ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero (Intel 1200)

Nachdem wir mit MSIs und EKWBs MPG Z590 CARBON EK X das erste Z590-Mainboard begutachtet haben, geht es nun mit einem beliebten Modell weiter. Denn egal, ob es sich um eine Intel- oder AMD-Plattform handelt, die ROG-Oberklasse- und High-End-Mainboards stehen bei vielen Interessenten hoch im Kurs. So steht ein Test des neuen ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero natürlich fix auf unserem Programm.

On our test bench today is one of ASUS ROG's mid-range models designed for Intel's Rocket Lake processors. The ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero brings plenty of premium controllers and connectivity to the table including dual 2.5 GbE, dual Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, Wi-Fi 6E, four M.2 slots, and a robust 14-phase power delivery capable of pushing Rocket Lake above its capabilities. We have put the Z590 Hero through its paces to see if it is the champion model in the sub $500 Z590 market.

Performance across all of the Z590s we've tested is broadly the same. We think that the ABT that is one of the key parts of the Core i9-11900K isn't entirely helping this situation, being hotter than trading in Gamestop shares. It feels like Intel have gone all in on that big 5.3GHz on all cores headline without necessarily thinking about the long-term ramifications of that. Namely, it gets really hot, really fast, and then clocks down to its rated speed, which means that all of our Z590s end up performing basically the same because the clock speed is basically the same. This isn't for want of cooling, as with 3000 RPM Noctua fans on a 360mm AIO we think it's got enough cooling.

Honestly, if you asked me on the spot what I would buy, the Z490 HERO or the Z590 HERO ... I would not know the answer immediately. Personally, I have little use for Thunderbolt, and the Z490 model does offer a 5 GigE LAN jack (2.5GigE on the Z590), as well as you now miss out on the small OLED screen. The differences otherwise are trivial at best. With a price tag hovering in the 450~500 USD range, this board is out of my comfort zone. It does offer four M2 slots, six SATA3 slots, AX WIFI6E, and a duo of 2.5 GigE LAN jacks. We would have liked to see the latter replaced by a 5 or 10 GigE jack at this price level. Of course, we should not forget to mention the motherboard has Thunderbolt 4. Armed with a Rocket Lake proc, Intel brings the platform much-desired PCIe Gen 4.0 lanes, of which four you can utilize for a super-fast NVMe SSD. Aside from double DMI link bandwidth and USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps), there is little gain from Z590 overall. A multitude of Z490 motherboards will even support PCIe Gen 4.0 after a BIOS update (Gen 11 proc mandatory). How important the rest is to you is for you to decide. VRM wise we can't complain at all, you can tweak as far as your proc can go, but with the power signature of Rocket-lake and the corresponding thermals, you'll likely reach something close to 5200~5300 MHz on all cores but will need to arm yourself with a kilowatt PSU and really proper cooling. In the end, the new HERO isn't a HERO, but more of the same at a high price level. It has some delightful BIOS features, though, and is a pleasure to work with. We had no stability issues or anything weird whatsoever. The board is feature-packed has good aesthetics, proper performance, and overclocking options. But this all comes delivered at a hefty price tag. If you find it worth the price tag, recommended, of course.

The ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero is an exemplary high-end Z590 board. With WiFi 6E, Dual 2.5 Gb/s LAN, and an integrated I/O shield, as well as four M.2 slots and lots of storage connectivity, all the feature boxes are checked. When it comes to looks, the ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero is classically ASUS by featuring an excellent RGB implementation and a design that is neutral enough to make for easy parts matching—all while looking interesting enough to still catch the eye.

Coming packed full of all the newest features thanks to Intel’s 11th Gen CPUs and the Z590 chipset, the MAXIMUS XIII offers everything most anyone could need in a new motherboard. If you want to get the most out of your system, this is definitely a surefire way to do so.