What Z690 board are you eyeing?

Dutt1113 said:
https://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/gigabyte_z690_aorus_master_review/21

You can see the VRM temps comparison here
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Yeah, even though Asus has managed a lot lower VRM temps (on OC3D's testbed)------ really, none of those temps is bad or even just ok. They are all very good. The MSI Unify is edging into "ok" territory. But still, the temp posted there, is fine.

I would guess Asus used a magic mix of 1. large heatsinks 2. maybe used really good thermal pads 3. the specific components which they use for their VRM, may naturally be a bit cooler. I haven't yet seen any good comparisons of the VRM components for Z690 boards. But Asus often doesn't use the same stuff as the other brands. (and in the past, not necessarily better).

I still have a hunch that Gigabyte heatsink may fair relatively well, when actually used in a real computer case situation.
 
I went to the local (40 min drive) Microcenter here in Michigan and picked up a Gigabyte Aorus Master. I know, I am one of the lucky few that have a Microcenter nearby. They have everything there, its crazy. The Z690 boards are all going up in price and probably overpriced, but at least Gigabyte is undercutting the competition with features for the price. ASUS is smoking some good crack with the pricing they are charging with the Hero and higher boards. The Hero is $600 and has less features (no 10gbe) and power delivery (90A vs 105A) than the Master except for TB4 ports which I could care less about.

Now I'm just waiting on either the Lian-Li V3000+ or O11 Dynamic EVO to get released so I can start the new build.
 
chameleoneel said:
Got my Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4.

This thing seems to be excellent quality. And its loaded up with tons of heatsink material. Its the heaviest ITX board I have ever had and I've had some nice ones in hand.

The heatsink for the top NVME is comically large. However, it ought to wring every last drip of performance from the hottest single sided drives. Dual sided drives could suffer a bit, as there is only a small cold plate for the opposite side. The heatsink for the bottom drive isn't exactly small, either. But again, one side only gets a slim plate. The elephant in the room is whether or not this huge sandwich interfere's with popular air coolers.

The VRM heatsinks all look really nice. All those fins ought to work well. You can see a heatpipe connecting them, too. I don't think this is actively cooled.

The backside of the board has a nearly full sized heat spreader for the backside of the VRMs. This is the best I have ever seen on an ITX board. Not only is it large, the contact is really good. The heatpads are absolutely attached. and the heatspreader is also solidly secured. In contrast to an Z590 asrock board I had in hand recently, which had a pretty large heatsrpeader on the back. But it wasn't solidly secured. You could press on it and tap it against the PCB with your thumbs.

If you didn't catch it in the board name, this is the DDR4 version. I've got 32GB (2x16GB) of nice Crucial 3600 RAM. I don't sweat DDR5 one bit, right now.

Still waiting on EK to even announce an LGA 1700 conversion kit for my EK AIO so.....it will be days or weeks before I get to use this board.

I haven't had a Gigabyte board since Core2Quad days.
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Installing this board now. The NVME sandwich on this thing is really quite well conceived. Its large and will restrict some coolers and water hoses. But its quite easy to mess with.
 
chameleoneel said:
Yeah, even though Asus has managed a lot lower VRM temps (on OC3D's testbed)------ really, none of those temps is bad or even just ok. They are all very good. The MSI Unify is edging into "ok" territory. But still, the temp posted there, is fine.

I would guess Asus used a magic mix of 1. large heatsinks 2. maybe used really good thermal pads 3. the specific components which they use for their VRM, may naturally be a bit cooler. I haven't yet seen any good comparisons of the VRM components for Z690 boards. But Asus often doesn't use the same stuff as the other brands. (and in the past, not necessarily better).

I still have a hunch that Gigabyte heatsink may fair relatively well, when actually used in a real computer case situation.
Click to expand...
Agreed. The upper tier boards usually have high quality VRMs that won't throttle until they start going north of 120C, so those temps are not even close to care about.
 
Is it just me or that the VRM heatsinks on these boards are massive?

Or is it just that the socket is located further away from the left side of the board, so vendors had to extend what it usually a small plastic shroud a little further than it usually is?
 
Finally got my i9-12900K delivered last night.

looking to get the

ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 and CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE

going with DDR4 based on all of the reviews that there really is no difference, but it the board i'm going with a good match for the i9?
 
mda said:
Is it just me or that the VRM heatsinks on these boards are massive?

Or is it just that the socket is located further away from the left side of the board, so vendors had to extend what it usually a small plastic shroud a little further than it usually is?
Click to expand...
As the intel CPUs have been increasing the power required they have been making the heatsinks larger. I noticed the same trend from Z370->Z690.
 
chameleoneel said:
Got my Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4.

