GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS PRO – Tom’s Hardware

On the design front, the Z690 Aorus Pro changed things up, going with less coverage on the shrouds and heatsinks due to PCIe slot placement. The M.2, chipset and top VRM heatsink are all grey, providing a rather stark contrast against the black PCB and other heatsinks. Personally, I prefer the old style that covers more of the board and uses grey more sparingly (like the Z690 Aorus Master). That said, this is still a good-looking board and makes a great focal point for your Z690 build, though the lack of RGB lighting elements may be a turnoff for some.

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MSI MPG Z690 CARBON WIFI – iXBT

The hero of this review is the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi . That is, a motherboard from the MPG (MSI Performance Gaming) family, which does not belong to the top (all flagships are in the MEG family), but is still a very powerful tool for a modern PC, having all the wide capabilities both in terms of a set of peripherals and software. nutritional opportunities.

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GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS XTREME – eTeknix

If there’s a high-end feature you want, it’s likely on this motherboard. First up, there’s a powerful 20+1+2 Phase VRM design with 105A Power Stages and Tantalum Polymer Capacitors, which is great news for those wanting to push their CPU to max 24/7. Of course, with the Intel 12th Gen CPUs and Z690 combined, you’ll get DDR5 support, Intel Thunderbolt 4, PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes, and M.2 PCIe Gen 4. Add to that their flagship networking options, with the latest Intel WiFi 6E, as well as Aquantia 10 GbE LAN.

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ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME – eTeknix

This motherboard has just about everything I can think of, and then still goes beyond that! You get an insane 24+1 teamed power stage design, rated for 105A, which is pretty much the most advanced configuration for the Z690 launch. It also has a new “cold-forged heatsink” and their most premium armour and cooling design overall, but again, this is their flagship board. You get a staggering range of connectivity too, with Intel WiFi 6E, AQtion 10 GbE and Intel 2.6 GbE LAN with ASUS LANGuard.

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MSI MEG Z690 UNIFY – eTeknix

It’s certainly well equipped and comes with a suite of features to get the best performance from the new range of CPUs. There’s a 19+2 Phase design with 105A Power Stage, combined with massive heatsinks and armoured hardware to ensure the best performance. There are five M.2 mounts, all supporting PCIe Gen 4, and some large double-sided Shield Frozr coolers for those too. There’s a pair of PCIe 5.0 slots too, giving you impressive future-proofing.

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GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS MASTER – eTeknix

The Gigabyte Z690 AORUS Master goes to some extremes though, with the latest AQUANTIA 10 GbE LAN, as well as the latest Intel WiFi 6E 802.11ax 2×2, giving you tremendously fast networking options. However, I’m sure many will be excited by the rather extensive connectivity options on this board, but even more so by the mighty 19+1+2 Phase VRM design with 105A Power Stage and Tantalum Polymer Capacitors, which should make for impressive CPU performance and overclocking.

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GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS PRO – eTeknix

It’s hard to believe this isn’t one of the most extreme boards in the range, as it’s hardly sparse on features. you get a powerful 16+1+2 Direct VRM Design with 90A Power Stage and those lovely Tantalum Polymer Capacitors throughout. This is likely to be plenty when it comes to pushing Max Boost speeds from the latest Intel CPUs. You get the latest DDR5 memory support, enormous heatsinks on all vital hardware, but especially so on the VRM. There’s the latest Intel WiFi 6, as well as speedy 2.5 GbE LAN taking care of all your networking needs. 

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MSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 – eTeknix

While this is one of the more affordable Z690 gaming motherboards we’ve got in the office, it’s still pretty well equipped. It’s more on the high-end of the mid-range motherboards. Thankfully, that should be reflected with a reasonable price tag too. It’ll make good use of DDR4, support speeds of up to 5200 MHz. There’s a decent 16+1+1 Duet Rail Power Stage design, with PWM IC and a 70A Smart Power Stage. However, it’s the connectivity that looks even better, with PCIe Gen 5 and Gen 4 support, the latest USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, Audio Boost 5, 2.5 Gbps LAN and the ultra-fast Intel Wi-Fi 6.

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MSI MPG Z690 CARBON WIFI – eTeknix

The MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi motherboard is here at last, and while I brought you a preview last week, today is the full review, with those oh-so-important performance figures! Of course, it’s a bigger deal than just a new motherboard, as this is the launch of the new Z690 motherboards, which feature the latest LGA1700 socket for the new 12th Gen Intel Core processors (Alder Lake). These new CPUs and the new Z6690 chipset bring a suite of new options too, such as the latest DDR5 memory, PCIe 5.0, M.2 PCIe 4.0 storage, Thunderbolt 4, Intel WiFi 6 and more!

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ASUS ROG STRIX Z690-I GAMING WIFI – eTeknix

The ASUS ROG Z690-I Gaming WiFi comes equipped with the latest Intel LGA1700 socket, ready for the new 12th Gen Intel Core processors. It’s certainly not backwards compatible with anything, as the CPU is more rectangular on these new models. Power comes from an impressive 10+1 Power Stage design, backed up with high-quality alloy chokes and durable capacitors. While their flagships may have double the Power Stages, that’s still a mighty set up for this form factor. Networking comes from both the WiFi 6E and a 2.5 GbE LAN option, and even more impressive, there are two Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C (USB 4.0) connectors! 

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