The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR4): Over 30+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 24, 2021 2:00 PM ESTASRock Z690M-ITX/ax (DDR4)
Out of all the vendor's mini-ITX sized options, ASRock is typically hot off the press on providing a varied selection of small form factor offerings at the launch of a new chipset. While the ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4 caters primarily to the higher end of what's available on Z690, the ASRock Z690M-ITX/ax offers incredible value, specifications, and features for users looking to use DDR4 over DDR5 memory. Focusing on the design, the Z690M-ITX/ax follows a black and silver theme, with a black PCB and silver heatsinks, with the power delivery heatsink doubling up as a rear panel cover.
As it's a mini-ITX sized motherboard, it has just one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, but it does include two M.2 slots. One of the M.2 slots operates at PCIe 4.0 x4, while the second slot supports both PCIe 4.0 x4 and SATA drives. For conventional SATA-based storage and devices such as optical media, ASRock includes four SATA ports which include support for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. There are just two memory slots available for users, with support for up to DDR4-5000 and a combined capacity of up to 64 GB.
On the rear panel is a single USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C port, with a second G2x2 Type-C available via a front panel header. Also featured are four USB 3.2 G2 Type-A and two USB 2.0 ports. Networking support consists of two Ethernet ports, one powered by a Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5 GbE controller and a second by an Intel I229-V Gigabit controller. ASRock also includes a Wi-Fi 6E CNVi which offers support for both wireless and BT 5.2 devices. For users looking to use integrated graphics, there is an HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 video output pairing, while three 3.5 mm audio jacks are powered by a Realtek ALC897 HD audio codec. Finishing off the rear panel is a small BIOS Flashback button.
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ikjadoon - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Gigabyte has done a better job this time around with mini-ITX DDR4. $290 for a very well-rounded board—shame HiCookie lied so blatantly in all their 8 GHz marketing.ASRock mini-ITX: people still use type-A ports. 5x ports only?!
Windows 11, DDR5 availability & perf-price, and hybrid quirks make ADL a much better 2022 purchase for me. DDR4 price-perf + availability are nice, but not enough to overcome Panos’ major missteps on his first (and hopefully last) Windows launch.
DigitalFreak - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Why does anyone pay attention to these "extreme overclockers"? He hit (or didn't in this case) 8Ghz. Big deal. You can't actually do anything with the CPU at that speed aside from run an e-peen benchmark.ikjadoon - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Nobody paid attention until.... Gigabyte plastered his faked validations all over their Z690 marketing material. Nobody cares what any "overclocker" does these days and that's why they got jobs with motherboard vendors: the only people that can still sell a motherboard for $$$ with exaggerated hardware.https://www.techradar.com/news/no-gigabyte-didnt-s...
0ldman79 - Tuesday, December 14, 2021 - link
5 ports is a bad idea but type-A?Yeah, like 99% of USB accessories use type-A. That is still the *primary* interface for USB devices.
StormyParis - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
That last page is very useful, thank you. Wish I had a table to sum up the info ;-pFordGT550 - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
I can't find the Z690 Aorus Pro DDR4 in stock anywhere.bug77 - Friday, November 26, 2021 - link
I don't think it's available yet. Notice there's no price listed for it either (yeah, I've got my eyes on the same board).HLuna52180 - Friday, November 26, 2021 - link
Agreed! This is the model mobo that I want. It best fits my needs yet it's currently only available in Australia. Hope they make it into the states. I have all the other parts on order or with me already to make my Alder Lake build. Frustrating!MatarM0 - Saturday, November 27, 2021 - link
i see it in stock but it seems like it cant run any memory with 1.42v or higher depending on what newegg reviewer said and some others in the internet so hopefully they can fix it and it will be a good dealmeacupla - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
I can understand mobo makers not wanting to allocate too many resources into the dead end DDR4 platform, but these lineups seem excessively weak to me.Like, really? there's not a single Z690 DDR4 mobo with thunderbolt?
And then with Z690 DDR5 mobos, there's way too much overlap in features and functionalities.