ASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Extreme: Thunderbolt Five and PCIe Five Point Zero for Enthusiasts

The wait is over for those seeking a high-performance platform with the new Intel Core Ultra. ASUS presents its flagship ROG Maximus Z890 Extreme, a motherboard that arrives with native support for Thunderbolt 5 and multiple PCIe 5.0 slots. This model is designed for users who demand maximum bandwidth in storage, graphics, and connectivity, without compromise.

high-end motherboard with active liquid cooling flowing through VRM heatsinks, multiple PCIe 5.0 slots and Thunderbolt 5 ports glowing blue, processor socket with a Core Ultra chip being inserted by a robotic arm, storage modules and GPU brackets nearby, cinematic engineering visualization, metallic black and silver surfaces, intense blue circuit traces, dust particles suspended in light beams, reflective capacitors and chokes, photorealistic technical illustration, macro lens depth of field

Connectivity and power for demanding workloads ⚡

The Z890 Extreme integrates a 24+2+2 phase VRM with 110A, ideal for keeping the new Core Ultra stable under sustained loads. It offers five M.2 slots, all with PCIe 5.0 support, and a SlimSAS connector for additional storage. The big news is Thunderbolt 5, which provides up to 80 Gbps bidirectional, perfect for workstations with multiple 8K monitors or ultra-fast external storage. It also includes Wi-Fi 7 and an advanced cooling system with an active heatsink for the chipset.

The price of happiness: a kidney and a half 💸

All this sounds great, until you see the bill. This motherboard costs as much as a used car, or if you live in Madrid, a month's rent. That said, it comes with an ROG sticker that grants +50 FPS in games and +10 points in self-esteem. If you have to take out a loan to build your PC, at least you know Thunderbolt 5 will let you transfer your debts at maximum speed.