Question Could anyone share their opinion on the ASUS 790 Gaming WiFi7 motherboard and shed light on the TUF, ROG and Strix products?

[yougetagoldstar]

For some reason I can't find any reviews on Youtube and most reviews in general are of the TUF gaming, ROG or Strix type motherboards. This makes me concerned that people are avoiding the Asus Z790 Gaming Wifi7.

I decided to order this board because it seemed to have everything I needed and was only $154.99 on Newegg vs the typical $200 plus for TUF ROG or Strix. I am also planning on mounting a Noctua NH-d15 to it which is a large cooler; I'm hoping it will fit but I can't even find compatibility info on Noctua's website on this motherboard. Why is it so under the radar? While I don't like the white components (actually they seem fine the longer I look at them), I can't find anything else I don't like. Does everyone else know something I don't? Why does it seem that everyone goes for the TUF, ROG or Strix?

Z790 GAMING WIFI7｜Motherboards｜ASUS USA

Intel Z790 LGA 1700 ATX motherboard with PCIe® 5.0, three M.2 slots, 14+1 DrMOS, DDR5, WIFI 7, HDMI™, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C®, front USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C®, Thunderbolt™ (USB4®)

www.asus.com

 

[COLGeek]

Seems like a decent mainstream motherboard. Really nothing to not like.

The Noctua is a solid choice.

The others get the attention they do since they are marketed toward gamers. Your choice should perform rather nicely with all the "bling" of the other model families.

 

[Misgar]

I am also planning on mounting a Noctua NH-d15 to it which is a large cooler; I'm hoping it will fit but I can't even find compatibility info on Noctua's website on this motherboard.

The area around the CPU on your board including the VRM heatsinks looks similar to my Asus Prime WiFi board fitted with an NH-D15. The Noctua heatsink is tall enough to clear my VRM metalwork, but blocks access the the first M.2 slot, so if you ever need to change the NVMe drive, it's not easy.

Even worse, the latch on the first PCIe x16 slot on my board is very difficult to toggle. There's only a narrow gap of around 1/2" (1cm) between the NH-D15 and the GPU. This makes GPU removal a real pain - literally, skinned knuckles on Noctua heatsink vanes, when trying to release the catch. Asus may have improved the catch design since I bought my board in 2022.

Check the side view of an NH-D15 and see if it will clear your VRM heatsinks. I had to raise the front fan on the Noctua slightly to clear my RAM (which isn't particularly tall). Make sure you account for this when choosing a case. The NH-D15 is a big heatsink if you've never held one in your hand, but no more so than similar big air coolers.

Why does it seem that everyone goes for the TUF, ROG or Strix?

Probably because the more expensive boards often have more features, extra M.2 slots, Gen.5, USB4, more PCIe slots, faster Ethernet, etc. No point buying stuff you don't need though.

 

[Phaaze88]

Why does it seem that everyone goes for the TUF or ROG?

Asus has like the worst price to feature set(motherboards, peripherals) and price to performance(gpus, laptops, desktops, coolers) on their products. Perhaps the boon of them being the largest among the other options...
There should have been better options around that price that meet your needs from other vendors, but due to how late you are to the scene, they're likely out of stock and no longer in production.
Asus rips you off at the lower tier more so than the others - well, they're all guilty of doing it with some of their products - so you're kinda screwing yourself by not looking towards TUF and ROG.