ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO Intel DDR5 PCIe 5.0 ATX WIFI Motherboard

Features

Brand	Asus
Model Number	ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO
Warranty Support	3 Years
Motherboard Chipset	Z790 Chipset (LGA 1700)
CPU Socket Type	LGA 1700
Memory Type	DDR5
Outputs	HDMI
Form Factor	ATX
Key Features	- x1 Onboard PCIe 5.0 M.2 Slot, x2 PCIe 5.0 x16 Slots - Max. 192GB, DIMM FLEX, AEMP II DDR5 Memory Support - WIFI 7 - AI OVERCLOCKING - AI COOLING II - 20+1+2 Teamed Power Solution - DIY-Friendly Design - POLYMO Lighting - THUNDERBOLT 4 TYPE-C® Ports

ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO Intel DDR5 PCIe 5.0 ATX WIFI Motherboard - LGA 1700

The ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero boasts robust cooling, WiFi 7 and ample PCIe 5.0 slot for unmatched performance, and it offers full compatibility with Next-Gen Intel® Core™ processors. Meanwhile, its stealthy design is accentuated by new Polymo lighting, which illuminates the I/O shroud with a microstructural array of dual-layer RGB and adds a personalized touch of style to your gaming setup.

DDR5 DOMINATION
ROG has a long legacy of flexing the fastest memory performance, and DDR5 is no outlier. Thanks to improved signal routing, now enthusiast-grade kits have been driven far beyond the 8 GT/s mark on the Maximus Z790 Dark Hero, and who knows how far future DIMMs can go? Seasoned veterans can test their mettle by tinkering with the extensive array of tuning options in the UEFI.

DIMM FLEX
DIMM Flex provides enthusiasts with a powerful new way to overclock their DDR5 memory modules. It employs specialized circuitry that can boost performance or address potential stability issues, depending on temperature readings. When temperatures are nominal, it can use the extra headroom to increase speeds and efficiency. And when temperatures increase, it can adjust memory behavior downward to maintain stability.

WIFI 7
Next-gen WiFi 7 chipset introduces all-new ultrawide 320 MHz channel bandwidth in the 6 GHz band and 4096 QAM, delivering up to 2.4X ultra-fast WiFi speeds**. The revolutionary Multi-Link Operation (MLO) provides a more stable WiFi connection and lower latency, unlocking the realms of the unknown in gaming, streaming, and industrial IoT.

2.5G ETHERNET
Low-latency gaming, speedy file transfers, and high-resolution video streaming are among the many perks of onboard Intel® 2.5 Gbps Ethernet.

Five onboard M.2 Slots
The ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero features five onboard M.2 slots, one of which is PCIe 5.0-ready to offer blistering 16 GB/s speeds, while the others offer still-impressive 8 GB/s over PCIe 4.0 interfaces.

Expansion Slots
Both of the x16 expansion slots have the PCIe 5.0 treatment to offer incredible speeds up to 64 GB/s for compatible devices. To bear the brunt of massive graphics cards, they are also protected with SafeSlot retention brackets, and the top slot can be released easily thanks to the PCIe Slot Q-Release button.

TWO THUNDERBOLT 4 TYPE-C® PORTS
Each port delivers up to 40 Gbps of bidirectional bandwidth for the latest super-speed devices and drives. Both ports can be employed for up to two external 4K displays, and PCIe bandwidth extends to up to 32 Gbps.

USB 20Gbps TYPE-C FRONT-PANEL CONNECTOR WITH QUICK CHARGE 4+
USB 20Gbps Type-C front-panel connector features Quick Charge 4+ technology that can rapidly charge devices up to 60W.

SUPREMEFX
ROG SupremeFX audio technology delivers an exceptional 110 dB signal-to-noise ratio to the line-in jack for pristine recording quality. There’s also a low-dropout regulator for cleaner power delivery to the SupremeFX ALC4082 codec and an integrated ESS® ES9218 Quad DAC capable of reaching -115dB THD+N for superior front-panel output. This combined solution allows for end-to-end 32-bit 384 kHz resolution playback that conveys all the subtlety and nuances of each audio track.

