Z790 Intel management Engine

[PurSpyk]

If you don't install the Intel management engine, what functionality are you missing? I have the Z790 ProArt Creator WiFi Motherboard

[JohnAb]

That's a tough question and Intel ME is primarily intended for remote management, even when the OS is not running. So I think the short answer is that if you're not aware of any missing features, then you can probably live without IME.

However, it seems that some aspects of the Intel Management Engine are linked to other aspects of administrative services and without installing the IME drivers, that might be where something might be unavailable. If you have Windows Pro, perhaps the RDC remote access app might rely on some aspects of IME. Have a look in Administrative Services in Control Panel and see if anything you might need is missing there. Again, I'm not sure, but failure to install the IME drivers could (potentially) have security implications. Seems to me that it's all a complex area and to someone like me, just a normal user, something of a mystery. 

As far as your ME firmware is concerned, I'd be tempted to keep that up to date as a bare minimum. It's integrated into BIOS updates now, so you should be reasonably up to date anyway. If you want to check, there is an Intel tool available that will show any vulnerabilities related to the ME firmware version that you have installed:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/19392/intel-converged-security-and-management-engin...