The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR4): Over 30+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 24, 2021 2:00 PM ESTGIGABYTE Z690 Gaming X (DDR4)
Out of all of GIGABYTE's gaming-centric Z690 options, the GIGABYTE Z690 Gaming X DDR4 is perhaps the most basic from the brand in terms of features, but it looks very stylish for an 'entry-level' gaming model. From top to bottom, the GIGABYTE Z690 Gaming X DDR4 is decked out in gunmetal grey, with a large power delivery heatsink, and plenty of M.2 heatsinks that amalgamate into the chipset heatsink; a very consistent design throughout. There's also a small element of integrated RGB LED lighting which can be found at the right-hand side of the board and provides a sort of an underglow effect.
Looking at connectivity, GIGABYTE includes one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, with two full-length PCIe 3.0 x4 slots. Located in and around the PCIe slot area is the board's M.2 real estate, with GIGABYTE with an impressive total of four PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots. There are also six SATA ports on the right-hand side with support for Intel RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. Located in the top-right corner are the board's memory slots, with GIGABYTE opting for four in total with support for DDR4-5333 and support for up to 128 GB of capacity.
On the rear panel of the GIGABYTE Z690 Gaming X DDR4, there's 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 board omits Wi-Fi but does include an Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller which is the minimum specification on LAN we've seen on Z690 so far. Onboard audio options consist of two 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output, with one HDMI and one DisplayPort video output pairing allowing users to leverage integrated graphics.
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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.