Part of the tried and tested line TUF Gamingthe new ASUS TUF Gaming Z790-Plus Wi-Fi D4 it is designed to make the most of the processors Intel “Raptor Lake”offering everything it takes to provide a excellent stability it’s a high duration thanks to military-grade componentsone upgraded power solution it’s a complete cooling system. Aesthetically, ASUS TUF Gaming Z790-Plus WiFi D4 features the new TUF Gaming logo and embed geometric design elements to reflect the desired reliability and stability.
Technical characteristics and connectivity
ASUS TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WiFi D4 is a motherboard with ATX form factor based on LGA1700 socket which presents four PCI Express slots, specifically one PCIe 5.0 x16 SafeSlot for greater robustness and durability, one PCIe 4.0 x16, one PCIe 4.0 x4 and two PCI 3.0 x1. As for storage, they have a place on the motherboard four M.2 slots (1 M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4, 2 M.2 22110 PCIe 4.0 x4, 1 M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4/SATA Mode), while for the RAM there are four DDR4-5333 slots (OC) with technology support Dual Channel And OptiMem II.
Connectivity is quite good, including, in the rear steel I/O panel, two video outputs (HDMI and DisplayPort), one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C, four USB 3.2 Gen 1, two USB Gen 2, one 2.5Gb/s Ethernet, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, two antenna connectors to take advantage of the WiFi 6E network card, optical audio output and five audio jacks. On the motherboard itself, however, we find the headers for a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1, a Thunderbolt and three USB 2.0.
Operational stability is ensured by a power subsystem with 16+1 DrMOS power stages, each capable of handling 60A by combining MOSFETs and high-side and low-side drivers in a single package to ensure power, efficiency and stable performance. The ASUS TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WiFi D4 motherboard makes use of a Six layer PCBto rapidly dissipate heat around the voltage regulators to improve overall system stability and provide the CPU with more overclocking headroom. Also, ai 8+8 pin Pro Cool power connectorsbuilt to exacting specifications to ensure flush contact with PSU feeder lines, due to impedance reduction, prevent hotspots and connector failures.
Operational stability is ensured by the use of TUF components, such as the inductors certified for military use hey TUG 5K black metallic capacitorswhile the Digi+ voltage regulation module has been optimized for smooth and direct power delivery to the CPU at all times. The cooling of the most important components, such as the VRMs, is guaranteed by powerful heat sinks, larger than the standard, also applied on the chipset and three of the four M.2 slots. There’s also no shortage of comprehensive controls for other performance PWN or DC water pumps or fans.
Being a product intended for the gaming public, three three-pin connectors for controlling RGB LEDs could not be missing, as well as a four-pin RGB AURA connector, without forgetting the integrated Aura Edge lighting. As for the audio sector, ASUS TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WiFi D4 integrates a chip Realtek S1220Awhich offers a 7.1 surround sound with an rsignal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 120dB for stereo output and 113dB for line inputfor high level sound quality. Also, a New impedance sensing circuitry automatically adjusts gain to ensure the optimum volume range for headphoneswhile the exclusive utility ASUS Two-Way AI leverages a huge deep learning database to reduce background noise from the microphone and incoming audio while preserving voices.
Software and network
The ASUS TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WiFi D4 motherboard is based on a UEFI BIOS which provides everything you need to configure, tweak and optimize your build and features two distinct modes (an advanced one that allows you to have complete control and a simplified one that displays the most important settings and information and offers wizards, drag-and-drop functionality). The balance between temperature and noise is also very important and thanks to the proprietary algorithm ASUS AI Cooling IIyou will always have a dynamic adjustment of the fan speed, to the full advantage of acoustic comfort.
Moving on to the software, the ASUS TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WiFi D4 motherboard takes advantage of the program Armory Crate which, through a single intuitive interface, allows you to customize RGB lighting for all compatible devices and connect them to Aura Sync for unique lighting. Plus, it delivers information and control over the various componentsas well as gives you access to all proprietary utilities, such as Fan Xpert 4 and Two-Way AI noise cancellation technology.
ASUS TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WiFi D4 is definitely at the forefront and performance in the network environment, thanks to the integrated network card that supports WiFi 6E networksso as to provide an ultra-fast wireless connection thanks to the new radio spectrum available in the 6GHz band, in addition to the2.5Gb/s Ethernet allowing you to experience smoother, lag-free gaming, stream high-resolution video quickly, and enjoy faster file transfers.
Who is it recommended for?
The ASUS TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WiFi D4 has a list price of €419, but at the time of writing it is available at around €370. That’s quite a lot for a motherboard in the absolute sense, but with the latest chipsets we’ve seen an upward trend in prices and are well below the figures required for other models in the ASUS range, since, for example, a ROG Strix Z790- And it costs, for example, more than €600.
ASUS has reduced the cost of this TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WiFi D4 by eliminating some features that are not essential for most users and preferring DDR4 RAM to DDR5, which on the one hand loses a few percentage points in terms of performance new Intel Raptor Lake, on the other hand allow the end user to save several hundred euros (in addition to the motherboard, DDR4 is also cheaper than DDR5) and still enjoy excellent performance.
This motherboard then configures itself as one good choice for those who want a medium-high end gaming PC, maybe equipped with an Intel Core i5-13600K or at most an Intel Core i7-13700K, where you don’t need particular features or functions present only on higher-end motherboards. If your goal is to assemble a state-of-the-art setup for gaming, the ASUS TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WiFi D4 has everything you need.
