Do I REALLY need all this Asus bloatware?

flhthemi · Feb 17, 2026

I have a Prime 690-P-WIFi MB is all this Asus bloatware really needed?

bobkn · Feb 17, 2026

IMHO, no.

You may also have a BIOS setting that is intended to cause Armoury Crate to be downloaded and installed automatically online. I disabled that on my Z690-E.

KevTech · Feb 17, 2026

The setting is on the Tool tab and will be enabled.
One of the first things I disable and you will need to go back in and disable it after every bios update as it will revert to enabled again.

cereberus · Feb 17, 2026

flhthemi said:
I have a Prime 690-P-WIFi MB is all this Asus bloatware really needed?

View attachment 163579

Problem is you can only tell by disabling it but doing so could have unexpected consequences often down the line.

I have an ASUS and get various services and I experimented disabling them but I could not detect any improvement in performance BUT never tested long enough to make a definitive conclusion on the impact of disabling services.

So I concluded it was probably safer to apply the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy.

The days of when disabling services had a significant impact is long gone by and large (XP era).

idgat · Feb 17, 2026

Generally, NO !!!

2 options ..
- image the drive, blow away the proprietary crap. See what happens. Restore the image if goes pear shaped
OR
- (my preferred option) replace the drive with a blank drive and do a clean install with a Windows installation (not a ASSUS recovery/restore/whatever)

Marcus Vinicus · Feb 17, 2026

I have an Asus laptop and a desktop pc with an Asus motherboard. I don't recommend anyone use Armoury Crate, it isn't very good. Most of the rest listed in the OP's screenshot are part of the MyAsus app. Depends if the user actually uses/needs it. I do use it but it isn't' a must have app.

One way would be to stop that Asus stuff from starting up for say a week and see if there are any issues without them. Then delete them if you still want them removed.

PerpetualCycle · Feb 17, 2026

If you want to uninstall Armoury Crate, don't do it through windows, it will leave a mess. Use the Armoury Crate uninstaller app that Asus provides on your board's support website. It will clean up much better.

Quandary · Feb 17, 2026

My ASUS laptop can be configured to only charge to 80% to help save battery life. This can be done with the ASUS utility. I did a clean Win 11 install and blocked the installation of Armory Crate (it often showed up as failing in the Reliability Monitor). As a replacement I have been using the G-Helper app for about 2 years. It also has a feature to check for updated firmware/drivers but you have to manually download and install.

idgat · Feb 17, 2026

If you want to uninstall ANYTHING, don't do it through Windows

Use forum favourite RevoUninstaller, making sure you use the Advanced option after the uninstall is finished, to remove leftover files/folder/registry entries. Don't reboot untill fully finished.

flhthemi · Feb 18, 2026

Oh and there's a program "My Asus" that looks like it's totally worthless to me. It'll take you to a site for the drivers for the MB but doesn't indicate the dates of any new drivers. Just version numbers. They, Asus, should make it check the existing drivers and notify you of those that need updated.

altae · Feb 18, 2026

In my opinion Armoury Crate is only necessary if you want to control RGB illumination through your motherbord. For everything else there exists better software.

barreleye · Feb 18, 2026

KevTech said:
The setting is on the Tool tab and will be enabled.
One of the first things I disable and you will need to go back in and disable it after every bios update as it will revert to enabled again.

This is so offensive. I first encountered it with my B550 motherboard. At least they backed off on installing the full Armoury Crate and I think just do the driver updater for my B650, but you still have to remember to disable their de facto BIOS rootkit after updating the BIOS. You also need to re-enter all your settings. Oh, and don't forget to suspend Bitlocker before you start.

hdmi · Feb 20, 2026

Use MyAsus to check for BIOS updates and to (if needed) run system diagnostics. G-Helper is not a true replacement for Armoury Crate. Those who believe that it is are people who love life inside a bubble IMO. For the most part, this is what they call wishful thinking. Armoury Crate has been improving a lot over the past several years. It's just that, before it started to improve, it used to be so bad that the label stuck. Armoury Crate (on supported models from Asus) is excellent to check for Asus driver updates and assorted Asus software component updates so you don't have to go visit the product's support webpage to wade through the long list of various updates on there like an old dinosaur (which I am, BUT...).

