Question 1

The issue with "The spec page does not disclose that M.2_2 will be disabled when PCIEX16_1 is run at x16 mode." 
Does this issue affect all z590 boards, or is this specific to this ROG Maximus VIII Hero design?
I was planning to run at least 2 2T  M2.2 or 2.3 drives- is this going to be a problem?

Accepted Answer

You can use M.2_1, M.2_3, and M.2_4 to run SSD drives without sharing bandwidth with PCIE slot. And these M.2 are at the better position thermally.

Question 2

I was thinking of getting 2 of the WD Black SN850X
They're M.2 2280 4.0 x4
I am running an i7-11700KF
and a single 2080Ti FTW Ultra 3
I have the ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero Z590 that says this in specs
M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110
M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280

However, in the images of the board it says
1x M.2 22110 @ x4
1x M.2 2280 @ x4
1x M.2 2280 @ x3
1x M.2 22110 @ x3

Is this going to be an issue with the drives?
Will the GPU's PCIe slot interfere?

Accepted Answer

no issue at all

Question 3

is this compatible with intel core i9 - 11900k- core i9 11th Gen Rocket lake- 8 core 3.5GHZ LGA 1200 125 W Intel UHD GRAPHIC 750 DESKTOP PROCESSOR BX8070811900K?

Accepted Answer

yes

Question 4

is thunderbolt supported by 10th generation  i9 10850k or just 11th gen cpus?

Accepted Answer

The motherboard's Thunderbolt 4 ports are supported, but for video outputs via Thunderbolt, only Intel 11th Core processors are specifically mentioned. The 10th Gen processors may not support all video functionalities via Thunderbolt 4.

Question 5

my ram is 
Patriot Viper Steel 64GB (2 x 32GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Desktop Memory Model PVS464G360C8K
with Intel Core i7-11700K 3.6 GHz Eight-Core LGA 1200 Processor. when i go into bios for asus and change from aouto to XMP I and 3600 i get nothing. i have to change to auto and 3300. Thought I could do 3600 with this ram?

Accepted Answer

The ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero motherboard supports DDR4 memory up to 5333MHz (OC). However, for 11th Gen Intel Core processors, it natively supports up to 3200MHz. For higher frequencies such as 3600MHz, overclocking settings such as XMP profiles are required. Your issue might be related to the BIOS settings or compatibility of the specific RAM modules with the motherboard and CPU. It's advisable to check the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors List) on the ASUS website for compatible memory modules and ensure all BIOS settings are correctly configured.

Question 6

Does ROG Maximus XIII Hero support RAID?

Accepted Answer

Yes, I am running two 2TB HDDs in a RAID 0 config with this board.

Question 7

"The M.2_2 shares bandwidth with PCIEX16_1 and PCIEX16_2."  Is that something that still applies when eventually using an 11th generation processor?  Should I just avoid planning around using the m.2_2 for a gaming setup?

Accepted Answer

It applies regardless of what gen CPU that is installed. You can run M.2_2 but you have to run PCIEX16_1 at 8X and PCIEX16_2 at 4X. I dropped my PCIEX16_1 slot to 8X so I could use a NVME in M.2_2. The difference between running a GPU at 16X vs 8X is not like it will only perform half as what it would if it were running at 16X. You won't notice a difference. Google it.

Question 8

Is this motherboard stable to use in a 24/7 application?

Accepted Answer

Yes, I run several of my computers, as well as one with this mobo, 24/7/365. No issues at all.

Question 9

Which one is better, the apex or the hero?

Accepted Answer

APEX is your overclocking card if you are into LN2, etc. Only 2 ram slots for this reason. Otherwise, buy the Hero for a daily driver, same feature set otherwise.

CPU Socket Type	LGA 1200
CPU Type	Supports 11th Gen Intel Core processors Supports 10th Gen Intel Core Supports Pentium Gold and Celeron Processors * Refer to www.asus.com for CPU support list.
Supported CPU Technologies	Supports Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 support depends on the CPU types.

