Over the last six months since Intel launched its 12th Gen Core series of processors, weve looked at several Alder Lake desktop CPUs and seen how competitive they are from top to bottom - not just in performance but price too. To harness the power of Alder Lake, however, there are many options in terms of Z690 motherboards, and today were taking a look at one of ASUSs more premium models, the ROG Maximus Z690 Hero.

They say hard times dont create heroes, but ASUS has done for many years with good results. Equipped with plenty of top-tier features such as Thunderbolt 4, Intels Wi-Fi 6E CNVi, and support for up to DDR5-6400 memory, it has enough to make it a solid choice for gamers and enthusiasts. Its time to see if the Z690 Hero option stacks up against the competition and if it can sparkle in a very competitive LGA1700 market.