ASUS Z690

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.

Das ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-E GAMING WIFI ist derzeit ab 556 € im Preisvergleich gelistet. Das klingt auf den ersten Blick nach einem sehr hohen Preis, doch bekommen wir hier extrem viel geboten und im Anbetracht der Marktlage liegen Mainboards mit DDR5-Kompatibilität bei 350 € aufwärts. Gleich fünf M.2 Slots sorgen dafür, dass sich der Nutzer ein mechanisches Laufwerk fast sparen kann.

Products like this demonstrate why the Strix brand is so strong. It looks great, the performance is excellent, it has enough unique touches to make it feel special, yet it also hasn't sacrificed looks for performance or vice versa. It is an extremely solid product all round and a great choice if you fancy getting hold of one of the new 12th Generation Intel CPUs. The ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi wins our OC3D Performance Award.

Mit der 14. Maximus-Serie nimmt Hersteller ASUS Abschied von den klassischen römischen Zahlen für die Modellbezeichnung, sondern setzt konsequent auf die Chipsatz-Nomenklatur. Auch für Intels Alder-Lake-S-Prozessoren ist das Hero-Mainboard wieder hoch im Kurs, sodass wir es natürlich selbst auf den Prüfstand stellen. Lohnt sich der hohe Anschaffungspreis?

Das ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero bringt so ziemlich alle Features mit, die man sich als Gamer oder OC-Enthusiasten so wünschen könnte. Allerdings ist das Mainboard mit über 600 Euro auch recht teuer und lässt sich die umfassende Ausstattung sowie die teils exklusiven Features recht fürstlich bezahlen.

This is the fourth Z690 board we’ve had in from Asus, each one showing subtle but important differences between them. Even diving into the Maximus family, there are many variations, so to say Asus has something for everyone, is a bit of an understatement.

Over the last six months since Intel launched its 12th Gen Core series of processors, we've looked at several Alder Lake desktop CPUs and seen how competitive they are from top to bottom - not just in performance but price too. To harness the power of Alder Lake, however, there are many options in terms of Z690 motherboards, and today we're taking a look at one of ASUS's more premium models, the ROG Maximus Z690 Hero.

Right now, I don’t see any glaring cons or issues about the Maximus Z690 Hero. The ROG Hyper M.2 card is a nice addition, but I don’t think most Z690 Hero users will use it. Not to mention its implementation and how to configure it is a bit cumbersome and perplexing. If you’re looking for dual LAN ports, unfortunately, there’s only one Ethernet port, and it’s only 2.5Gb. Also, I wish Asus implemented a dual BIOS system just in case the (first) BIOS gets corrupted. On the flip side, the Maximus Z690 Hero does come with dual Thunderbolt 4 ports. Two of the PCIe are Gen5.0 ready and the motherboard supports up to DDR5-6400 memory. These new Z690 motherboards, especially the DDR5 variants, are not cheap. I just hope these Z690 motherboards will also support the upcoming 13th gen Raptor Lake CPUs. At the end of the day, I think the Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero is a well-rounded and excellent motherboard for gamers, enthusiasts, and even content creators. Most of the essential features that a typical consumer needs for a fast Intel-based system are present on this motherboard. And there are also new features that can be useful to a more advanced user. “For those who dare” and can afford to pay $600 for a motherboard, I think the Asus Maximus Z690 Hero is one of the best Z690 motherboards out there.

With the prices available the Maximus Hero is even more impressive than we initially believed, so naturally we wanted to give it it's own spotlight.

ASUS delivers a compelling infrastructure for Alder Lake with the all new Hero. So who's this motherboard intended for? Well, for those looking for high-end and somewhat extreme features, the HERO series from ASUS is a great choice. Three M.2 slots + two extra on that sweet PCIe Gen 5.0 ready add-in card, overclocking assistance, a more efficient, very luxurious power delivery setup. Then all the USB ports (including Thunderbolt), RGB display, physical buttons for BIOS switching, and a 2.5G LAN connection 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 just over 600 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. You'll also receive a sweet audio codec and integrated Wi-Fi 6E technology, as opposed to the others that have been around for a while and so employ last-generation audio and Wi-Fi 6. This board has everything you could ever want in a high-end-class component, thanks to its strong VRMs and cutting-edge features. The BIOS is refined, and overall it'll serve all your needs and then some. If you're looking for an excellent Z690 motherboard and have a budget of roughly $600, the ROG Maximus Z690 HERO is highly recommended albeit pricy.

