Video cards and water-cooled processors have been on the market for a very long time. But motherboards with a water block are, whatever you say, exotic. After all, motherboards do not need overclocking, their task is to provide a strong foundation for overclocking the processor, graphics card and RAM. However, there is a small stratum of enthusiasts who need elite components and squeeze all the juices out of them. It is for them that ASRock produces a limited edition of specialized AAA motherboards ASRock Aqua with a dedicated water block.


The front side of the Aqua boards is covered with a water pump, which includes a small water block with a pump to remove heat from the processor, power subsystem and logic chips. It is covered from above by a stylish protective aluminium casing with decorative elements of silver colour. The reverse side is covered by a massive metal plate, which serves as an additional support. Their equipment is at the level of the most advanced motherboards, after all, the sticker for "product for enthusiasts" is emblazoned on the box for a reason.

By the summer of 2021, the company has introduced two Aqua series boards — Z490 Aqua and X570 Aqua. The first is designed for Intel processors, the second is friends with the AMD platform. Otherwise, there are a minimum of differences between them: the same silver water block with blue-green illumination, a similar configuration of slots for installing components, the same 10-gigabit network interface on the Aquantia controller and support for the second-generation PCI-E bus. It's just that the Aqua Z490, as a newer model, is ahead of its sister X570 Aqua in some ways. Its power subsystem is a little more interesting, the integrated RAID controller has more configuration options, and the flagship ESS 9218 DAC is responsible for sound reproduction. Otherwise, these are absolutely top-end products, for which they ask for more than a thousand dollars.