Number of Memory Slots	4x288pin (DDR4)
Memory Standard	DDR4 5333(OC)/ 5133(OC)/ 5000(OC)/ 4800(OC)/ 4700(OC)/ 4600(OC)/ 4500(OC)/ 4400(OC)/ 4266(OC)/ 4133(OC)/ 4000(OC)/ 3866(OC)/ 3733(OC)/ 3600(OC)/ 3466(OC)/ 3400(OC)/ 3333(OC)/ 3200/ 3000/ 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 MHz Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory* * 10th Gen Intel Core i7/i9 processors support 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 natively, others will run at the maximum transfer rate of DDR4 2666MHz. * 11th Gen Intel Core processors support 3200/ 2933/ 2800/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133 natively. * Refer to www.asus.com for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists), and memory frequency support depends on the CPU types.
Maximum Memory Supported	128GB
Channel Supported	Dual Channel

PCI Express 4.0 x16	Intel 11th & 10th Gen Processors 2 x PCIe 4.0/3.0 x16 slot(s)* - Intel 11th Core processors support PCIe 4.0 x16 or x8/x8 or x8/x4 mode(s) - Intel 10th Core processors support PCIe 3.0 x16 or x8/x8 or x8/x4 mode(s) * Supports PCIe bandwidth bifurcation for RAID on CPU function.
PCI Express 3.0 x16	Intel Z590 Chipset 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (supports x4 mode) PCIEX16_3 shares bandwidth with SATA6G_12 and SATA6G_34. When PCIEX16_ 3 is populated SATA6G_12 and SATA6G_34 will be disbabled. When PCIEX16_3 run at default (x2) mode, SATA6G_34 is disabled. When PCIEX16_3 run at x4 mode, SATA6G_12 and SATA6G_34 are disabled.
PCI Express x1	1 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots

Serial ATA (SATA)	6 x SATA 6Gb/s ports * Raid function for PCIe mode SSD in Intel Rapid Storage Technology is available with either 1. Intel SSDs installed in both CPU-attached and PCH-attached slots, or 2. any other 3rd party SSDs installed in PCH-attached slots. ** To enable Intel Optane Memory (Hybrid Storage device), it must be installed in PCH-attached slots with Intel Rapid Storage Technology.
M.2	Intel 11th & 10th Gen Processors* M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 - Only Intel 11th Core processors support PCIe 4.0 x4 mode, this slot will be disabled for other CPUs M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 - Intel 11th Core processors support PCIe 4.0 x4 mode - Intel 10th Core processors support PCIe 3.0 x4 mode Intel Z590 Chipset M.2_3 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 3.0 x4 mode) M.2_4 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 3.0 x4 & SATA modes)** * Only Intel 11th Core i5/i7/i9 processors support M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 mode. ** When M.2_4 is pupulated, SATA6G_56 will be disabled.
Intel Optane Ready	Yes

Audio Chipset	ROG SupremeFX 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC ALC4082
Audio Channels	7.1 Channels

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ASUS ROG Maximus XIII Hero (WiFi 6E) Z590 LGA 1200 (Intel 11th/10th Gen) ATX Gaming Motherboard (PCIe 4.0, 14+2 Power Stages, DDR4 5333+, Dual 2.5Gb LAN, Thunderbolt 4 Onboard, Bluetooth v5.2, Quad M.2/NVMe SSD, Aura RGB Lighting)

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LAN Chipset	2 x Intel I225-V 2.5Gb Ethernet
Max LAN Speed	2 x 2.5Gbps
Wireless LAN	Intel Wi-Fi 6E 2x2 Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a / b / g / n / ac / ax / az) Supports 2.4/5/6 GHz frequency band* * WiFi 6E 6GHz regulatory may vary between countries, and function will be ready in Windows 10 build 21H1 or later.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth v5.2 hardware ready Bluetooth 5.2 function will be ready in Windows 10 build 21H1 or later.

Onboard USB	1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connector (support(s) USB Type-C) 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports 2 x USB 2.0 header(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 ports
Other Connectors	Fan and Cooling related 1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header(s) 1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header(s) 1 x 4-pin AIO Pump header(s) 3 x 4-pin Chassis Fan header(s) 1 x 4-pin H_AMP Fan header(s) 1 x W_PUMP+ header(s) 1 x 2-pin Water In header 1 x 2-pin Water Out header 1 x 3-pin Water Flow header Miscellaneous 3 x AURA Addressable Gen 2 header(s) 1 x AURA RGB header(s) 1 x FlexKey button 1 x Front Panel Audio header (AAFP) 1 x ReTry button 1 x Speaker header 1 x SPI TPM header (14-1-pin) 1 x Start button 1 x 10-1-pin System Panel header 1 x Thermal Sensor header

Form Factor	ATX
LED Lighting	RGB
Dimensions (W x L)	12.0" x 9.6"
Power Pin	1 x 24-pin Main Power connector 2 x 8-pin +12V Power connector

Item#: 9SIC3DRKPS8733