On this day in 1996, a freshly inked U.S. patent quietly laid the cornerstone of the digital music revolution. In addition to facilitating this now vast internet-based entertainment business, the humble MP3 file format would propel broadband proliferation, usher in the iPod era, and arguably precipitate the iPhone and all the other touchscreen-slabs that remain indispensable gadgets to this day.

MPEG Audio Layer III (MP3) files were devised by scientists to greatly reduce the amount of data required to represent an audio file. Key personnel behind the invention of MP3 included: Bernhard Grill, Karlheinz Brandenburg, Thomas Sporer, Bernd Kurten, Ernst Eberlein, and Dieter Seitzer. Brandenburg is often credited as being the father of MP3, for leading this and similar research since 1977, but Seitzer (for example) brought expertise in transferring music over standard phone lines.

Central to this digital audio format’s success was its ability to shrink audio files by 75%-95%. It did this by using now familiar lossy media compression techniques. In other words, the MP3 audio codec discarded audio data to achieve significant file size reductions, with little perceptible difference in listening quality due to the perceptual limitations of human hearing. Depending on the target listening device, users could change compression bit rates, though audiophiles often insisted they could hear the difference between raw CD audio source data, or indeed, vinyl.

Work on the MP3 file format began in 1987, and a patent was awarded for the compression method in Germany in 1989. But it wouldn’t be until 1996 when U.S. Patent 5,579,430 was granted to Fraunhofer, securing the format in the home of leading global entertainment businesses, that MP3 started to gain traction. The inventors were primed to make lots of money from the internet boom that had started in earnest.

From Napster shockwaves to an industry accepted ‘1,000 songs in your pocket’

Unfortunately for Fraunhofer, its software was quickly ripped off and shared widely online. Once it was re-packaged into CD ripper and encoder apps, it was a cinch for music collectors to rip CDs into MP3s and share them with friends. Such activity began online via FTP servers, but in 1999, Napster was launched, changing the music industry forever.

Several tech moments converged to make this a perfect storm for the traditional music industry. WinAmp was released and ready to be your default MP3 player in 1998, the year before Napster arrived. At the same time, broadband was proliferating, which meant it could take seconds, instead of several minutes, to grab the latest number one hit single. Broadband became an accelerant for the physical music media inferno.

We also saw the first MP3 hardware player arrive in 1998. Diamond Multimedia’s Rio 100 launched in the U.S., and Saehan Information Systems' MPMAN became available in Korea. Both used solid-state Flash to store music.

Apple would be instrumental in the legitimization of digital music. Its iTunes software launched in January 2001, with the first iPod hardware released within the same year. However, it would take until 2003 to put together the first groundbreaking partnerships with the music business in crisis. That is when the iTunes Music Store opened its doors with 200,000 digital music tracks at $0.99 each.

The MP3 file format patent expired in 2017, and is an old legacy codec, now largely a symbol of an iconic era in media and internet history. For the same purpose – digitizing physical music media – it has been usurped by modern alternatives like AAC and FLAC.

In 2025, music ripping, downloading, and sharing have taken a back seat to streaming services powered by superfast broadband and 4G/5G mobile connectivity. Ardent music enthusiasts and collectors still prefer their physical media, though, as was the case during the MP3 era.

Raspberry Pi has long been the most famous in the world of single-board computers. But there are plenty of alternatives, such as LattePanda and Khadas, and of course, BeagleBoard, which has announced the availability of its RISC-V powered BeagleV-Ahead.

Coming in at $149, the BeagleV-Ahead is powered by a 2 GHz, quad-core RISC-V 64GCV Xuantile C910 CPU and has 4GB of RAM and 16GB of eMMC flash storage on which you can install either Ubuntu or Yocto Linux. The OS is flashed to the board, and we then remotely interface with the board via a terminal or web interface.

The big draw for this board is the RISC-V CPU. In the maker community, RISC-V is gaining popularity, mainly due to its open-source nature and availability in several different price points and packages. This includes Milk-V, which offers three RISC-V machines starting from $9. You can even get RISC-V-powered soldering irons now!

Beagle boards have used Arm-based CPUs in the past, but the switch to an open-source RISC-V CPU is the only significant change between the boards. The distinct BeagleBoard form factor remains, meaning "capes", BeagleBoard's name for add-on boards (think Raspberry Pi HATs or Arduino Shields). Capes connect to the board using the P8 and P9 header, essentially the same as the Raspberry Pi's GPIO. But with the BeagleV-Ahead, we get six analog inputs and a plethora of PWM, I2C, UART, SPI, I2S and good old digital IO.

The BeagleBoard team has a documentation page up; from there, we can delve deeper into the BeagleV-Ahead. There are a few gaps, but this board is just a few days old, so documentation will eventually catch up.

We first reported on this board in 2021, and in the two years since, there has been a pandemic and a global chip shortage which has impacted the delivery time of the BeagleV. That said, it is good to see another RISC-V board being offered to an enthusiastic maker community.

The BeagleV-Ahead is available from several distributors, with an average price of $149. 

In a recent video, YouTuber EposVox reports that YouTube is finally rolling out AV1 live-streaming support to the platform, with the tech currently in a beta. AV1 will provide YouTube live streams with a substantial increase in video quality, and allow users to stream at up to 4K 60FPS with Twitch-limited bitrates. EposVox was able to get early access to a development build of OBS 29.1 to check out YouTube's live streaming AV1 capabilities.

The newest addition to the AV1 rollout is YouTube live streaming support with AV1. YouTube just rolled out beta support for a new video live-streaming standard known as Enhanced RTMP, which will allow streamers to utilize several of the latest video codecs, including AV1, VP9, and HEVC (H.265) to live stream videos to YouTube.

EposVox was able to test drive Enhanced RTMP, with a development build of OBS 21.9 to stream AV1 gaming content to YouTube directly. According to EposVox, the quality difference is night and day compared to H.264. The quality jump with AV1, allowed him to drive higher quality video to his live stream, and remove pixelation altogether.

Just for perspective on how powerful AV1 is, EposVox was able to run an AV1 1440P 60FPS live stream of Halo Infinite at 500kbps - a bitrate 15x lower than the Twitch limit, and the stream was still perfectly watchable.

For normal use cases, EposVox found that 8mbps was the sweet spot for 1440P 60FPS, and around 15mbps for 1440P 60FPS. For a perfectly good-looking live stream with none or close to no pixelization. For users that still want to stream 1080P video, all you'll need is a 4MBps bitrate to achieve the same result. This is a night and day difference to H.264 where 8Mbps was about the minimum you want for a high-quality 1080P 60FPS video stream, and even in this situation, pixelation is still very likely to occur with a lot of streams.

AV1 represents the biggest jump in video quality and performance in a decade. AV1 is the latest-generation open-source codec, that has garnered massive support from many industry tech giants to supersede older standards such as H.264. The media codec is substantially more capable than H.264, and has the capability of running up to 4K 60FPS streams at similar bitrates to H.264 1080P video.

Development has been slow, with AV1 originally being founded in 2015. But after 5 years of development, AV1 is now in a functional state, with all major GPU manufacturers and several major video platforms already supporting AV1 video playback. YouTube is one of these platforms and already supports AV1 video playback and AV1 uploads. (In fact, Discord already supports limited AV1 live streaming.)

The only side-effect of YouTube's implementation is that videos will still get transcoded to VP9. This means AV1 live streams will be re-coded to YouTube's VP9 codec. VP9 is known to be of slightly lesser quality but it supports far more GPU hardware. Thankfully this isn't a big deal, since transcoding doesn't take away much from AV1's encoding capabilities, and video quality remains exceptionally good.

We don't know exactly when AV1 live streaming will roll out officially across the entire YouTube platform, but it will probably be soon since the roll-out is already in beta. OBS isn't far behind either, with a new version that is being developed right now that will support YouTube's new AV1 live stream standard (Enhanced RTMP).

If you want to get ready for AV1 live streaming support, all you need is either a capable multi-core CPU (for software-based AV1 encoding) or purchase a new RTX 40 series, RX 7000 series, or Intel A-series Arc Alchemist graphics card to live stream AV1 to YouTube in the future.

