The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR5): Over 50+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 9, 2021 9:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE Z690I Aorus Ultra
Providing options for small form factor users, there is always a large gap between the number of ATX and smaller form factors at any given chipset launch. The GIGABYTE Z690I Aorus Ultra is the smaller sibling of the ATX sized Z690 Ultra, and as such, follows a similar principle in terms of its controller set and aesthetic. Along the right-hand side of the PCB creating an underglow effect is a strip of RGB LEDs, while the board has a black and silver theme with a grey and black patterned PCB. GIGABYTE is also advertising a 10-phase design for the CPU, with the latest 105 A premium power stages.
As this is a mini-ITX sized motherboard, the Aorus Z690I Ultra has just one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, with dual PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots. For conventional storage, GIGABYTE includes just two SATA ports, with support for RAID 0, and 1 array. Located to the right-hand side of the LGA1700 socket is a pair of memory slots, which can support up to DDR5-6200, with a combined capacity of up to 64 GB.
Looking at rear panel connectivity, GIGABYTE includes one USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C, three USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. Users looking to use Intel's integrated graphics can do so via one HDMI and one DisplayPort video output pairing, while onboard audio support consists of two 3.5 mm audio jacks powered by a Realtek ALC4080 HD audio codec. Finishing off the rear panel is a single Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller and Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 CNVi pairing, while GIGABYTE also includes a small Q-Flash BIOS Flashback button.
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Flying Aardvark - Wednesday, November 10, 2021 - link
"essentially any board with "Thunderbolt 3" along with USB 3.2 2x2 basically get "USB4" status for free."TB3 can run USB 4.0 devices, while USB 3.2 2x2 should be able to, it would be capped at its 20Gbit/sec and run over the backwards compatibility protocol for USB. USB4 ports can be either 20 or 40Gb.
I wouldn't want just USB 4.0 ports as Apple has, capped at 20Gbps. We'll probably see some of that on the AMD side. The best thing is just to have TB3 or TB4 to be sure you have fullspeed 40Gbps ports.
KarlKastor - Wednesday, November 10, 2021 - link
Just optional. If you have Thunderbolt and 10 Gbit USB, you can call it USB 4. See Apple.OFelix - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
I agree. How come there are so few boards with USB4 or TB4 ?And how come the article doesn't mention them at all before it starts listing specific features of individual boards?
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
The only way to get USB4 on a PC was by using Intel's Thunderbolt 4 chipset (or having it built into Tiger Lake). Since Thunderbolt is kind of a niche thing on desktop PCs, motherboard makers aren't interested int spending the money on Intel's TB4 chip except in high end or specialty boards. I would assume there will be some third-party USB4 chips coming soon.OFelix - Wednesday, November 10, 2021 - link
Thanks for your reply.So USB4 was built in to Tiger Lake but its not built in to Alder Lake / Z690????
That would explain somethings but not explain why on earth Intel would do that or AnandTech would not think this major regression worth mentioning!!!
The main reason I want to upgrade from my Sky Lake system (which i purchased to get built in USB3) is to get USB4/TB4.
KarlKastor - Wednesday, November 10, 2021 - link
TB is only integrated in the mobile Dies. The Desktop Die has no TB.Alistair - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
DDR5 is not faster in almost every case, and there are no PCIe 5 devices (unlike when PCIe4 was launched at least you got video cards and storage immediately). Not really an advantage. Prices are too high also. Frankly I like PCIe 3.0 boards when they are under $100 USD.DigitalFreak - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
It's the same thing that happened during the DDR3 to DDR4 transition. The first DDR4 products weren't really any faster than the best DDR3. Eventually DDR4 speeds got faster and left DDR3 behind. Same thing will happen with DDR4 to DDR5.Kevin G - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
PCIe 4.0 support was significantly delayed on the desktop but it arrived in servers in 2017 (IBM Power9). AMD was planning on adopting PCIe 4.0 after Intel on the desktop but Intel's train wreck of their 10 nm manufacturing node derailed the chips what were going to add it (Ice Lake on desktop).I would expect both PCIe 5.0 graphics and storage by the end of 2022 on the desktop, though their benefits will be marginal outside of a few niches. (Single lane PCIe 5.0 chips for USB4/Thunderbolt 4 and 10 Gbit Ethernet vs. using four PCI 3.0 lanes are cost driven examples.)
Samus - Wednesday, November 10, 2021 - link
Kevin G - I agree, I think in a year there will be PCIe 5.0 devices, but the performance advantages, much like initial PCIe 4.0 devices (RTX 30xx, NVMe SSD's, etc) won't be there until 2023-2024, by which time this platform will already be replaced or significantly less expensive.I don't think Intel is looking to drive a lot of sales with this platform. Not many people are buying $3000 desktop PC's at the moment (and when you consider the platform alone is $500, with a $500 CPU on top of it, $3000 is pretty conservative considering most people buying something like this will want a $1000+ GPU, so that's $2000 for three components.)
Put in perspective, the last launch like this that had a lot of tech that you couldn't take advantage of right away was probably X58. PCIe 2.0 at a time no PCIe 2.0 products existed, and 36 lanes no less, left a ton of room to expand a platform that was already stacked to the gills with embedded tech. In fact it would be years before applications were fully optimized for the bandwidth offered by triple channel memory, let alone quad channel memory that Intel introduced on later HEDT platforms.
The difference though is X690 isn't even HEDT.