Gigabyte's Z490 Motherboard Lineup Shows Up Early

[anannyo]

Hey @scope666, I see you already have i9-10900K build; I am also planning the i9-10900K build with ASUS ProArt Z490-Creator motherboard. Did you get the opportunity to test if you can use full 128GB memory with your Z490 motherboard? I know it was not possible with Z390. I am planning to use 2 X 32GB stick for now; so that if I can upgrade to 128GB later on. So curious whether it would be possible with Z490

 

[scope666]

Hey @scope666, I see you already have i9-10900K build; I am also planning the i9-10900K build with ASUS ProArt Z490-Creator motherboard. Did you get the opportunity to test if you can use full 128GB memory with your Z490 motherboard? I know it was not possible with Z390. I am planning to use 2 X 32GB stick for now; so that if I can upgrade to 128GB later on. So curious whether it would be possible with Z490

I only have 32GB (2 x 16) so I can't test that.

You can use this search and see if any of the entries show up with 128 ... I've already seen 2 x 32 so there's a chance...

10900k macos - Geekbench 5 CPU Search - Geekbench Browser

 

[Benlehot]

Decided to use the MSI MEG Z490I UNIFY mITX for my personal mobile usage.

View attachment 472388

Oh nice! I’m waiting for mine to arrive. I decide to go with the MSI over the Gigabyte Z490i. Keep us update on your progress. I will have the same build to do in the next few days (10900K+MSI Z490I)

 

[S1lla]

@Benlehot Running absolutely fine but I am really pissed about the ngffm2 WLAN/Bluetooth solution.
Its locked and I can't run any Dell DW solution with it, but I think the same will happen on other Motherboards...
MSR is also locked on the MSI Motherboards but it was the same story with Gigabyte.

Until now only Asus/AsRock and Biostar have factory unlocked msr.

 

[Benlehot]

Running absolutely fine but I am really pissed about the ngffm2 WLAN/Bluetooth solution.
Its locked and I can't run any Dell DW solution with it, but I think the same will happen on other Motherboards...

Can you show me a photo? What do you mean by lock? It is soldered?

 

[S1lla]

No, its not soldered... It only works if the NGFFM2 WLAN/Bluetooth Card is a CNVi Solution otherwise it will be ignored.
In other words you only can use the Intel build in it...

 

[tecnicasopr]

No, its not soldered... It only works if the NGFFM2 WLAN/Bluetooth Card is a CNVi Solution otherwise it will be ignored.
In other words you only can use the Intel **** build in it...

If most motherboard manufacturers allows swaping CNVi cards with WIFI M.2, then maybe is posible to unlock this feature on Gigabyte Z390X and Z490X series boards. If we set variable to unlock MSR then maybe is posible to do the same thing for WIFI M.2 compatibility. Also maybe is posible to achive the same thing with a UEFI/BIOS mode. No matter which route we choose as long we reach are goals (a cleaner and more compatible system). Another reason why I think is worth to try is the fact that now there is around a WIFI M.2 card that works out of box which meens no kexts are needed. I hope in the near future we finally get support for Intel WIFI and end the need of swapping WIFI cards and just use the onboard card...

 

[kylec]

It has such an easy workaround. What is the problem with using a PCI-e adapter or M-key M.2 slot adapter?

 

[S1lla]

LOL ?! I give you a better picture...
mITX Build, Radeon VII as GPU, at the end no empty Slot since there is only one.
Normal M.2 Slot can not be used for an NGFFM2 Card even with an adapter and the ngffm2 Slot is not usable for other cards.
Any further questions ? @kylec

 

[pastrychef]

It has such an easy workaround. What is the problem with using a PCI-e adapter or M-key M.2 slot adapter?

On ITX motherboards, if you have a video card, PCI-e is not an option. M-key M.2 adaptor is a waste of 4 lanes and limits you to one NVMe SSD.

Even on mATX motherboards, something like a non-reference 5700 XT can take up three PCI-e slots leaving just one useable slot. If the user has a Thunderbolt card, PCI-e is, again, not an option.

Besides that, it's also a lot cleaner using the antenna connectors from the backplate instead of the PCI-e plates.

I feel it's better to boycott manufacturers who place these artificial limitations on the slots. Go with Asus or ASRock until Gigabyte and MSI fix this.