The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR4): Over 30+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 24, 2021 2:00 PM ESTASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WIFI D4 & Z690-Plus D4 (DDR4)
As it currently stands at the time of writing, ASUS's more wallet-friendly TUF Gaming series is limited to support for DDR4 memory. Whether ASUS intends to launch TUF Gaming models in the future with DDR5 support remains to be seen, however. The ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WIFI D4 and Z690-Plus D4 share the same core feature set, PCB, aesthetic, and layout, with the only difference being that the Wi-Fi model is using an Intel Wi-Fi 6 CNVi. For the aesthetic, ASUS has gone with a black and grey patterned PCB, black and grey alternating memory slots, with black brushed aluminum power delivery heatsinks, and a matte black rear panel cover and chipset heatsink. There's limited RGB LED lighting with a set of LEDs built-in underneath the chipset heatsink.
Looking at expansion support, the TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WIFI and Z690-Plus include one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16, one full-length PCIe 3.0 x4, one half-length PCIe 3.0 x4, and two smaller PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. Storage options include four PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, with four SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. In the top right-hand corner is a total of four memory slots, with support for DDR4-5333 and a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB.
The ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus Gaming WIFI includes an Intel Wi-Fi 6 CNVI, which is the only difference between both models. Aside from that, both Z690 TUF Gaming models share the same connectivity on the rear panel including one USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C, one USB 3.2 G2 Type-C, two USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, and four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A ports. Powering the audio is an unspecified Realtek HD audio codec which includes five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output, while ASUS also includes a DisplayPort and HDMI video output pairing. Wired networking capability comes via a single Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller.
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meacupla - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Those boards are probably still stuck in the Pacific.Mat-mat - Thursday, November 25, 2021 - link
Why not include the Z690 TORPEDO, Z690 ACE, Z690 FORCE, Z690 Taichi, Z690 AORUS XTREME and Z690M DS3H DDR4 (not yet released).By the way, love the fact that the Phantom Gaming 4 boards look no-nonsense in style, while it has DrMOS MOSFETs for VRM power delivery.
PlasticMouse - Thursday, November 25, 2021 - link
Small typo: Previously with 11th gen (Rocket Lake), Intel upheaved it from a PCIe 3.0 x4 uplink on Z490 to a PCIe 3.0 x4 (x8?) uplink on Z590. With Z690, the uplink is now fully-fledged PCIe 4.0 x8 lanes to interconnect things.GarBaGe - Thursday, November 25, 2021 - link
"Intel upheaved it from a PCIe 3.0 x4 uplink on Z490 to a PCIe 3.0 x4 uplink on Z590. With Z690, the uplink is now fully-fledged PCIe 4.0 x8 lanes to interconnect things."This is wrong. Probably just a typo, since the author uses a phrasing which suggests it is a typo.
Z490 has 4 links PCIe 3 from CPU to chipset.
Z590 has 8 links (not 4) PCIe 3 from CPU to chipset
Z690 has 8 links PCIe 4 from CPU to chipset.
My question to Intel: If Z690 is supposed to be your first PCIe 5 platform, why not use PCIe 5 from CPU to chipset instead of PCIe 4?
DazFG - Thursday, November 25, 2021 - link
what listing motherboards with diagnostic panels for overclockers, or how many power phases.cgull.at - Thursday, November 25, 2021 - link
This has been irritating me a bit for a while: "Over 30+ new models"That's redundant. It's like saying "More than more than 30 new models". Pick one or the other. Please?
T2daroy - Thursday, November 25, 2021 - link
I'm considering the MSI MPG Z690 Edge WIFI DDR4. What are your thoughts on this?quantumshadow44 - Thursday, November 25, 2021 - link
}}}While Intel states that it includes an integrated 2.5 GbE MAC/PHY, this is a little nonsensical, as wired ethernet still requires a MAC/PHY as an attached PCIe controller. This means regardless of whether a vendor is using a Gigabit, 2.5 GbE, or even 10 GbE, it connects the exact same way to the PCIe interface.Can someone explain to me why is it "nonsensical"? Thanks.
GreenReaper - Saturday, November 27, 2021 - link
I think the assertion is that the chipset doesn't contain anything to enable this. It's like "you could buy [a motherboard with] a PCIe-based 2.5Gbps Ethernet solution, and it could be from Intel, so we'll list it as a feature".Conversely, for 1Gbps, the Z690 spec sheet lists: "Intel® Integrated 10/100/1000 MAC: Support for the Intel® Ethernet Connection I219-V" - https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/produc...
If you read the datasheet for that it suggests that the I219-V basically turns one of the PCIe links to the PCH ("chipset") into a half-speed Gen1 2.5Gbps connection - but it's not actually the PCIe protocol, it sends Ethernet packets from the I219-V PHY to be handled by the PCH. It also works in SMBus mode at 10Mbps to provide functionality when the machine is a lower-power state.
There is a lot of wake-up functionality which means it has to be able to detect bit patterns, direct-addressed IPv4/6 wakeups, etc, but it relies on chipset features to otherwise process packets.
ScottSoapbox - Saturday, November 27, 2021 - link
"Intel upheaved it from a PCIe 3.0 x4 uplink on Z490 to a PCIe 3.0 x4 uplink on Z590."