Intel Z890 Motherboard Mega Guide (2025) — ASUS, ASRock, GIGABYTE & MSI

ASUS ROG Strix Z890-F Gaming WiFi — enthusiast sweet spot

Strix-F trims a little I/O versus the E but keeps the platform wins: PEG Gen5 x16, CPU-Gen5 M.2, ample PCH Gen4 bays with real heatsinks, Wi-Fi 7, and strong front 20Gbps. If you don’t need TB4, this is often the better buy—money saved that you can funnel into a larger Gen4 SSD or a better GPU tier.

Thermally, fin stacks and sensible fan mapping keep MOSFETs and top-edge M.2 in line; memory training is predictable at daily XMP, even with four DIMMs. QoL remains strong: Q-Release/Q-Latch/FlashBack, debug LEDs, and clear AC/DC settings make quick work of tuning.

Spec snapshot

1. 1. • ATX, enthusiast VRM, finned heatsinks
      • 4× DDR5; stable high-capacity XMP
      • PCIe 5.0 x16 PEG; CPU-Gen5 x4 + multiple Gen4 M.2
      • Wi-Fi 7, deep USB; TB optional via add-in

Official page: ROG Strix Z890-F