ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme (Intel 1700)

Everything about the Z690 EXTREME is just that EXTREME and leaves little else to be desired. That boils down from M2 connectivity, WIFI6E, 10GigE LAN, Cooling, LCD screens, RGB, connectors upwards to tweaking, BIOS, and of course, the exquisite design. Also extreme is its pricing. The MSRP sits just at 1100 USD (!), and that's just too much. So who's this motherboard intended for? For those looking for enthusiasts and extreme features, the Extreme series from ASUS is a great choice. Dual M.2 slots + two extra on that sweet PCIe Gen 5.0 ready add-in DIMM2 card, overclocking assistance, a more efficient, very luxurious power delivery setup. Then USB ports (including Thunderbolt), RGB display, LCD, physical buttons for BIOS switching, and 2.5G and 10G LAN connections are all available to you on this motherboard. All things combined make the however a solid foundation for an enthusiast build or a creator PC, depending on your preferences. The answer to the question "should you buy this motherboard?" boils down to how much money you have to spend on it and what requirements you need as this motherboard will be priced at 1100 EUR/USD. In our belief for lots of people, Alder Lake is what they've been waiting for, a completely new architecture with improved IPC and fabulous overall performance, so lots of people will make the step to upgrade as it also brings PCIe Gen 4.0 and 5.0 as well as DDR5 support and WIFI6E to the table. It has the most robust VRM setups we've ever seen, and it will undoubtedly prove to be a popular choice among overclockers and enthusiasts seeking extreme performance. Among its many features are four DDR5 DIMMS, which provide the newest memory technology, two PCIe 5.0 lanes for incredibly high-bandwidth expansion cards, and a few future-proofing features. There are a plethora of USB 3.2 Gen 2 connections throughout, some of which can charge devices at speeds of up to 60W! Dual Thunderbolt 4, an abundance of Gen4 M.2 mounts, and much more among the many features. Finally, the audio processing is impressive, delivering 120 dB SNR while running at 32-bit/384-kHz. This board is a dream; it has pretty much everything done right, but hot daumn, that price ... but that doesn't make this board less desirable or the excellent quality product it is.