ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero Review: Worth It?

The spec sheet for the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero tells you almost everything you need to know before you've even looked at a single owner review. Twenty-plus-one teamed power stages rated at 90A each. Five M.2 slots. Two Thunderbolt 4 ports. WiFi 6E and Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet on the same board. This is not a board you buy because you need a motherboard. This is a board you buy because you want the best Z790 platform money can buy and you're prepared to pay the premium bracket price to get it. Over 557 owners have rated it ★★★★☆ (4.3) on Amazon, which for a flagship board at this price is genuinely impressive. Sceptical buyers at this level leave reviews when things go wrong, so a 4.3 average across that many units carries real weight.

The verdict: the ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Hero is one of the strongest Intel Z790 motherboards available, and it earns that position through specification depth rather than marketing. The VRM is properly engineered, the connectivity list is exhaustive, and the ASUS BIOS, whatever its quirks, is among the most feature-complete in the business. But at this price point, you need to be honest with yourself about whether you'll actually use what you're paying for. If you're building a high-end workstation or an enthusiast gaming rig where you want headroom for years of upgrades, this board makes sense. If you're gaming on a Core i5 and watching YouTube, it absolutely does not.

The primary PCIe x16 slot runs at full PCIe 5.0 bandwidth from the CPU, which means your GPU slot is future-proofed for next-generation graphics cards. Two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the rear I/O is genuinely unusual at any price point and opens up a lot of high-bandwidth peripheral options. The 20+1 teamed power stage design uses MicroFine alloy chokes and premium metallic capacitors, with ProCool II power connectors on the board itself. ASUS rates each phase at 90A, which gives you a theoretical ceiling that comfortably covers even the most power-hungry 13th Gen Intel parts.

Networking is covered by onboard WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, and Intel's 2.5Gb Ethernet controller, protected by ASUS LANGuard. The integrated I/O cover and VRM heatsink assembly is substantial, and ASUS includes a dedicated ROG Water-Cooling Zone for builders running custom loops. Triple M.2 heatsinks with dual embedded backplates are included, which means you're not scrambling for aftermarket coolers for your NVMe drives.

One thing: Intel's 14th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh processors also use the LGA 1700 socket and are compatible with Z790 boards via BIOS update. So if you buy this board now and want to drop in a Core i9-14900KS later, that's a viable path. The socket itself is mechanically identical across all four generations. What you won't get is support for Intel's Arrow Lake (Core Ultra 200S) processors, which moved to the LGA 1851 socket. So the Z790 Hero is a current-generation platform, not a future-generation one.

Cooler compatibility is straightforward. LGA 1700 uses the same mounting hole pattern as LGA 1200, and most modern cooler manufacturers have provided LGA 1700 mounting kits. If you have a high-end cooler from the last few years, check the manufacturer's site for an LGA 1700 bracket, but the chances are good it's already included or available free of charge. Given the power delivery headroom on this board, you'll want a proper 280mm or 360mm AIO, or a high-end air cooler, to keep a 13900K in check during sustained loads.

Z790 expanded the PCIe 4.0 lane count from the chipset compared to Z690, and it added more USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 capability. The chipset provides additional M.2 connectivity beyond what the CPU's direct lanes offer, which is how a board like the Z790 Hero can offer five M.2 slots without compromising the primary GPU slot. The CPU itself provides the PCIe 5.0 x16 lane for the primary GPU slot and PCIe 5.0 lanes for the primary M.2 slot, with the remaining M.2 slots running off chipset PCIe 4.0 lanes.

ASUS's AI feature set sits on top of the chipset's native capabilities. AI Overclocking, AI Cooling II, and GameFirst VI (AI Networking) are ASUS-exclusive software tools that run either in the BIOS or through the Armoury Crate software suite in Windows. AI Overclocking in particular is: it profiles your specific CPU and applies an overclock based on that chip's measured headroom rather than a generic profile. Whether you trust software to do your overclocking is a personal call, but the option is there and owners report it works sensibly.

