ASUS PROART Z690 CREATOR WIFI Motherboard Review
On 4th November 2021 Intel released 12th Gen Core Processors with new Z690 chipset supporting PCIe 5.0 and, more importantly DDR5 memory. Alongside Z690 motherboards were also released.
Today we are reviewing a special Z690 chipset motherboard from ASUS, the ASUS ProArt Z690 CREATOR WIFI Motherboard. This board is created with 3D modeling and rendering, animation, and media production workload in mind. An ATX motherboard for content creators integrates two rear USB-C 3.2 Gen2x2 ports compatible with Thunderbolt and DisplayPort , as well as many USB 3.2 ports, a 10 GbE, another 2.5 GbE and a Wi-Fi 6E with BT 5.2, SATA 6 Gbps ports and more.
Now let’s see what ASUS PROART Z690 board have for us.
Features
ProArt Z690-Creator WiFi empowers creators of all levels by maximizing the performance of 12th Gen Intel® Core™ processors with powerful hardware and software, efficient cooling and lightning-fast connectivity including Thunderbolt™ 4, onboard 10 Gb and 2.5 Gb Ethernet, plus WiFi 6E.
- Intel® Socket LGA 1700 for 12th Gen Intel® Core™, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® Processors
- Future-proofed connectivity: Two Thunderbolt™ 4 Type-C® ports, 10 Gb & 2.5 Gb onboard Ethernet, WiFi 6E, four PCIe® 4.0 M.2 slots and a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 front panel connector with Quick Charge 4+
- Next-gen performance: 16+1 power stages rated for 70 amps, PCIe 5.0 ready, and a DDR5 speed boost
- Intelligent optimization: ASUS-exclusive software and firmware that simplify setup and improve performance: AI Overclocking, AI Cooling, CreationFirst and Two-Way AI Noise-Cancelation
- Comprehensive thermal design: A massive VRM and chipset heatsink, aluminum M.2 heatsinks, seven 4-pin PWM fan headers and an AIO pump header
- Advanced security management: USB port management, software blacklisting and Regedit on/off controls via ASUS Control Center Express
- Trusted stability: Tested for 24/7 operation, validated for extensive compatibility and equipped with SafeSlot and SafeDIMM for enhanced durability
Specifications
| CPU
|
Intel® Socket LGA1700 for 12th Gen Intel® Core™, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® Processors
Supports Intel® 10 nm CPU
Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0**
* Refer to www.asus.com for CPU support list.
** Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 support depends on the CPU types.
|
| Chipset
|
Z690 |
| Memory
|
4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR5 6000(OC)/ 5800(OC)/ 5600(OC)/ 5400(OC)/ 5200(OC)/ 5000(OC)/ 4800MT/s Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory*
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
OptiMem II
* Refer to www.asus.com for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists), and memory frequency support depends on the CPU types.
|
| Graphics
|
1 x HDMI® port**
2 x Intel® Thunderbolt™ 4 ports (USB Type-C®) support DisplayPort*** and Thunderbolt™ video outputs****
* Graphics specifications may vary between CPU types. Please refer to www.intel.com for any updates.
** Support 4K@60Hz as specified in HDMI 2.1.
*** Support 8K@60Hz as specified in DisplayPort 1.4.
**** Output at TBT4_E1 and TBT4_E2, the USB Type-C® ports right under RJ45 ports, each requires a USB-C to DisplayPort adapter cable. VGA resolution support depends on processors' or graphic cards' resolution. |
| Expansion Slots
|
Intel® 12th Gen Processors*
2 x PCIe 5.0/4.0/3.0 x16 slot(s) (supports x16 or x8/x8 mode(s))
Intel® Z690 Chipset**
1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (supports x4 mode)
* Supports PCIe bandwidth bifurcation for RAID on CPU function, please refer to PCIe bifurcation & M.2 setting in PCIe x16 slot (from CPU) table on support site.
** Supports Intel® Optane Memory H Series on PCH-attached PCIE slot |
| Storage
|
Supports 4 x M.2 slots and 8 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
Intel® 12th Gen Processors
M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110
- Intel® 12th Gen processors support PCIe 4.0 x4 mode.
Intel® Z690 Chipset**
M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
M.2_3 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
M.2_4 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 & SATA modes)***
8 x SATA 6Gb/s ports***
* Intel® Rapid Storage Technology supports NVMe RAID 0/1/5, SATA RAID 0/1/5/10.
** Intel® Rapid Storage Technology supports Intel® Optane Memory H Series on PCH attached M.2 slots.
*** M.2_4 slot shares bandwidth with SATA6G_5~8. SATA6G5~8 will be suspended once either a SATA or NVMe device is detected at M.2_4.
|
| Ethernet
|
1 x Intel® 2.5Gb Ethernet
1 x Marvell® 10Gb Ethernet
ASUS LANGuard
|
| Wireless & Bluetooth
|
2x2 Dual Band Wi-Fi 6E (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax) + BT5.2
Wi-Fi 6E
2x2 Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Supports 2.4/5/6GHz frequency band*
Bluetooth v5.2 hardware ready**
* WiFi 6E 6GHz regulatory may vary between countries, and function will be ready in Windows 11 or later.
