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In terms of rear I/O, the TUF Gaming isn't much of an upgrade over the Prime Z590-P – without the Wi-Fi option it's essentially the same, though there are some upgrades to the existing features, the 2.5 Gbit LAN now uses an Intel controller rather than Realtek, for example.
Even the Asus Prime Z590-P wasn't particularly impressive hitting 78C, but at least the 11900K wasn't power limited here. Still, that almost 80C operating temperature looks quite bad next to the Gigabyte Z590 UD and MSI Z590-A Pro, both of which ran at around 60C, though they were running the 11900K 100 MHz slower. For a more apples to apples comparison, let's move on to the OC results. Along the right edge of the board, we run into the first (of three) RGB headers. In this case, it’s a 4-pin RGB, while the other two 3-pin ARGB headers are located along the bottom edge of the board. If you want any kind of RGB lighting, it has to come from your chassis or something else attached to the headers on the board.The Z590-A Pro comes equipped with an impressive VRM, too. The vcore portion features a dozen Alpha & Omega 55A power stages, these are higher rated and more efficient powerstages than what Asus used on the similarly priced Prime Z590-P, and there's two more of them. MSI has also included some rather large heatsinks, so this should be an entry-level Z590 board to be on the lookout for when we get to the thermal testing shortly. The Gaming X still uses a dozen Vishay powerstages in a 12-phase configuration, but we find 60A versions, so this board should be slightly better than the UD in terms of VRM thermal performance. Test Setup
The Torpedo is a premium-looking board and it should be at this price point. Though I'm not sure how popular the blue heatsinks are going to be, it's nice seeing a motherboard with a bit of character. The blue heatsinks are huge indeed, and under them you'll find an impressive 7-phase vcore VRM. MSI has used two On Semi 60A power stages per phase meaning there are 14 for just the vcore portion of the board. With that, we expect this to be one of the best performers of the roundup. Gigabyte Z590 UD Continuing right, we run into four DRAM slots. The double-sided latching slots support up to 128GB of RAM at speeds listed to DDR4 5333 for a one DIMM per channel and single-rank kits. As always, your mileage may vary, as reaching those speeds depends on the memory you buy along with the quality of the CPUs’ integrated memory controller (IMC). We had no issues running DDR4 4000 MHz with our 16GB kit by simply enabling XMP. For recording temperatures we're using a digital thermometer with K-Type thermocouples. We'll be reporting the peak rear PCB temperature. Finally, we're not reporting Delta T over Ambient, instead we maintain a room temperature of 21 degrees and to ensure a consistent ambient temperature, a thermocouple is positioned next to the test system.In terms of features, the board is surprisingly good. Not only do you get Intel 2.5 Gbps LAN, but they've also included 8 USB ports on the I/O panel, half of which are USB 2.0, but still it's nice to see more than half a dozen ports on offer. Just above the VRM heatsink are the 8-pin EPS and optional 4-pin EPS connectors to send power to the CPU. To the right, across the top edge, is the first (of eight) 4-pin fan headers. Each header supports both PWM and DC-type fans. The CPU_FAN1 here defaults to PWM mode and supports up to 2A/24W of power. The PUMP_FAN1 header also defaults to PWM mode but supports up to 3A/36W. Last but not least are the six SYS_FAN1-6 headers. These default to DC mode and support up to 1A/12W. There are plenty of headers and lots of power for running fans and pumps from this motherboard. On the rear panel is a single USB 3.2 G2 Type-C, one USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and four USB 2.0 ports. The Wi-Fi variant includes an Intel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E CNVi, while both models include an Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller. MSI also includes a DisplayPort and HDMI video output pairing for users that intend to use Intel's integrated graphics. A PS/2 combo keyboard and mouse port and a small clear CMOS switch finish off the rear panel. Installed over the discrete Sino Power MOSFETs are two of the smallest VRM heatsinks you're likely to ever find featured on an ATX motherboard. Removing them reveals a 6-phase Vcore with each phase featuring two Sino Power SM4508 fets on the low-side and two SM4503 fets on the high-side, each feeding into a pair of inductors. So at least there's a dozen low & high side fets, but I'm still not expecting good things from this board.
The Gigabyte Z590 UD peaked at just 74C, while the Gaming X version was only slightly better at 73C. The MSI Z590-A Pro peaked at 70C, while the Torpedo ran at just 68C. The best result came from the Asus TUF Gaming Z590-Plus which peaked at 67C.
So if you want the same uncapped out of the box experience that you'll receive on the Asus Prime Z590-P, Gigabyte Z590 UD or MSI Z590-A Pro with the Phantom Gaming, you'll have to be okay with dangerously high VRM temperatures. Opening the box for this entry-level motherboard, we find the basics and not much more to get you started. Below is a complete list of all included extras. Of course, it's what's under the heatsinks that's the most important thing and here we find a massive 12-phase vcore VRM, with each phase driven by a Vishay SiC651A 50A powerstage. In total, there are 12 powerstages, so while not the most extreme vcore VRM we've seen so far, it's still mighty impressive for the price. Gigabyte Z590 Gaming X Before we get to the graphs, let's talk about the test conditions. For this testing and all future LGA1200 VRM thermal testing we've built a dedicated system inside the Corsair 5000D Airflow case. Powering it we have the Corsair RM850x PSU and the Corsair iCUE H150i Elite Capellix White keeping things cool.
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