Quick question, building a new system with asus z690 gaming e mobo, 12900k, and wd sn850 ssd.

My issue is deciding which m.2 slot to use, m.2_1 or m.2_2. I realize the drive is pcie gen 4 and both slots run off the cpu so it shouldn’t matter, but slot 1 will cause the pcie 1 slot to run in x8. Should I install the drive in m.2_1 anyway since it’s closest to the cpu or just go with m.2_2 since it theoretically should be the same?

Thanks

I will build a PC with a Intel i5-12400F, and I was wondering which motherboard I should get, in an ATX format if that matters.

I have seen that the Z690 allows overclocking (which I won't use), and both the Z690 & the H670 have more connectivity compared to the B660.

Concerning the connectivity, what I really care about is the amount of USB ports (the more the better), and at least 2 M.2 slots (I will have one taken at first, but we never know for the future). This tells me that I should pick a H670 or Z690. Is there any other difference worth seeing?

As a related but specific question, how do the Asus boards fare? They are often the cheapest, and I wonder if there is a (bad) reason for this.