ok, so that's a cpuid thing.  That's fine.  But after flashing my bios ver remains 689 1.05, not release 15.  so how do I flash the bios and get rel 15?  I've done the usb suggestion as well, and the bios ver remains 689.

there is another way to do it
 . try this way it worked for me but then I went back to ao5   http://www.evga.com/support/faq/afmmain.aspx?faqid=59335

I see that R16 added support for Ivy Bridge CPUs.
Does that mean the following updates (R21 & R22) also support them? or only the R16 BIOs?
Would this include Xeon Ivy Bridges?

Good Evening,
The motherboard in question is an E-VGA Z68 SLI and some time after the release of the R22 I decided to flash it.
After taking proper precautions as reset to defaults all the bios settings, proceed to the flash version of the above, the flash is successful, the computer restarts, reimposed the date and time but after a few minutes that windows (8.1 pro) is the party goes all in freeze.
I've tried changing the bios settings for the SATA controller (primary ssd ocz vertex3) including a general tweaking but nothing, or starts but freezes after little or mobo is 4 beeps and are at the starting point.

I gave this board to my dad and it still had nothing but problems. so it had been thrown in the trash and taken to the dump. its not a cpu, ram, or anything else that is a problem, its the board, all of the z68 sli's are lemons, the board was rmaed more than 4 times tried 4 different ram brands and various models. 4 different cpus. all of these cpus amd rams worked fine on non-evga boards. the board is complete crap. evga is now a brand I will never buy anything from again, I will not recommend it to my clients, I will actually advise to stay away from evga to them.

So many negative posts...yes, enough negative posts to make a computer builder's knees tremble!
 
I purchased this EVGA Z68 FTW 160-SB-E689-KR motherboard a couple of years ago from NE when it dropped to the crazy low price of $60.  I waited several months before opening it because all the negative posts scared the heck out of me.  In fact, I was totally convinced I must sell this motherboard and never use it.
 
But...
 
I needed a motherboard for me 2500K.  And yes, I needed the build to be stable.  So I decided to give it a go anyway....
 
And now my adventure....
 
Everything has worked flawlessly now for over two years.
 
I did NOT update the BIOS because I read so many horror stories...so I suppose I am still on the A05 BIOS [BIOS Version 689 1.05 x64].
 
I am not trying to minimize  or invalidate people's deep levels of disappointment, frustration, and pain.  I am trying to gain some more understanding about this motherboard.
 
I have some questions...
 
1. Did anyone here besides me have success with this motherboard?
2. What appears to be the best BIOS to use now?
3. How can I successfully overclock my Intel i5-2500k?
4. Does anyone have any other suggestions for me?
5. What must I be careful NOT to do, so this MB will continue to work for me?
 
I suppose that is all for now.
 
For what it's worth, here is my Newegg review of this motherboard:

So far, very good, but my knees are still shaking...

Pros: I picked up this EVGA Z68 FTW 160-SB-E689-KR at New Egg for the incredibly low price of $60. I did not read any of the reviews at the time I purchased this motherboard because the price was so good, and I have never had a problem with EVGA products in the past. Recently, I decided to unpack this motherboard and put a nice rig together.

I read every review on this EVGA motherboard here at New Egg and AmaZin Rover. I also carefully checked out the EVGA forums. And that is when my knees began to shake and tremble. Those were the absolute worst horror stories I have ever read about a motherboard and I read a lot of reviews, sometimes daily.

I did not want to even open the package after reading about all the terrible problems people were having with this specific motherboard.

After waiting nearly 4 months, I decided to open the package and try it anyway [all the bells and whistles on this motherboard kept calling my name every time I looked at it]!

Desperately hoping I would be one of the fortunate and lucky ones, I opened the package and began my adventure...

I installed an Intel i5-2500k, a ZALMAN LQ-315 Water Cooler, 16 GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM, a SeaSonic X Series X-850, crossed my fingers, hoped for the best, and hit the power button...all with my knees still shaking and my teeth chattering...

Result: Everything booted up and worked perfect! 

Next step, I installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, permitted Windows to do all the critical updates, and again, everything has worked perfect.

So far, I am very, very happy with this motherboard.

I have left the BIOS at the same exact level it was when I purchased this motherboard: BIOS Version 689 1.05 x64

I have heard that BIOS version A05 does quite good too, but I still cannot find the courage to try it.

I have heard many horror stories on the BIOS Version R16 as I read at EVGA Forums. Supposedly a BIOS version R19 is in the making...but I tremble when thinking about trying any BIOS versions other than the original.

So, for now, my system is working A+++ and I am very happy with it. I will update later if I discover anything exciting or improved.

NewEgg rocks! A $300+ motherboard for only $60 with more bells and whistles than I have ever seen in my entire life? How did you guys pull that off anyway?

Personally, I think it's a miracle!
Cons: Only cons I can think of at the moment are all the negative reviews that strike terror in the hearts of system builders and enthusiasts alike!

Hey, I am NOT saying all the negative posts are inaccurate...what I am saying is all the negative posts scared the heck out of me and most certainly many other people, but for some reason, my EVGA Z68 FTW 160-SB-E689-KR motherboard is working perfect!

Oh, one more negative...now I wish I had purchased a lot more....as in several dozen of em'...
Other Thoughts: Is it possible, many more people had positive results on this EVGA Z68 FTW 160-SB-E689-KR and haven't posted their results?

Please, if you are a person who purchased a EVGA Z68 FTW 160-SB-E689-KR and had some good results, could you please even the score?

Thanks,

It is me, 

Soar

If your BIOS version says 105 then you are on the A05 version.  I have a Z68SLI on the A05 that has been running perfectly since 8/2011.

I've tried flashing my second bios multiple times to anything besides the one the board ships with and it has never rebooted on its own. I'm getting worried thus is where my stability issue is coming from. Some kind of missing file. I have a 2600k and a evga z68 sli board.

Did the manual install of r22 now I can't boot. Crap now to try and figure out how to get an older bios onto it and try again.

Anyone using an Ivy bridge cpu with the R22 bios?

Soar w/the Eagles, I got my MOBO and Sandy Bridge I-5 2800 and 8 Gb of RAM from an on-line friend. I used ole "Frank"(enstein)'s case for his fourth re-build with a 850 Watt Bronze PS (Newegg "Shell-Shocker" deal) and it's loafing. No problems for three years now. He had it set to over-clock @3300 Mhz, which I disabled this week due to some video rendering issues crunching MP4V ("4K" video) down to 1080P 59.79 FPS. I've been a pro video guy since 1/2" B&W reel-to-reel portable news rigs came out, so I won't do the video techno-jargon, but over-clocking was trying to shove a hog thru a garden hose, data-wise. 
Despite (or maybe because of) the horror stories, I think I'll do the BIOS upgrade. You push the button inside the case to undo it (DUH!) I have a friend here in town who runs three different OS on a Z68 MOBO with zero problems.
I'm eager to see how it handles Win 10.