praised for its superior efficiency. Credit for this goes to the efficient VRM combined with less aggressive power supply. Consumption in both gaming and single-threaded loads is also slightly lower than on other motherboards.

The fact that the VRM is well over-dimensioned is also evidenced by temperature tests, whose results are far from critical values even without coolers. Those are robust and there won’t be many boards with lower temperatures.

On the other hand, there may be reservations about the non-support of PCIe 5.0 for the M.2 slot (for the most powerful SSDs). PCI Express 5.0 is only supported for graphics cards (and for someone this may be fine, because even if it were an option, the SSD would not cannibalize the PCIe lanes). And then, if you care about the new motherboard remaining relevant, then only the 2.5 Gb Ethernet connection may matter. WiFi 7 is great, but with the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Pro X, for example, for a comparable price, there’s already that M.2 slot with PCIe 5.0 SSD support in addition to the 5-gigabit LAN.

Of course, Asus has other advantages, which include elegant release of the latch on the first PCIe ×16 slot with the Q-release button, easier mounting of external WiFi antennas, and last but not least, an above-standard portion of USB ports on the rear panel. But there is only one internal 19-pin for front panel connection. This means that a portion of USB connectors on cases with high-end trim will remain unconnected.

Having checked the speed tests, we can say that everything is within the norm, as expected. Whether it’s tasks dependent on CPU and graphics card performance or speeds of M.2 slots, USB ports or LAN. The SSD coolers are one of the more powerful things you’ll see on motherboards, although they’re relatively low, with no significant articulation, they feature a supremely large footprint (and apparently an efficient TIM). If it’s not just the long coolers shared by two SSDs, cooler (1) is longer to support up to 110mm M.2 SSDs.

We don’t normally mention it, but we will now: It’s also worth noting with Asus motherboards (including this one) the push for wider CPU cooler support. That’s because of the double spacing of the mounting holes, where in addition to the wider one (LGA 1700) there is also a narrower one (LGA 1200/115x). This makes even coolers that don’t officially support the LGA 1700 platform compatible. The unique DIMM Flex technology is also attractive for owners of ultra-fast DDR5 memory, for which Asus also maintains a list of supported modules.

Overall, the ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II is an attractive motherboard that may or may not be optimal. It depends on which of the subsets have what value to you. While the price may be reasonable for some (and they may appreciate the SupremeFX sound adapter or one of the other attractive things – don’t forget about that top-notch efficiency), some may not approve of it. For example, considering the lack of PCIe 5.0 for SSDs or 5 Gb LAN. It’s a matter of individual priorities.

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

Some of the tested motherboards are also available in the Datacomp e-store

Special thanks also go to Blackmagic Design (for a DaVinci Resolve Studio license) and Topaz Labs (for DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI licenses)

• Contents
• Asus ROG Strix Z790-A Gaming WiFi II v detailoch
• What it looks like in the BIOS
• Methodology: Performance tests
• Methodology: How we measure power draw
• Methodology: Temperature and frequency measurements
• Test setup
• 3DMark
• Borderlands 3
• F1 2020
• Metro Exodus
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• Total War Saga: Troy
• PCMark and Geekbench
• Web performance
• 3D rendering: Cinebench, Blender, ...
• Video 1/2: Adobe Premiere Pro
• Video 2/2: DaVinci Resolve Studio
• Visual effects: Adobe After Effects
• Video encoding
• Audio encoding
• Photos: Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo, ...
• (De)compression
• (De)encryption
• Numerical computing
• Simulations
• Memory and cache tests
• M.2 (SSD) slots speed
• USB ports speed
• Ethernet speed
• Power draw without power limits
• Power draw with power limits
• Achieved CPU clock speed
• CPU temperature
• VRM temperature – thermal imaging of Vcore and SOC
• SSD temperature
• Chipset temperature (south bridge)
• Conclusion