But leaving aside the non-enlightenment. The most interesting thing about this board is possibly the type of memory it uses, I am talking about the well-known DDR4 memory. For this, the Tomahawk has 4 slots that support up to 128Gb in total and that support speeds of up to 5200MHz with overclock . Although, as you already know, depending on the memory that is installed, this speed can be very different.
Read more @ NewEsc (Spanish)
Even if the availability of the WLAN version (Z690 Steel Legend WiFi 6E) doesn’t look good at the moment, the manufacturer ASRock has included two variants in its range. But even the non-WLAN edition costs around 300 euros. For this purchase price, in addition to further PCIe slots, there is also one PCIe 5.0 x16, three M.2 M-Key interfaces, eight SATA 6 GBit/s sockets and of course a 2.5 GBit/s LAN Port. For the eye, the ATX motherboard also includes RGB LED lighting in three places, which form ASRock’s Polychrome RGB feature.
Read more @ Hardwareluxx (German)
So what’s the whole issue about? Well it’s too early to tell but based on the information shared by user, Maximumrog57, it looks like the issue occured a few days after the system was fired up. The user mentions that he heard a clanky noise but there was no visible indication of any damage on the board itself. However, the very next day, the motherboard failed to boot and reported the 53 error on the QCODE ‘DEBUG’ while the QLED lit up in orange color. The user also saw visible burn damage on the chips right below the QLED.
Read more @ Wccftech
At $289.99, the Asus TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WIFI D4 is a solid option for a more-affordable Alder Lake build, with DDR4 support, four M.2 sockets, 2.5 GbE and integrated Wi-Fi 6, an updated appearance and capable power delivery. This is an excellent low-priced option unless you need more than four SATA ports and six USB Type-A ports on the rear IO.
Read more @ Tom’s Hardware
One of the most agonizing elements of Intel’s launch of its latest 12th generation Alder Lake desktop processors is its support of both DDR5 and DDR4 memory. Motherboards are either one or the other, while we wait for DDR5 to take hold in the market. While DDR4 memory isn’t new to us, DDR5 memory is, and as a result, we’ve been reporting on the release of DDR5 since last year. Now that DDR5 is here, albeit difficult to obtain, we know from our Core i9-12900K review that DDR5 performs better at baseline settings when compared to DDR4.
Read more @ AnandTech
The motherboard is based on a black 10-layer mini-ITX PCB. In the design, elements of black and gray are mainly used, except that on the rear panel you can see other colors in the design of the I / O ports. Even with a cursory examination, it is easy to identify the differences from its predecessor – a different arrangement of some ports, an updated design of radiators and a completely different “sandwich” in the chipset area.
Read more @ GreenTech_Reviews (Russian)
The cost of MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4 in Russian stores is 25 thousand rubles, and the version with DDR5 memory support is only one thousand rubles more expensive. This is a low price level for motherboards based on the Intel Z690 chipset. Yes, there are models that cost 16-17 thousand rubles each, but their capabilities, to put it mildly, are rather modest.
Read more @ 3DNews (Russian)
Courtesy of a premature listing, we now have our first look at board pricing for some of Intel’s upcoming B660 chipset motherboards from MSI (via @momomo_us). The models listed include the B660M Mortar, B660M Bazooka, and B660M-A featuring much lower prices than most motherboards equipped with Intel’s flagship Z690 chipset. This should make building a cheap Alder Lake system much easier on the budget, with budget-friendly B660 motherboards coming as an option in the near future.
Read more @ Tom’s Hardware / momomo_us
ASRock Z690 Extreme is one more motherboard from the Extreme series, which offers us high performance and stability. On the other hand, we won’t find too many additional things that usually raise the price but do not necessarily give us a much better experience. I wish to see at least a WiFi/Bluetooth from additional controllers that isn’t available in the European version.
Read more @ FunkyKit
For sound, it is managed by the Realtek ALC4080 7.1 high-definition codec, with jack detection, S/PDIF optical output and premium Japanese capacitors. Other aspects are the flash bios button or the reset button that allows us to reboot the board, although they are undoubtedly a better option for external connections.
Read more @ NewEsc (Spanish)