Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme review: Glorious, luxurious motherboard excess

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Intel has lastly rejoined the aggressive panorama towards AMD with its Z690 platform, matching high-end muscle with the ferocious Core i9-12900K CPU. With nice energy comes not-so-great pricing, nevertheless. The Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme’s $1,099 price ticket eclipses the $649 value of previous juggernaut motherboards just like the X299 Asus Rampage VI Extreme, recasting what a high-end motherboard ought to price.

We’ll talk about the specs, options, and efficiency you need to anticipate from a motherboard of this caliber, and whether or not it delivers sufficient to justify your buy.

The specs

The Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme is filled with varied options and a powerful spec checklist, together with DDR5 memory support and Thunderbolt 4. Keep in thoughts that it’s an prolonged measurement, or E-ATX, that means it’s bigger than a typical ATX motherboard and will not slot in all circumstances. You’ll get an built-in I/O defend, too—no worries about forgetting this step of the construct course of!

You’ll discover Wi-Fi 6E together with 10GB ethernet. Thunderbolt 4 accompanies the various USB Gen 2 ports on the again. You’ll have 5 slots for M.2, and two of them are on the included ROG Dimn2 card that attaches subsequent to the RAM.

Here are some vital specs to pay attention to:

• E-ATX 12×13 inches, or 305x330mm (wider than an ATX motherboard)
• Intel 12th-gen Alder Lake CPU assist with 24+1 energy phases  (LGA 1700)
• DDR5 RAM solely, 4 slots
• PCI-E 5.0
• Five M.2 slots
• Thunderbolt 4
• USB-C Gen 2
• Wi-Fi 6E
• 10GB LAN (Marvel AQtion and an Intel 2.5GB LAN)
• ROG SupremeFX ALC4082 With ESS ES9018QC2 DAC
• 2-inch OLED Live Dash, and AniMe Matrix show
• 3- and 4-pin RGB headers
• Clear CMOS and BIOS flashbacks buttons
• ROG Dimn2 M.2 adapter card
• Multiple fan and water cooling headers
• HDMI port for built-in graphics (when GPU not obtainable)
• Six SATA 6GB/S ports
• M.2 latch, and PCI-E button for releasing GPUs
• CPU cooler backwards compatibility with LGA 1200 or 1700

Thiago Trevisan / IDG

Design

Extreme. That phrase describes why many would love this motherboard, proper? Minimalist, RGB-agnostic afficionados needn’t apply; this motherboard packs some critical “Times-Square-Level” lights. With a 2-inch OLED and animated Matrix show, it may be configured to point out something from CPU stats to animations. When you’re paying for additional options, that features eye sweet.

Thiago Trevisan / IDG

Also, it’s heavy. Like, actually heavy, however in a great way. Weighing in at over six kilos, it’s mighty to carry. The construct high quality is spectacular, with an armor again plate and loads of cowl for the entrance areas. The VRM heatsinks are large too, and naturally you’ll get loads of M.2 cooling with the coated plates a nicely.

It’s a really enticing motherboard total, with nice management over the RGB lighting through Asus Aura software program, so it may be personalized nevertheless you’d like.

One vital factor to bear in mind is that the highest M.2 cowl does keep barely raised, so in the event you’re doing a water-cooled graphics card with a thick backplate, similar to these with lively cooling, be aware of clearance points. Likewise, in the event you’re doing a GPU on the underside PCI-E slot, a thick GPU cooler can intrude with a number of the cables, stopping a strong connection. (This occurred to me with an Asus Strix GPU cooler and the RGB and USB ports on the underside of the motherboard.)