Nvidia has quietly removed some of the concurrent video encoding limitations from its consumer graphics processing units, so they can now encode up to five simultaneous streams. The move may simplify the life of video enthusiasts, but Nvidia's data center grade and professional GPUs will continue to have an edge over consumer products as now Nvidia does not restrict the number of concurrent sessions on them. Obviously, the speed of encoding can suffer with more simultaneous encodes.

Nvidia has increased the number of concurrent NVENC encodes on consumer GPUs from three to five, according to the company's own Video Encode and Decode GPU Support Matrix. This is effective for dozens of products based on the Maxwell 2nd Gen, Pascal, Turing, Ampere, and Ada Lovelace microarchitectures (except for some MX-series products) and released in the last eight years or so.

The number of concurrent NVDEC decodes isn't restricted, though if you're after real-time decoding, there are limits to how many streams can be handled at once. Nvidia provides a table showing the relative decode speeds of various GPUs by codec, though it doesn't indicate the resolution of those streams. Still, even second generation Maxwell GPUs could do over 400 fps of decode, enough for at least six simultaneous 1080p (?) streams — assuming you don't run out of VRAM.

The change does not affect the number of NVENC and NVDEC hardware units activated in Nvidia's consumer GPUs. For example, Nvidia's latest AD102 graphics processor, based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, features three hardware NVENC encoders and three NVDEC decoders. All three are enabled on Nvidia's RTX 6000 Ada and L40 boards for workstations and data centers, but only two are active on consumer-grade GeForce RTX 4090. The AD103 and AD104 each have two NVENC and four NVDEC units, but GeForce cards only enable two of the NVDEC units.

Historically, Nvidia has restricted the number of concurrent encoding sessions on all of its graphics cards. Consumer-oriented GeForce boards supported up to three simultaneous NVENC video encoding sessions while Nvidia's workstation and data center solutions running the same silicon and aimed at ProViz, video streaming services, games streaming services, and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) could support 11–17 concurrent NVENC sessions depending on the quality and hardware. It turned out a couple of years ago that Nvidia's restrictions could be removed by a relatively simple hack.

But Nvidia's stance on NVENC and NVDEC limitations has evidently changed a bit. Now, consumer GPU support up to five concurrent NVENC encode sessions. Workstation-grade and data center-grade boards do not have any restrictions and the actual number of concurrent sessions depends on actual hardware capabilities, codec choice, and video quality.

ASRock’s B650E Steel Legend Wi-Fi is a mid-range offering in the B650E board realm. Priced at $269.99, it comes with that steely black-on-grey aesthetic, PCIe 5.0 support, capable power delivery, three M.2 sockets (including one 5.0 128 Gbps socket), eight USB ports on the rear IO, and more. While it’s a capable and performant board, it only sports two SATA ports. Even though M.2 drives have come down in price, many people still use more than two SATA-based storage devices. And its audio hardware, while probably fine for most people, is dated compared to the competition.

ASRock’s B650 lineup (at the time of this writing) consists of 10 different motherboards. There you’ll find all the standard sizes and wide-ranging prices, with familiar names like the Taichi, PG Riptide, PG LIghtning, Pro RS, Livemixer, and our Steel Legend SKU. Prices range from $349.99 (Taichi Carrara) to the ASRock B650M PG Riptide at $169.99. There are plenty of options in the existing lineup, including MicroATX and Mini-ITX SKUs.

Regarding performance, our Steel Legend was average to above average across our testing suite. It performed well overall in gaming and elsewhere in our benchmarks. Nothing was too fast, but nothing was inordinately slow, either. With proper cooling, you’ll be able to get the most out of your AMD processor on this board.

Below, we’ll dig into the details of the board and see whether it deserves a spot on our Best Motherboards list. But before we get into our testing and board details, we’ll start by listing the specifications from ASRock’s website. 

Specifications: ASRock B650E Steel Legend Wi-Fi

Inside the Box of the ASRock B650E Steel Legend Wi-Fi

Inside the retail packaging, below the motherboard, are a few accessories to help get you started. You get two SATA cables, screws/standoffs for M.2, the Wi-Fi antenna and the user manual. ASRock also includes a graphics card holder that attaches to the motherboard to support those heavy video cards. Like the Z790 Livemixer’s accessory stack, there isn’t much here. In fact, we just listed everything in the box.

Design of the ASRock B650E Steel Legend Wi-Fi

ASRock describes the Steel Legend as a “philosophical state of rock-solid durability and irresistible aesthetics.” Aimed at daily users and mainstream enthusiasts, you won’t find any LED screens or a fully covered board, but there are ‘steel’ colored heatsinks on top of an 8-layer, black PCB. The motherboard also has camo-like black white and grey patterns around the socket, audio area, and the chipset. 

The VRM heatsinks and shroud to the left of the socket house RGB LEDs that light up the “S” symbol for the Steel Legend. You’ll find additional RGBs under the chipset heatsink, while a large heatsink sits on top of the PCI 5.0 M.2 socket and another covers the other two M.2 sockets across the bottom of the board. Overall, this is a good-looking mid-range B650E board.

In the upper-left corner, the VRM heatsink sports the ASRock branding in white, along with the Steel Legend Series and B650E stenciled on the heatsink / shroud. The RGBs here (and on the chipset heatsink) are bright and saturated, so they will do a good job illuminating the inside of your chassis. The VRM heatsink isn’t as big as others, but it does the job well. Above the VRM heatsinks are two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) that power the processor.

To the right of the camo-like pattern around the socket area, we run into four reinforced DRAM slots with the locking mechanism on the top. Supporting up to 128GB of DDR5, the Steel Legend supports speeds up to DDR5-6600+(OC), but your mileage may vary. Our DDR5-5600 and DDR5-6000 kits worked without issue during testing.

Above the DRAM slots are the first two (of six) four-pin fan headers. The CPU_FAN1 supports fan power up to 1A/12W, while the rest of the headers (CPU_FAN2/WP, CHA_FAN1~4/WP) support up to 2A/24W fan power. There are enough of these headers to run most, if not all, of your fans from the motherboard. The BIOS or ASRock’s A-Tune application controls these headers.

Moving down the right edge, we find the first two (of four) RGB headers. In this area are two 3-pin ARGB headers, while on the bottom of the board are additional 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB headers. Just below these is the Post Status Checker. Four LEDs light up during the POST process if there is a problem with DRAM, CPU, Boot device, or VGA. Next is the 24-pin EPS connector to power the board, a front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) connector and the front panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) header. There are only eight USB ports on the rear IO, so some users may really need the additional headers/ports it offers.

The VRMs on the B650E Legend consist of 19 total phases, with 16 dedicated to Vcore. Power feeds from the 8-pin EPS connectors down to the Renesas RAA229628 20-phase PWM controller, then moves to the 16x 60A Intersil ISL99360 SPS MOSFETs. The 960A available certainly isn’t the most powerful we’ve seen, but it handled our flagship Ryzen 9 7950X flagship without concern.

The audio section is hidden a bit among the stenciling on the left side of the PCB. The ever-present audio separation line is visible, running from the bottom of the board to the top M.2 socket, along with the dated Realtek ALC897 codec. You won’t find any third-party DACs or Amps at this price, so if you’re a critical listener or have a decent set of cans / speakers, you’ll want an external solution for the best results. Most others likely won’t notice the dated codec used here.

In the middle of the board are two full-length PCIe slots and three M.2 sockets. The top PCIe socket under the large heatsink connects through the CPU and runs at PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds. The bottom socket sources its lanes from the chipset, running at PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds. The board lists AMD Crossfire support, if you’re still into that sort of thing.

The top M.2 socket sits above the primary PCIe slot and gets its lanes from the CPU, running at PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) speeds while supporting up to 80mm modules. The bottom two sockets are under a smaller (by mass) heatsink below the bottom PCIe slot. Each socket supports up to 80mm PCIe 4.0 x4 drives. With this configuration, there isn’t any sharing of ports or bandwidth, so what you see is what you get!

Moving past the illuminated chipset heatsink to the right edge, we find two SATA ports. In fact, these are the only two SATA ports on the board, which could be a problem for quite a few users looking to carry over older drives. Worst case: You can add more via a roughly $40 add-in-card, but I’d still like to see at least four ports here, especially on more budget-oriented models where M.2 drives may not be as common SATA-based SSD or HDDs.

Across the bottom of the board are several exposed headers. You’ll find the usual, including additional USB ports, RGB headers, and power/reset buttons. Below is a complete list, from left to right.

• Front panel audio
• 4-pin ARGB header
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 5-pin Thunderbolt AIC connector
• (2) System Fan headers
• Clear CMOS jumper
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• System fan header
• USB 3.2 Gen 1 connector
• Speaker header
• System panel header

The rear IO plate on the B650E Steel Legend, like many others, comes preinstalled to the motherboard. It sports the same black, white and grey background against black labels, along with the Steel Series ‘S’ branding. There are eight total USB slots on the rear IO. You get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C and Type-A ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. Video outputs consist of one HDMI and DisplayPort. You’ll also find the Wi-FI antenna connections for the integrated Wi-Fi 6E, a BIOS flashback button, the Realtek Dragon-based 2.5 GbE port, and last but not least, the dual analog plus SPDIF audio stack.

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Firmware

ASRock’s firmware for B650 keeps the same general format as we saw in the X670E model. The major changes are the updated options/functions for the Zen4-based processors. The Steel Legend’s background matches the board theme, with a black/grey with white fonts and blue highlighting. You start in Easy Mode, which is mostly informative but lets you change a few options (XMP, profiles, boot order, Fan-Tastic Tuning, etc.). 

Advanced mode displays headings across the top with details below. Here you can tweak everything to your heart’s desire, as ASRock includes every option you can think of. Overclocking is easy, with most options on the same page, although some power options are in a different section. It’s a logical layout. The movement is smooth and it’s easy to read. No complaints from us about the ASRock firmware.

Software

For software, ASRock provides several different options. It has the App Shop to install drivers and software, the Nahimic 3 audio control panel, and the A-Tune application that overclocks your system, controls fans, and more.  There’s even a pop-up to install drivers when you first boot the system. ASRock’s software provides everything a user needs to manage and tweak their system.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver. We also updated to F1 22 for our games and kept Far Cry 6. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows: 

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the 1.2KW monster we used previously) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for testing.

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

For our synthetic testing, the B650E Steel Legend performed well overall, achieving average to above-average results in most tests. Surprisingly, it struggled a bit in the Procyon Office tests, which were average to just below average. That said, there’s nothing to be concerned about in this set of test results.

Timed Applications

Overall, the ASRock board had a good showing on the timed tests. LAME and Corona times we average or faster than average, as were both Handbrake results. There’s nothing to worry about here, either!

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 4, we’ve updated one of our games, F1 21 to F1 22, while keeping Far Cry 6. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, which can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

The B650E Steel Legend is a competent gamer. It scored well in the 3DMark benchmarks and also in the game tests, though the F1 result was on the slower side of average.

Overclocking

Over the last few CPU generations, overclocking headroom has been shrinking (at least on the AMD side) while the out-of-box potential has increased. For overclockers, this means there’s less fun to have. For the average consumer, it means you’re getting the most out of the processor without manual tweaking. Our goal in this section is to increase the load on the VRMs and see if they can handle the additional stress. Overclocking AMD CPUs can be done in several ways (all-core or adjust PBO values). But for simplicity’s sake, we just went with an all-core overclock of 5.4 GHz with 1.30V to increase the power output.

Since our approach is to add power through all cores, we simply raised the CPU multiplier to 54x, manually set the voltage to 1.30V, and adjusted LLC to minimize vdroop. On the memory side, AMD states the sweet spot is around DDR5-6000, so we used the Kingston Fury kit, set the AMD EXPO profile and checked for stability.

Overclocking on the B650E Steel Legend was straightforward and easy, as it is with most boards. We were able to set our voltage, adjust LLC to mitigate vdroop, and off we went on a 30-minute stable stress test. On the memory side, we dropped our Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 kit into the system, enabled XMP, and tested it without issue, as expected (pictured above).

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, Cache and Memory enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC (minus the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. Please note we moved to use only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as the goal of this section is to ensure the power delivery can handle the chip even when overclocked. Since we’re using less power to get more clocks, those datasets are more novel than useful. We’re also temperature limited on the processor, so adding more power isn’t possible without increased throttling. 

