MSI and EK teamed up in an effort to bring something really nice to the audience. Meet the EK-Mana MSI MAG Z690 TORPEDO EK X D-RGB a Z690 motherboard at around 399 USD this motherboard with a monoblock and a motherboard loaded with premium features. The board houses four M.2 slots and there are a plethora of speedy USB ports on the board and the most luxurious Realtek ALC4080 audio codec.
Read more @ Guru3D
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)
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)
After testing the Micro ATX version without Wi-Fi, we decided to recommend the Asus TUF Gaming B660-Plus WIFI D4 , which we will analyze today, based on size, internal connections, and price. It will be a good way to see if we are actually right in our decision, as it is a board that expands its capacity to 3 PCIe 4.0 slots with heatsinks, Wi-Fi 6 or 4 expansion slots. The VRM is maintained in 10 + 1 power phases , being compatible with DDR4 memory.
Read more @ Professional Review (Spanish)
The motherboard equipped with the Intel H670 chipset is the main character of this time, “MAG H670 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4” . Although it belongs to the “MAG” series , which is positioned as an entry class in MSI’s gaming motherboard, it is equipped with a robust power supply circuit with a total of 16 phases that adopts highly efficient “Dr.MOS” for the power supply circuit.
Read more @ GDM (Japanese)
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
After the successful launch of Z690 based motherboards last year (Q4 2021), Intel have now released their lower-end 600-series with B660, H610, and H670 chipsets. The B660 chipset is dedicated to gamers who don’t need special controllers or additional PCIe lanes, but still want to enjoy the new platform and its improved features. For most users, the difference between the B660 chipset and the Z690 won’t be significant, while for sure B660 motherboards will be much cheaper.
Read more @ FunkyKit
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
ASRock delivers a Mini ITX Z690 motherboard at around 300 USD. It’s loaded with premium features and is DDR5 compatible. Armed with two M.2 slots and a plethora of speedy USB ports on the board, as well as the ALC1220 audio codec and integrated Wi-Fi 6E. Additionally, ASRock offers a proper VRM design.
Read more @ Guru3D
For the test this time, we’ll be taking a look at the MSI B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4, the variant that supports DDR4 memory that is aimed at users who prefer to stick to their good pair of DDR4 memory kits while still being able to enjoy part of the benefits which the Intel 12th Gen Core processor has to offer. Without any further ado, let’s see what you can expect from this motherboard.
Read more @ Tech Critter