It features ASRock’s newest 20 Phase SPS Dr.MOS Power Design and supports PCIE 5.0 slots for graphics cards, as well as memory speeds of up to DDR5 6400MHz (OC). For storage, it comes with 6 x SATA3 ports, 2 x Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4) slots and 1 x M.2 (PCIe Gen3 x2 & SATA3) slot, which is more than enough for more most users. As far as expansion is concerned, it has 2 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, and 1 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slot.
Read more @ FunkyKit
ASRock has revealed five upcoming X670 and X670E motherboards on its main site, including the X670E Taichi Carrara, Taichi, Steel Legend, Pro RS, and the X670 PG Lightning. All five boards will serve as ASRock’s introduction into the AM5 platform and are designed to run AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 7000 series processors.
The newest entry in ASRock’s lineup is the X670E Taichi Carrara. This board appears to be nothing more than an outfit change over the vanilla X670E Taichi, with general specifications being identical between the two motherboards. The Carrara sub-variant features a rather extravagant looking white marble top spread out over the entire bottom and rear I/O section of the motherboard. This design is accompanied by a matte black finish in the top and top-right sections of the motherboard, paired with a line of RGB LEDs to the bottom right.
Read more @ Tom’s Hardware
The NZXT N5 Z690 is the first of its kind amongst the rest of the motherboards sold by NZXT. This board is the first time we have seen a lower tier board compared to other boards they’ve previously released which have been typically seen as part of the “N7” line-up with the most notable feature being the clean shielding that covers pretty much all of the board and matches perfectly with NZXT’s own brand of cases. This newer N5 approach from NZXT forgoes the shields and instead focuses on making a board simplistic, full of features and as easy to build with as possible.
Read more @ eTeknix
As usual, NZXT hasn’t skimped on the packaging of its motherboards. The N7 Z690 comes in a bigger-than-you’d-expect box, providing ample protection. After removing the motherboard from the box, I readied it for installation.
My i7-12700K, 16 GB of RAM, and RTX 3070 joined the board and other components inside of the H7 Elite case without issue. Ports are placed thoughtfully and I was especially happy with the generous number of fan headers. After the installation was complete, I was left with a very good-looking system.
Read more @ GameRevolution
Two more design elements that will make the DIY enthusiast happy: First, M.2 latches mean no more losing those tiny screws. Second, the integrated I/O shield makes sure it’s never forgotten—and comes in handy in cramped cases where it’d be more difficult to maneuver. This is a feature that’s been appearing on higher-end motherboards the last few years, so it’s great to see it here.
Read more @ PCWorld
At over $600, the ASRock Z690 Taichi Razer Edition is a pricey alternative to the Taichi that includes more RGBs and native integration with the Razer Synapse ecosystem. If customizing your board and the attached lighting is key, the Razer Edition is a great choice in the premium motherboard space. Otherwise, there are better equipped and less expensive options available.
Read more @ Tom’s Hardware
With the release of Intel Alder Lake, it was only a matter of time for NZXT to give its N7 motherboard a refresh to support the latest 12th Gen Intel processors and other highlight features from the Z690 chipset. Enter the NZXT N7 Z690, the latest Intel flagship motherboard with full CAM support.
NZXT is still relatively new to the motherboard game, even though the company has a few boards already under its belt with its established partnership with ASRock. The Z690 is the third generation of NZXT N7 motherboards for Intel processors, and the company has improved upon feedback with each iteration.
Read more @ Windows Central
With the N7 Z690, NZXT has brought a mainboard onto the market that not only impresses with its external appearance. It is also well equipped at the same time and comes with 12+1 phases, which ensure good power supply and stability of the processor. At first we were skeptical about the power stages, but then we were taught better, because the values we achieved speak for themselves.
Read more @ Hardware Inside (German)
As far as hardware goes on the B660 Master, it’s not far off its Z690 brethren with three PCIe express slots, the top x16 operating at Gen4 and the other two operating at x4 and x1 Gen3, respectively. Storage includes one m.2 slot coming off the CPU, this lives above the top PCIe slot. We also have two more m.2 slots to the left of the chipset heat sink, one operating at Gen4 and one at Gen3. SATA connectivity includes four ports at 6Gbps.
Read more @ TweakTown
The new Zen 4 Ryzen processors will have eight general purpose lanes, of which at least four will be required to be dedicated to an M.2 storage slot (always Gen 5). The other four lanes are up to the motherboard manufacturers. Some boards will use these to implement Thunderbolt 4 (Intel Maple Ridge JHL8540) or USB4 (ASMedia ASM4242). If none of these options are used, these lanes can go towards an additional M.2 slot.
With integrated graphics becoming standard on Zen 4, the first generation of AM5 processors will offer four dedicated display outputs, with HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.0 being supported, but neither being required as far as we understand. There are also four USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports and at least one USB 2.0 port coming from the processor. Three of the USB 3.2 ports also support DP Alt Mode, something we’ve seen several announced boards supporting on at least one USB-C port. This seems to be up to the motherboard manufacturers to implement once again.
Read more @ TechPowerUp