ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WiFi Motherboard Review

Features and Specifications

Features

• Supports 13^th Gen & 12^th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors
• Robust Power Solution – 18+1 Power Stages
• AI OVERCLOCKING – Effortless performance boost
• AI COOLING II – One-click fan tuning
• PCIE 5.0 Support – x1 PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, and x1 onboard M.2​
• DDR5 support – Upto 7800+ MT/s, AEMP II, XMP
• USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Support – x1 I/O port, and x1 connector for PD 3.0 at 30W
• Intel 2.5G LAN
• WiFi 6E Support

Overview

Slash the 6GHz barrier in style with the Strix Z790-E. Translucent shrouds outline its RGB ignition panel, alluding to its ability to jump into lightspeed under the guidance of AI Overclocking and a hyper-reactive VRM. DDR5 enhancements and an assortment of PCIe 5.0 options ramp up velocity even further, and setup is a breeze thanks to its unique Q-Design feature set.

PCIE slot Q-Release

A physical button unlocks the first PCIe slot’s security latch with one tap, greatly simplifying the process of detaching a PCIe card from the motherboard when it’s time to upgrade to a new GPU or other compatible device.

M.2 Q-latch

The innovative Q-Latch makes it easy to install or remove an M.2 SSD without the need for specific tools. The design employs a simple locking mechanism to secure the drive and neatly eliminate traditional screws.

Clear CMOS

The Clear CMOS button quickly resets BIOS settings to factory default. It can also be used to reboot the PC if incorrect BIOS settings have been selected.

BIOS Flashback

BIOS FlashBack™ is a safe and simple way to update BIOS. Just drop the (UEFI) BIOS file onto a FAT32-formatted USB stick, plug it into the USB BIOS FlashBack port, and press the button. Updates can even be performed without having memory or a CPU installed.

Q-Code

The on-board LED panel shows 2-digit diagnostic codes, providing a valuable reference for troubleshooting common boot problems and hardware issues.

Start Button

This convenient button removes the need to manually jump hard-to-reach pins during testing and troubleshooting

Specifications

CPU

Intel^® Socket LGA1700 for 13th Gen Intel^® Core™ Processors & 12th Gen Intel^® Core™, Pentium^® Gold and Celeron^® Processors*
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

Intel^® Z790 Chipset

Memory

4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR5 7800+(OC)/7600(OC)/7400(OC)/7200(OC)/7000(OC)/6800(OC)/6600(OC)/6400(OC)/ 6200(OC)/ 6000(OC)/ 5800(OC)/ 5600/ 5400/ 5200/ 5000/ 4800 Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory*
Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Supports Intel^® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
OptiMem II
* Supported memory types, data rate(Speed), and number of DRAM modules vary depending on the CPU and memory configuration, for more information refer to www.asus.com for memory support list.
**** Non-ECC, Un-buffered DDR5 Memory supports On-Die ECC function.

Graphics

1 x DisplayPort**
1 x HDMI^® port***
* Graphics specifications may vary between CPU types. Please refer to ww.intel.com for any updates.
** Supports max. 8K@60Hz as specified in DisplayPort 1.4.
*** Supports 4K@60Hz as specified in HDMI 2.1.
**** VGA resolution support depends on processors’ or graphic cards’ resolution.

Expansion Slots

>Intel^® 13th & 12th Gen Processors
1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slotIntel^® Z790 Chipset
2 x PCIe 4.0 x16 slots (support x4 mode)
1 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slot* Please check the PCIe bifurcation table
on the support site (https://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1037507/).
** When M.2_1 is occupied with SSD device, PCIEX16(G5) will run x8 only.
*** To ensure compatibility of the device installed, please refer to https://www.asus.com/support/ for the list of supported peripherals.

Storage

Total supports 5 x M.2 slots and 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports*
Intel^® 13th & 12th Gen Processors*
M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 5.0 x4 mode)
M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
Intel^®Z790 Chipset**
M.2_3 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
M.2_4 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode)
M.2_5 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode & SATA modes)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports
* Intel^® Rapid Storage Technology supports PCIe RAID 0/1/5/10, SATA RAID 0/1/5/10.

Ethernet

1 x Intel^® 2.5Gb Ethernet
ASUS LANGuard

Wireless & Bluetooth

Wi-Fi 6E
2×2 Wi-Fi 6E (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Supports 2.4/5/6GHz frequency band*
Bluetooth^® v5.3
* WiFi 6E 6GHz regulatory may vary between countries.

