What Z690 board are you eyeing?

Furious_Styles said:
I kinda agree. I paid like $250 for my current board (Z370 aorus gaming 7) which has a great feature set and more than I really need tbh. But now z690 equivalent is like $500, that's just ridiculous.
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The pricing is out of control. There is no question about that. We've seen motherboard prices virtually double over the last three to four years. The short version is this: Some of that is artificial and some of it isn't.
 
Dan_D said:
As a reviewer I used pretty much all the major boards from MSI, GIGABYTE and ASUS for every generation over the last 15 years. Though, I didn't do much with Z590 as it was about the least exciting time in motherboards that I can remember. That being said, I never had issues with U.2 drive detection and did use U.2 drives at the time. All Intel drives, but they were by far the most common U.2 drive on the consumer market at the time. I think I've still got one of their 400GB U.2 drives floating around somewhere.

EVGA has been seriously hit and miss with motherboards in my experience. EVGA boards are typically quirky as hell. Their physical construction is slightly better than ASRock's but they price their boards like they are GIGABYTE or MSI. Most of the time the issues I've encountered with them were firmware related. But, it's funny you mention U.2 issues because I've had tons of issues with EVGA and SAS controllers or 10GbE network cards. EVGA does minimal QVL testing and only does a fraction of what ASUS does for example.
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I have intel and samsung u.2 drives and Gigabyte and ASUS would just straight drop them (as in can't even see them) after shutdowns. I use SAS and 10gbe as well and I've found EVGA to be the easiest with them outside of supermicro. Odd luck I guess.
 
I wanted to build a Z690 DDR4 air cooled system. My first choice for a board was Asus. Unfortunately Asus made a major misstep and failed to accommodate the leading Air Coolers in their Strix line. The Noctua NH-D15 and Dark Rock Pro are incompatible because of the gaudy heat sinks and covers. Major oversight!. Ok, second choice, Tuf Gaming Z690 Plus WiFi D4. The coolers will fit but now they used an inferior Sound codec and it shows in many reviews. Much to my disappointment Asus is now out. Maybe they will fix these failures on Rev. 2 ? That now leaves the MSI Z690 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4 or the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Elite AX DDR4. All of my Asus boards have been rock solid but I have no hands on experience with MSI or Gigabyte. What would you guys recommend?
 
I ended up going with the MSI MPG Z690 Edge WIFI DDR4 because I couldn't find any DDR5 for the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master (which I just returned). I like it! While it has not been running too long, it's been a lot better than my last motherboard, an Asus Z490 Maximus XII Hero Wifi (I absolutely hate the RGB control, Asus Crate is hot garbage, and I went through two boards in a week period because one failed to start). I've had Asus motherboards since 2010, and product quality has gone down tremendously since the days of my Rampage IV Extreme.
 
JMCB said:
I ended up going with the MSI MPG Z690 Edge WIFI DDR4 because I couldn't find any DDR5 for the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master (which I just returned). I like it! While it has not been running too long, it's been a lot better than my last motherboard, an Asus Z490 Maximus XII Hero Wifi (I absolutely hate the RGB control, Asus Crate is hot garbage, and I went through two boards in a week period because one failed to start). I've had Asus motherboards since 2010, and product quality has gone down tremendously since the days of my Rampage IV Extreme.
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The only motherboard I had that failed was a Gigabyte. The power section actually flamed out. Asus has always been solid but maybe their quality is suffering while the others are improving? I cannot believe they dropped the ball on such basic items.
 
Armory Crate can be turned off. annoyingly, its actually a bios option on some of their boards. and if you don't disable the option, it automatically downloads and install Armory Crate.

I've had boards fail from just about everybody.

Gigabyte took down the bios update for the Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4 ITX board. I wonder what that's about.
 
chameleoneel said:
Armory Crate can be turned off. annoyingly, its actually a bios option on some of their boards. and if you don't disable the option, it automatically downloads and install Armory Crate.

I've had boards fail from just about everybody.

Gigabyte took down the bios update for the Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4 ITX board. I wonder what that's about.
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It's a windows feature that the vendors enabled. Gigabyte and a few others do it too, optionally - lets it download a package from the vendor instead of / in addition to windows updates.
 
With a Microcenter close by I'm going to set up a gaming box with the 12600k for 249.99 and the MSI Pro Z690 wifi D4. It has enough features for the intended use and if I don't like it for whatever reason the Tomahawk D4 is what I would step up to. I have all the other parts on hand from consolidating some PCs around here so playing around with ADL on the cheap is the real aim.
 
lopoetve said:
It's a windows feature that the vendors enabled. Gigabyte and a few others do it too, optionally - lets it download a package from the vendor instead of / in addition to windows updates.
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Windows update includes updates for armory crate now?
 
I went with the MSI MPG Z690 Edge WIFI DDR4. BIOS works well, no issues enabling XMP profile. Working great with my 12700k.

It was listed as compatible on Noctua's compatibility page so not surprised it worked but I I'm running it with a Noctua NH-D15S and can confirm it works perfectly, no issues. I have low profile RAM and was able to use both front and middle fans as well.
 
