Introduction

After almost a decade of total market dominance, Intel has spent the past few years on the defensive. AMD's Ryzen processors continue to show improvement year over year, with the most recent Ryzen 5000 series taking the crown of best gaming processor: Intel's last bastion of superiority.

Now, with a booming hardware market, Intel is preparing to make up some of that lost ground with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors. Intel is claiming these new 11th Gen CPUs offer double-digit IPC improvements despite remaining on a 14 nm process. The top-end 8-core Intel Core i9-11900K may not be able to compete against its Ryzen 9 5900X AMD rival in heavily multi-threaded scenarios, but the higher clock speeds and alleged IPC improvements could be enough to take back the gaming crown. Along with the new CPUs, there is a new chipset to match, the Intel Z590. Last year's Z490 chipset motherboards are also compatible with the new 11th Gen Intel Core Processors, but Z590 introduces some key advantages.

First, Z590 offers native PCIe 4.0 support from the CPU, which means the PCIe and M.2 slots powered off the CPU will offer PCIe 4.0 connectivity when an 11th Gen CPU is installed. The PCIe and M.2 slots controlled by the Z590 chipset are still PCI 3.0. While many high-end Z490 motherboards advertised this capability, it was not a standard feature for the platform. In addition to PCIe 4.0 support, Z590 offers USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 from the chipset. USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 standard offers speeds of up to 20 Gb/s. Finally, Z590 boasts native support for 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. With these upgrades, Intel's Z series platform has feature parity with AMD's B550. On paper, Intel is catching up to AMD, but only testing will tell if these new Z590 motherboards are up to the challenge.



The Maximus family serves as ASUS's flagship line for Intel motherboards, with premium looks, premium features, blazing performance, and broad overclocking support. The Maximus lineup typically comprises four models: the Hero, Apex, Formula, and Extreme. Intel's Z590 chipset is no exception. The ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero serves as the mainstream entry for the Maximus family, providing many of the extreme features and benefits of the lineup while maintaining an attainable price tag.

The ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero features a robust VRM cooling solution, all paired with no less than 16 power stages from Infineon. BIOS flashback has also been included, as well as ASUS's excellent BIOS designed to provide an optimal, stress-free overclocking experience. The ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero also offers great connectivity with not only WiFi 6, but also dual 2.5 Gb/s Ethernet, Thunderbolt 4 and four M.2 slots. All of this performance is bundled into a sleek, modern package with excellent RGB options for those who want more flare in their final build.

Let's take a closer look at what the ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero has to offer.

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The front of the ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero box features a black background with subtle, printed patterns. "ASUS ROG MAXIMUS XIII HERO Gaming Motherboard" is in the center left, with the Republic of Gamers logo in the top right. "ASUS" is in the bottom left, and the brand badging is in the bottom right.

The back of the box has all the highlights: a top-down shot of the board, several panels detailing prominent features, a shot of the rear I/O, and the specifications list. The box design is well executed and matches the board perfectly.


The accessories are quite good. On top of the standard inclusions are thermistor cables, RGB extension cables, and an anti-sag graphics card holder. Notably absent is any kind of rear I/O shield because the shield is integrated into the board.

The full list of accessories includes:

• ARGB RGB extension cable
• RGB extension cable
• 4x SATA 6 Gb/s cables
• ASUS Wi-Fi moving antennas
• M.2 SSD screw package(s)
• Q-connector
• ROG key chain
• ROG logo plate stickers
• ROG graphics card holder
• ROG stickers
• ROG thank you card
• User manual and Support DVD

Board Layout

The ROG Maximus XIII Hero uses a classic ASUS design, a black PCB matched with black heat sinks and dark, but polished accents over the chipset and the rear I/O cover.


The CPU socket is open enough for most air coolers.


There are four M.2 slots on the ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero, all featuring full-coverage, double-sided heatsinks.

Note that the top M.2 slot will only function with an 11th Gen CPU installed.


The ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero offers three PCI Express 3.0 x16 slots, with the top two steel-reinforced, as well as one PCI Express 3.0 x1 slots. The board has a total of six SATA 6 Gb/s ports on the side, angled 90 degrees from the board.


The ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero has a great I/O offering that includes an optical S/PDIF Out port, Wi-Fi 6E, Dual LAN, and a pair of Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports.

• 2x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB Type-C® ports
• 6x USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports
• 2x USB 2.0 ports
• HDMI™ port
• ASUS Wi-Fi module
• 2x Intel® I225-V 2.5Gb Ethernet
• 5x Gold-plated audio jacks
• Optical S/PDIF Out port
• BIOS FlashBack™ button
• Clear CMOS button

Networking on the ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero is handled by a pair of Intel® I225-V 2.5 Gb/s controllers. For wireless connectivity, there is an AX210 Wi-Fi 6E module.