By: Aaron Lai and Jonathan Kwan
June 17, 2022
I am reminded, usually by myself, of my lacking artistic ability. In my mind, I think I might have some creative ideas, but the ability to actually make them happen or to realize these ideas is often less than lacking. This is not to say I do not try, but there are things that just blow my mind when I see others like my girlfriend make that I could simply not replicate. For myself, I have tried digital art and enjoyed other things like cross-stitching and playing various musical instruments. I also like randomly sketching things I see like video game characters. My girlfriend has also introduced me to painting. Besides my inability to make what I think, the other problem is that in order to try these new hobbies or things, you often need to acquire the right tools to do them well. If you imagine making a certain thing, it will always remain in your mind only if you do not have the right tools to make it happen. In the same way, just like you cannot cross-stitch without needles or floss, you cannot have a computer if you do not have the most basic parts. Aside from the processor, the motherboard is probably one of the most important components to pick correctly in order to enable things like overclocking, providing more user tweaking, or even just having a stable computer in day-to-day use. Today, we have the ASUS ProArt Z690-Creator WiFi, a motherboard to cover the latest twelfth generation of Intel processors. With this motherboard falling into the ProArt lineup like we have seen in the ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4, this idea of art may be an intriguing one, especially for a motherboard. How does this motherboard perform, and is it a capable component? Let us read on to find out!
Today's review unit of the ASUS ProArt Z690-Creator WiFi arrived from ASUS' offices in Newark, California. Traveling with FedEx and their 2Day International service, this box arrived in excellent condition with no real areas of concern. Inside, we have quite a bit of packing paper to ensure the contents are protected while inside. In addition to the motherboard, ASUS sent us their ZenWiFi AX Hybrid mesh router, which my colleague Jonathan Kwan will be taking a look at later on. Otherwise, there is not much else here, so let us take a closer look at the ProArt Z690-Creator WiFi.
In a similar story to the B660 version we reviewed earlier, the ASUS ProArt Z690-Creator WiFi comes in a black box with gold accents. The box is pretty clean with the ProArt logo front and center. Unlike other motherboard boxes, we do not have any garish images or even shots of the product inside at the front. Instead, we have a row of logos to show off some primary features as well as the product name at the top. Around the box, we have some highlights of features and specifications, but the whole box is a very subdued look. This matches up well with the whole design language of this lineup, as you will see shortly.
Before we move on, I have grabbed the specifications from the manufacturer's website for your perusal:
CPU
Supports Intel® 10 nm CPU
Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0**
* Refer to 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 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 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® B660 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
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
- Flexible 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
30.5cm*24.5cm
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Bundle and Chipset
3. Physical Look - Hardware, Board Layout
4. BIOS and Test System
5. Benchmark: AIDA64
6. Benchmark: Cinebench R23
7. Benchmark: PassMark PerformanceTest 10
8. Benchmark: PCMark 10
9. Benchmark: 3DMark
10. Onboard Sound Frequency Analysis
11. Thermal Measurements and Overclocking
12. Conclusion
