ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Formula DDR5 Intel Motherboard

The ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Formula is a full-size ATX motherboard (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm) built on Intel's Z690 chipset, designed for 12th Generation Intel Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron processors using the LGA1700 socket. It supports Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and, where applicable by CPU type, Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0. Memory support spans four DIMM slots accommodating up to 128 GB of DDR5 in dual-channel configuration. Speeds reach DDR5-4800 natively and up to DDR5-6400+ under XMP overclocking profiles, with the full suite of intermediate OC frequencies (5000 / 5200 / 5400 / 5600 / 5800 / 6000 / 6200 MHz) also supported. All memory is non-ECC, unbuffered. Storage is equally expansive. Three onboard M.2 slots (Key M) accommodate drives in 2242 through 22110 form factors, with the primary CPU-attached slot running PCIe 4.0 x4 and chipset slots supporting PCIe 4.0 x4 / SATA or PCIe 3.0 x4. The included ROG Hyper M.2 add-in card unlocks two additional M.2 slots — one capable of PCIe 5.0 x4 when installed in the correct PCIe 5.0 x16 slot — bringing the total to five M.2 slots. Six SATA 6 Gb/s ports provide additional drive connectivity, and Intel Rapid Storage Technology enables NVMe RAID 0/1/5 and SATA RAID 0/1/5/10. Expansion slots include two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots (CPU-attached, operating at x16 or x8/x8) and one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot (chipset, operating at x4). Wired networking is handled by a Marvell AQtion 10 Gb Ethernet controller with ASUS LANGuard surge protection. Wireless connectivity comes via an Intel Wi-Fi 6E module (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 2x2, tri-band 2.4/5/6 GHz) paired with Bluetooth 5.2. The rear I/O panel carries two Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports (each supporting 40 Gbps bidirectional bandwidth, DisplayPort 1.4 output, and up to 32 Gbps PCIe tunnelling), seven USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (six Type-A + one Type-C), three USB 2.0 Type-A ports, and one HDMI 2.1 port supporting 4K@60Hz. Internal front-panel headers add one USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connector (with Quick Charge 4+ up to 60 W when the 6-pin PCIe power cable is connected), two USB 3.2 Gen 1 headers, and two USB 2.0 headers. Audio is provided by the ROG SupremeFX subsystem using a Realtek ALC4082 codec paired with an ESS SABRE9018Q2C DAC/AMP, delivering 120 dB SNR stereo playback, 113 dB SNR recording, and support for 32-bit/384 kHz playback. A rear optical S/PDIF output is also included. Cooling infrastructure is extensive: a CrossChill EK III VRM heatsink block (compatible with EK liquid cooling loops), M.2 heatsinks with backplates, one CPU fan header, one CPU OPT header, one AIO pump header, four chassis fan headers, one W_PUMP+ header, and dedicated water-in, water-out, and water-flow sense headers. RGB is managed through AURA Sync via one standard AURA RGB header and three Addressable Gen 2 headers. A 2-inch onboard OLED panel displays POST codes and system information. Overclocking tools include the Digi+ VRM, a dedicated TPU micro-controller, EPU power-saving unit, FlexKey button, ReTry button, and onboard Start button. Key Specifications: - Socket: Intel LGA1700 | Chipset: Intel Z690 - Form Factor: ATX, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm - Memory: 4x DIMM, DDR5-4800 native / up to DDR5-6400+ (OC), max 128 GB, dual-channel, XMP - Storage: 5x M.2 (incl. 1x PCIe 5.0 x4 via ROG Hyper M.2 Card) + 6x SATA 6 Gb/s - PCIe: 2x PCIe 5.0 x16 (CPU) + 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (chipset at x4) - Ethernet: Marvell AQtion 10 Gb with LANGuard - Wi-Fi: Intel Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax, 2x2, tri-band) + Bluetooth 5.2 - Rear USB: 2x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C), 7x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 3x USB 2.0 - Audio: SupremeFX ALC4082 + ESS SABRE9018Q2C, 7.1 surround, 120 dB SNR playback - Display Out: 1x HDMI 2.1 (4K@60Hz), 2x Thunderbolt 4 (DP 1.4) - BIOS: 256 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI with FlashBack button - Warranty: 3 Years