Thiago Trevisan / IDG

Unique options

Many motherboards have distinctive options, however what units aside a board at this degree, and value, is the sheer quantity and mixture of options. Let’s break down a number of the most attractive:

1. Strong networking choices with 10GB, 2.5GB LAN, and Wi-Fi 6E for max flexibility
2. Connectivity choices proceed to impress, with Thunderbolt 4 and lots of USB ports, together with kind C, and 60W charging means
3. Fantastic M.2 SSD assist, though be mindful solely the highest M.2 is PCI-E Gen 5, however that can include some restrictions
4. DDR5 is right here, however be mindful it’s dearer than DDR4 for minimal efficiency positive factors. There’s additionally a giant situation with working quad RAM sticks—they gained’t do XMP profiles—so it’s possible you’ll need to stick to two RAM sticks of upper capability
5. M.2 latch and PCI-E slot straightforward launch/entry—we hope to see this on much more motherboards sooner or later!
6. Great VRM and CPU efficiency, however you will get comparable or higher with some cheaper motherboards such because the Asus Z690 Apex (it gained’t be as characteristic packed, nevertheless)
7. Want to do two GPUs, for both higher spacing to enhance thermals when doing content material creation, and even…gasp…the already defunct SLI/NV Link? You can try this right here, with 4-slot NVlink assist
8. OLED show may be very cool (PC fans will admire it!)
9. Asus software program has a powerful suite with Armoury Crate, permitting fan management, Ai overclocking, and RGB customization
10. LGA 1700 would require a brand new bracket for many coolers, however Asus motherboards are suitable with LGA 1200 out of the field, too
11. You’ll get some neat gadgets within the field, like an RGB controller that may show helpful in fashionable builds

Performance and BIOS

With a strong CPU such because the Intel Core i9-12900K, you’ll need to ensure you’re maximizing its potential with a board like this.

The Asus BIOS continues to be one of the crucial nice and intuitive to make use of, and in the event you’re doing any overclocking, you’ll definitely spend quite a lot of time right here. You can tweak many CPU settings, and your RAM has large potential as nicely.

Let’s get the DDR5 situation out of the best way—you’ll need to stick to 2 RAM modules if you wish to use the XMP profile and get the utmost rated pace. It could also be a good suggestion to get greater capability in the event you want it, as going to 4 RAM sticks will restrict your DDR5 speeds to the bottom 4800Mhz. This is…not excessive, however it’s how it’s at current. Memory is at all times Dual Channel, after all.

Asus

VRM temperatures with the facility stage elements are greater than enough for even a strong, hot-running 12900Ok.

It looks as if a lot of contemporary overclocking is extra CPU restricted, as they arrive working fairly scorching from the manufacturing unit as is—so any minor enhancements with handbook tinkering could have diminishing returns.

Asus has a wonderful suite of AI overclocking and optimization instruments, as nicely. You can discover these each within the BIOS, in addition to the Armoury Crate Software.

Clear CMOS and BIOS flashback can also be obtainable, making overclocking makes an attempt simpler to get better from. You’ll even get LN2 Mode change for customers desirous to push it additional with liquid nitrogen; plus a retry button, thermal headers, and many others. (Don’t really feel overlooked; we’re not doing any liquid-nitrogen cooling both!)

Bottom line

Are there cheaper alternate options available on the market for Z690, such because the Asus ROG Strix or Gigabyte Aorus Master? Sure, and so they even pack lots of the identical options because the ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme. The magic is within the particulars in the event you can abdomen the worth, nevertheless. Here, you’ll get the entire options packed collectively—to not point out a very spectacular and premium design. You may need to try the Asus ROG Apex or Formula motherboards, which have a lot of the options, however much less of a value premium. (Check out Alaina Yee’s tips on what to look for in a motherboard for your 12th-gen CPU.)

It’s not even the most costly possibility available on the market, both. If you need a water-cooled answer, you’ll find the liquid cooling-focused Glacial version of this motherboard for rather more—and MSI’s luxurious Godlike just lately made an look for Z690 as nicely.

This motherboard is for the one who desires a particularly high-end construct and to tick the entire efficiency and aesthetic choices. With PC elements all skyrocketing in value the previous couple of years, it was solely a matter of time earlier than motherboards bought increasingly costly, too.

It will go well with each content material creators, with its large connectivity suite, in addition to fanatic PC builders and players, with a plethora of efficiency and aesthetic niceties.

Small quirks and the excessive price ticket maintain it from being a 5-star product and extremely beneficial motherboard, particularly when contemplating that another motherboards with comparable (however not all) options are available at lots of of {dollars} much less. If you like the design and will need to have all of its many options, nevertheless, it’s a tremendous product for the discerning high-end fanatic who doesn’t thoughts shelling out the money.