Furious_Styles said:
Windows update includes updates for armory crate now?
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Yep. Well, I should say it pushes the initial deployment. It CAN push updates too, but the bios setting tells it to pull a file from a certain location and install it. Most aren’t doing updates since armory crate /etc keep themselves updated.

Edit: same way that dell pushes BIOS updates now via windows update. Lenovo too I’ve heard. Which is freaky as hell
 
lopoetve said:
Yep. Well, I should say it pushes the initial deployment. It CAN push updates too, but the bios setting tells it to pull a file from a certain location and install it. Most aren’t doing updates since armory crate /etc keep themselves updated.

Edit: same way that dell pushes BIOS updates now via windows update. Lenovo too I’ve heard. Which is freaky as hell
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Woah, bios updates are not acceptable. Another reason to use group policy editor to disable HW updates in windows update.
 
Furious_Styles said:
Woah, bios updates are not acceptable. Another reason to use group policy editor to disable HW updates in windows update.
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Yep. Freakiest thing ever - had a corporate system I got to keep so I wiped it. First update reboot and off we go to firmware updates!

I think it even pulled an update for the damned dock!
 
lopoetve said:
Yep. Freakiest thing ever - had a corporate system I got to keep so I wiped it. First update reboot and off we go to firmware updates!

I think it even pulled an update for the damned dock!
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My Gigabyte board downloaded their fusion software on first update which proceeded to fail to run on Windows 11. It's great stuff...
 
ND40oz said:
My Gigabyte board downloaded their fusion software on first update which proceeded to fail to run on Windows 11. It's great stuff...
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That's odd. RGB Fusion for as wonky as it is, runs fine here on two machines with Windows 11.
 
Niner21 said:
That's odd. RGB Fusion for as wonky as it is, runs fine here on two machines with Windows 11.
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I ended up having to turn off Memory Integrity under Core Isolation to get it and App Center to work correctly. Do you have vt-x enabled in the bios, that may be why you didn't see it?
 
ND40oz said:
I ended up having to turn off Memory Integrity under Core Isolation to get it and App Center to work correctly. Do you have vt-x enabled in the bios, that may be why you didn't see it?
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I did not, so that may explain the difference.
 
lopoetve said:
Yep. Freakiest thing ever - had a corporate system I got to keep so I wiped it. First update reboot and off we go to firmware updates!

I think it even pulled an update for the damned dock!
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To be fair, Dell had widespread issues with a couple of dock models earlier this year. Video driver updates alleviated much of it. But ultimately, a dock firmware update was needed, as well.
 
chameleoneel said:
To be fair, Dell had widespread issues with a couple of dock models earlier this year. Video driver updates alleviated much of it. But ultimately, a dock firmware update was needed, as well.
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Oh no argument. But getting a firmware bundle via windows update is unexpected. Cool. Freaky. Scary. But unexpected.
 
Elgato748 said:
So, both Asus and Gigabyte have major issues pushing updates? What about MSI?
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Everyone does. Full stop. The only place you hope it works is initial install - which has gotten good. From there - maintain yourself
 
Koldur said:
Pretty useless video since it is about three generations ago, seems that in teh Z690 era Asucks has dropped the ball, all manufacturers have sorted their issues with BIOS updates, except Asucks:
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Yeah, 3 gens ago, nevertheless it sucked back then and they still try to compete with the other two brands and ASUS is still on top and best of the other two (somewhat) good brands, that would be MSI and ASRock, but Gigasucks? Never,

Any news on how great of an overclocker is the gigasucks z690 then?

Although it seems to me like people here buy K style processors but never bother to overclock them, if that's the case, #1 why bother? And #2, yes, even ECS and ABIT would make great Z690 flashy and w/4x NVMe slots with 1.2billion RGB light boards for the K processor, and EVERYBODY would be praising them and loving them. By the way, hence on "would", for those who understand.
 
Nasgul said:
Yeah, 3 gens ago, nevertheless it sucked back then and they still try to compete with the other two brands and ASUS is still on top and best of the other two (somewhat) good brands, that would be MSI and ASRock, but Gigasucks? Never,

Any news on how great of an overclocker is the gigasucks z690 then?

Although it seems to me like people here buy K style processors but never bother to overclock them, if that's the case, #1 why bother? And #2, yes, even ECS and ABIT would make great Z690 flashy and w/4x NVMe slots with 1.2billion RGB light boards for the K processor, and EVERYBODY would be praising them and loving them. By the way, hence on "would", for those who understand.
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Seems like you are full of empty statements and like to shout without addressing the facts. Hope you can find a way in life to not be so angry.
 
Nasgul said:
Yeah, 3 gens ago, nevertheless it sucked back then and they still try to compete with the other two brands and ASUS is still on top and best of the other two (somewhat) good brands, that would be MSI and ASRock, but Gigasucks? Never,

Any news on how great of an overclocker is the gigasucks z690 then?

Although it seems to me like people here buy K style processors but never bother to overclock them, if that's the case, #1 why bother? And #2, yes, even ECS and ABIT would make great Z690 flashy and w/4x NVMe slots with 1.2billion RGB light boards for the K processor, and EVERYBODY would be praising them and loving them. By the way, hence on "would", for those who understand.
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I guess I'm one of the "K" buyers that don't overclock, but I buy them because of availability.
 
