Asus TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS D4

Launch Stability & Compatibility

The platform lifecycle began with v0411, followed by a series of firmware synchronizations to stabilize the Intel Management Engine (ME). Versions v0602 through v1002 iteratively updated the ME firmware (reaching v16.1.25.2124) to resolve early memory training issues and system performance variance. Significant architectural updates arrived in v1205, which prepared the chipset for Intel Core 14th Gen processors and resolved critical instability when configuring RAID arrays on high-capacity storage drives. This phase concluded with v1220, which patched generic security vulnerabilities and established the baseline ME version 16.1.27.2176.

Feature Maturity & Hardware Support

Version 1402 formalized support for 14th Gen "Raptor Lake Refresh" CPUs. Hardware compatibility expanded in v1603 to support graphics cards sharing bandwidth with M.2 storage, followed by v1611 which enabled USB4 PCIe Gen4 add-in cards. Security was hardened in v1604 with a patch for the LogoFAIL vulnerability. Performance tuning for non-K series processors was introduced in v1641, which integrated Microcode 0x123 to allow the disabling of Current Excursion Protection (CEP), a feature further optimized in v1645 to balance performance against thermal constraints.

Critical Security & Power Management

Addressing processor stability became the priority starting with v1656, which introduced the Intel Baseline Profile. Version 1658 replaced this with the official Intel Default Settings (Performance/Extreme) and redefined factory defaults to adhere to Intel's power limits. A sequence of microcode updates followed to mitigate physical degradation risks: v1661 applied Microcode 0x125 to correct the eTVB algorithm, while v1663 integrated Microcode 0x129 to enforce a 1.55V maximum voltage clamp. The root cause of Vmin Shift Instability was addressed in v1802 via Microcode 0x12B, which resolves elevated voltage requests during idle states and enforces C1E. Continued mitigation arrived in v1820 with Microcode 0x12F, addressing edge-case voltage drifts, while v1825 finalized the stack with security patches and ME firmware 16.1.35.2557.