The ProCool II power connectors are a physical reinforcement over standard connectors, designed to handle higher sustained current without the connector heating up. MicroFine alloy chokes and premium metallic capacitors complete the picture. This is not the kind of VRM specification you see on mid-range boards. It's the kind of specification you see on boards designed to run a delidded, liquid-nitrogen-cooled 13900KS at extreme frequencies without blinking. For most buyers, this is overkill in the best possible sense: it means the VRM will run cool, quiet, and stress-free under any realistic workload.

The heatsink coverage backs up the component quality. ASUS uses VRM heatsinks combined with an integrated aluminium I/O cover, connected via high-conductivity thermal pads. The heatsink mass is substantial. Owners consistently report that VRM temperatures remain well-controlled even with high-TDP processors running at stock or mildly overclocked settings. The ROG Water-Cooling Zone adds headers and thermal management options for custom loop builders who want to run a VRM water block, though the passive cooling alone is more than adequate for the vast majority of use cases.

Four DIMM slots in a dual-channel configuration is standard for ATX boards. The maximum capacity depends on the density of the modules you install, and DDR5 is moving toward higher-density modules that allow substantial total RAM. For gaming and most professional workloads, 32GB is plenty. For content creation, video editing, or running virtual machines, 64GB is a sensible target. The board's support for high-frequency DDR5 via XMP profiles means you can run fast memory without manually tuning timings, though the Z790 platform and ASUS BIOS both give you the tools to do that if you want to.

One practical note on DDR5: the platform can be fussier about memory compatibility than DDR4 was, particularly at high frequencies. ASUS maintains a QVL (Qualified Vendor List) for the Z790 Hero, and sticking to kits on that list is the sensible move if you want to avoid compatibility headaches. Owners who ran into memory stability issues almost universally resolved them either by using a QVL kit or by enabling XMP in the BIOS rather than leaving memory at JEDEC defaults. The board itself is not the problem in those cases; the Z790 platform has a learning curve with memory configuration that's worth being aware of.

All five M.2 slots get heatsinks. Three dedicated M.2 heatsinks are included, with two featuring embedded backplates. This matters because M.2 NVMe drives generate real heat under sustained load, and thermal throttling on a fast SSD is a frustrating bottleneck that a good heatsink largely eliminates. The fact that ASUS includes heatsinks for all five slots rather than just the primary one shows the kind of attention to detail you expect at this price.

The board also supports SATA storage, though the exact SATA port count is not broken out in the verified specification data. For a build centred on NVMe storage, five M.2 slots is more than most people will ever fill. Practically speaking, you'd populate the primary PCIe 5.0 slot with your fastest drive for the OS and primary applications, then use the PCIe 4.0 slots for game libraries and secondary storage. Running out of M.2 slots on this board would require a seriously storage-heavy workstation build.

The GPU slot itself is reinforced, which is standard practice on premium boards. Graphics cards have gotten heavier over the years, and a reinforced slot reduces the risk of physical damage to the PCB from the weight of a large GPU. For anyone running a triple-slot flagship card, this is a meaningful quality-of-life feature. Some owners use a GPU support bracket as well, and the board's build quality means the slot itself should handle the load without issue.

Beyond the primary GPU slot, the board provides additional PCIe connectivity for expansion cards. The exact slot configuration beyond the primary x16 is not fully detailed in the verified specification data, but Z790 boards at this tier typically provide multiple additional slots for capture cards, PCIe storage controllers, or network cards. Given the onboard networking and storage options already present, most builders won't need to populate additional slots at all.

The integrated I/O cover, as mentioned, eliminates the separate rear I/O shield entirely. The ports are pre-mounted in an aluminium assembly that installs with the motherboard. This is a quality-of-life improvement that anyone who has wrestled with a flimsy plastic I/O shield in a tight case will appreciate. The cover also acts as an extension of the VRM heatsink assembly, adding thermal mass and aesthetic coherence to the build.

ASUS's Two-Way AI Noise-Cancellation is included in the software stack. This processes microphone input and speaker output in real time to reduce background noise, which is useful for streaming, content creation, or online gaming with voice chat. It's a software feature that runs on the CPU rather than dedicated DSP hardware, but owners report it works effectively for its intended purpose. The audio subsystem on a board at this price point is expected to be capable, and the Z790 Hero's integrated audio is well-regarded by owners who've used it.

