华硕发布ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO BTF主板

华硕的BTF （BACK TO FUTURE） 宇宙停不了，这次扩展至高端主板系列ROG MAXIMUS HERO，推出ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO BTF主板。 在这一年多的时间里，华硕总共为INTEL Z790平台推出5款HERO主板，包含ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO、ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HEROEVA-02 EDITION（EVANGENLION）、ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO EVA-02 EDITION （EVANGELION）、ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO 和最新的 ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO BTF。 BTF 也就是背插版本，把所有原来在 PCB 正面的接头都搬到 PCB 背面，使线材从正面完全消失。 而因应华硕BTF显示卡的发展，这次Z790 HERO BTF也加入华硕自行定制的BTF GC-HPWR接头，只是Z790 HERO BTF与之前的BTF主板有点不同，因为Z790 HERO BTF只提供16-PIN，而没有PCI-E 8-PIN。

ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO BTF 是款好 HERO

华硕第一款自带 BTF GC-HPWR 接头的 BTF 主板，有提供 16-PIN 和 PCI-E 8-PIN 共两种方案，供用户自行决定。 也就是因为有额外的 PCI-E 8-PIN 选项，在搭配华硕 BTF 显卡后，原则上可以完全避免使用 16-PIN （12VHPWR / 12V-2X6）。

可是在最新推出的顶级 ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO BTF 上，却只保留 16-PIN 而未有提供任何 PCI-E 8-PIN 为 BTF GC-HPWR 接头供电。 笔者认为这刚好带出目前BTF设计规范需要再改进的地方，那就是空间的问题。 顶级主板之所以顶级，光看接头数量就已经是中阶低阶主板望尘莫及的境界。 也就是因为ROG HERO等级，就算华硕已在Z790 HERO BTF上砍掉为USB TYPE-C供电的PCI-E 8-PIN后，因为要保留原有的4个SATA，所以也再没有空间放下3个PCI-E8-PIN作为16-PIN的替代方案。

原则上经重新设计（新开案），笔者认为华硕要在Z790 HERO BTF上塞进所有原有的接头，也不是不可能。 只是 BTF 针对 PCB 背面左边的设计，好像没有考虑横向甚至水平摆放接头的做法。 垂直摆放占用空间，也不利 16-PIN 线材的弯折。 当然在 BTF 研发之初，好像还未有爆出 16-PIN 的问题，那是非战之罪了。

支持BTF GC-HPWR接头的BTF主板，还是应该利用PCB背后下方的空间来摆放SATA端口; 另一方面华硕也应该放弃3个PCI-E 8-PIN的做法，因为对于高质量的电供来说，1个PCI-E 8-PIN已经可以轻松推动300W以上的水平，那怕是DAISYCHAIN的PCI-E8-PIN。 只要电供厂商没有在DAISY CHAIN的部份缩料（18AWG 20AWG 22AWG），一根线两个8-PIN本来就可以也应该能够推动300W。 至于BTF主板针对PCB背后左边的规范，于今天看来是太保守了，应该再多开一点横向空间。

关于这款新Z790 HERO，笔者真正感兴趣的地方是它的规格。 很明显华硕有把一些原有的设计拿掉，但笔者非常喜欢这种缩料，甚至觉得应该把THUNDERBOLT 4和GEN5 M.2支持也砍掉。 要是华硕以此再推出第6款Z790 HERO（标准的正插版本），把价格打下来，便可使更多消费者享受到ROG MAXIMUS HERO的BIOS调校。

ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO BTF

CPU
Intel® Socket LGA1700 for Intel® Core™ 14th & 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)
Supports DIMM Flex
* 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.
* Non-ECC, un-buffered DDR5 memory supports On-Die ECC function.

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.
*** VGA resolution support depends on processors’ or graphic cards’ resolution.

Expansion Slots
Intel® CoreTM Processors (14th & 13th & 12th Gen)*
2 1 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 and PCIEX16(G5)_1 will run x8 only.
– 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 (14th & 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 and PCIEX16(G5)_1 will run x8 only.

Ethernet
1 x Intel® 2.5Gb Ethernet
ASUS LANGuard

Wireless & Bluetooth
Intel® Wi-Fi 7*
2×2 Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)**
Supports 2.4/5/6GHz frequency band***
Support Wi-Fi 7 320MHz bandwidth, up to 5.76Gbps transfer rate.
Bluetooth® v5.4****
* Compatible with Windows 11 or later.
** Wi-Fi 7 MLO(Multi-link Operation) full functions support will be ready in Windows 11 2024 Platform (Windows 11 24H2) or later.
*** 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威信OUT port on the rear panel 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 or use a USB interface audio device.

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

1 x Graphics card high power slot
1 x 12V-2X6 Auxiliary 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™
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
Operating System
Windows® 11, Windows® 10 64-bit
Form Factor
ATX Form Factor
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )