The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR4): Over 30+ New Models
by Gavin Bonshor on November 24, 2021 2:00 PM ESTMSI MPG Z690 Edge WIFI (DDR4)
The MSI MPG Z690 Edge WIFI DDR4 motherboard is very similar to the DDR5 supported MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WIFI in both some of the specifications and aesthetics. The primary difference is the Z690 Edge WIFI DDR4 supports DDR4 memory as the naming and model number suggests. Looking at the design, the MPG Z690 Edge WIFI DDR4 includes a large black rear panel cover, with an RGB illuminated MSI Dragon logo, with more RGB LEDs found underneath the chipset heatsink. The Edge WIFI DDR4 has an all-black theme with a contrasting mix of shading, with an all-black PCB. MSI is also advertising that the MPG Z690 Edge WIFI DDR4 features a premium direct 16+1+1 power delivery.
Dominating the lower portion of the board are the PCIe slots. MSI includes one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots electronically locked down to x4, while MSI also includes one smaller PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. For storage, MSI includes four PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, each with M.2 heatsink coverage, as well as eight SATA ports, Six of these support RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays, while the other two are powered by an ASMedia ASM1061 SATA controller. Located in the top right-hand corner of the board are four memory slots, which can support up to DDR4-5200 with a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB.
On the rear panel are one USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C, five USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. Powering the onboard audio which consists of five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output is a Realtek ALC4080 HD audio codec while networking options consist of an Intel Wi-Fi 6 CNVi and Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller. MSI also includes a pair of video outputs consisting of an HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4, while a small BIOS Flashback button finishes off the rest of what's on the rear panel.
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ikjadoon - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Gigabyte has done a better job this time around with mini-ITX DDR4. $290 for a very well-rounded board—shame HiCookie lied so blatantly in all their 8 GHz marketing.ASRock mini-ITX: people still use type-A ports. 5x ports only?!
Windows 11, DDR5 availability & perf-price, and hybrid quirks make ADL a much better 2022 purchase for me. DDR4 price-perf + availability are nice, but not enough to overcome Panos’ major missteps on his first (and hopefully last) Windows launch.
DigitalFreak - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Why does anyone pay attention to these "extreme overclockers"? He hit (or didn't in this case) 8Ghz. Big deal. You can't actually do anything with the CPU at that speed aside from run an e-peen benchmark.ikjadoon - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
Nobody paid attention until.... Gigabyte plastered his faked validations all over their Z690 marketing material. Nobody cares what any "overclocker" does these days and that's why they got jobs with motherboard vendors: the only people that can still sell a motherboard for $$$ with exaggerated hardware.https://www.techradar.com/news/no-gigabyte-didnt-s...
0ldman79 - Tuesday, December 14, 2021 - link
5 ports is a bad idea but type-A?Yeah, like 99% of USB accessories use type-A. That is still the *primary* interface for USB devices.
StormyParis - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
That last page is very useful, thank you. Wish I had a table to sum up the info ;-pFordGT550 - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
I can't find the Z690 Aorus Pro DDR4 in stock anywhere.bug77 - Friday, November 26, 2021 - link
I don't think it's available yet. Notice there's no price listed for it either (yeah, I've got my eyes on the same board).HLuna52180 - Friday, November 26, 2021 - link
Agreed! This is the model mobo that I want. It best fits my needs yet it's currently only available in Australia. Hope they make it into the states. I have all the other parts on order or with me already to make my Alder Lake build. Frustrating!MatarM0 - Saturday, November 27, 2021 - link
i see it in stock but it seems like it cant run any memory with 1.42v or higher depending on what newegg reviewer said and some others in the internet so hopefully they can fix it and it will be a good dealmeacupla - Wednesday, November 24, 2021 - link
I can understand mobo makers not wanting to allocate too many resources into the dead end DDR4 platform, but these lineups seem excessively weak to me.Like, really? there's not a single Z690 DDR4 mobo with thunderbolt?
And then with Z690 DDR5 mobos, there's way too much overlap in features and functionalities.