ASUS Z690 motherboards announced, here's everything you need to know

ASUS has unveiled 19 new Z690-based motherboards now that Intel's new 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" CPUs are here, along with the next-gen Z690 chipset that has DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support.

First off, we have the flagship ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme Glacial motherboard which features a pre-installed EK Ultrablock water block for liquid cooling your new Core i9-12900K -- come on, you're not going to put anything else into it. No Core i5-12600K is going to go into a super-high-end motherboard like the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme Glacial.

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ASUS includes 24+1 power stages (105A) on its ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme Glacial and ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme motherboards. Both boards of course have the Z690 chipset which unlocks DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 technologies, with 10GbE networking, dual Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, and an E-ATX form factor -- beast motherboards. The difference between the Extreme Glacial and Extreme boards is the Glacial has the integrated EK Ultrablock, the non-Glacial model does not.

• Read more: Intel's Alder Lake CPU packaging leaked, Core i9-12900K box teased
• Read more: Intel's next-gen Alder Lake architecture: everything you need to know
• Read more: Intel's next-gen Z690 chipset pictured in the flesh, hello Alder Lake
• Read more: Intel's new LGA1700 socket detailed: ready for new Alder Lake CPUs

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Under the flagship ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme boards, ASUS has the ROG Maximus Z690 Formula with the same pre-installed EK Ultrablock, but knocked down 20+1 power stages (105A). There's DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 here as well of course, with 10GbE networking and dual Thunderbolt 4 USB-C and in ATX form factor.

Next up is the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Apex, another board with DDR5 + PCIe 5.0 support, dual Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, and 24+0 power stages (105A) and ATX form factor. Under that is the ROG Maximus Z690 HERO with the same DDR5 + PCIe 5.0, 2.5GbE networking this time around, and dual Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports but 20+1 power stages (90A) and the same ATX form factor.

List of ASUS Z690 motherboards

• ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME GLACIAL
• ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME
• ROG MAXIMUS Z690 FORMULA
• ROG MAXIMUS Z690 APEX
• ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO
• ROG STRIX Z690-E GAMING WIFI
• ROG STRIX Z690-F GAMING WIFI
• ROG STRIX Z690-G GAMING WIFI
• ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4
• ROG STRIX Z690-I GAMING WIFI
• TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4
• TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS D4
• PROART Z690-CREATOR WIFI
• PRIME Z690-A
• PRIME Z690M-PLUS D4
• PRIME Z690-P WIFI
• PRIME Z690-P
• PRIME Z690-P D4
• PRIME Z690-P WIFI D4

ASUS has under its ROG Maximus Z590 motherboards we have the ROG Strix Z690 family of boards, which still retain DDR5 DIMMs as well as PCIe 5.0 x16 for next-gen graphics cards of the future, and PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot for next-gen SSDs of the future.

The flagship ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming Wi-Fi motherboard has it all: 4 x DDR5 DIMMs, PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for next-gen GPUs and a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot for next-gen SSDs. ASUS includes 2.5GbE and Wi-Fi 6E networking, as well as Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports.

Under that, we have the ROG Strix Z690-F Gaming Wi-Fi and ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming Wi-Fi D4. Starting with the Z690-F Gaming Wi-Fi which keeps its DDR5 RAM and PCIe 5.0 x16 slot -- but drops the PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot from the board, you're limited to PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs on the ASUS ROG Strix Z690-F Gaming Wi-Fi. The ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming Wi-Fi D4 drops down again, with the same loss of PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot support, but also DDR5 DIMMs -- this board is DDR4 only -- but you've still got PCIe 5.0 support (DDR4 RAM + PCIe 5.0 support).

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Shrinking in size, the new ASUS ROG Strix Z690-G Gaming Wi-Fi arrives in Micro-ATX form factor and still packs a powerhouse Z690 punch. The ASUS ROG Strix Z690-G Gaming Wi-Fi rocks out with DDR5 RAM and PCIe 5.0 x16 slot + PCIe 4.0 x16 slot.

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ASUS also has the ROG Strix Z690-I Gaming Wi-Fi D4 which arrives with 2 x DDR5 DIMMs, and a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card. Imagine all of that power: an Intel Core i9-12900K + DDR5 RAM + next-gen PCIe 5.0 GPU all in a Mini-ITX form factor.