Gigabyte is posting new bios

I have a Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4. They took down the 2nd bios, from about November 19th. And they put up a new one. It says 12/10, but it wasn't up on the 10th.
 
chameleoneel said:
Gigabyte is posting new bios

I have a Z690I AORUS ULTRA DDR4. They took down the 2nd bios, from about November 19th. And they put up a new one. It says 12/10, but it wasn't up on the 10th.
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Just got a new one of the Elite AX DDR4 as well.
 
MajorMullet said:
I went with the MSI MPG Z690 Edge WIFI DDR4. BIOS works well, no issues enabling XMP profile. Working great with my 12700k.

It was listed as compatible on Noctua's compatibility page so not surprised it worked but I I'm running it with a Noctua NH-D15S and can confirm it works perfectly, no issues. I have low profile RAM and was able to use both front and middle fans as well.
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What RAM are you using. I have the NH-D15 and its tough figuring what memory will clear it. Thanks
 
lopoetve said:
Ann’s because the automatic overclocked get you farther. They have higher limits in voltage and TDP. I can’t beat what TVB does; not by much. Why try?
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OC'ing has been a "hobby" for a while now on just about everything. Back in the day we had jumpers and other crap to deal with. We've also ditched the NB and FSB issues since then. We're all paying for feature sets, auto boosts, VRMs, and warranty/support now it makes fuck all sense to buy for OC. That said those EVGA dark boards do look nice and it's in budget but meh. I've got better things to fuck with now.
 
MajorMullet said:
I just updated to latest BIOS - so far so good :)
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My board came with the current BIOS already installed. Windows 11 installed without problems. Not even LAN driver issues.
The Noctua had excellent clearance.
I also used the Vengeance RAM but two 32's.
I did not car for the little plastic M.2 retainers.
The 3200 RAM was running at 2133. Enabling XMP fixed this.
The 3 pin case fans are all showing RPM's that continually vary.
The four pin PWM CPU fan shows Zero but seems to be spinning. ??

Thanks for the help.
 
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I'd like to chime in and say the MSI PRO Z690-A DDR4 is working great over here. Memory command rate stuck at 2T rather than 1T but that's due to a pre-mature BIOS.
 
chameleoneel said:
gigabyte put out a couple more bios updates
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and another bios the next day.

it turns out that if your bios number has a letter after it----its a beta bios. I got the f5d bios and updated to it. And then they put out the f5 bios the next day, which is a full release, not a beta. and now all of the beta bios have been pulled. Very weird.

Also----Gigabyte has not yet added an option to activate AVX-512, after disabling the E-cores. I'm doubting they will. Seems like if they wanted to do it, they would have, by now. Apparently Asus and Asrock are the only two with public bios offering the feature.
 
I just read that GEN5 NVME drives are should be coming out next year atleast commercially but not sure about normal consumers (maybe 2023)

Looks like no boards have Pcie 5.0 for the m.2 and alder lake doesn't even support it so far only way at the moment is to use the Pcie 5.0 x16 slot with an add on card however most boards only have 1 Pcie 5.0 slot (except MSI unify, Asus Hero, and few others) that could support the 14GB/s speeds these new drives are capable of.

I noticed my Aorus Master only has 1 Pcie 5.0 slot and the remaining slot only run at Pcie 4.0 x4 so they max out at 8GB/s.:(

Is this a big deal? Or by the time the GEN5 drives are cheap enough we'll have new boards with actual PCIe 5.0 m.2 slots?

I'm kind of annoyed Gigabyte gimped PCIe slots! You have to get the $900 Xtreme to get 2 PCIe 5.0 slots.

Should I have gotten the MSI board to something with more Pcie 5.0 slots?
 
T
Nirad9er said:
I just read that GEN5 NVME drives are should be coming out next year atleast commercially but not sure about normal consumers (maybe 2023)

Looks like no boards have Pcie 5.0 for the m.2 and alder lake doesn't even support it so far only way at the moment is to use the Pcie 5.0 x16 slot with an add on card however most boards only have 1 Pcie 5.0 slot (except MSI unify, Asus Hero, and few others) that could support the 14GB/s speeds these new drives are capable of.

I noticed my Aorus Master only has 1 Pcie 5.0 slot and the remaining slot only run at Pcie 4.0 x4 so they max out at 8GB/s.:(

Is this a big deal? Or by the time the GEN5 drives are cheap enough we'll have new boards with actual PCIe 5.0 m.2 slots?

I'm kind of annoyed Gigabyte gimped PCIe slots! You have to get the $900 Xtreme to get 2 PCIe 5.0 slots.

Should I have gotten the MSI board to something with more Pcie 5.0 slots?
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That isn’t gigabyte, that’s the CPU- it only has 16 5.0 lanes. Asus and the others let you split that x8/x8, but that’s a very niche use case these days. It’s a transitional cpu architecture - I’m waiting for the HEDT release for that reason alone.
 
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