ASUS Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi Motherboard Review

The I/O panel is always an interesting part of the motherboard as it dictates what connectivity options will be available.  Starting at the left we have a single HDMI and Display Port connection.  If you are using a K edition processor these will be active, next to that you will find a dedicated BIOS Flashback port, CMOS Clear and FlashBack button below a single USB 2.0 port.  These are followed by four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, next to two USB 3.2 Gen 2 and Gen 2x2 ports with corresponding USB Type-C variations.  Network is handled by a single onboard 2.5Gb Ethernet and onboard WiFi 6E and Bluetooth.

Onboard audio is provided using an ALC4080 Codec and Savitech SV3H712 AMP matched with ROG SupremeFX 7.1 Surround sound processing with gold plated audio jacks for that extra bit of bling and corrosion resistance.

Audio processing occupies the small region in the lower left of the motherboard next to the final PCI Express slot.  A metal shield helps to protect the audio processor while the orange line indicates a physical separation between the ground planes on the motherboard and onboard audio to provide better sound and little interference from the main motherboard.

One of the benefits to upgrading to a specialized motherboard is that not only do you get more features onboard but also in-box.  The ASUS STRIZ Z690 E Gaming WiFi comes with a number of nice accessories including what you see below.

As expected, the included documentation is excellent and describes everything you will need to know when setting up this motherboard including what PCI Express slots support the tree different PCI-E speeds.