The Asus ROG Maximus Z890 Hero BTF is an ATX motherboard measuring 305 mm by 244 mm, built around the Z890 chipset with a single LGA 1851 CPU socket and no integrated processor or graphics. It supports the full range of current wireless standards through Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) down to Wi-Fi 4, complemented by Bluetooth 5.4, though aptX is not included. The board outputs video via HDMI 2.1 and features RGB lighting, easy overclocking support, and a dual BIOS configuration with a straightforward CMOS reset option. It does not support aptX and carries a three-year warranty.
The board uses DDR5 memory across four slots arranged in a dual-channel configuration, supporting a maximum capacity of 256 GB. Overclocked speeds can reach up to 9200 MHz, though ECC memory is not supported.
The rear I/O panel offers a broad range of USB connectivity, including four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, while USB 2.0, Gen 2x2, and USB 4 20Gbps ports are absent. The high-speed end is covered by two USB 4 40Gbps ports and two Thunderbolt 4 ports, with no Thunderbolt 3 present. For display output there is a single HDMI port, while DisplayPort, DVI, and VGA outputs are not included. Networking is handled by two RJ45 ports, and there are no eSATA or PS/2 connectors on the board.
Internal expansion is well catered for, with headers supporting two USB 3.2 Gen 1, one USB 3.2 Gen 2, one USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, and four USB 2.0 ports, alongside four additional USB 3.0 ports through expansion. Storage connectivity includes six M.2 sockets and four SATA 3 connectors, while SATA 2, U.2, and mSATA are not present. The board provides six fan headers for cooling management, but does not include a TPM connector.
The board's expansion layout centers on a single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot as the primary full-bandwidth option, with no PCIe 4.0, 3.0, or 2.0 x16 slots present. Additional expansion is provided by one PCIe x4 slot and one PCIe x1 slot, while PCIe x8 and legacy PCI slots are absent entirely.
The onboard audio supports a 7.1-channel configuration and delivers a DAC signal-to-noise ratio of 120 dB, with two audio connectors available on the rear panel. A S/PDIF Out port is also included for digital audio output.
The board supports RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 (1+0) configurations, covering the most common setups for both performance and redundancy. RAID 0+1 is not supported.