This thing seems to be excellent quality. And its loaded up with tons of heatsink material. Its the heaviest ITX board I have ever had and I've had some nice ones in hand.

The heatsink for the top NVME is comically large. However, it ought to wring every last drip of performance from the hottest single sided drives. Dual sided drives could suffer a bit, as there is only a small cold plate for the opposite side. The heatsink for the bottom drive isn't exactly small, either. But again, one side only gets a slim plate. The elephant in the room is whether or not this huge sandwich interfere's with popular air coolers.

The VRM heatsinks all look really nice. All those fins ought to work well. You can see a heatpipe connecting them, too. I don't think this is actively cooled.

The backside of the board has a nearly full sized heat spreader for the backside of the VRMs. This is the best I have ever seen on an ITX board. Not only is it large, the contact is really good. The heatpads are absolutely attached. and the heatspreader is also solidly secured. In contrast to an Z590 asrock board I had in hand recently, which had a pretty large heatsrpeader on the back. But it wasn't solidly secured. You could press on it and tap it against the PCB with your thumbs.

If you didn't catch it in the board name, this is the DDR4 version. I've got 32GB (2x16GB) of nice Crucial 3600 RAM. I don't sweat DDR5 one bit, right now.

Still waiting on EK to even announce an LGA 1700 conversion kit for my EK AIO so.....it will be days or weeks before I get to use this board.

I haven't had a Gigabyte board since Core2Quad days.
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Well despite this gigantic NVME heatsink arrangement-----the heatpad for the top heatsink doesn't make good contact with my Samsung 970 Pro. So I ordered some thicker heatpads from thermalright. Dang they are not cheap.

The bottom seems to be contacting my 960pro pretty well. but...I will probably replace that pad, as well.
 
chameleoneel said:
Well despite this gigantic NVME heatsink arrangement-----the heatpad for the top heatsink doesn't make good contact with my Samsung 970 Pro. So I ordered some thicker heatpads from thermalright. Dang they are not cheap.

The bottom seems to be contacting my 960pro pretty well. but...I will probably replace that pad, as well.
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Especially the 3.0mm. I'd have recommended arctic if it was cheaper, that stuff isn't top notch cooling-wise but usually is great for cost vs. performance.
 
Furious_Styles said:
Especially the 3.0mm. I'd have recommended arctic if it was cheaper, that stuff isn't top notch cooling-wise but usually is great for cost vs. performance.
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I'm not sure of the thickness Gigabyte uses on this board. I got 2.5mm, hoping its safe bet of definitely enough but, not too much :nailbiting:
 
chameleoneel said:
Well despite this gigantic NVME heatsink arrangement-----the heatpad for the top heatsink doesn't make good contact with my Samsung 970 Pro. So I ordered some thicker heatpads from thermalright. Dang they are not cheap.

The bottom seems to be contacting my 960pro pretty well. but...I will probably replace that pad, as well.
Click to expand...

One thing I really don't like about the m.2 setup is you can't get to the one outer most screw with it in the case. I installed my SN850 in the bottom slot since it's the CPU connected one and figured I'd pop another one in later on in the upper slot but don't think I'll be able to do that without pulling everything out of my Q58 which isn't happening.
 
ND40oz said:
One thing I really don't like about the m.2 setup is you can't get to the one outer most screw with it in the case. I installed my SN850 in the bottom slot since it's the CPU connected one and figured I'd pop another one in later on in the upper slot but don't think I'll be able to do that without pulling everything out of my Q58 which isn't happening.
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its probably different, depending upon your case. But I'm also not sure exactly what you mean? The three screws to start taking the top heatsink off, seem pretty accessible?

Also, with Intel, do you think there's any tangible performance difference between CPU connected and chipset connected NVME? Seems like the top slot was meant for the hottest drives. What with that comically huge and heavy heatsink!
 
For Z690 boards, is the uppermost PCIE 4.0 m.2 ssd slot the one that's directly connected to the CPU instead of the PCH?

Will using that M.2 slot cause the PCIE 5.0 slot for the graphics card to operate at x8 speeds instead of x16?
 
chameleoneel said:
its probably different, depending upon your case. But I'm also not sure exactly what you mean? The three screws to start taking the top heatsink off, seem pretty accessible?
Click to expand...

