ASUS TUF, ROG Maximus, ROG Strix, and Prime Z690 motherboards listed by retailer
Intel Z690 motherboards are to launch in November.
A wide range of Z690 motherboards by ASUS is now listed by PC Canada, a Canadian PC hardware retailer. The new flagship ROG Maximus series starts at 755/789 CAD or 599/625 USD after conversion, with the Hero being the only Maximus listed board. The lack of other Maximus boards in the initial listing may suggest that ASUS is to launch Apex, Extreme, and other Maximus boards at a later date.
Customers will actually be able to find other Z690 motherboards at lower prices compared to the Z590 series already listed by the retailer, although this may depend on the specific model, which may now be offered with either DDR4 or DDR5 support, the latter adding more cost to the customer. So far we have only seen TeamGroup’s DDR5 memory listed for more than 300 USD, which nearly doubles the cost of the investment required to switch next-gen.
Pricing of ASUS Z690 series, Source: PC Canada
The pricing of Z690 and Z590 ASUS boards has been conveniently put into one chart and converted to US pricing by Wccftech. It shows that only the Prime P series is to cost more than their current-gen version.
| ASUS Z690 Motherboard Pricing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wccftech | Z690 Motherboard Name | Price in USD | Z590 Motherboard Name | Price in USD |
| ROG Maximus HERO | ROG Maximus Z690 Hero | $625 | ROG Maximus XIII HERO | $678 |
| ROG STRIX-F WIFI | ROG STRIX Z690-F Gaming WiFi | $405 | ROG STRIX Z590-F Gaming WiFi | $354 |
| ROG STRIX-A WIFI | ROG STRIX Z690-A Gaming WiFi D | $354 | ROG STRIX Z590-A Gaming WiFi | $448 |
| TUF Gaming-PLUS WIFI | TUF Gaming Z690-PLUS WiFI D4 | $294 | TUF Gaming Z590-PLUS WiFI | $353 |
| PRIME A | PRIME Z690-A | $303 | PRIME Z590-A | $380 |
| PRIME P WIFI | PRIME Z690-P WiFi | $253 | PRIME Z590-P WiFi | $202 |
| PRIME P WIFI | PRIME Z690-P WIFI D4 | $243 | N/A | N/A |
| PRIME P | PRIME Z690-P | $233 | PRIME Z590-P | $182 |
| PRIME P | PRIME Z690-P D4 | $222 | N/A | N/A |
Pricing comparison between ASUS Z690 & Z590 motherboards, Source: Wccftech
The VRM design of the new motherboards has been revealed by leaker Komachi in one of this recent tweets:
H : 20+1 90.
F : 16+1.
A : 16+1.
T P : 14+2.
P : 14+1.— 遠坂小町@Komachi (@KOMACHI_ENSAKA) October 4, 2021
The Z690 Hero is to offer a 20+1 phase design with 90A Power Stages, while the lower-end board is to feature a 14+1 power design, which is an upgrade over an 11-phase design for the Z590 series. The Hero series will get 5 more phases in total compared to the Maximus XIII version, therefore we are looking at power upgrade across the stack.
Intel is now set to launch its Alder Lake-S CPUs on November 4th, which is also rumored to be the date for Z690 motherboard sales going live. It is possible that retailers will officially start taking preorders on October 28th when Intel will officially introduce the new series.
Source: PC Canada, PCCANADA via @momomo_us
