The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR5): Over 50+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 9, 2021 9:00 AM ESTMSI MAG Z690 Torpedo (DDR5) & Torpedo EK X (DDR5)
The MSI MAG Z690 Torpedo is a slightly cut-down version of the MAG Z690 Tomahawk WIFI, but with a slightly more affordable feature set and a futuristic styled deep bluey-grey aesthetic. Touching more on the aesthetic, all of the board's design includes a metallic grey and blue set of heatsinks, with alternating black and blue memory slots, and an all-black PCB. MSI is advertising an 18-phase power delivery operating at 16+1+1.
Diving into the specifications of the MAG Z690 Torpedo, MSI includes one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, with two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots operating at x4/x1, with a one smaller PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. Looking at storage options, there's a total of four M.2 slots, including three PCIe 4.0 x4 and one PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slot. Other options include six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. In the top right-hand corner are four memory slots that are capable of supporting DDR5-6400, with a combined capacity of 128 GB.
On the rear panel is 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. One of the USB 2.0 ports supports BIOS Flashback for which there is a small button, while five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are powered by a Realtek ALC4080 HD audio codec. The Torpedo doesn't include a wireless CNVi, but it does include an Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller. Finishing the rear panel is a pair of video outputs, including one DisplayPort 1.4 and one HDMI 2.1 output.
The MSI MAG Z690 Torpedo EK X addition is essentially the same as the Torpedo, except it comes with a custom EKWB monoblock, although we don't have any images or other information at the time of writing.
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GeoffreyA - Saturday, November 13, 2021 - link
Certainly, there are tradeoffs, keeping a socket; but, as Mr. Tuvok would say, "Ryzen, you are an unending source of astonishment." There was a time when sockets even took CPUs from different manufacturers. I remember my Socket 7 motherboard, though I never tried it, could take a K5 and some Cyrix CPUs as well. Those 5x something, something. How things have changed.A short-lived socket can be a pain in the behind too. I was one of those unlucky folk who ended up with Socket 754 and missed out on dual-channel DDR and a long upgrade path. In any case, that computer went kaput after four years.
Oxford Guy - Wednesday, November 10, 2021 - link
Overclocking is for employees of motherboard companies.ECC RAM support should have been a standard feature from the beginning. Apple offered it on the Lisa in ‘83 and consumer computing has gone backward since.
Doublers, though... aren’t a bad thing as long as they’re implemented well — as I understand it. Better to have a good doubler implementation than a weak individual phase system. The main thing is to have a board meet the minimum spec for reliable (i.e. not overheating and/or failing) long-term support of its supported CPUs. Anything beyond that is unnecessary.
GeoffreyA - Saturday, November 13, 2021 - link
The problem with doublers is, they over-use it as a marketing technique to give the impression that a certain board has a large amount of phases.Oxford Guy - Saturday, November 13, 2021 - link
Weak phases with a mediocre/poor regulator aren’t necessarily better than ‘marketing phases’ via the use of doublers. That’s the case when the doublers are used a correctly.There are a lot of shenanigans, though — like not even utilizing the doubler fully but counting it as the doubling of phases. I also recall that one of the big tricks was putting extra chokes on the board to make it look like there are more phases.
GeoffreyA - Sunday, November 14, 2021 - link
Quite right, and one of the reasons why people have got to read a proper analysis of the VRM, or take a look at the lists on hardwareluxx for example.t.s - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
Wish Intel go with their atv12vo. Or like business lines from HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc. 6 or 8 pin.shabby - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
Mobo prices will go up even more, screw that.meacupla - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
In the long term, I think the cost for ATX12VO will be cheaper.ATX12VO PSU will be cheaper than a comparable quality ATX PSU.
The BoM for 12V to 5V and 12V to 3.3V converters would go down, if mobo makers decide to stick to a single, standardized design.
With the way things are looking, electricity prices are unlikely to go down and continue to go up.
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
All ATX12VO is doing is shifting the cost from the PSU to the motherboard.Wrs - Wednesday, November 10, 2021 - link
If mobo makers can stick to one design why can't PSU makers? They already conform to ATX.ATX 12 VO increases costs for piecemeal upgraders because of the simple observation that PSUs outlive motherboards. The question would be whether the power savings are worth it. For prebuilts they're comparing power savings to 0 net component cost so 12VO is already the norm.