Several users of ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard say that their motherboard has burned out after a short circuit. They report this on the ASUS ROG forum and on the ASUS subreddit. The cause may be an incorrectly connected capacitor.
From first report of the problem belongs to ROG forum member Maximumrog57, who reported the burnout on December 17. This user says the problems started a few days after a firmware and bios update. According to the user, there was an audible tap, after which he got an error message, qcode 53, and the qled lit up orange. There was also a burn mark on the motherboard.
Since then, several similar motherboard issues have surfaced online in the forum and on the ASUS subreddit, saws Wccftech in Digital Trends. The cause seems to be an incorrectly installed capacitor, volgens YouTuber Actually Hardcore Overclocking. It seems that in some motherboards the capacitor is the wrong way round, which would cause problems, according to the YouTuber.
What is striking is that the users report that the motherboard works normally at first, and that the problems only arise later. It is not yet clear whether the problems arise after a certain BIOS update or whether the capacitor wears faster due to prolonged overheating. Can be seen on Reddit that not every ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard is equipped with the same capacitor. The capacitor with ‘150’ written on it would cause problems, because in some cases it is the wrong way round, as can be seen from the line that should be on the right. To date, ASUS has not publicly responded to the reports and has not yet announced a recall.