On my Asus laptop, Armoury Crate doesn't just let me configure the hardware to only charge to 80% to help reduce unnecessary accelerated battery aging, but also lets me reduce unnecessary fast battery drain during Modern Standby sleep sessions, through a special feature called Modern Standby Assistant. Not all laptops from Asus have this feature, but mine does. And it works. Thanks to this so-called "bloatware", it does. Miraculously so.

pietcorus2 · Feb 20, 2026

Still dont understand WHY (??) ASUS does not update the BIOS for my Z97-K , from March 2016 (!!)...........

SlicEnDicE · Feb 20, 2026

flhthemi said:
is all this Asus bloatware really needed?

Short answer: No
Long answer: It depends...

pietcorus2 · Feb 20, 2026

" Still dont understand WHY (??) ASUS does not update the BIOS for my Z97-K , from March 2016 (!!)...........

"
Hope I get an answer for my question , how long can I use this PC , with latest Win11 on it , BIOS in legacy , no secure boot , and a boottime in 40 seconds ...........?? :look:

hdmi · Feb 20, 2026

pietcorus2 said:
" Still dont understand WHY (??) ASUS does not update the BIOS for my Z97-K , from March 2016 (!!)........... "
Hope I get an answer for my question , how long can I use this PC , with latest Win11 on it , BIOS in legacy , no secure boot , and a boottime in 40 seconds ...........??

That motherboard has received 2 years worth of BIOS updates. The latest CPU that it can support is an Intel 5th Gen (codenamed Broadwell) CPU. Although it's not officially supported by Windows 11, and although known security vulnerabilities such as the ones that were discovered in the Intel Management Engine (ME) firmware were never patched on it, you can still continue to use it with the latest build of Windows 11 as long as it is posible to bypass the hardware compatibility checks of Windows 11. I don't think that Microsoft has any plans to block that possibility, but I could be wrong, and, even if I am right, you just never know when Microsoft might change its stupid mind.

pietcorus2 · Feb 20, 2026

you just never know when Microsoft might change its stupid mind................indeed , and never know WHEN (??) ASUS will update BIOS-versions ! :wink:

hdmi · Feb 22, 2026

pietcorus2 said:
you just never know when Microsoft might change its stupid mind................indeed , and never know WHEN (??) ASUS will update BIOS-versions !

The ASUS Z97-K was not worse than its competitors in this regard; in fact, its BIOS support cycle was highly typical for that era and price point. The ~2-year duration matched or slightly exceeded the support offered by similar low-to-mid-range Intel boards from MSI and Gigabyte. (According to tweakers.net price history, the Z97-K was less than 117 Euros within a few days after it was put to market here in the Benelux. So, it's not low-cost, but it isn't truly mid-priced either.)

BIOS Support Comparison (Z97 Lifecycle)

The Z97-K followed a standard industry trajectory for 2014-era Intel motherboards.

ASUS Z97-K: Received its final stable BIOS update (Version 2902) in April 2016. This provided approximately 23 months of active support from its mid-2014 launch, focusing on system stability and compatibility for 5th-generation Intel CPUs.
MSI Z97 Gaming 5: A popular competitor in a similar class, MSI released its last major non-beta update for this board in February 2016.
Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3: Similar entry-to-mid-range boards from Gigabyte saw their primary update cycles wind down by mid-2016, though some received later "one-off" security patches.

Key Observations for the Z97-K

Update Consistency: ASUS released roughly 15+ BIOS versions for the Z97-K between 2014 and 2016. This frequency was high for a "K" (standard) series board, which is often prioritized lower than the "ROG" (Republic of Gamers) or "Pro" series.
Functionality Support: ASUS ensured the Z97-K supported key transitions, such as the move to 5th-Gen Intel Core (Broadwell) processors and early NVMe boot support, which were the major milestones for that chipset.
Interface Lead: During the Z97 era, reviewers and users generally rated the ASUS UEFI BIOS interface as superior in ease of use and navigation compared to Gigabyte and MSI.

pietcorus2 · Feb 22, 2026

So , my ASUS Z97-K is an outdated PC , and BIOS will not being updated in future........ :what:

Do I REALLY need all this Asus bloatware?

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