The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR5): Over 50+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 9, 2021 9:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Xtreme & Xtreme WaterForce
Looking at GIGABYTE's Z690 DDR5 based motherboard list for launch, it has gone for a simple and balanced stack with a modest amount of both DDR5 and DDR4 enabled motherboards. The most premium of all and the current flagship for GIGABYTE on Z690 is the Z690 Aorus Xtreme, which has been a long-running series encompassing the most premium controller sets and high-end features of all its models. Looking at the design, GIGABYTE has opted for a simplistic, but premium-looking aesthetic. It is also using an E-ATX sized PCB making it one of the biggest Z690 motherboards at launch.
The GIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Xtreme WaterForce model shares the same specifications and controllers as the non WaterForce model but comes with a custom milled monoblock which keeps the processor and power delivery running cool, but we don't currently have any official images from GIGABYTE at the time of writing.
The Z690 Aorus Xtreme includes an OLED screen built into the rear panel cover, as well as what looks to be a DDR5 memory cover which also features an OLED screen. GIGABYTE also has an RGB enabled Aorus logo which sits below the chipset heatsinks. All across the board is plenty of armor and heatsinks, including a large power delivery heatsink, and an amalgamated M.2 heatsink array that molds into the chipset heatsink.
The GIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Xtreme includes two full-length PCIe 5.0 slots that can operate at x16 and x8/x8, with one full-length PCIe 3.0 x4 slot. In the top-right hand corner of the board is four memory slots, which allow users to install up to DDR5-6600, with a combined capacity of up to 128 GB. For storage, the Z690 Aorus Xtreme models include four PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, with just four SATA ports capable of supporting RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays.
Interestingly for the integrated audio, GIGABYTE has gone for an impressive selection including an ESS ES9280AC DAC chip, with two assisting ESS ES9080 chips. GIGABYTE doesn't mention any of the typically used Realtek ALC HD audio codecs in the specifications and given there are just two 3.5 mm audio jacks on the rear panel, it looks as if though the ES8280AC DAC is leading things in this regard.
On the rear panel is a very premium selection of input and output, including two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports, and a whopping ten USB 3.2 G2 Type-A ports too. The Z690 Aorus Xtreme opts for a premium ESS Sabre solution with two 3.5 mm audio jacks, but networking is premium with a Marvel Aqtion AQC113C 10 GbE and Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller pairing, as well as Intel's latest AX210 Wi-Fi 6E CNVi. Finishing off the rear panel is a small clear CMOS button, an OC Ignition button, and a Q-Flash BIOS Flashback button.
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DanNeely - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
Good point. I thought Intel was pushing hard for 12vo with the 6xx series, but it seems to be completely MIA.Silver5urfer - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
Can I ask why ? What does ATX12VO provide to a consumer ?It doesn't make your mobo cheap, it doesn't make your mobo less complicated, it does not make your system run cooler, it doesn't make ADL consume less power, It doesn't even make any sense.
ATX12VO was created because of that trash policies set by policing state of California about some nonsensical rubbish. Servers and Data centers can get away with modular high density PSUs because of fully standardized set and they also get 3M liquid cooling. This is consumer market and here we have people wishing for backwards in technology.
meacupla - Thursday, November 11, 2021 - link
A lot of people had the same sentiment about EU RoHS restrictions, and yet, it was implemented worldwide.With that attitude, the same can be said about energy star, and 80plus certifications. It adds cost to the product, yet it offers not a thing to the consumer.
Not everything is about you.
We need to do everything we can to cut down power consumption, and ATX12VO standardization across the entire industry is very low hanging fruit.
Stop being so selfish, there's literally only one habitable planet we have right now.
Oxford Guy - Thursday, November 11, 2021 - link
80 Plus offered plenty to consumers. Less power use means quieter PSUs.The knock on 80 Plus was unrealistically easy testing. Despite that, it helped raise the efficiency of PSUs. Along with better efficiency, ripple, holdout time, voltage consistency, and other factors improved — as enthusiasts began to pay more attention to PSU quality.
I don’t doubt that 80 Plus also helped a lot of non-enthusiasts/amateurs by keeping them away from ultra-cheap PSUs that catch fire. Having a high-profile certification that those PSUs can’t reach helped to steer those customers away.
yacoub35 - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
That white metal trim running tight around the molex power connector on the ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Formula must make it an absolutely nightmare to plug/unplug the main power cable to the board.Ranguvar - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
Correction:"Previously with 11th gen (Rocket Lake), Intel upheaved it from a PCIe 3.0 x4 uplink on Z490 to a PCIe 3.0 x4 uplink on Z590."
This should say "to a PCIe 3.0 x8 uplink on Z590".
OFelix - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
Correct. And whilst we are correcting that sentence - "upheaved" ????This first page really needs to be read by an AnandTech editor.
What's that? They don't any editors? :-(
OFelix - Tuesday, November 9, 2021 - link
"Z490 Motherboard Audio" ... presumably Z690?mode_13h - Friday, November 12, 2021 - link
I caught that, as well. Even the word "upheaved" is itself somewhat noteworthy. Plenty of better alternatives: "upgraded", "widened", "expanded", "increased", "enlarged", etc.GeoffreyA - Saturday, November 13, 2021 - link
While "upheaved" is likely an error, it's not far off from the words of today. Unfortunately, the English language is on a downgrade, and it's just going to get worse and worse. The language's genius is not tuned to the over-economical forms we're finding today; and a lot of it seems to be coming from tech. Upthis, upthat. My favourite, though, is leverage. A big, scary word that companies are fond of, and which escaped its programming, game development roots. Soon, we'll be leveraging the kettle to make tea. How about using?