Test Setup & Methodology

Notes: We’ve revamped our benchmark regime by removing a number of tests which reveal little, to no difference between each motherboard model. Gaming performance is one such area which has been removed due to the inability for each motherboard to offer any advantage over another. Instead, we have focussed on meaningful/tangible analysis which examines the VRM/chipset design, and the storage performance which will be far more informative to the end user.

TEST SETUP

CPU Intel Core i9-11900K
Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series H110i
Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z590 AORUS MASTER
Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO SL 3600MHz
Storage: Crucial MX300 SATA SSD + Kingston KC2500 PCIe 3.0 SSD
PSU: Corsair HX1050 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU
Monitor: AOC U2879VF

BENCHMARKS

PCMark 10 – Overall Extended Score
SiSoftware SANDRA – SATA/PCIe Storage Tests
SiSoftware SANDRA – Processor Image Processing

OTHER SOFTWARE

Temperature Analysis: HWMonitor
Stress Testing Software: AIDA64 Stability Test
CPU Specification Monitoring: CPU-Z

Benchmarks: Power Consumption

Benchmarks: VRM & Chipset Cooling

Benchmarks: PCMark 10

Benchmarks: SATA Performance

Benchmarks: PCIe M.2 Performance

Benchmarks: CPU Image Processing

Overclocking

For the overclocking phase, we already know that our CPU (Intel Core i9-11900K) is capable of having all cores operate at 5.3GHz without any stress being applied, and at 5.0GHz with stress/stability test approval, so this is the target which we aimed for with MASTER.

MASTER managed to hit 5GHz on all-cores and required just 1.32v. This is the lowest amount of voltage we’ve been able to use to achieve this milestone.

Conclusion

It’s clear to us from spending considerable time with MASTER that we have a rather special Intel Z590 motherboard in our hands. This new solution is simply a great all-rounder and comes highly recommended by us.

Taking things purely on the aesthetics, we have a soft spot for MASTER – it adopts a sleek design and looks splendid. Many board partners slap oversized heatsinks on their motherboards but bigger doesn’t always mean better – the VRM/chipset heatsinks could confirm this truth. MASTER has lower profile, slim heatsinks which don’t overpower the physical design and yet offer superior thermals than rival offerings.

MASTER delivers a strong feature-set which covers all but one area – there are no Thunderbolt 4 ports. We’d have liked to see such a feature on a high-end solution like this. Regardless of this, we still get a generous selection of USB 3.2, M.2 storage support and DDR4 compatibility up to 5400MHz. For those wanting more than the average slice of features, MASTER supplies voltage checkpoints, LED debug, onboard power/reset buttons and a dual BIOS switch. There is no denying that this is a well-designed motherboard which caters for tech enthusiasts.



In our performance tests we discovered that MASTER offers solid performance and does so while maintaining low power consumption (compared to the competition). Our Intel Core i9-11900K has a maximum all-core overclock of 5GHz and MASTER achieve this with just 1.32v – the lowest voltage from any Z590 thus far. MASTER also enabled us to boot into Windows at 5.3GHz, we just couldn’t sustain stability.

If you’re considering MASTER, you’ll need deep pockets, this board is available at $410 USD | £410 GBP | AUD $699. While this isn’t the most expensive Z590 motherboard, it is getting well on its way towards the upper-end.

If you’re on the hunt for a high-performance Intel Z590 motherboard with oodles of features and great overclocking ability – MASTER should be on that short-list!




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