Intel Z690

Welcome to the Intel Z690 Chipset News & Reviews Database. Looking for something specific? Use the search utility, tags, or just explore through using the drop-down menu. From there, you can select your preferred motherboard manufacturer to find a listing of Intel Z690 motherboards that have reviews available.

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MSI MEG Z690 UNIFY-X – Igor’s Lab

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The board is kept monochrome throughout, with black heat sinks made of anodized or brushed aluminum. In addition to the voltage converters, the M.2 slots are all covered with heat sinks. Only the silver-colored socket ILM, the coils around it and the two PCIE x16 slots stand out visually. Various “MEG” and “Unify-X” lettering can be found on the heat sinks and an MSI dragon in matt embossing on the IO cover. In the ATX form factor, MSI packs two DDR5 slots as close as possible to the socket for short signal paths and high overclocking potential.

Read more @ Igor’s lab (German)

ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME – Overclockers Russia

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Overclocking exists for this, to buy cheaply and how to get the performance of a more expensive device, or not? Unfortunately, everything has changed a long time ago and now they even start doing business on this. Indeed, in order to overclock the Intel processor now, you need to buy a modification with the letter “K”, otherwise the manufacturer does not approve. Even the processor itself does not guarantee anything. You also need a board, memory, and, in general, just all the most expensive hardware to squeeze out 200 MHz.

Read more @ Overclockers Russia (Russian)

ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO – The PC Enthusiast

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The Maximus Z690 HERO is based on Intel’s latest 600 series chipset, Z690 to be exact, and is designed for the latest 12th gen Intel Alder Lake processors, supporting socket LGA 1700. Some of its highlighted features are 20+1 power stages; DDR5 memory support; dual Thunderbolt 4.0 ports; PCIe 5.0 support; USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 front-panel connector; support for up to five M.2 SSDs; onboard WiFi 6E; and let’s not forget, Aura Sync RGB lighting.

Read more @ The PC Enthusiast

GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS ULTRA – ThinkComputers

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Gigabyte’s AORUS line of motherboards is known as their gaming line, but they also have many features enthusiasts will enjoy as well.  For Z690 there are quite a lot of boards in the AORUS line including the Pro, Ultra, Elite, Tachyon, Master, and Extreme.  Many of these have some of the same features so it all really depends on what features are the most important to you.  Today we are taking a look at the Z690 AORUS Ultra which features a 19-phase power design with 105A power stages, support for DDR5, USB 3.2 gen 2×2, four M.2 slots, and an updated look over the previous generation.  Is this the board you need for your Alder Lake build? Read on as we find out!

Read more @ ThinkComputers

MSI MPG Z690 CARBON EK X – PurePC

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MSI motherboards created in cooperation with EKWB have been regularly reviewed for several generations, observing the consistent evolution of products belonging to this niche segment. Today is the moment to check the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon EK X, the latest work of the aforementioned duo, dedicated to the LGA 1700 platform and 12th generation Core processors. Although AiO sets have become well established on the market, the greatest enthusiasts still prefer full-fledged liquid cooling systems and such users are the target group of the device described. 

Read more @ PurePC (Polish)

ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-I GAMING WIFI – OC3D

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ITX motherboards have come an awfully long way since when they first appeared on the market. Indeed the shift has been so dramatic that their intended use has changed too. Initially they seemed to exist solely to be installed into non-standard cases. Anyone who was around the internet back in the day will remember people having systems build in to their Millenium Falcon, or an old army ammo box, really the possibilities of squeezing a tiny system into a tiny case were almost limitless. What they all had in common though was the case being their primary function.

Read more @ OC3D

GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS MASTER – AnandTech

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Focusing on the GIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Master motherboard, it’s the most premium of the company’s Z690 models, save its flagship Xtreme series duo, the Z690 Aorus Xtreme, and the water block inclusive Z690 Aorus Xtreme WaterForce. As the Master series is a premium model, it’s equipped with an equally premium-looking aesthetic, with waves of black heatsinks covering the all-black PCB, as well as multiple areas of integrated RGB LED lighting.

Read more @ AnandTech

MSI MEG Z690 GODLIKE – eTeknix

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The Godlike isn’t just a motherboard, it’s a statement. It features all of the most recent specifications that a motherboard can have and a whole host of additions that have you questioning if you’re even buying this for the motherboard and not the extras. The extras in question are threefold; the new and possibly revolutionary M-vision dashboard that can be used for quick motherboard setting changes even whilst in windows and can be used as quick access to launch default programs on your PC like web browsers and the calculator, I do question this though, how much faster can it really be than clicking on the icon with your mouse?

Read more @ eTeknix

MSI MEG Z690 ACE – Hardwareluxx

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We had already tested the MEG Z690 UNIFY (Hardwareluxx test) from MSI’s Enthusiast Gaming mainboard series with Intel’s Z690 chipset , which once again boasts strong features in pure black without fairground lighting. The MEG Z690 ACE goes one step further. Not only was an audio codec that is better on paper installed, but also Intel’s JHL8540 Thunderbolt 4 controller, which can transfer data particularly quickly at 40 GBit/s in Thunderbolt mode. And surprisingly, MSI dropped onboard RGB LED lighting from the MEG Z690 ACE.

Read more @ Hardwareluxx (German)