Another of the featured motherboards on Alder Lake and Z690's premiere day will be this Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero. The new high-end model is presented to us with a premium aesthetic full of aluminum heatsinks and a new Polymo Lighting system that falls in love with the naked eye.

But it will be in its construction where it shines the brightest, with a VRM of 20 + 1 phases of 90A, a total of 5 M.2 slots adding its ROG Hyper M.2 card, and an impressive rear panel with dual Thunderbolt 4. It also does not overlook incorporating the best integrated sound with a SupremeFX ALC4082 + DAC codec and Wi-Fi 6E. How will it behave with the 12900K on your socket? let's get started!

We thank Asus for their trust in us for giving us this motherboard for analysis

Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero technical characteristics

Unboxing

We begin with the Unboxing of this Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero that will arrive in an elegant rigid cardboard box. In it we have a ROG aesthetic accompanied by photos of the motherboard and key specifications on the back. This high-end Asus always comes nestled between a cardboard mold and a plastic cover, with all the accessories under it perfectly classified.

In the bundle we should find the following:

External design and component analysis of the Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero

The Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero will guarantee the aesthetic level for this high-end range, and it is presented with a renewed style using more black as the main color. In fact, it could perfectly be a Dark Hero version due to its elegant aesthetic with a touch of mystery in its port cover.

In fact we will start with this upper area, where we find a wide cover for the rear panel of ports that a priori seems completely black. But as soon as we turn it on, we will see that it integrates a somewhat peculiar AURA Sync lighting system called Polymo Lighting. It is a kind of screen made to display two different light patterns on the same surface using light reflection. In it we can read the large ROG logo, or the Asus Hero logo with peripheral lighting imitating pixels. Let's be clear that it is not an OLED Live Dash or an LCD screen.

The second function of this cover will be to increase the passive heat dissipation for the VRM, since it will form an integral part of the main block, and therefore it is made of aluminum. This method has been used by other manufacturers to meet the need for more MOSFETS and higher power. The second block will be connected to the main one by means of a copper heat pipe, making contact with the phases through high performance thermal pads.

In this area we also highlight the presence of the buttons for powering on the board and the FlexKey button that supports various functions configurable from the BIOS, such as reset or lighting. A third button has the ReTry function, not to mention the Debug LED panel and the Post boot panel just below it. The DIMM slots don't feature integral steel reinforcement, though like its rivals, we'll have the rear solder pads submerged in the PCB to ensure electrical and noise isolation, as well as better strength. More importance has been given to AURA Gen2 A-RGB lighting by providing us with 3 5 VDG headers and a fourth 12VRGB rainbow.

We move on to the bottom half of the Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero where we find a total of 3 M.2 slots with aluminum heatsinks. The truth is that they will not be too large, but they have double-sided Laird thermal pads to improve their effectiveness. The two lower slots share a heatsink, although it is wide enough to offer good heat distribution. The central block corresponds only to the cooling of the chipset, with a purely aesthetic extended element and the Asus logo silkscreened on the surface, but without integrated lighting.

The sound card area is also covered by a plastic casing independent from the rest of the cover, ensuring better insulation of the capacitors. We have metal reinforcement for both the power headers and the two main PCIe 5.0 slots. In this model we already miss a rear insulation cover the same as the one used for example by the MSI Unify or the AORUS Master, since it is a very high-end board that exceeds 600 euros, which should not be given up to these quality extras.

The Asus ROG Hyper M.2 card deserves a paragraph to analyze its elaborate design, provided with a x16 interface with 8 active lanes and two M.2 22110 slots. It has an integral passive aluminum heatsink that ensures excellent temperatures for PCIe 4.0 SSDs mounted in RAID 0 for example. But the most interesting thing on a technical level is that it supports SSD 5.0 ​​when connected to the PCIEX16(G5)_2 slot, basically the second slot on the board.

More powerful VRM

This Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero takes a new leap of power in its power setup. We are facing a VRM of no less than 20 + 1 power phases, which are powered by two 8-pin headers complete with steel reinforcement and solid ProCool II pins. A third 6-pin PCIe header supplies extra power to the front USB-C port's fast-charging mode, but it's still optional.

The DC-DC conversion stage will consist of a total of 21 MOSFETS, all the same, Renesas ISL99390 with a nominal capacity of 90A. These DrMOS-type triple-state MOSFETS have been used in previous generation high-end boards, fully valid for this new platform. They will not have signal duplicators, but will be managed in pairs of two simultaneously by means of a Renesas RAA 229131 Digital PWM controller and a DIGI+ EPU

For the signal smoothing stage we find MicroFine alloy chokes with high permeability coil and nominal capacity of 45A. Added to these are a series of high-resistance 10K black metal capacitors to ensure as smooth and stable a power signal as possible.

