Review of motherboard Asus TUF Gaming Z790-Plus WiFi D4 on Intel Z790 chipset

Not to be outdone by AMD, whose acclaimed Ryzen 7000 line of chipsets and accompanying X670E/X670 motherboards launched on September 27, 2022, Intel has finally lifted the veil on the long-awaited XIII Gen Raptor Lake and 700-series processors.

The new Raptor Lake offers additional improvements over Alder Lake, which isn’t surprising given that the same LGA1700 package is used for both device generations. Of particular interest is the fact that Intel’s 700-series chipsets, specifically the Z790 model, will not come with native support for PCIe 5.0 M.2 drives, where Raptor Lake serves 16 processor lanes.

ASUS TUF Gaming Z790-PLUS WIFI D4 is a mid-range motherboard based on the Intel Z790 and is part of the TUF Gaming series of products aimed at casual gamers. It works with Core XIII and XII Gen, Pentium Gold and Celeron devices.

Main characteristics

The motherboard has 4 DDR4 slots. The maximum memory reaches 128 GB. There is also support for up to DDR4 5333 (OC). In addition, the motherboard has:

• audio codec Realtek S1220A;
• local area network Intel I226-V 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet;
• Intel AX201NGW WIFI 6 with integrated Bluetooth 5.2;
• 1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 2x PCIe 3.0 x1, 1x PCIe 4.0 x4, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x4 mode);
• Storage 4x SATA III, 3x PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 (NVMe mode), 1x PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 (NVMe and SATA mode).

As a token of respect for the corporate identity of the TUF line, the board comes in a black and silver package with yellow accents.

The following accessories are included:

• 1x Wi-Fi antenna;
• 2 SATA III cables;
• 1 pack of M.2 drive screws and standoffs;
• 2x M.2 rubber pads (adds height clearance for single-sided M.2 SSDs);
• user guide;
• getting Started Guide;
• DVD with drivers;
• certificate of reliability;
• decorative stickers;
• ASUS WebStorage promotional booklet.

The TUF Gaming Z790-PLUS WIFI D4 comes in black and gray with a touch of yellow for added contrast. It features a built-in I/O shield and large black heatsinks around the perimeter, embellished with the motifs of the series.

Additional features

The hexagonal theme is evident on this board, where hexagonal motifs can be found on the chipset heatsink as well as on the integrated I/O shield cover. Z790-PLUS WIFI D4 comes with built-in RGB LEDs. There are also decently sized VRM heatsinks and a passive heatsink for the Z790 chipset. Also included are heatsinks for three of the four M.2 drive slots.

The USB 3.2 interface on the front of the motherboard is provided by USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C and USB 3.2 Gen 1 connectors. The second is responsible for supporting up to 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports. Also included are two USB 2.0 ports located on the bottom edge of the motherboard, each providing up to two USB 2.0 Type-A.