The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR4): Over 30+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 24, 2021 2:00 PM ESTGIGABYTE Z690M Aorus Elite AX & Elite (DDR4)
While there is just one micro-ATX sized model on the Z690 chipset with DDR5 support, the majority of what's available in terms of micro-ATX can be found with DDR4 support. One of these is the GIGABYTE Z690M Aorus Elite AX DDR4, which is the smaller sibling of the full-sized Z690 Aorus Elite AX DDR4 model. Both of the Z690 Aorus Elite AX DDR4 models share a similar feature set and aesthetic, although the micro-ATX version uses a lighter black rear panel cover than the ATX model. The GIGABYTE Z690M Aorus Elite AX DDR4 also omits any integrated RGB, unlike the bigger variant which does.
The only difference between the GIGABYTE Z690M Aorus Elite AX and the Z690M Aorus Elite is the regular Elite omits any form of wireless CNVi. Everything else down to the controllers, rear I/O connectivity, and aesthetic is identical.
Due to its smaller size, there's a constraint on PCIe support, with the board featuring just two full-length PCIe slots, including one operating at PCIe 5.0 x16 and the other electronically locked down to PCIe 3.0 x4. Size hasn't limited memory support, however, as the board has four slots in total with support for DDR4-5333 and a total combined capacity of 128 GB. There are also storage options aplenty with three PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots present, although only one of these features an M.2 heatsink, while six SATA ports with right-angled connectors can also provide RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 array support.
Looking at rear panel connectivity, the GIGABYTE Z690M Aorus Elite AX DDR4 includes one USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-A, one USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and four USB 2.0 ports. Users looking to utilize Intel's integrated graphics can use the HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 video output pairing, while onboard audio options include two 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output which are powered by an unspecified Realtek HD audio codec. GIGABYTE includes an Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 CNVi which adds both wireless and BT 5.2 device support, with a single Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller providing wired networking access.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
42 Comments
View All Comments
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."