Bluetooth 5.2 handles wireless peripherals. Controllers, headsets, and keyboards all work with Bluetooth 5.2, and the range and stability improvements over earlier Bluetooth versions are real and measurable. For a desktop, this is mostly about convenience rather than necessity, but it's good to have without needing a separate USB adapter.

The Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet is the wired networking solution, protected by ASUS LANGuard, which is a hardware-level surge protection and EMI reduction system for the LAN port. Intel's networking silicon has a strong reputation for driver stability and low CPU overhead compared to some alternative controllers. GameFirst VI is ASUS's traffic-prioritisation software that sits on top of the Intel NIC, allowing you to prioritise gaming traffic over background downloads and other network activity. Whether you find that useful depends on your network setup, but it's a mature piece of software with a reasonable reputation among owners who use it.

AI Overclocking is worth discussing properly. It's not a magic button that extracts maximum performance from your CPU. What it actually does is run a brief profiling sequence, measure your CPU's power and thermal headroom, and apply an overclock profile based on those measurements. The result is typically a mild to moderate overclock that's more stable than a generic profile because it's calibrated to your specific chip. Owners who've used it report reasonable results, particularly for people who don't want to spend hours manually tuning voltages and frequencies. For serious overclockers, it's a starting point rather than an endpoint.

Fan curve control is extensive. The BIOS exposes per-header fan curves with multiple thermal source options, so you can tie case fan speeds to CPU temperature, VRM temperature, or chipset temperature independently. Q-Code LED diagnostic display is present, which is a proper two-digit hex display that shows POST codes during boot. This is enormously useful for diagnosing boot failures, because instead of staring at a board with no indication of where it's stuck, you get an actual code that tells you what the system is trying to do. On a board at this price, you expect this kind of diagnostic capability, and the Z790 Hero delivers it.

Whether you care about RGB is entirely personal, but notably, that the lighting implementation on the Z790 Hero is well-executed rather than garish. The default lighting profiles are relatively subtle, and the software control is more capable than average. If you want a fully synchronised RGB build across multiple components and peripherals, the ASUS ecosystem supports that. If you want to turn it all off and have a dark board, that's equally easy to do.

Owners consistently comment positively on the physical build quality. The heatsink mounting feels secure, the M.2 heatsink retention system is properly engineered rather than fiddly, and the overall finish is premium. The pre-installed I/O cover in particular gets positive mentions from builders who've dealt with awkward shield installation in tight cases. The board feels like a premium product because it is one, and that's reflected in the 4.3-star average across over 557 owner reviews.

The Z790 Hero's strongest differentiators are the dual Thunderbolt 4 ports and the depth of ASUS's software ecosystem. If Thunderbolt connectivity matters to you, whether for high-speed external storage, docking stations, or Thunderbolt displays, the Z790 Hero is one of the few Z790 boards that provides it natively on the rear I/O. The MSI and Gigabyte alternatives generally require add-in cards or simply don't offer it at all at comparable price points.

The BIOS comparison is worth a mention. ASUS's UEFI is generally considered more polished and feature-complete than MSI's Click BIOS 5, and broadly comparable to Gigabyte's UEFI in terms of overclocking depth. For most users, the BIOS difference won't be decisive, but for serious overclockers, ASUS's implementation of memory overclocking controls and AI Overclocking is regarded as among the best available on the Z790 platform.

Resale value for premium ROG boards has historically held reasonably well over a 24 to 36-month horizon, relative to mid-range alternatives. A flagship board from a well-regarded manufacturer depreciates more slowly than a budget board because the used market has buyers who specifically want the feature set and build quality. That said, the LGA 1700 platform is approaching end-of-life from Intel's perspective, with Arrow Lake having moved to LGA 1851. By the time you're 36 months into ownership, the resale market for LGA 1700 boards will be smaller than it is today. Plan for this board to serve out the life of your current build rather than banking on strong resale value as part of the financial calculation.

