• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

ASRock Launches Z490 AQUA Flagship Motherboard Ready for Liquid Cooling

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,392 (7.67/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
Leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, proudly announces its latest flagship motherboard, the Z490 AQUA to the delight of gamers and power hungry users alike. And to highlight our launch we are limiting the Z490 AQUA to only 999 units making it extremely valuable. Using the latest 16 Phase 90 A Dr.MOS & 2 oz copper PCBs, it delivers up to 95% VRM efficiency. To keep VRM's and 10-core processors cool even during sustained heavy loads or even overclocking, the Z490 AQUA features an advanced water cooling system that decreases heat on the CPU VRMs to reduce VRM temps dramatically.

Decked in a matte black undershell, the Z490 complements what young gamers want in a machine these days, simple, refined edges encased with a metallic armor which highlights the vibrant, techno LED lighting which screams I'm a water cooling aficionado and a PC mod enthusiast. "Be Aqua, Be Cool" highlights ASRock's determination to be the frontrunner in water-cooled gaming motherboard manufacturers and the PCIe 4.0 ready means it's prepped and the hardware is ready with PCI-Express Gen-4 support. By uniquely adding an external base clock generator, PCIe 4.0 components such as extra slots and an M.2 socket we're assured the motherboard is ready to accommodate the next generation of CPUs.




Designed to Show Off Quality LEDs
What sets the Z490 design apart is a bright built-in OLED display featured prominently in the motherboard for users to get status reports on CPU voltage, temperature, system fan speed, system status, and POST status. The colorful green, white and blue hues reflects a techy upgrade onto the matte black and metal finished motherboard giving it this warm, ice look.

Blazing Fast Connectivity
The Z490 AQUA provides superfast connectivity including Intel's Thunderbolt reversible USB Type-C interface delivering breathtaking bandwidth (up to 40 Gb/s), AQUANTIA AQtion 10 Gbps network and the latest WiF i6 (802.11ax) wireless internet connectivity proving the Z490 AQUA not only looks good but also delivers a lot of firepower.

Crystal Clear Audio Quality
Onboard ESS9218 DAC delivers true HiFi audio without distortion to give crystal clear audio quality, and with the 112dB THD+N there is support for higher impedance for up to 600ohm using headphones. Practical WIMA audio caps optimize the sound when working on high-end audio applications to satisfy even the pickiest audiophiles. The Nahimic Audio experience gives vibrant and rich quality whether you are using USB, Wi-Fi, analog, or HDMI outputs and through the active dashboard interface users can tweak surround sound, voice, bass, and treble to their listening preferences.

Whatever the build requirements, the ASRock flagship Z490 AQUA sets the pace with strong, industrial server-grade low loss PCB motherboard firmness to hold the water cooling blocks which can dissipate heat from the CPU and VRM efficiently. And, something unique to all 999 purchasers, is a set of water cooling fittings which includes hard tube piping widely used by water cooling fanatics. It is the perfect kit to build the ultimate water-cooled rig with extreme performance.


For more information, visit the product page.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
1,577 (0.58/day)
Location
NH, USA
System Name Lightbringer
Processor Ryzen 7 2700X
Motherboard Asus ROG Strix X470-F Gaming
Cooling Enermax Liqmax Iii 360mm AIO
Memory G.Skill Trident Z RGB 32GB (8GBx4) 3200Mhz CL 14
Video Card(s) Sapphire RX 5700XT Nitro+
Storage Hp EX950 2TB NVMe M.2, HP EX950 1TB NVMe M.2, Samsung 860 EVO 2TB
Display(s) LG 34BK95U-W 34" 5120 x 2160
Case Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic (White)
Power Supply BeQuiet Straight Power 11 850w Gold Rated PSU
Mouse Glorious Model O (Matte White)
Keyboard Royal Kludge RK71
Software Windows 10
How the tables have turned... Now Intel is getting AMD's leftovers
 
Joined
May 2, 2020
Messages
397 (0.27/day)
Location
Antares
System Name BloodRage
Processor R5 2600X PBO enabled
Motherboard Gigabyte Aorus B450 Elite
Cooling Arctic Esports Duo
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance 3000
Video Card(s) MSI VENTUS OC 2060 Super
Storage 120GB PNY SATA + 1TB WD Blue M.2
Display(s) Samsung CRG5 144hz QD
Case CiT cheap chassis
Audio Device(s) Creative Audigy FX
Power Supply Superflower Leadex III Gold 650w
Mouse Razer Basilisk
Keyboard Red Dragon Kumara
Software Win 10
But... why?