Wer sich für Intels 12. Core-Generation entscheidet, hat die Qual der Wahl, ob es als Unterbau ein LGA1700-Mainboard mit DDR4- oder DDR5-Speicherbänken wird. Eine Kombination aus beiden Standards gibt es nicht. Nachdem wir bereits drei Z690-Mainboards mit DDR5-Support getestet haben, folgt mit dem ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 nun das erste LGA1700-Mainboard mit DDR4-Slots.

The ASUS ProArt Z690 Creator WiFi is, as befits a motherboard with so much high end technology on board, not the cheapest of the Z690 offerings, but similarly it's not that expensive considering you get 4 M.2 slots, Thunderbolt 4, DDR5 and 10G networking. If you want every technology a 12th Generation Intel Z690 motherboard has to offer, and will be able to utilise them, then it's a great choice and wins our OC3D Enthusiast Award. Now if only there was a way to get one for free... *foreshadowing*

Alles in allem stellt die vorgestellte Platine ein sehr gutes DDR4 Board dar, welches durchaus an der Oberklasse anzuklopfen vermag. Für 95 % der Intel Nutzer mit 12. oder 13. Prozessor-Generation wird es mindestens alles bieten, was sie von einem Mainboard erwarten, wenn nicht noch mehr. Wer auf Thunderbolt 4 und DDR5 Speicher verzichten kann, könnte hier sein perfektes Board für ein helles Build gefunden haben.

Wer sich explizit gegen den Einsatz des neuen DDR5-Arbeitsspeichers entscheidet, bekommt gerade bei den Oberklasse- und High-End-Mainboards so gut wie keine Auswahl, denn diese Platinen setzen beinahe zwingend den DDR5-Standard voraus. Das ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming WiFi D4 von ASUS stellt dabei eine Ausnahme dar. Ob das Board in der Praxis überzeugt, klärt unser Test.

Heute geht es weiter mit unseren Z690-Mainboard Reviews, mit dem Asus Maximus Z690 Apex. Nicht nur die Namenskonvention hat sich zu den Vorgängermodellen geändert, denn neben DDR5, PCIe 5.0 und dem LGA1700 Sockel gibt es leider auch ein paar Kinderkrankheiten, die ich vorab adressieren möchte, wenn nicht sogar muss.

Das ROG MAXIMUS Z690 APEX ist derzeit ab 624 € im Preisvergleich gelistet. Im ersten Moment ein Batzen Geld, doch bekommen wir hier extrem viel geboten. Wir reden hier von einem Mainboard mit einer 24 + 2 Phasen Spannungsversorgung. Mit gleich fünf M.2 Slots wird es die Speicherfetischisten freuen, mechanische Laufwerke gehören der Vergangenheit an. Die zahlreichen Zusatzfeatures wie das ROG TRUE VOLTICIAN ein Miniatur-Oszilloskop oder das „Overclocker’s Toolkit“, das im laufenden Betrieb bei der Übertaktung hilft, machen das APEX einzigartig.

Today we continue with our Z690 motherboard reviews, with the Asus Maximus Z690 Apex. Not only the naming convention has changed compared to the predecessor models, because besides DDR5, PCIe 5.0 and the LGA1700 socket, there are unfortunately also a few teething troubles that I would like to address in advance, if not have to.

If you want a white motherboard with all the trimmings then the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Formula might be the very one for you.

ASUS understands what is required for a flagship product with the ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme Glacial. It can fill multiple roles for different type of consumers. The obvious big selling point is the unique monoblock designed specifically for this motherboard. This lends itself to being a showpiece in the gaming room and certainly can be a form of displaying wealth as well. Given the price point, this motherboard is certainly not for everyone, but those who have the funds will not be disappointed by the long list of features. ASUS cares about the customer, down the box and it clearly shows. This is why the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme Glacial has received a Editors Choice.