The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR4): Over 30+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 24, 2021 2:00 PM ESTGIGABYTE Z690 Gaming X (DDR4)
Out of all of GIGABYTE's gaming-centric Z690 options, the GIGABYTE Z690 Gaming X DDR4 is perhaps the most basic from the brand in terms of features, but it looks very stylish for an 'entry-level' gaming model. From top to bottom, the GIGABYTE Z690 Gaming X DDR4 is decked out in gunmetal grey, with a large power delivery heatsink, and plenty of M.2 heatsinks that amalgamate into the chipset heatsink; a very consistent design throughout. There's also a small element of integrated RGB LED lighting which can be found at the right-hand side of the board and provides a sort of an underglow effect.
Looking at connectivity, GIGABYTE includes one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, with two full-length PCIe 3.0 x4 slots. Located in and around the PCIe slot area is the board's M.2 real estate, with GIGABYTE with an impressive total of four PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots. There are also six SATA ports on the right-hand side with support for Intel RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. Located in the top-right corner are the board's memory slots, with GIGABYTE opting for four in total with support for DDR4-5333 and support for up to 128 GB of capacity.
On the rear panel of the GIGABYTE Z690 Gaming X DDR4, there's one USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C, two USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, three USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and four USB 2.0 ports. The board omits Wi-Fi but does include an Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller which is the minimum specification on LAN we've seen on Z690 so far. Onboard audio options consist of two 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output, with one HDMI and one DisplayPort video output pairing allowing users to leverage integrated graphics.
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DigitalFreak - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
The ASUS ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming WIFI D4 has a header and BIOS support for a TB4 add-in card. That's probably the best you're going to get on a Z690 DDR4 board.tamilgun - Monday, January 10, 2022 - link
i love intel system ..very good speedy systemhttps://tamilguns.net/
DigitalFreak - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
ASUS ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming WIFI D4 (DDR4) - " On the memory front, there are four memory slots, with support for DDR5-6400 and a combined capacity of 128 GB."That's what happens when you copy / paste. :-)
meacupla - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
I wonder if mobo makers will bother with DDR4/5 combo mobos this time around.Oxford Guy - Thursday, November 25, 2021 - link
I recall reading here that it's not possible to have an Alder Lake board with support for both RAM types. That is re-affirmed here with this less clear wording:'Intel's Alder Lake and Z690 combined actually offer support for both DDR5 and DDR4 memory. This means that those motherboard vendors either have to build their motherboards for one or the other, so it's Z690 with DDR5 or Z690 with DDR4, and no in-between.'
TheinsanegamerN - Sunday, November 28, 2021 - link
That's no different from skylake with ddr3/4, or phenom with ddr3/2. You can have both slots on one motherboard, but can only use one at a time. So will they make a board with two slots for both?Oxford Guy - Thursday, December 2, 2021 - link
The article here said hybrid boards aren’t going to happen. Intel either doesn’t want them or there is some other reason. That is what I remember reading. It doesn’t appear to be the same situation vis-a-vis one or more previous platforms where hybrid boards were made.stayfrosty - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
The ASRock Z690M Phantom Gaming 4 does not do x8/x8 unfortunately :( If both x16 slots are used they can only do x16/x4And so my search continues for a x8/x8 capable z690 ddr4 board that's actually available to buy in Europe :/
Spoelie - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
It's curious that I can't find anywhere in the MSI documentation any confirmation that the MSI Pro Z690-A WIFI DDR4 actually includes WIFI 6E support rather than 6 -- just looking at the spec sheet would let one suspect it is only supporting 6 (only mentioning 2.4 & 5ghz bands, not 6)timecop1818 - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Why would anyone give a fuck about Wi-Fi on a desktop board. I'm more angry that Asus decided to remove Intel lan on ddr4 boards in favor of realtek shit. I'm talking about prime/etc series not the gaudy gaymer shit.