There's no way to get a screwdriver into my Q58 to get that screw that's closest to the io shield off, it's almost right up against the side of the case once the board is installed and the lip that holds the side panel on covers it completely.

chameleoneel said:
Also, with Intel, do you think there's any tangible performance difference between CPU connected and chipset connected NVME? Seems like the top slot was meant for the hottest drives. What with that comically huge and heavy heatsink!
Click to expand...

Probably not since the DMI is PCIe 4.0 x8 now but figured it couldn't hurt to hang the boot drive right off the CPU. Should have just left the heatsink off and I could have popped in a slower, cooler drive in the future without having to worry about it.
 
jologskyblues said:
For Z690 boards, is the uppermost PCIE 4.0 m.2 ssd slot the one that's directly connected to the CPU instead of the PCH?

Will using that M.2 slot cause the PCIE 5.0 slot for the graphics card to operate at x8 speeds instead of x16?
Click to expand...
most top M.2 are using x4 gen4 lanes from cpu but manual will say so check the specific board you are looking at to make sure.
 
Really confused as to which board I should go with.


I wanted the Z690 Aorus Pro DDR4 but that is nowhere to be found, and even if it were available there are multiple reports of DDR4 not running at XMP or being unstable in Gear 1. Gigabyte is having serious problems. If I can't use my existing 3600 32GB kit, and DDR5 is vaporware, then what?

I'm thinking of just going with the 5800X + X570S Aorus Master. o_O
 
therealjustin said:
Really confused as to which board I should go with.


I wanted the Z690 Aorus Pro DDR4 but that is nowhere to be found, and even if it were available there are multiple reports of DDR4 not running at XMP or being unstable in Gear 1. Gigabyte is having serious problems. If I can't use my existing 3600 32GB kit, and DDR5 is vaporware, then what?

I'm thinking of just going with the 5800X + X570S Aorus Master. o_O
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's because of an early bios. I just ordered an Asus board personally.
 
therealjustin said:
Really confused as to which board I should go with.


I wanted the Z690 Aorus Pro DDR4 but that is nowhere to be found, and even if it were available there are multiple reports of DDR4 not running at XMP or being unstable in Gear 1. Gigabyte is having serious problems. If I can't use my existing 3600 32GB kit, and DDR5 is vaporware, then what?

I'm thinking of just going with the 5800X + X570S Aorus Master. o_O
Click to expand...
There may be people out there still experiencing issues but: I have seen some reports that Gigabyte's new bios improve memory compatibility (couldn't use XMP before----now they can, etc). Despite it not being listed on the bios notes.

Alllllso, some of Gigabyte's boards are shipping with pre-release bios. The bios listed on the support page as the "First Launch Release" is actually newer than what ships on some boards.
 
I am looking at the Asus Z690 Strix Hero. I will likely wait until Raptor Lake releases to upgrade to a new platform.
 
I don't see too many ITX boards. dvsman how do you like the gigabyte ITX board? the only other one I'm seeing is an ASUS ITX board and an ASrock? Correct me if I'm wrong, more selection is better!
 
syncopied said:
I don't see too many ITX boards. dvsman how do you like the gigabyte ITX board? the only other one I'm seeing is an ASUS ITX board and an ASrock? Correct me if I'm wrong, more selection is better!
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There are finally product images on BHPhotoVideo for the MSI Z690i. It looks very promising... no huge VRM heatsink or crazy stacked NVME + covers that causes incompatibilities with many coolers. It's also listed in G.Skill's fastest DDR5 QVL (DDR-6000 CL16). Time will tell...
 
realworld said:
There are finally product images on BHPhotoVideo for the MSI Z690i. It looks very promising... no huge VRM heatsink or crazy stacked NVME + covers that causes incompatibilities with many coolers. It's also listed in G.Skill's fastest DDR5 QVL (DDR-6000 CL16). Time will tell...
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It still has a stacked nvme that's decently tall. And those caps are almost right against the socket.

1637759736_IMG_1648486.jpg
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ND40oz said:
It still has a stacked nvme that's decently tall. And those caps are almost right against the socket.

View attachment 415797View attachment 415798
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It actually has a fair bit more space to the left of the socket. Enough that, certain AIO's such as EK, could fit on the MSI. but, that means the backpanel VRM heatsink looks to have less material, which is probably why they went with active cooling.


the NVME heatsink isn't nearly as tall. but it may actually be about 1mm closer to the socket. The RAM looks to be the same distance. And above the socket will be more or less the same compatibility as the gigabyte (that row of caps above the MSI socket has no affect on compatiblity. They aren't tall enough.).