** Bluetooth v5.2 function will be ready in Windows 11 or later. |
| USB
|
Rear USB:Total 8 ports
2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 port(s) (2 x USB
Type-C®) with up to 5V/3A, 15W charging support
6 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port(s) (6 x Type-A)
Front USB:Total 7 ports
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connector(s)
(support(s) USB Type-C® with 60W PD/QC4+)
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
2 x USB 2.0 header(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 ports |
| Audio
|
Realtek S1220A 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC*
- Impedance sense for front and rear headphone outputs
- Internal audio Amplifier to enhance the highest quality sound for headphone and speakers
- Supports: Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
- High quality 120 dB SNR stereo playback output and 113 dB SNR recording input (Line-in)
- Supports up to 32-Bit/192 kHz playback*"
Audio Features
- Power pre-regulator reduces power input noise to ensure consistent performance
- Premium Japanese audio capacitors
- Dedicated audio PCB layers
- Audio cover
- Unique de-pop circuit
* Due to limitations in HDA bandwidth, 32-Bit/192 kHz is not supported for 7.1 Surround Sound audio.
** A chassis with an HD audio module in the front panel is required to support 7.1 Surround Sound audio output. |
| Back Panel I/O Ports
|
2 x Thunderbolt™ 4 USB Type-C® port(s)
6 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port(s) (6 x Type-A)
2 x DisplayPort (Input only)
1 x HDMI® port
1 x ASUS Wi-Fi Module
1 x Marvell® AQtion 10Gb Ethernet port
1 x Intel® 2.5Gb Ethernet port
5 x Audio jacks
1 x BIOS FlashBack™ button
|
| Internal I/O Connectors
|
Fan and Cooling related
1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header(s)
1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header(s)
1 x 4-pin AIO Pump header(s)
5 x 4-pin Chassis Fan header(s)
Power related
1 x 24-pin Main Power connector
1 x 8-pin +12V Power connector
1 x 4-pin +12V Power connector
Storage related
4 x M.2 slots (Key M)
8 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
USB
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (support(s) USB Type-C®)
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
2 x USB 2.0 header(s) support(s) additional 4 USB 2.0 ports
Miscellaneous
3 x Addressable Gen 2 header(s)
1 x AURA RGB header(s)
1 x Clear CMOS header
1 x COM Port header
1 x CPU Over Voltage jumper
1 x Front Panel Audio header (AAFP)
1 x M.2 slot (Key E)
1 x Speaker header
1 x SPI TPM header (14-1pin)
1 x 20-3 pin System Panel header with Chassis intrude function
1 x RTC Battery header
1 x Thermal Sensor header |
| Special Features
|
ASUS 5X PROTECTION III
- DIGI+ VRM (- Digital power design with DrMOS)
- Enhanced DRAM Overcurrent Protection
- ESD Guards
- LANGuard
- Overvoltage Protection
- SafeSlot
- Stainless-Steel Back I/O
ASUS Q-Design
- M.2 Q-Latch
- Q-Connector
- Q-DIMM
- Q-LED (CPU [red], DRAM [yellow], VGA [white], Boot Device [yellow green])
- Q-Slot
ASUS Thermal Solution
- M.2 heatsink
- VRM heatsink design
ASUS EZ DIY
- BIOS FlashBack™ button
- BIOS FlashBack™ LED
- Box Headers
- ProCool II
- Pre-mounted I/O shield
AURA Sync
- AURA RGB header(s)
Addressable Gen 2 header(s) |
| Software Features
|
ASUS Exclusive Software
Armoury Crate
- AURA Creator
- AURA Sync
- Fan Xpert 4
- Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation
AI Suite 3
- 5-Way Optimization with AI Overclocking
TPU
EPU
DIGI+ VRM
Fan Xpert 4
Turbo app
ASUS CPU-Z
IT Management software supported
- ASUS Control Center Express(ACCE)
ProArt Creator Hub
CreationFirst
MyAsus
Norton Anti-virus software (Free Trial version)
WinRAR
UEFI BIOS
AI Overclocking Guide
ASUS EZ DIY
- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
- ASUS EZ Flash 3
- ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode
FlexKey |
| BIOS
|
256 Mb |
| Operating System
|
Windows® 11 64-bit, Windows® 10 64-bit |
| Form Factor
|
ATX - 30.5cm*24.5cm |
Package
Board comes in a nice black cardboard box with model number, image of the board and details about supporting technology and features.
Inside the box
ASUS PROART Z690 CREATOR WIFI comes with very nice set of accessories :
Looks
Board made with a black PCB of size ATX (30.5 X 24.4 cm) featuring an impressive metallic black / gold color scheme.
Layout
Detailed layout of board.
Testing
| CPU |
Intel Core i9 12900K |
| Board |
ASUS PROART Z690 CREATOR WIFI |
| RAM |
2 X 16GB Astra Gandiva DDR5 4800Mhz |
| SSD |
KINGSTON KC2000 500GB NVMe PCIe |
| Cooler |
Corsair H150i ELITE CAPELLIX |
| GFX |
ASUS Radeon |
| PSU |
Corsair 850W RGB |
| Case |
Corsair 4000X |
| Display |
Acer S220HQL |
| OS |
Windows 11 (21H2) |
BIOS
Bundled Software
Benchmarks
Overclocking
Power Consumption
Wattage reading as per displayed by APC Pro 1000VA (Model no. BR1000G-IN) UPS.
Pros
- Great design and VRM Cooling
- DDR5 memory support
- 2 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slots
- 4 x M.2 slot
- 10 GbE and 2.5GbE LAN ports
- Wi-Fi 6E + BT 5.2 Support
- AI Overclocking
Cons
Conclusion
ASUS PROART Z690 CREATOR WIFI is a clean and professional looking motherboard offering all the fast connectivity needed by professional media productions, 3D modeling, rendering and animations creative users. If you are a content creator and looking for a professional build, the ASUS PROART Z690 CREATOR WIFI motherboard is best for productivity use with latest PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 support making it worthy of our PC TeK Reviews CHOICE Award.
Manufacturers Info
Site Link
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