Socket, Z690 chipset and DDR5 RAM

This Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero fully debuts the elements that define the platform. The first important element will be the socket, which happens to be the expected LGA 1700, with the same number of contacts and a rectangular socket. This platform will be compatible with 12th Gen Intel Core, Pentium and Celeron processors. For it, the LGA 1151 installation kit will have to be modified, since it is a lower socket and with the holes located 78 x 78 mm apart. The anchoring system undergoes modifications and improves safety by having a pressure closure with a lever independent of the lid.

We are also launching the Z690 chipset that considerably increases its power by having a total of 12 PCIe 4.0 lanes and 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes. A large capacity that will allow manufacturers to use (if they want) more M.2 slots and fewer shared lanes. It offers a capacity of up to 8 SATA 6 Gbps ports, up to 4 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps), or 10 USB 3.2 Gen2/1 (10 Gbps), or 16 USB 2.0. There will be native support for Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6/6E, 2.5 Gbps LAN, and HD audio. Finally, the connection interface with the CPU becomes DMI 4.0 with a capacity of 128 Gbps for each of its 8 lanes.

Alder Lake CPUs and boards in this and all other chipsets will support a maximum of 128 GB of memory via 4 memory banks. The novelty will be that, in addition to DDR4, compatibility with DDR5 is also added for the first time. This does not mean that we can install both technologies on a single board, but that there will be boards, possibly mid-range or low-end specific for DDR5. The Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero only supports DDR5 with maximum speeds of 6400 MHz thanks to XMP 3.0 profile support. With this technology, modification of profiles from software will be admitted without restarting the equipment, with up to 3 set by the manufacturer and 2 customizable by the user. This model has only two predefined profiles in BIOS and one customizable.

Storage capacity and PCIe slots

The Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero has strong internal connectivity, but unlike MSI's MEG Unify, for example, it has chosen to place two M.2 slots in the form of an expansion card instead of doing it directly on the board . With them we will have a total of 5 M.2 slots available, which will be compatible with RAID 0, 1 and 5. Along with them we have 6 typical SATA 6 Gbps ports, compatible with RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10.

They will work as follows:

It is a plausible solution, although it is one of the high-end boards that has fewer slots fixed to the PCB, there being a gap between the two PCIe slots that could have been used for it. On the other hand, it is one of the few that offers the possibility of having an M.2 PCIe 5.0 slot, being a safe bet for the future, and this is very positive. To properly use the expansion card we must activate it in the BIOS.

We move on to the PCIe slots, which in this model will be a total of 3 in x16 format and compatible with Nvidia SLI and AMD CrossFire 2-way. These will work as follows:

Network connectivity and sound card

We continue the component analysis, now stopping at the network and sound section, where this Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero is at a high level. It is surprising, however, that we only have a single 2.5 Gbps wired interface through an Intel I225 chip, since the usual thing in the high-end will be to have at least two.

An Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210 wireless card is included, making it the most powerful model available and the one we really expected in a high-end. We will have a 6 GHz band, so it will be tri-band with more possibilities for scenarios where the typical 5 and 2.4 GHz bands are saturated. Just to remind you, we have a bandwidth with 2.4 Gbps for 5 GHz and 6 GHz, and 574 Mbps for 2.4 GHz. It integrates support MU-MIMO, OFDMA, BSS Color, 160 MHz frequency with 1024 QAM and interface Bluetooth 5.2

The sound section is completed with the best card that Asus can install, an ROG SupremeFX ALC4082 codec, a vitaminized variant of the standard ALC4080 codec. This increases its capacity up to 32 bits/384 kHz, supporting up to 120 dB SNR in stereo output and 113 dB SNR in recording input. It has automatic connection detection, multi-streaming and variable impedance for headphones. A DAC/AMP ESS SABRE9018Q2C has been added to increase the capacity of the front connections.

I/O ports and internal connections

We continue the analysis, now focusing on the configuration of internal and rear peripheral ports of the Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero, highlighting especially the Thunderbolt 4 that until not long ago We only saw in the top-of-the-range Formula.

On the rear panel we find:

Particularly noteworthy are the Thunderbolt 4 ports of course, with their 40 Gbps of bandwidth and DisplayPort 1.4 interface to supply dual 4K video output to the integrated graphics of the Alder Lake CPUs. It is also a nice touch to have an HDMI port that we have used to perform performance tests on the integrated graphics of the Intel Core i9-12900K. Add another 7 10 Gbps USB ports and two filler USB 2.0 ports for slow peripherals, making a total of 11 interfaces.

The internal connections will be the following:

The FlexKey button will be similar to the reset of other motherboards, but in this case it has reset, secure boot and AURA activation options configurable from BIOS. The TPM connector also has activation from BIOS to ensure compatibility with Windows 11 and BitLocker, something already present in all current motherboards natively or through CMOS update.

As for the front connections, we will have the capacity for up to 7 USB ports, 4 of them at 5 Gbps and one at 20 Gbps, which will be perfect for high-end chassis. The front USB-C Gen2x2 header supports Quick Charge4+ up to 60W fast charging. Although to use it we must power the 6-pin PCIe header placed next to the ATX power connection.