Did anyone even buy the AMD varient?
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 23, 2019
Messages
5,639 (2.99/day)
Location
Poland
Processor Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite
Cooling Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE
Memory 2x16 GB Crucial Ballistix 3600 CL16 Rev E @ 3800 CL16
Video Card(s) RTX3080 Ti FE
Storage SX8200 Pro 1 TB, Plextor M6Pro 256 GB, WD Blue 2TB
Display(s) LG 34GN850P-B
Case SilverStone Primera PM01 RGB
Audio Device(s) SoundBlaster G6 | Fidelio X2 | Sennheiser 6XX
Power Supply SeaSonic Focus Plus Gold 750W
Mouse Endgame Gear XM1R
Keyboard Wooting Two HE
"vibrant, techno LED lighting which screams I'm a water cooling aficionado and a PC mod enthusiast"

:roll:
 

TheLostSwede

News Editor
Joined
Nov 11, 2004
Messages
16,074 (2.26/day)
Location
Sweden
System Name Overlord Mk MLI
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard Gigabyte X670E Aorus Master
Cooling Noctua NH-D15 SE with offsets
Memory 32GB Team T-Create Expert DDR5 6000 MHz @ CL30-34-34-68
Video Card(s) Gainward GeForce RTX 4080 Phantom GS
Storage 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro, 2 TB Corsair MP600 Pro, 2TB Kingston KC3000
Display(s) Acer XV272K LVbmiipruzx 4K@160Hz
Case Fractal Design Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) Corsair Virtuoso SE
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850 W
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair K70 Max
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://valid.x86.fr/5za05v
Rear I/O, if a anyone's interested.
 
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
5,403 (0.97/day)
System Name Cyberline
Processor Intel Core i7 2600k -> 12600k
Motherboard Asus P8P67 LE Rev 3.0 -> Gigabyte Z690 Auros Elite DDR4
Cooling Tuniq Tower 120 -> Custom Watercoolingloop
Memory Corsair (4x2) 8gb 1600mhz -> Crucial (8x2) 16gb 3600mhz
Video Card(s) AMD RX480 -> RX7800XT
Storage Samsung 750 Evo 250gb SSD + WD 1tb x 2 + WD 2tb -> 2tb MVMe SSD
Display(s) Philips 32inch LPF5605H (television) -> Dell S3220DGF
Case antec 600 -> Thermaltake Tenor HTCP case
Audio Device(s) Focusrite 2i4 (USB)
Power Supply Seasonic 620watt 80+ Platinum
Mouse Elecom EX-G
Keyboard Rapoo V700
Software Windows 10 Pro 64bit
Joined
Oct 18, 2013
Messages
5,472 (1.42/day)
Location
Everywhere all the time all at once
System Name The Little One
Processor i5-11320H @4.4GHZ
Motherboard AZW SEI
Cooling Fan w/heat pipes + side & rear vents
Memory 64GB Crucial DDR4-3200 (2x 32GB)
Video Card(s) Iris XE
Storage WD Black SN850X 4TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 4TB x2 in an external enclosure
Display(s) 2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s) Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply 65w brick
Mouse Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
Software Windows 10 pro 64 bit, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores PDQ
Limited edition my a*s..... moar like a greed-mongering money grab shamefully disguised as them doing something "special" for their users.....pffff

Perhaps they're only making 999 of these since they know that:

A) It won't have REAL pcie 4 until the next gen cpu comes out, so only a handful of doodoo-headed fanbois will buy them, and

B) When that cpu does arrive, it will be the last one that will work on this board, as the one after that will require yet ANUTHA new mobo....
 
Joined
May 2, 2017
Messages
7,762 (3.04/day)
Location
Back in Norway
System Name Hotbox
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, 110/95/110, PBO +150Mhz, CO -7,-7,-20(x6),
Motherboard ASRock Phantom Gaming B550 ITX/ax
Cooling LOBO + Laing DDC 1T Plus PWM + Corsair XR5 280mm + 2x Arctic P14
Memory 32GB G.Skill FlareX 3200c14 @3800c15
Video Card(s) PowerColor Radeon 6900XT Liquid Devil Ultimate, UC@2250MHz max @~200W
Storage 2TB Adata SX8200 Pro
Display(s) Dell U2711 main, AOC 24P2C secondary
Case SSUPD Meshlicious
Audio Device(s) Optoma Nuforce μDAC 3
Power Supply Corsair SF750 Platinum
Mouse Logitech G603
Keyboard Keychron K3/Cooler Master MasterKeys Pro M w/DSA profile caps
Software Windows 10 Pro
Joined
Oct 27, 2014
Messages
178 (0.05/day)
The X570 Aqua is great but a bit limited by AMD overclocking capabilities. Having the Aqua on the Z490 is going to reveal the true overclocking potential.
Good stuff, just wish I had the money :D
 
Joined
Apr 23, 2020
Messages
250 (0.17/day)
Location
Texas U.S.A
System Name Satan
Processor AMD 2700x with EK waterblock
Motherboard MSI X470 Gaming Pro
Cooling Custom open loop watercooled
Memory 16 GB Corsair Vengance RGB Pro @ 3466 Mhz
Video Card(s) Powercolor 5700 xt with EK full cover block
Storage Intel 660p 512 GB nvme Samsung 860 Evo 1 TB for storage SATA
Display(s) Viotek 32" curved 144 Hz 1440 P
Case Thermaltake Tower 900
Audio Device(s) Realtek onboard
Power Supply Corsair Rmx 750
Mouse Logitech G 602 wireless
Keyboard Corsair K68
Software Windows 10 Pro
It certainly looks like the board to fleece your wallet....Jeebus!!
 
Top