CPU
Intel® Socket LGA1700 for Intel® Core™ Next-Gen & 13th Gen Processors, Intel® Core™ 12th Gen, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® Processors
Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0**
* Refer to www.asus.com for CPU support list.
** Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 support depends on the CPU types.

Chipset
Intel® Z790 Chipset

Memory
4 x DIMM slots, max. 192GB, DDR5
8000+(OC)/7800+(OC)/7600(OC)/7400(OC)/7200(OC)/7000(OC)/6800(OC)/6600(OC)/6400(OC)/ 6200(OC)/ 6000(OC)/ 5800(OC)/ 5600/ 5400/ 5200/ 5000/ 4800MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory*
Dual channel memory architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory module
ASUS Enhanced Memory Profile II (AEMP II)
* Supported memory types, data rate (Speed), and number of DRAM modules vary depending on the CPU and memory configuration, for more information refer to www.asus.com for memory support list.

Graphics
1 x HDMITM port**
2 x Intel® Thunderbolt™ 4 ports (USB Type-C®) support DisplayPort and Thunderbolt™ video outputs***
* Graphics specifications may vary between CPU types. Please refer to www.intel.com for any updates.
** Support 4K@60Hz as specified in HDMI 2.1.
- To ensure compatibility of the device installed, please refer to https://www.asus.com/support/ for the list of supported peripherals.

Expansion Slots
Intel® CoreTM Processors (Next-Gen & 13th & 12th Gen)*
2 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slots (support x16 or x8/x8 modes)**
Intel® Z790 Chipset
1 x PCIe 4.0 x4 slot
* Please check the PCIe bifurcation table on the support site (https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1037507/).
** M.2_1 shares bandwidth with PCIEX16(G5)_2. When M.2_1 is enabled, PCIEX16(G5)_2 will be disabled.
- To ensure compatibility of the device installed, please refer to https://www.asus.com/support/ for the list of supported peripherals.

Storage
Total supports 5 x M.2 slots and 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports*
Intel® CoreTM Processors (Next-Gen & 13th & 12th Gen)
M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 5.0 x4 mode.)**
M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode.)
Intel® Z790 Chipset**
M.2_3 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
M.2_4 slot (Key M), type 2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
M.2_5 slot (Key M), type 2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
* Intel® Rapid Storage Technology supports PCIe RAID 0/1/5/10, SATA RAID 0/1/5/10.
**M.2_1 shares bandwidth with PCIEX16(G5)_2. When M.2_1 is enabled, PCIEX16(G5)_2 will be disabled.

Ethernet
1 x Intel® 2.5Gb Ethernet
ASUS LANGuard

Wireless & Bluetooth
Wi-Fi 7
2x2 Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Supports 2.4/5/6GHz frequency band*
Support Wi-Fi 7 320MHz bandwidth, up to 5.8Gbps transfer rate.
Bluetooth® v5.4**
* Wi-Fi 6GHz frequency band and bandwidth regulatory may vary between countries.
** The Bluetooth version may vary, please refer to the Wi-Fi module manufacturer's website for the latest specifications.

USB
Rear USB (Total 12 ports)
2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 ports (2 x USB Type-C®)
6 x USB 10Gbps ports (5 x Type-A + 1 x USB Type-C®)
4 x USB 5Gbps ports (4 x Type-A)
Front USB (Total 9 ports)
1 x USB 20Gbps connector (supports USB Type-C® with up to 60W PD/QC4+)
2 x USB 5Gbps headers support 4 additional USB 5Gbps ports
2 x USB 2.0 headers support 4 additional USB 2.0 ports

Audio
ROG SupremeFX 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC ALC4082*
- Impedance sense for front and rear headphone outputs
- Supports: Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
- High quality 120 dB SNR stereo playback output and 110 dB SNR recording input
- Supports up to 32-Bit/384 kHz playback

Audio Features
- SupremeFX Shielding Technology
- ESS® ES9218 QUAD DAC
- Gold-plated audio jacks
- Rear optical S/PDIF out port
- Premium audio capacitors
*The rear panel Lime (Line out) port does not support spatial audio. If you wish to use spatial audio make sure to connect your audio output device to the audio jack on the front panel of your chassis.
Back Panel I/O Ports
2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB Type-C® ports
6 x USB 10Gbps ports (5 x Type-A + 1 x USB Type-C®)
4 x USB 5Gbps ports (4 x Type-A)
1 x HDMITM port
1 x Wi-Fi Module
1 x Intel® 2.5Gb Ethernet port
5 x Gold-plated audio jacks
1 x Optical S/PDIF out port
1 x BIOS FlashBack™ button
1 x Clear CMOS button

