Drivers and software

If the BIOS settings are a thorny issue, Drivers and control software are surely another one. Between the bundled "ROG STRIX Z670 SERIES" DVD and the Asus webpage I was able to download quite a few items, some of them in different versions (of which obviously the most recent one is to be preferred). Please find below first the ones I recommend, numbered by install order.

1. Intel Chipset Driver/Device Software. Reported to be crucial for system performance.
2. Intel Chipset MEI (Management Engine Interface). The PC will boot anyway, but this is reported to improve system stability and security. Just in case, it is also easy to uninstall if needed.
3. Intel I225/I226 LAN Driver. This is needed for the Ethernet cable connection to work.
   (We have seen in our Internet page that, before you install this driver, just plugging the Ethernet cable from the modem/router yields no internet connection).
4. SATA IRST (Intel Rapid Storage Technolgy). Technically this is only needed for RAID, but if you do not install it you get in Device Manager a RAID error.
5. Realtek USB Audio Driver. This is needed if you are going to use the STRIX Z690 onboard sound, which caters for all the way from Stereo Speakers to 5.1 and even 7.1 and is of very good quality.
6. ROG CPU-Z. A useful, harmless and unobtrusive utility. You run it only when you wish to have good information about your installed hardware: processor, memory and more.
7. Intel WiFi Driver. Only needed if you intend to use your motherboard's WiFi transmitter capabilities.

AI Suite 3. This I downloaded from another website: it is no longer offered for download by Asus, because they now recommend their new creature, Armoury Crate (see below). AI Suite 3 includes several exclusive ASUS utilities (e.g. Asus Fan Xpert) while also allowing you to modify your device status and system performance, monitoring CPU, Voltages and Temperatures. However, I refrained from installing it when I read online quite a few users complaining that it also installs undesired other applications and is very difficult to uninstall.

Armoury Crate. This mammoth package by Asus is the successor to AI Suite 3, and is meant to be a unified service for Asus motherboards. It controls the processor power limit and temperature (other than the BIOS controls, that is). Problem is, it installs an impressive 24 programs and services (by my count), which unfortunately cannot be installed/uninstalled separately. At this point, in my opinion, you would have the PC working for your motherboard, while you would rather have both working for yourself.

GNA (Intel Gaussian and Neural Accelerator Driver). This is needed only if Intel GNA is enabled in your BIOS: the GNA is needed to offload the CPU primarily in Automated Speech Recognizion and associated noise reduction.

Bluetooth Intel Driver. Having installed Windows 10, this install was rejected because "Best drivers are already already installed".

Intel ME Update Tool. This is useful only if for some reason you need to update the ME firmware after the initial update provided by the BIOS Flashback.

MyAsus. Another Asus utility: this one provides easy access to all your Asus apps. Reported to make it easy to optimise performance and to contact Asus for after-sales support.

ROG GameFirst VI. A user complained that "I've spent 4 months trying to get MSFS 2020 [Microsoft's latest Flight Simulator] working properly, also had download issues and network problems. After pulling all my hair out, I found it was the GameFirst app. I wish I could invoice Asus for all my lost time. I keep having to uninstall GameFirstVI once a week or so. Please, how do I stop it from being reinstalled?". At this point I certainly "would not touch this software with a pole."

Thunderbolt Driver. Needed if you install Thunderbolt devices.

VGA Driver: Intel Graphics Accelerator. Meant for a processor with embedded graphics. However, actually Windows 10 installs more recent drivers, and therefore this one is rejected.