ASUS Prime Z690-A Intel Z690 LGA 1700 ATX Motherboard PCIe 5.0, Four M.2 Slots, 16+1 DrMOS, DDR5, Intel 2.5 Gb LAN, HDMI, DP, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, Front USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, Thunderbolt 4

I'm a long-time user of ASUS motherboards and routers. My ROG MAXIMUS VIII Ranger ran at 25% overclocked every day, courtesy of a huge Noctua double fan cooler. The hardware requirements for Windows 11 reminded me that the i5 K CPU is only 6th generation, so it was time to change. My choice of the Prime Z490-A and i7-10700K was more based on working efficiently than a gaming rig.The first motherboard was an Amazon Warehouse as new purchase. I've had excellent deals from Amazon Warehouse in the past but this wasn't one of them, and clearly a used faulty return. As I was running Microsoft Windows and Office, the change of Motherboard and CPU meant buying a new licence. The many hours spent trying to sort the first motherboard weren't repeated with the second. The known error with the Intel ethernet adapter "appears" to have been fixed. The layout for cabling and access is improved when compared with the Ranger. However, the diagnostics are reduced to multi-coloured LEDs (I miss the Ranger Q-code alphanumeric readout), there are limited chassis fan headers, the chipset needs the retro-fitted fan (it runs at 50 C at normal speed). The ASUS description states that it supports [ASUS] Thunderbolt 3. However, my ASUS PCIe ThunderboltEX 3 card requires a 5 pin header but the motherboard has a 14 pin header, so my EX 3 card has to be replaced by a new 3-TR card that Amazon have just increased in price from £90 to £133!A quirk that I haven't come across before. The BIOS.cap file download identified by ASUS "Armoury Crate" has a different number than the BIOS. ASUS Support say that the BIOS shown in Armoury Crate is out of date!It has the potential to be a good motherboard for the money, as it's currently running air-cooled at 35% overclock, quiet and cool. The first motherboard appears to have been faulty and old stock (ASUS Support advised not covered by warranty). The ethernet adapter problem affects other manufacturers too. The first motherboard was returned to Amazon as it was the worst motherboard that I've installed. The replacement works well as of October 2021. There is a serious Intel CSME vulnerability, and whilst there is a detection download and a fix, they are not easy to find.It's cost more than £500 to update for Windows 11 and several days trying to sort the first motherboard. Our Surface Book laptop appears to be Windows 11 compliant. Windows 10, Android and unsupported Office 2010 or Libre Office will suit me just fine for the rest of my kit.ASUS UK advise they no longer issue RMAs. The 3 or 5 year warranty for a motherboard is handled by the retailer by arrangement with the retailer. If the retailer doesn't have an agreement with ASUS or it is bought from a private seller, there doesn't appear to be a way of returning a faulty item. I had a VRM stage fail on a new ROG motherboard bought from a private seller; ASUS UK don't want to know. Before buying an ASUS motherboard, check with a seller that they have an agreement with ASUS to handle the ASUS warranty for the stated number of years.

I’m currently using this motherboard for my first gaming PC build. Fair to say there’s nothing wrong it at all, no faults whatsoever. Working as expected! The WiFi antennae extension is an added bonus! Overall, I’m pleased with this product.

Board was a bit warped and made it difficult to fit and line up with USB ports against the rear metal template. Screws were indicated by a diagram as being the thinner of the two available for attaching the motherboard but it turned out that it was the fatter of the two. This is my first build, so I don’t know if it is normal to have a warped board. I managed to get it to fit and it all works perfectly.

Worked well with an Intel 12900K and 32GB of ram. Has been stable for while with no crashes.

Got this motherboard as part of my first pc build.It looks great and was easy to set up and connect everything.The book that comes along with it makes clear what connects into which location, and how to turn the computer on for the first time and navigate the bios menus.

I think this is a great motherboard, it's actually a personal favourite of mine.*** Pro's ***- Comes with the ability to have M.2 drives which are protected by special heat panels to prevent it from overheating.- Really beautiful looking motherboard, definitely one of the cleanest and most elegant designs I've seen before- Comes with slight RGB capability that you can map into RGB software to control the colour and affect.- Really good and easy to use BIOS, comes with a lot of features built in such as overclocking that make the BIOS one of the nicest I've seen in ages.- Comes with tons of high quality ports for HDMI, USB, etc.- Easy to map the wiring onto the motherboard.*** Con’s ***- Only one of the M.2 drives comes with the special heat plate technology- The RGB on the motherboard doesn't work all the timeAreas to improve:- Add a heat plate to the second M.2 drive- Find a way to have consistent RGB or don't have itThis motherboard is great, I enjoy using it and it's one of the best I've ever had. Great on the eyes, and great to use.