Gaming Performance

For Z490 we are running using Windows 10 64-bit with the 1909 update.

Grand Theft Auto V

The highly anticipated iteration of the Grand Theft Auto franchise hit the shelves on April 14th 2015, with both AMD and NVIDIA in tow to help optimize the title. GTA doesn’t provide graphical presets, but opens up the options to users and extends the boundaries by pushing even the hardest systems to the limit using Rockstar’s Advanced Game Engine under DirectX 11. Whether the user is flying high in the mountains with long draw distances or dealing with assorted trash in the city, when cranked up to maximum it creates stunning visuals but hard work for both the CPU and the GPU.

For our test we have scripted a version of the in-game benchmark. The in-game benchmark consists of five scenarios: four short panning shots with varying lighting and weather effects, and a fifth action sequence that lasts around 90 seconds. We use only the final part of the benchmark, which combines a flight scene in a jet followed by an inner city drive-by through several intersections followed by ramming a tanker that explodes, causing other cars to explode as well. This is a mix of distance rendering followed by a detailed near-rendering action sequence, and the title thankfully spits out frame time data.

GTX 1080: Grand Theft Auto V, Average FPSGTX 1080: Grand Theft Auto V, 95th Percentile

F1 2018

Aside from keeping up-to-date on the Formula One world, F1 2017 added HDR support, which F1 2018 has maintained; otherwise, we should see any newer versions of Codemasters' EGO engine find its way into F1. Graphically demanding in its own right, F1 2018 keeps a useful racing-type graphics workload in our benchmarks.

Aside from keeping up-to-date on the Formula One world, F1 2017 added HDR support, which F1 2018 has maintained. We use the in-game benchmark, set to run on the Montreal track in the wet, driving as Lewis Hamilton from last place on the grid. Data is taken over a one-lap race.

GTX 1080: F1 2018, Average FPSGTX 1080: F1 2018, 95th Percentile

Strange Brigade (DX12)

Strange Brigade is based in 1903’s Egypt and follows a story which is very similar to that of the Mummy film franchise. This particular third-person shooter is developed by Rebellion Developments which is more widely known for games such as the Sniper Elite and Alien vs Predator series. The game follows the hunt for Seteki the Witch Queen who has arose once again and the only ‘troop’ who can ultimately stop her. Gameplay is cooperative centric with a wide variety of different levels and many puzzles which need solving by the British colonial Secret Service agents sent to put an end to her reign of barbaric and brutality.

The game supports both the DirectX 12 and Vulkan APIs and houses its own built-in benchmark which offers various options up for customization including textures, anti-aliasing, reflections, draw distance and even allows users to enable or disable motion blur, ambient occlusion and tessellation among others. AMD has boasted previously that Strange Brigade is part of its Vulkan API implementation offering scalability for AMD multi-graphics card configurations.

GTX 1080: Strange Brigade DX12, Average FPSGTX 1080: Strange Brigade DX12, 95th Percentile

CPU Performance, Short Form Overclocking
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  • Devo2007 - Thursday, June 11, 2020 - link

    “ The worry comes when the board is to be used by a non-technical user.”

    Something tells me a non-technical user would not be using this $400 motherboard anyways.
  • close - Thursday, June 11, 2020 - link

    You'd be surprised how many people just want to buy the best/coolest just because. And once they have it they will also attempt to play a bit with it.
  • GreenReaper - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link

    Perhaps they will learn something by doing so.
  • Tom Sunday - Wednesday, February 24, 2021 - link

    My neighbor at his sweet age of 75 just bought himself a Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe. The folks at Palm Springs Mercedes love him. Harry drives about 300 miles per year as his fairway Thunderbird home is a 5-month snowbird retreat. The only passed get his GT will ever see are golf clubs if he elects to play another course and leave our gated community. Harry is also a very bad driver, very often gets lost when outside the gate, but a real nice guy otherwise.

    Harry knows nothing about computers and never will. But if so he would instantly be calling Digital Storm and drop $8000 on the very best they could possibly hobble together. But then many of us older retired guys here at the country club are actually like Harry. We of course here by choice would not really 'play a bit' with computers, as our minds and hopes are still tied to having a younger blond that can walk the walk and talk that talk. Maybe even cooks likes she walks? Try doing that with a motherboard.
  • kreimers - Friday, March 26, 2021 - link

    Yep- spent almost $700 big ones on Crosshair Hero 8 which affords liquid cooling. Why? Could not get the Hero 4. Why? Supply from CCP was curtailed because of 1/2 trillion trade deficit with this communist crap of a country that launched the CCP virus so that mail-in fraudulent voting could occur. Now we have a fake president and other illegitimates who need to be removed from the White House- peacefully I hope. But if not, all bets are off. Regardless, silicon valley needs to be making most of this stuff here.
  • n0t4h4x0r - Thursday, April 1, 2021 - link

    You sound like old perverts. Maybe use that money for good and get a life? Your minds and hopes are tied to illusions that will never come true. You guys are the reason the country is falling apart. Not caring and only thinking about perverted crap. I've met many women online and then face to face obviously "wItH a MoThErBoArD" you pathetic old man. Sorry you missed out! Have fun playing your pathetic "game" of put a ball in a hole.

    Sorry you only had sex a handful of times(if that), but gtfo boomer.

    Digital Storm. LOL.
  • Polaris198321 - Friday, June 12, 2020 - link

    5g chipsets Wi-Fi 6 cat 7 Ethernet ports with special made chipset combining them all to boost internet speeds for desktops and laptops and smart tvs for 4k cable tv and cloud gaming at 144 hz at 1440p as the either net wire can also be used to power the device as well elimating the power cord as well if the computer cooling system using compressed air blown into it or solar transparent panels on glass panels for desktops. monitors and laptops are not for you like on the old Logitech solar powered wireless keyboard they once made back in the day i saw online and at costco...
  • philehidiot - Thursday, June 11, 2020 - link

    It has been a while since I had an Asus mobo with an optional stick on MOSFET cooling fan. It was back in the days of "MOAR PHASES!" because obviously 10000001 phase power is what you need on a mid range mobo.
  • Peskarik - Thursday, June 11, 2020 - link

    Thank you, I was waiting for this review!
  • DanNeely - Thursday, June 11, 2020 - link

    Where does the MOSFET fan attach to?

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