TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI DDR5 with Intel i7 13700K bios update and bootup

[BJBBJB]

I cannot believe what I am reading on reddit so I thought I would post here to confirm.

I have this unopened Asus board and just purchased the CPU for it and plan to build this weekend.

I was prepping and downloading the current bios files when I ran across threads stating that since this board does not support bios flashback (which works without booting like it does in my old Hero board) and only ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 (which only works if your CPU boots to bios from what I understand) the only way to upgrade the bios such that it will work with my 13th gen CPU is to buy an old 12th gen celeron? 2103 provided 13th gen support. For some reason Asus no longer has the release dates on their bios but from what I read elsewhere it sounds like this was released in early October. Although my board shipped late November I have no idea how long it was in inventory or if it has a newer bios.

I can only hope what I am reading is not accurate.....

I really do not want to put the whole build together, have the CPU and AIO/paste all mounted, everything wired up, and find out it has an old bios and won't work with my fancy new CPU and there is no way to update the bios without buying another CPU?

Are there any other options here?

Can I tell from looking at the box or motherboard what the manufacture date is? Or firmware version?

Do I have to go to a Z790 board that costs 3X as much to get direct support?

Thanks,
BJB

[MoKiChU]

BJBBJB wrote:
Can I tell from looking at the box or motherboard what the manufacture date is? Or firmware version?

Hi,

Look at the last 4 digits of the barcode label affixed to your motherboard (usually at the top, above the RAM slots) to identify the factory BIOS version.

[BJBBJB]

Excellent, thanks will do!
BJB

[BJBBJB]

Thanks! It is 0811...the original release!
I have found a local shop that will flash it for me. My only issue is I can't of course update the ME as the bios instructions say to....because of course I can't run that install from windows. Hopefully it will get me through thr install. I am also using NVME drives.

Thanks,

BJB

[JohnAb]

Oh, that's annoying. I didn't even think that you might not have a flashback port. If the shop can drop in a 12th Gen and do it for you then I think that will be fine. You can always do the ME updates after installing windows, but like I said before you might have to try more than one M.2 slot to access the OS drive (but hopefully not). It does no harm to update ME afterwards if that's the only way you can do it. Like you said in the other thread, 2103 should be a sound choice, especially as it includes further microcode updates for 13th gen... what a hassle though, good job you have a friendly shop.

[BJBBJB]

Does 2103 and 2204 both create the NVME read issue if mis-matched with the ME version? I can't run the updated Intel ME drivers before installing windows, and to install windows I need the NVME drive to work.... And I can't run a bios before 2103 as those don't support my CPU.

Perhaps I could get the shop to run the ME updater and update the Intel ME firmware, but then I would have a mis-match with the Intel ME drivers when I install windows on my setup?

I think ASUS should provide an FAQ on the preferred way to do this on a clean/new install....

Thanks,

BJB

[JohnAb]

Not sure if 2103/2204 will give the NVME issue - it only affected a M.2 single slot (2_1) when BIOS and ME firmware were mismatched with earlier BIOS versions. Even if it still happens, you should still find a working slot. Once ME is updated, it will all work again, so nothing major to worry about. Just inconvenient.

[BJBBJB]

No worries then. Thanks again for all your help!
BJB

[BJBBJB]

Hopefully to help others, things worked fine having the bios updated, then building the PC and updating the ME firmware and software after windows install. The M.2 drive was recognized.

Thanks a lot for the help here!
Only strange thing, I am very familiar with Asus putting "asussetup" in driver update folders along with the native setup exe. I was disappointed with the limited update screen status updates from the asusetup for audio, LAN and Bluetooth.

The Realtek audio update using the asusetup just had one box.....updating drivers.......for quite a while, then went away. Add/remove programs showed Realtek installed but maybe a finished prompt?

LAN and Bluetooth just barely flashed on the screen. Should I rerun with the native setup exe's?
BJB

[JohnAb]

I've wondered the same on some driver installs. Sometimes I get no messages at all - a silent install. When I tried GNA if failed because it was turned off in BIOS - no messages. With some other drivers, they have worked but again, no messages. I also find it confusing sometimes. I've also tried running as admin, but I don't think it made any difference.

If you have armoury Crate installed, you can see all of the drivers installed very easily. Also, Intel Driver and Support Assistant will report on your WiFi and Bluetooth drivers, plus update them to later versions than you can get on the support page. If you want bang up to date, then MoKiChiU provides the most recent drivers on his threads.

Enjoy your new machine BJB 🙂