Internal I/O Connectors
Fan and Cooling related
1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header
1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header
1 x 4-pin AIO Pump header
4 x 4-pin Chassis Fan headers
1 x W_PUMP+ header
1 x 2-pin Water In header
1 x 2-pin Water Out header
1 x 3-pin Water Flow header
Power related
1 x 24-pin main power connector
2 x 8-pin +12V power connector
1 x 8-pin PCIe power connector
Storage related
5 x M.2 slots (Key M)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
USB
1 x USB 20Gbps connector (supports USB Type-C®)
2 x USB 5Gbps headers support 4 additional USB 5Gbps ports
2 x USB 2.0 headers support 4 additional USB 2.0 ports
Miscellaneous
3 x Addressable Gen 2 headers
1 x AURA RGB header
1 x FlexKey button
1 x Front panel audio header (F_AUDIO)
1 x Start button
1 x ReTry button
1 x 10-1 pin system panel header
1 x Thermal sensor header
1 x CPU over voltage jumper
1 x Alternative PCIe mode switch

Special Features
Extreme OC Kit
- FlexKey button
- ReTry button
- Start button
Extreme Engine Digi+
- 10K Black metallic capacitors
- MicroFine alloy choke
ASUS Q-Design
- M.2 Q-Latch
- PCIe Slot Q-Release
- Q-Antenna
- Q-Code
- Q-Connector
- Q-DIMM
- Q-LED (CPU [red], DRAM [yellow], VGA [white], Boot Device [yellow green]) with DRAM Detection
- Q-Slot
ASUS Thermal Solution
- M.2 heatsink backplate
- M.2 heatsink
- Metal backplate
- VRM heatsink design
ASUS EZ DIY
- BIOS FlashBack™ button
- Clear CMOS button
- CPU Socket lever protector
- ProCool II
- Pre-mounted I/O shield
- SafeSlot
- SafeDIMM
AURA Sync
- AURA RGB header(s)
- Addressable Gen 2 header(s)
Front Panel USB 20G with Quick Charge 4+ Support
- Support: up to 60W fast charging and USB Wattage Watcher*
- Output: 5/9/15/20V max. 3A, PPS:3.3–21V max. 3A
- Compatible with PD3.0 and PPS
* To support 60W, please install the power cable to 8-pin PCIe power connector or else only 27W will be supported.

Software Features
ROG Exclusive Software
- ROG CPU-Z
- DTS® Sound Unbound
- Internet Security (1 year full version)
ASUS Exclusive Software
Armoury Crate
- AIDA64 Extreme (1 year full version)
- Aura Creator
- Aura Sync
- Fan Xpert 4 (with AI Cooling II)
- GameFirst
- Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation
- Power Saving
- Sonic Studio
AI Suite 3
- Easy Optimization with AI Overclocking
- TPU
- DIGI+ Power Control
- Turbo app
- PC Cleaner
MyAsus
USB Wattage Watcher
Intel Unison 2 Premium
Adobe Creative Cloud (Free Trial)
WinRAR (40 Days Free Trial)
UEFI BIOS
AI Overclocking Guide
ASUS EZ DIY
- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
- ASUS EZ Flash 3
- ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode
- ASUS MyHotkey
MemTest86

BIOS
256 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS

Manageability
WOL by PME, PXE

Accessories
Cables
1 x ARGB RGB extension cable
4 x SATA 6Gb/s cables
Additional Cooling Kit
1 x Thermal pad for M.2
1 x DDR5 fan holder
Miscellaneous
1 x ASUS WiFi Q-Antenna
3 x M.2 backplate Q-Latch packages
3 x M.2 backplate Rubber Packages
1 x Q-connector
1 x ROG stickers
1 x ROG key chain
1 x M.2 rubber package
1 x ROG VIP card
Installation Media
1 x USB drive with utilities and drivers
Documentation
1 x Quick start guide