The upgrade path within the LGA 1700 ecosystem is largely exhausted at this point. The highest-performance processors for this socket are the 13th Gen Raptor Lake Refresh parts, and 14th Gen is compatible via BIOS update. There's no meaningful next generation coming to LGA 1700. What this means practically is that the Z790 Hero is a long-term keeper rather than a stepping-stone board. Buy it alongside a strong 13th or 14th Gen processor, run that combination for four or five years, and then consider a full platform migration to whatever Intel or AMD is offering at that point. The board's capability, particularly the five M.2 slots and dual Thunderbolt 4, means it won't feel limiting during that ownership period.

Running cost for a motherboard itself is negligible: the board's own power consumption is a small fraction of the system total. The real running cost in a high-end build comes from the CPU and GPU. A Core i9-13900K at full load draws up to 250W from the CPU alone. At the UK electricity rate of approximately 27p per kWh, a system running at 500W total (CPU plus GPU plus peripherals) for four hours per day costs roughly 54p a day, or about 16 pounds a month. That's not a reason to buy a cheaper board, but it's a realistic figure to factor into the total cost of a high-end build over a year.

The realistic total budget for a build centred on the Z790 Hero, assuming a Core i9-13900K, 32GB DDR5, a high-end GPU, a quality 850W PSU, a 360mm AIO, a fast NVMe SSD, and a mid-tower case, sits somewhere in the region of three thousand to four thousand pounds depending on component choices. The motherboard is the platform cost that everything else depends on. Buying a cheaper board to save money at this build level is a false economy; the VRM quality, connectivity, and build quality of the Z790 Hero are appropriate for the components it'll be paired with. Buying a cheaper board and pairing it with a 13900K is the actual false economy.

BIOS-related issues are separately. Early BIOS versions on Z790 boards across all manufacturers had various stability quirks, and the Z790 Hero was not immune. Owners who updated to current BIOS versions report substantially improved stability, particularly for memory overclocking and CPU power limit behaviour. The lesson here is straightforward: update the BIOS before doing anything else with the board. ASUS provides BIOS updates through the ASUS support site and through the BIOS's own update utility, and the process is well-documented. A board running outdated BIOS firmware is not a fair representation of the product's actual stability.

On the question of whether a bad unit is worth a re-roll: yes, if you receive a board that fails to POST or shows clear hardware defects, return it under Amazon's 30-day policy and get a replacement. The vast majority of Z790 Hero units are fine, and the failure rate implied by the owner review distribution is low. Coil whine is occasionally mentioned by owners, but it's not a widespread complaint specific to this board. It's also that coil whine in motherboards is often influenced by the CPU and power delivery interaction rather than being a fixed characteristic of the board itself. If you encounter it, a BIOS update or adjustment to CPU power limits sometimes reduces it. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides a statutory right to repair, replacement, or refund for up to six years if a product fails due to a manufacturing defect, which is meaningful protection for a purchase at this price level.

The right buyer is someone building a serious enthusiast gaming or workstation PC around a Core i9-13900K or 13900KS, who will actually use the Thunderbolt 4 ports, who wants the headroom to run fast DDR5 memory and multiple NVMe drives, and who plans to keep this build for four or five years. For that person, the Z790 Hero is an excellent choice and the 4.3-star average across over 557 owners supports that conclusion.

The wrong buyer is anyone pairing this board with a mid-range CPU, anyone who doesn't need Thunderbolt 4, and anyone who's tempted by the ROG badge more than the actual specification. If you're gaming on a Core i7-13700K or below and don't have specific high-bandwidth peripheral needs, the ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E or the Maximus Z790 Apex are both strong alternatives at a lower price point that don't sacrifice meaningful capability for typical gaming workloads. The Strix Z790-E in particular is the smarter buy for the majority of enthusiast gamers who want a premium Z790 board without paying for features they'll never use. The Hero is for the people who genuinely need everything it offers.

Editorial score: 8.5 out of 10. Loses half a point for the platform's end-of-life status and the premium price that demands careful justification, but earns everything else through specification quality and a strong owner satisfaction record.