On the contrary, something that does not go unnoticed are the brushed aluminum heatsinks that it has spread over its entire surface. These coolers have a generous size and an attractive design with black lines and grooves that give the board some charisma. Another thing that surprised me is that both M.2 ports have their own heatsinks, which MSI calls M.2 Shield Frozr .
Read more @ NewEsc (Spanish)
Aside from the LGA1700 socket and the four DDR4 slots for system expansion , MSI has provided a PCIe 4.0 x16, PCIe 3.0 x16 and PCIe 3.0 x1 slot on a mechanical basis on the micro-ATX board . Two M.2 and six SATA 6GBit/s sockets enable a solid storage expansion and some USB interfaces should not be missing. In addition to the 2.5 GBit/s LAN port, there is also a WLAN module. All in all, MSI’s MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 sounds pretty interesting. Now let’s go into detail.
Read more @ Hardwareluxx (German)
We will end our tour of Asus motherboards from the “ROG Maximus Z690” series with the ultimate version, the Extreme Glacial model. If last week, we offered you the test of the ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme, this “Glacial” model also benefits from a full water block designed by the company EK. This waterblock will be responsible for keeping your CPU, the power supply stage, your SSD as well as the chipset cool . This model will therefore use the excellent PCB as well as the many connectors of the Extreme version while optimizing the cooling of the various components. A collaboration between
Read more @ Overclocking (French)
As Tweeted by @9550pro, a new ROG DDR5 to DDR4 adapter appears to be in development by Asus. Chinese YouTuber 林大餅Bing made a video discussing this new DDR5 conversion card and how it works.
According to the video, this is an experimental DDR5 to DDR4 card. The YouTuber explains that the card can successfully convert a DDR5 slot to communicate DDR4 signaling to both the CPU and memory module. However, due to the card’s immense size, the traces connecting the DDR4 module to the DIMM slot are very long, which can make running high-speed memory modules problematic.
Read more @ Tom’s Hardware
The Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master features a dedicated VRM design with an insane nineteen 105 A power stages for some serious overclocking headroom. To round out the experience, the Aorus Master also offers great connectivity with the newest WiFi 6E technology and 10G LAN for those who need to transfer data quickly. There is a lot to cover in this review, so let’s take a closer look!
Read more @ TechPowerUp
Meet the Biostar Z690 Valkyrie motherboard. This product is from a series that already appeared using the Z590 chipset in the past. What does this name mean? It’s the name of Odin’s twelve handmaids who conducted the slain warriors of their choice from the battlefield to Valhalla. The series was introduced with Z590 Valkyrie. But coming back to the reviewed board – it is very expensive, as the MSRP is 599 USD (about 150 USD more than its predecessor), so it’s aimed at the high-end range of the market (and it’s rather crowded there).
Read more @ Guru3D
We extract the Biostar Z690 Valkyrie from all its packaging and we find ourselves before a motherboard with a conventional design in terms of the PCB, but with oversized and aggressively designed heatsinks for the VRM and the M.2 that facilitate their cooling. It is true that this aesthetic is not usually the most successful in these parts, but for color tastes.
Read more @ El Chapuzas Informatico (Spanish)
The ProArt B550-Creator features a black PCB with black heatsinks on the VRMs, the chipset, and the M.2 slots. The rear I/O shroud is also black, but it’s made of an opaque plastic that leaves some components underneath barely visible.
Though the look is mostly monotone, I actually appreciate its simple design language. Nowadays, it seems as if many companies think everything needs to have LEDs and chrome. The heatspreaders on the M.2 slots are a bit starker than I might like, but overall I don’t think the board’s appearance will turn anyone away.
Read more @ PC Magazine
The Maximus Formula has been the go-to enthusiast platform for years. Living between the Hero, one of the best gaming platforms, and Extreme, the top-tier ROG board is no easy task. Still, the Z690 Formula manages quite well, offering legit connectivity from Thunderbolt 4 to USB 3.2 Gen2x2, 10Gbe with the help of Marvell AQC chipset and top-of-the-line audio with the new Realtek ALC4082.
Read more @ TweakTown
Last week widespread reports of melting MOSFETs on Asus’ Z690 Hero motherboards emerged across various social media platforms, with pictures of motherboards that met a fiery fate spurring a bit of investigation from the enthusiast community. We followed up with Asus to learn more, and the company acknowledged the issues to Tom’s Hardware (below) and provided a full statement on the underlying causes. The company is also beginning a replacement program for impacted users.
Read more @ Tom’s Hardware