A wide assortment of specific headers for custom cooling systems manageable from Fan Xpert 4, together with temperature sensors for key elements such as socket, VRM or chipset. It integrates Asus Hydranode technology, which gives PWM headers greater detection of fans and complex RL Custom systems, to control their operation in more detail from BIOS. The Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero will be packed with features and tools to manage it from Windows, with AI Suite 3 and Armory Crate leading the way for cooling and lighting management. Especially recommendable will be the extensions Sonic Studio III, GameFirst VI and the BIOS updater EZ Flash 3.

Test Bench

It's time to test this Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero board with the Intel Core i9-12900K, running some stress tests for the VRM and stability of the board under overclocking. The test bench is completed with the following elements:

BIOS

The Asus BIOS is distributed in the usual way and with the same ROG skin, with an advanced and simple mode, where we will have access to the activation of XMP 3.0, Fan Xpert 4 and EZ Flash profiles. At the top, important shortcut options have been removed, such as the ReSizable Bar for its activation or AURA Sync. From the tools section we can enable the installation of tools in Windows without having to download them manually from the official website.

In this case we are going to have a single CMOS chip with advanced features for Overclocking and an AI Optimized mode that provides us with automatic OC configuration for the CPU. The ideal will always be to do it manually and more comfortably from XTU, always modifying some options in the DIGI+ section such as the maximum capacity of the phases or the LLC. It has a 5-step overclocking and optimization wizard to configure TPU, EPU, DIGI+ and Turbo App.

The manufacturer indicates in its manual that we must activate the ROG Hyper M.2 PCIe card before using it to its full potential. From the RAID section we can carry out configurations in several steps for both M.2 and SATA ports, and later manage them from the system using the Asus tools. A complete BIOS as always, with very well adjusted voltages as we will see later.

VRM temperatures

We will perform a stress test on the CPU in its stock configuration and without modifying the voltage assigned by default. In the meantime, we will get the temperatures from the VRM using the internal sensor and our thermal camera.

In the following table you will have the results that have been measured both with the thermal camera and the internal sensors of the board through HWiNFO.

The powerful VRM that we have with 90A MOSFETS will leave us with somewhat higher temperatures than in previous generations, since the 12900K It will be a much more demanding CPU at the energy level and that generates a lot of heat. We will, however, have good integrated passive heatsinks to control temperatures, as long as the chassis is well ventilated.

Overclocking and Voltages

We have used Intel XTU in combination with the BIOS DIGI+ power management options to tune the CPU voltage and frequency as much as possible. In this case we again set some stability parameters in the 12900K of 5.2 GHz in P-core and 4.1 GHz in E-core at a voltage of 1.34V.

This profile generates occasional thermal throttling on some cores, just like we saw during your review. In any case, it is the best option we have, since Asus's AI Optimized mode, although it increases its frequencies and performance, also introduces a higher voltage that quickly raises temperatures, and the same for XTU's Speed ​​Optimizer mode.

In the stock configuration of this board we get an average voltage of 1.281 V with the CPU under stress at 4.9 GHz on P-cores and 1.277 V at 3.7 GHz on E-cores. There are no overly high voltage spikes, staying below 1.34 V on P-core and 1.30 V on E-core under stress. It tells us that this BIOS is very well optimized from stock, even with the LLC in automatic mode.

Final words and conclusion about the Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero

This Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero will be one of the reference boards for the high-end on its Z690 Alder Lake platform, with intelligent solutions of face to future Like the incorporation of a PCIe card with M.2 slots, which can use PCIe 5.0 in one of them, or an increasingly intelligent BIOS full of manageable functions from the system.

You get a great connectivity package with 10Gbps USB ports in abundance and even dual Thunderbolt 4, most common in Formula or Extreme models. The presence of an HDMI to use the integrated graphics is also appreciated, as well as some good heatsinks for the three M.2 slots integrated on the board. We also highlight the presence of a Wi-Fi 6E card and a great ALC4082 sound card customized by Asus to deliver the highest quality.

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The energy section goes even higher with no less than 20 + 1 90A phases (14 + 2 in the previous Z590 Hero) adapting and exceeding the needs of these new, more demanding CPUs. It is true that the temperatures in the heatsinks will increase compared to the previous model, but they are still controlled as long as we have a well-ventilated chassis. The BIOS and its overclocking options will be as complete as ever, although XTU makes the job quite easy.

Of course we have support for DDR5 up to 6400MHz with XMP 3.0 profiles and future-proof dual PCIe 5.0 slots. A whole set of impeccable construction and elegant and increasingly premium design, which will look like no other in a glass chassis. The price of the Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero will be 665 euros in stores, a bit high if we think of a direct rival like MSI's MEG Unify, about 100 euros cheaper, although the external card and Thunderbolt logically make the product more expensive.

The Professional Review team awards you the platinum medal and recommended product:

Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero

COMPONENTS - 97%

COOLING - 92%

BIOS - 96%

EXTRAS - 96%

PRICE - 86%

93%