The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR4): Over 30+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 24, 2021 2:00 PM ESTBiostar Z690GTA (DDR4)
Out of the trio of Z690 motherboards from Biostar at the launch of Intel's 12th generation of Alder Lake processors, the Biostar Z690GTA is one of just two models with support for DDR4 memory. While it's applicable to say the Z690GTA is perhaps the more affordable of the three, it still has a decent feature set and controller selection which puts it firmly in the mid-range to the upper end of Z690 models with DDR4 support. The aesthetic is very out there when compared to other Z690 models, with different shades of blue dominating the design of the heatsinks on a background of black. While it may look like there are RGB LEDs integrated into the rear panel cover and chipset heatsink, Biostar hasn't specified if it does.
The Biostar Z690GTA has one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, with a second full-length slot electronically locked down to PCIe 4.0 x4, and two smaller PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. Storage options consist of three M.2 slots, two with support for PCIe 4.0 x4 drives, and one with support for PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA varieties. Biostar includes eight SATA ports, but only four of these feature support for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. Located in the top-right hand corner are four memory slots, with support for DDR4-5000, and can accommodate up to 128 GB of capacity.
Looking at the rear panel of the Biostar Z690GTA, it includes one USB 3.2 G2 Type-C, five USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. Biostar displays a Wi-Fi 6E antenna, but in the specifications, it does say that it doesn't include one, but it does include a Realtek RTL8125B 2.5 GbE controller. For integrated graphics, Biostar includes one HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 and D-sub video output trifecta, while three 3.5 mm audio jacks are powered by a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec. Finishing off the rear panel is a PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo port.
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ikjadoon - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Why on Earth are you replying to someone...that has nothing to do with you?Start your piss-poor rant in a new comment thread.
12345 - Sunday, November 28, 2021 - link
Not everyone can have their desktop right next to their modem/router/switch, or run ethernet through the house.ikjadoon - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
I think you're right. Seemingly a typo or a brand-new revision already,>Supports MU-MIMO TX/RX, 2.4GHz/ 5GHz (160MHz) up to 2.4Gbps
On page 5 English, https://download.msi.com/archive/mnu_exe/mb/M7D25v...
12345 - Sunday, November 28, 2021 - link
I thought WIFI 6E was integrated into the CPU and just needs a physical interface.GreenReaper - Sunday, December 26, 2021 - link
Since 6E is basically a different frequency, they may not feel they can promote it until it is authorized to use in the jurisdictions they are selling it.sseemaku - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Considering DDR5 memory is out of stock everywhere, everyone who want to buy Alderlake cpu have to go with a ddr4 board.James5mith - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
"Seemingly more affordable" ?Numbers shouldn't be presented as vague or uncertain. Is the cost of a 32GB DIMM of DDR4 cheaper than 32GB of DDR5? Then it's more affordable.
TristanSDX - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
which mobos support AVX 512 ? tested it ?bug77 - Friday, November 26, 2021 - link
Asus, AsRock and Gigabyte support AVX-512 (at least until the next firmware update, waiting to see whether Intel has anything to say about this). MSI can't enable it. Idk about the others.TeddyBaeeer - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Are the ASRock mini itx boards, ddr4 or ddr5, ever going to come out in the US? They're still not at newegg, microcenter, best buy, amazon, anywhere!