The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR4): Over 30+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 24, 2021 2:00 PM ESTGIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Elite AX & Elite (DDR4)
Out of GIGABYTE's DDR4 supported Z690 options, the most premium comes via the Z690 Aorus Elite AX DDR4 and Z690 Aorus Elite DDR4. The GIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Elite AX and Elite both feature a mid-range level of features, including plenty of M.2 support and support for DDR4 memory. Looking at the design, GIGABYTE has gone with a primarily black layout with a dark silver contrasting aesthetic. There is a small element of RGB LED lighting built into the rear panel cover, with a strip creating an underglow effect on the right-hand side of the board.
Dominating the lower section of the board are the PCIe slots, with one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 and two full-length PCIe 3.0 x4 slots. Sandwiched in between and just above the PCIe 5.0 x16 slot are the board's M.2 slots, with a combined total of four, all of which are PCIe 4.0 x4 compatible. GIGABYTE also includes six SATA ports that support Intel RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. For memory, there's a total of four memory slots with support for DDR4-5333 and a maximum combined capacity of 128 GB.
The GIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Elite AX DDR4 rear panel with Wi-Fi 6
On the rear panel of the Z690 Aorus Elite AX DDR4 model, GIGABYTE includes an Intel Wi-Fi 6 CNVi, while the standard Elite omits this. Everything else is shared across both Elite models including 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 integrated audio offers two 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output, while an HDMI and DisplayPort video output pairing allows users to utilize Intel's integrated graphics. Finishing off the rear panel is an 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."