USB

Rear USB (Total 12 ports)
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port (1 x USB Type-C^®)
7 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports  (6 x Type-A + 1 x USB Type-C^®)
4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports  (4 x Type-A)
Front USB (Total 9 ports)
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 connector (supports USB Type-C^®with up to 30W PD Fast-charge)
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header support additional 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
2 x USB 2.0 headers support additional 4 USB 2.0 port

Audio

ROG SupremeFX 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC ALC4080– Impedance sense for front and rear headphone outputs
– Supports: Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking
– High quality 120 dB SNR stereo playback output and 113 dB SNR recording input
– Supports up to 32-Bit/384 kHz playback

Audio Features
– SupremeFX Shielding Technology
– Savitech SV3H712 AMP
– Gold-plated audio jacks
– Rear optical S/PDIF out port
– Premium audio capacitors
– Audio cover

Back Panel I/O Ports

1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port (1 x USB Type-C^®)
7 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (6 x Type-A, 1 x USB Type-C^® )
4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (4 x Type-A)
1 x HDMI™ port
1 x DisplayPort
1 x Wi-Fi Module
1 x Intel^® 2.5Gb Ethernet port
5 x Gold-plated audio jacks*
1 x Optical S/PDIF out port
1 x BIOS FlashBack™  button
1 x Clear CMOS button
*The rear panel Lime (Line out) port does not support spatial audio. If you wish to use spatial audio make sure to connect your audio output device to the audio jack on the front panel of your chassis.

Internal I/O Connecors

Fan and Cooling related
1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header
1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header
1 x 4-pin AIO Pump header
5 x 4-pin Chassis Fan headers

Power related
1 x 24-pin Main Power connector
2 x 8-pin +12V Power connectors

Storage related
5 x M.2 slots (Key M)
4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports

USB
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 connector (supports USB Type-C^®with up to 30W PD Fast-charge)
2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header support additional 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
2 x USB 2.0 headers support additional 4 USB 2.0 ports

Miscellaneous
3 x Addressable Gen 2 headers
1 x Alternative PCIe Mode Switch
1 x AURA RGB header
1 x CPU Over Voltage jumper
1 x Front Panel Audio header (AAFP)
1 x 20-3 pin System Panel header with Chassis intrude function
1 x Start button
1 x Thermal Sensor header
1 x Thunderbolt™ (USB4^®) header

Special Features

Extreme Engine Digi+
– 5K Black Metallic Capacitors

ASUS Q-Design
– M.2 Q-Latch
– PCIe Slot Q-Release
– Q-DIMM
– Q-LED (CPU [red], DRAM [yellow], VGA [white], Boot Device [yellow green])
– Q-Slot

ASUS Thermal Solution
– M.2 heatsink backplate
– M.2 heatsink
– VRM heatsink design

ASUS EZ DIY
– BIOS FlashBack™ button
– BIOS FlashBack™ LED
– Clear CMOS button
– CPU Socket lever protector
– ProCool II
– Pre-mounted I/O shield
– SafeSlot
– SafeDIMMAURA Sync
– AURA RGB header
– Addressable Gen 2 RGB headers

Front Panel USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 with PD Fast-charge Support
– Support: up to 30W charging
– Output: 5/9V max. 3A, 12V max 2.5A
– Compatible with PD3.0

Software Features

ROG Exclusive Software
– GameFirst VI
– ROG CPU-Z
– Sonic Studio III + Sonic Studio Virtual Mixer + Sonic Suite Companion
– Sonic Radar III
– DTS^® Sound Unbound

ASUS Exclusive Software
Armoury Crate
– AIDA64 Extreme (60 days free trial)
– Aura Creator- Aura Sync
– Xpert 4 (with AI Cooling II)
– Power Saving
– Two-Way AI Noise Cancellation
AI Suite 3
– Easy Optimization with AI Overclocking
– TPU
– DIGI+ VRM
– Turbo app
– PC Cleaner
MyAsus
Norton 360 for Gamers
WinRAR

UEFI BIOS
AI Overclocking Guide
ASUS EZ DIY
– ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3
– ASUS EZ Flash 3
– ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode
FlexKey
MemTest86
256 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS

Manageability

WOL by PME, PXE

Cables
2 x SATA 6Gb/s cables

Additional Cooling Kit
1 x DDR5 Fan holder
1 x VRM Fan holder
1 x Thermal pad for M.2

Miscellaneous
1 x ASUS Wi-Fi moving antennas
1 x Cable ties package
1 x M.2 backplate Q-Latch package
1 x M.2 Q-Latch package
1 x ROG key chain
1 x ROG Strix stickers
1 x ROG Strix thank you card
2 x M.2 Rubber Packages
1 x M.2 backplate Rubber

PackageDocumentation
1 x User guide
Windows® 11, Windows^® 10 64-bit

ATX Form Factor
12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm )

More information on Asus’s website.