[Hardware] Do you want to upgrade to Rocket Lake? These are the best Z490 boards

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10th Gen Intel Core (Rocket Lake) processors are here, and with them comes a new wave of compatible motherboards. If you want to get a top-of-the-range PC based on this new Intel processor architecture, next we are going to tell you which are the best motherboards with a Z490 chipset that you can buy in order to have the highest-end equipment possible.

It is worth mentioning the fact that there are many, many high-end Z490 motherboards and sometimes it becomes difficult to make a decision. So, in this article we are going to tell you which is the best option offered by each of the main manufacturers, so that at least you can be clear about the best option that can be bought from each of them. That said, let's go there with the list.

ASUS ROG Maximux XII Extreme

ASUS ROG Maximux XII Extreme
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EUR
899.90
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ASUS is a manufacturer that both by quality and price has always tried to distance itself from others by offering products of the highest range, and this is one of the most expensive motherboards on the market but it is designed to have absolutely everything. This is an LGA1200 socket motherboard compatible with Intel Rocket Lake processors (like all of them here) that supports extreme overclocking and, in fact, has various AI-optimized cooling and overclocking profiles, according to the manufacturer.

Obviously it has the latest in connectivity including USB-C, it has four M.2 sockets, Marvel AQtion 10Gb connectivity for the best network speed (Intel 2.5GbE), WiFi 6 and in general everything you may need now or in the future.

Gigabyte Z490 AORUS Xtreme

Gigabyte Z490 AORUS Xtreme
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EUR
591.79
This motherboard has a much more expensive version that comes with a liquid cooling block already prepared for the motherboard, but we have decided to include the normal version in this list because not many people have custom liquid cooling. In any case, like the previous one, this motherboard is designed for Intel's 10th generation processors and has all kinds of thermal protections to offer the best possible cooling, and you have proof of this in the image above since it seems like almost the entire board is covered.

The DDR4 DIMM sockets are hardened to support memory with heavy heatsinks, as well as hardened are the three PCI-Express 3.0 x16 sockets. It also has three M.2 Socket 3 2242 sockets in all cases covered with its own heatsink, but can be removed if the SSD already comes with its own heatsink. It has USB 3.1 Type-C connectivity, 2.5 GbE LAN, Intel WiFi 6 and of course RGB Fusion 2.0.

MSI MEG Z490 Godlike
MSI MEG Z490 Godlike

MSI MEG Z490 Godlike
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EUR
742.00
The best MSI motherboards always have the nickname Godlike, and this Z490 has all the technology that the manufacturer is capable of putting into a product such as a motherboard. It has reinforced sockets, full cooling, 3 M.2 and 3 PCIe 3.0 x16 sockets, WiFi 6, USB 3.1 Type-C, 16 + 1 + 1 phase INTERSIL digital PWM design to allow extreme overclocking and as a curiosity, includes a card PCIe expansion board with active cooling to install two additional M.2 SSDs.

ASRock Z490 Taichi
ASRock Z490 Taichi

ASRock Z490 Taichi
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EUR
359.90
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Actually, ASRock's top-of-the-range Z490 motherboard is the Aqua version, but like the one before AORUS it is very specific for those who have custom liquid cooling systems and that is why we prefer to recommend this other version. It has all the characteristics of the previous ones in terms of overclocking potential, reinforced sockets, M.2 compatibility and connectivity, so it really has little to envy the others despite the fact that its price is much lower.

BIOSTAR Z490 GTA

BIOSTAR Z490 GTA
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The top-of-the-range model with BIOSTAR's Z490 chipset is much more humble than the previous ones, but really unless you intend to overclock in a big way, you will not miss any features. It has two reinforced PCIe 3.0 x16 sockets, two M.2 sockets with integrated heatsink, WiFi 6, USB 3.1 Type-C and in general everything you might need in any high-end PC.

Colorful Z490 Vulcan X

Colorful Z490 Vulcan X

This Colorful motherboard is much more basic than the previous ones but it is the best that the manufacturer has in this chipset. It has three hardened PCIe 3.0 x165 sockets, two M.2 with a built-in heatsink, and an "armor" they have called Silver Shark 2.0 that ensures that all components on the motherboard will be at the best possible operating temperature.