We have reached the end of another review, and it is time to consolidate everything covered in this article. We will be focusing on what can make and break the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero or send it into a realm of its own. In line with previous reviews, I will start with what I think ASUS could improve to then finish on a positive note.

Now that Intel's new LGA 1700 platform is upon us, it is apparent that the price of entry is higher than expected. I believe some will blame it on an early adopter tax, but these prices will inevitably fluctuate over time. We are seeing a repeating pattern similar to when AMD switched to PCIe Gen 4.0. DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5.0 require better signal integrity, which in turn is more expensive to manufacture. The ongoing rare metals and chip shortages only inflate prices further. I believe these prices are only going to continue to increase in future generations.

That being said, things I expected previously from a similar price point would be the inclusion of 10 GbE LAN. Instead, The Z690 Hero comes with the new 2.5 GbE standard all Z690 motherboards should have going forward. Another minor complaint I have is the lack of any real RGB lighting on the motherboard itself. The Polymo lighting that attaches to the VRM heatsink is to me a missed opportunity to make the motherboard stand out among the many. This is of course just my opinion and has no actual impact on the motherboard's overall appeal or performance.

What is of importance to the overall feature set is the lack of voltage readouts on the motherboard for overclocking enthusiasts. While I will be the first to admit it will go unused by most, these readouts are especially important for a new platform with new voltages to play around with. Those looking to test the limits of daily voltages will have to figure out how to come by precise measurements outside of software-related means.

The last issue I have is not on the motherboard itself, but with the included ROG Hyper M.2 PCIe add-on instead. This PCIe card has two M.2 sockets, both of which can provide Gen4 4x to each M.2 socket. However, it isn't that simple. Dual mode must be enabled in the BIOS, and the setting is hidden away down the rabbit hole of sub-menus. It also has to be seated in the third PCIe slot, which is exclusively Gen 4.0. For official M.2 Gen5 x4 support, the card must be inserted into the second PCIe slot. This will also disable the additional M.2 socket on the Hyper M.2 card, only leaving one functional. I am a bit perplexed by this design considering the second PCIe slot is 8x Gen5, which means it should in theory be able to be split into x4/x4. While I appreciate the additional M.2 sockets and future M.2 Gen5 support, it isn't without a few quirks of its own.

Switching gears, the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero holds plenty of features that make this a well-rounded product. For starters, it has a robust overclocking feature set for the CPU and memory. This made overclocking with only limited information available easy to understand. In a way, it could be faulted for having an abundance of settings that will never be touched while cluttering up the menus. Many settings are in a single place, and if you repeatably need to change something that isn't, it can be added to the Favorites menu for easy access. Even the search function is a welcome addition for those who know the name of a setting, but not where it is located.

Extra attention to the details keeps the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero relevant for the next CPU refresh and onward. Having two PCIe Gen5 slots far enough part to avoid slot conflict means other add-on cards requiring 31.5 GB/s bandwidth are usable. A better way to put it is that a second slot with the equivalent bandwidth of a full x16 PCIe Gen4 slot is available. The rest of the feature set, like numerous RGB headers, Wi-Fi 6E support, Thunderbolt 4 and high-fidelity audio, is to be expected in this point range, though as I suggested at the start, prices are going up, and what once was considered high-end is now the new median.

As we reach the end of this review, my final thoughts are that the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero is an excellent motherboard that meets the needs of any consumer who wants to build an Intel Alder Lake based system. The flaws I have found are generally superficial and pose no issue to the operation or long-term viability of this product. I see no reason not to recommend the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero for anyone with the means to fund such an investment as it stands to be a competent forerunner among its contemporaries.