6 Things to Know About the ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-A Rear I/O

Ten USB ports are on the rear panel Two USB-C (20 Gbps each), four USB-A Gen 2 (10 Gbps), and four USB-A Gen 1 (5 Gbps). You can plug in every peripheral and still have ports left.

The USB-C ports support Gen 2x2 speeds Each delivers 20 Gbps, which is faster than standard USB-C ports on many boards.

HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 are included These are for integrated graphics output, not a dedicated GPU.

Networking is modern and fast You get a 2.5Gb Ethernet port, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3.

Five audio jacks support full surround sound Most boards only include three jacks. This board lets you use surround sound without the front-panel header.

Optical S/PDIF output is present This is useful for connecting a DAC or soundbar directly. It is a port you appreciate when you need it.