ASUS Back To the Future premium motherboard with hidden connectors
The first Maximus board from the Advanced BTF series.
ASUS is exploring new ways to make modern systems fancier and easier to set up. The BTF (Back to the Future) series is part of this attempt, by introducing backside connectors on the motherboards. Such systems already exist on the market and are available through select system integrators. But ASUS is looking forward by introducing more premium products that let you use GPUs without 12VHWPR power connectors.
The downside of BTF series is that they require very specific cases that allow cables to be connected in a different position. Furthermore, the “Advanced BTF” program which includes a proprietary GPU connector requires a special GPU that only ASUS makes.
Z790 ROG Maximus BTF Hero, Source: ASUS
The Z790 BTF HERO is equipped with a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for high-end graphics cards, along with a graphics card high-power slot capable of delivering up to 600 watts of power to BTF graphics cards. However, this is not really an issue as the connector can simply not be connected to the GPU and any standard GPU will still work. Additionally, ASUS came up with an idea how to utilize BTF GPUs on standard motherboards, so it’s not like either option mandates the use of motherboard or GPU.
Z790 ROG Maximus BTF Hero, Source: ASUS
The ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF is a high-end motherboard that is built upon the acclaimed Z790 Dark Hero board, an updated premium design that came out alongside Intel 13th Gen Core+ CPUs. Similarly, the BTF version comes with the WiFi-7 support, the Q-Code and Q-LED diagnostic LEDs, and an upgraded 20+1+2 power stage design enabling up to 90 AMPS of power.
| ROG MAXIMUS Z790 HERO BTF | |
|---|---|
| Size | ATX |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, Max. 192GB, DDR5 |
| PCIe | 2 x PCIe 5.0 x16 (@x16 or @x8/x8) 1 x PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Storage | 1 x M.2 22110 (PCIe 5.0 x4) 4 x M.2 2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4) |
| Networking | Intel® Wi-Fi 7 1 x Intel® 2.5Gb Ethernet |
| Rear I/O | 2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 ports (2 x USB Type-C®) 6 x USB 10Gbps ports (5 x Type-A + 1 x USB Type-C®) 4 x USB 5Gbps ports (4 x Type-A) |
| Front I/O | 1 x USB 20Gbps connector (supports USB Type-C®) 2 x USB 5Gbps headers (support 4 USB 5Gbps ports) 2 x USB 2.0 headers (support 4 USB 2.0 ports) |
| Aura | 3 x Addressable Gen 2 headers 1 x AURA RGB header |
| Cooling | 1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header 1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header 1 x 4-pin AIO Pump header 4 x 4-pin Chassis Fan headers 1 x W_PUMP+ header |
| Power | 1 x Graphics card high-power slot (delivers up to 600 watts) 1 x 24-pin main power connector 2 x 8-pin +12V power connector 1 x 12V-2X6 Auxiliary power connector |
The ROG Maximus Z790 Hero BTF motherboard is now available for purchase at French retailer LDLC for €799, marking a €110 (16%) increase compared to the standard variant. The BTF series certainly only makes sense if one buys all the supported hardware, and that, due to lack of 3rd party options, will mean that one is limited to one brand only.
Z790 ROG Maximus BTF Hero, Source: LDLC
Source: LDLC via @momomo_us , Wccftech