You’ll in all probability have learn by means of the launch information relating to the primary six Intel Alder Lake processors for desktops. The HEXUS editor dived into the brand new processor selections, offering perception into the structure and configurations initially obtainable, on Wednesday night.
In case you are and even tempted by the brand new 12th gen Core processor platform from what you might have seen to date (third-party evaluations and availability from 4th Nov), then you can be to select by means of the motherboard choices which have now been publicized by Intel companions. There’s going to be numerous selection, as evidenced by this preliminary splurge of Z690 motherboards by the likes of Asus, Gigabyte, MSI and EVGA. The place to begin? Effectively, Asus has top-of-the-line write-ups of its new choices, so I’ll look by means of its Z690 vary right this moment, with hyperlinks to Z690 promo supplies from the opposite gamers to be discovered on the finish of the article.
Asus has at least 19 new Intel Z690 motherboards on your consideration, falling into the now acquainted ROG, ROG Strix, ProArt, TUF Gaming, and Prime households. As Z690 is a high-end and fanatic chipset, it’s appropriately extra strongly represented by the ROG and ROG Strix households. The ROG boards, 5 Maximus fashions, are all EATX and ATX kind issue, however the ROG Strix quintet which were revealed span ATX, Micro-ATX, and Mini-ITX kind components. The only ProArt and two TUF Gaming fashions are ATX sized, and the six Prime fashions consist of 5 ATX plus one Micro-ATX mannequin.
You’ll find a full product matrix PDF that includes all 19 Asus Z690 motherboards, itemizing and evaluating their tech specs right here.
New and headlining options that you will note on these new motherboards embrace; PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, DDR5 slots, giant VRM heatsinks, plus M.2 heatsinks, ultra-fast networking tech akin to WIfi6e and 10Gb/2.5Gb Ethernet, USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 entrance panel connectors with Fast Cost 4+, and Thunderbolt 4 USB Kind-C for as much as 40Gbps of bidirectional bandwidth and further show choices. In fact, numerous dimension/collection motherboards can have kind of of those options relying on kind issue and price range. For instance the solitary Mini ITX board launched has simply 1x PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, simply two DDR5 DIMM slots, and 2x M.2 slots. Please be aware that one of many ROG Strix motherboards, each TUF Gaming boards, and three of the six Prime boards are DDR4 solely. If you’d like higher on-board sound (the latest Realtek ALC 4080 with USB audio choices) you must also follow the ROG and ROG Strix traces, however you may also discover the ALC1220 among the many different largely ALC897 boards.
One other fascinating set of options Asus needs to attract your consideration to is the enhancements it has made to ease of DIYing. Claiming “DIY is simpler than ever” with its new boards, it has numerous Q-features (quick-features) on these motherboards, with the PCIe Slot Q-Launch button claimed to “drastically simplify the method of detaching a PCIe card from the motherboard”.
Along with new {hardware} options, Asus trumpets its AI OC one click on overclocking, however it hasn’t spelled out precisely which Z690 boards assist this, as but.
Different manufacturers
I’ve acquired emails from the likes of MSI and BioStar about their new Z690 motherboards. ASRock, EVGA, and Gigabyte Aorus have not been in contact but however observe these hyperlinks for his or her newest Z690 press releases. Moreover MSI, for instance, has a particular occasion deliberate for twond Nov, to showcase extra new motherboard merchandise and options.
You must test your native on-line or bricks and mortar shops for pricing and availability. Within the UK, Scan is promoting the brand new Asus Z690 motherboards at costs starting from £186 (Prime Z690M-Plus D4) to £1,669 (ROG Most Z690 Excessive Glacial – however the non-glacial model is £934). These are pre-orders which might be despatched out on 4th Nov, the launch date for the Intel processors.
HEXUS might be trying out a collection of one of the best Intel Z690 motherboards, from numerous manufacturers, in the end.