The MSI still squeezes 2 NVME up front and 1 in the back, for 3 total. First time ever, for ITX to have 3 NVME, AFAIK.
 

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I had an Asus TUF Z690 board in my hands today at Microcenter, but that was because I didn't see the Aorus boards right away and online they said they only had one so I figured I missed out. I did end up with the Aorus Z690 Elite AX DDR4. Not as well built as my Z490 Xtreme, but it's running in XMP mode with the latest bios so it's a win.
 
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ND40oz said:
It still has a stacked nvme that's decently tall. And those caps are almost right against the socket.
Click to expand...
Yeah I meant MSI isn't as "crazy" as Asus' solution with its 3x stacked NVMEs. Even so, the layers can all be removed to fit in big air coolers.
 
realworld said:
Yeah I meant MSI isn't as "crazy" as Asus' solution with its 3x stacked NVMEs. Even so, the layers can all be removed to fit in big air coolers.
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Asus' Z690 ITX has 2 NVME slots. MSI's Unify ITX is the only one with 3. 2 up front, 1 on the back.
 
Looking at MSI (Gigabyte bios issue and ASUS overpriced much lately) with DDR4 since I'll be gaming at 1440 and for office work that should be fine. I haven't upgraded in more than a decade, still rocking Phenom 2 x4 and Gigabyte M6 board. Going back to gaming a bit and should be a faster office setup. I was already planning a x570 with ryzen 5900, I guess it's good in a way that intel released their new CPUs at this period. My only problem will be the video card to get. A 3080 Ti or 6800 XT if I can find one.
 
Element010 said:
Looking at MSI (Gigabyte bios issue and ASUS overpriced much lately) with DDR4 since I'll be gaming at 1440 and for office work that should be fine. I haven't upgraded in more than a decade, still rocking Phenom 2 x4 and Gigabyte M6 board. Going back to gaming a bit and should be a faster office setup. I was already planning a x570 with ryzen 5900, I guess it's good in a way that intel released their new CPUs at this period. My only problem will be the video card to get. A 3080 Ti or 6800 XT if I can find one.
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I'm not sure the Gigabyte Z490/590 boards had bios issues, I think that was the AMD x570 ones. Unless someone else can chime in and say the gigabyte z690 have bios problems?
 
Furious_Styles said:
I'm not sure the Gigabyte Z490/590 boards had bios issues, I think that was the AMD x570 ones. Unless someone else can chime in and say the gigabyte z690 have bios problems?
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I read before buying mine that there were issues with the Gigabyte boards not picking up nvme drives and that they wouldn't run memory in XMP mode. My board didn't have any of those issues, but I did flash to the latest bios. All is stable here.
 
Now that I have a 12900K, I'm eyeing the GIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Waterforce Xtreme and the ASUS Maximus Z690 Extreme Glacial. I will probably go with one of the non-waterblocked versions, but those are tempting. We'll see though.
 
Niner21 said:
I read before buying mine that there were issues with the Gigabyte boards not picking up nvme drives and that they wouldn't run memory in XMP mode. My board didn't have any of those issues, but I did flash to the latest bios. All is stable here.
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You're right, I was looking at the Aero G or Aorus, but I read some reviews of people having nvme and memory issues. Maybe the newer bios would fix this or maybe some other underlying problems pop-up. Seems like the product still needs a bit of work. It's probably just safer for me to get the MSI. The case is here and PSU is coming, ordering the rest soon, now trying to see where I can get the GPU from.
 
Dan_D said:
Now that I have a 12900K, I'm eyeing the GIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Waterforce Xtreme and the ASUS Maximus Z690 Extreme Glacial. I will probably go with one of the non-waterblocked versions, but those are tempting. We'll see though.
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Any reason you want to buy the most overpriced boards they offer?
 
Furious_Styles said:
Any reason you want to buy the most overpriced boards they offer?
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I like nice things? A Ferrari is overpriced compared to a Mustang GT but there is no contest when it comes to figuring out which one is nicer. That being said, I also review these things for a living. I'm fully aware of how these boards differ across the product stack. As it happens, I went with the ASUS Z690 Maximus Extreme. I picked one up just a few minutes ago at my local Microcenter.

To be clear, I do not like how much more expensive the premium boards have gotten over the last three generations or so. But, when it comes to my own systems I am not a base trim level kind of guy. There are plenty of people who are happy with basic F-150 XL's. I'm more of a Platinum or King Ranch kind of guy. I don't usually buy the Mustang GT base. I buy the performance pack version in the premium trim. I enjoy shooting nice guns far more than your basic Glocks. I'm just like that.
 
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