ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus DDR4 Motherboard

The ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus DDR4 is an ATX motherboard built on the Intel Z690 chipset, designed for 12th Generation Intel Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron processors in the LGA1700 socket. It offers a robust 14+1 DrMOS power stage layout on a six-layer PCB, paired with ProCool sockets, alloy chokes, and durable capacitors to deliver stable power to demanding processors. The primary PCIe 5.0 x16 slot — fed directly by the 12th Gen CPU — is ready for next-generation discrete graphics, while additional PCIe 3.0 slots from the Z690 chipset accommodate secondary cards or expansion devices. Memory capacity tops out at 128 GB across four DDR4 DIMM slots, with native support up to DDR4-3200 and overclocking headroom reaching DDR4-5333 (OC) when using compatible modules and XMP profiles. ASUS OptiMem II signal-trace routing helps maintain signal integrity at higher frequencies. Storage is equally expansive: four M.2 Key-M slots (three supporting PCIe 4.0 x4, one also supporting SATA) and four SATA 6 Gb/s ports give builders plenty of room for NVMe SSDs and traditional drives. Intel Rapid Storage Technology enables NVMe RAID 0/1/5 and SATA RAID 0/1/5/10 configurations. Connectivity is comprehensive. The rear I/O panel includes a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port (20 Gbps), two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, five USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 output (4K@60Hz), an HDMI 2.1 output (4K@60Hz), and a dedicated Intel 2.5 Gb Ethernet port protected by TUF LANGuard surge-protection circuitry. Onboard audio is handled by a Realtek HD codec supporting 7.1 surround sound at up to 24-bit/192 kHz, with optical S/PDIF out, audio shielding, and dedicated PCB layers for reduced interference. A Thunderbolt 4 header on the board adds high-bandwidth peripheral support when paired with a compatible add-in card. Thermal management is addressed by an enlarged VRM heatsink, a fanless PCH heatsink, and individual M.2 heatsinks for each storage slot. Six fan headers — including a CPU fan, CPU OPT fan, AIO pump header, and four chassis headers — are controllable via Fan Xpert 4 inside ASUS Armoury Crate. AURA Sync RGB lighting is present through one addressable Gen 2 headers (three total) and one AURA RGB strip header. Verifiable Specifications: - Socket: Intel LGA1700 (12th Gen Intel Core / Pentium Gold / Celeron) - Chipset: Intel Z690 - Form Factor: ATX, 305 mm x 244 mm - Memory: 4x DDR4 DIMM, max 128 GB, DDR4-2133 to DDR4-3200 native / up to DDR4-5333 (OC), dual-channel, XMP - Expansion: 1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x4 mode), 1x PCIe 3.0 x4, 2x PCIe 3.0 x1 - Storage: 4x M.2 (PCIe 4.0 x4; M.2_2 also SATA), 4x SATA 6 Gb/s - USB (rear): 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 5x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (4x Type-A + 1x Type-C) - Ethernet: Intel 2.5 Gb with TUF LANGuard - Audio: Realtek 7.1 HD, 24-bit/192 kHz, optical S/PDIF out - Video out: DisplayPort 1.4 (4K@60Hz), HDMI 2.1 (4K@60Hz) - Power stages: 14+1 DrMOS - BIOS: 192 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI - OS: Windows 11 64-bit, Windows 10 64-bit - Warranty: 3 Years