Idle power consumption on our B650E Steel Legend and the Ryzen 9 7950X hit a low of 75W at the desktop/on idle. Load power peaked at only 275W at the wall, which leans more to the efficient side of boards we’ve tested on this platform.

VRM temperatures on the B650E ran a bit warmer than others during stress testing, but are still well within the MOSEFTs limits. The system peaked at just over 50 degrees Celsius while using stock settings and 52 degrees Celcius when overclocked. The VRM cooling solution works well on the 60A SPS MOSFETs hidden below.

Bottom Line

ASRock’s B650E Steel Legend is a solid all-around motherboard. Priced at $269.99 (but often on sale for $249.99), it’s a mid-range offering with a distinct ‘steel’ appearance akin to the Prime boards from Asus or Gigabyte’s Aero line. It’s relatively well-appointed, offering a 20 Gbps Type-C port (via the front panel), three M.2 sockets (one PCIe 5.0 x4), 2.5 GbE, and integrated Wi-Fi 6E. Performance was average to above average in all tests except for the Procyon Office benchmarks, which were average to slightly below average. Performance in our game tests showed there are no worries there.

But the board does have some drawbacks. First, it only has two native SATA ports. If you have more than two SATA-based drives, as many of us do, you’ll have to get an add-in card for more ports. Also, the audio codec is dated, and discerning listeners may yearn for something better. I’d also like quick latches on the M.2 sockets to avoid dealing with tiny screws, though that’s a minor quibble.

As far as the competition goes, there are better options around this price. The MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk Wi-Fi costs $249.99. Gigabyte’s B650 Aorus Pro Ax and the Asus TUF Gaming B650 Plus Wi-Fi are $239.99. These boards offer superior audio solutions, and at least four SATA ports, which is better (and for the most part, cheaper) than the Steel Legend. Overall, we do like the Steel Legend, but with the competition priced $20-$30 lower at the time we wrote this article, it’s a tough sell at the current price.

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Discord, a social platform that supports text messaging, voice calls, and video calls, is enabling support for hardware-accelerated AV1 video streaming for Nvidia's GeForce 40-series graphics boards, which are among the best graphics cards money can buy today. This is the first communication platform to support both hardware acceleration of AV1 encoding and decoding using the Ada Lovelace microarchitecture. 

"Discord is currently rolling out an update that enables AV1 streaming with GeForce RTX 40 Series GPUs," tweeted Gerardo Delgado, Nvidia's product line manager for content creators. "The update is rolling out starting this week and will slowly populate to all users. With AV1 you'll be able to stream up to 4K60 with nitro, at 8 Mbps!" 

The AV1 codec significantly reduces bandwidth requirements for high-resolution, high-framerate videos. By adding support for AV1 encoding even for just one family of GPUs, Discord will reduce the upload bandwidth needed for high-quality video streams for content creators and download bandwidth requirements for viewers with hardware that supports AV1 decoding. For those with a graphics processor that does not support AV1 decoding, the service will transcode video into something ubiquitous, such as H.264. 

Nowadays, several video streaming services like Netflix and YouTube stream videos in AV1 to hardware that supports AV1 decoding. Meanwhile, Discord is currently the only communication platform that supports AV1 decoding and encoding. This may not be surprising as Discord primarily aims at gamers, and this audience tends to own the latest and greatest hardware. 

Speaking of hardware, it is necessary to note that all the latest GPUs from AMD, Intel, and Nvidia support AV1 encoding and decoding. Therefore, it is likely that Discord and, eventually, other communication software will support hardware-accelerated AV1 encoding and decoding using other GPUs.

HandBrake, the popular free and open source video transcoder, has been updated to version 1.6.0. This major point upgrade is notable for facilitating AV1 video encoding for the first time in a general release. Moreover, those with Intel Quick Sync Video (QSV) enabled processors, and those with Intel Arc GPUs will be able to encode AV1 video with hardware acceleration.

HandBrake 1.6.0 can encode AV1 videos on any of its supported systems. In the current release its SVT-AV1 encoder offers the widest support, encoding on your processor through software. However, those with Intel QSV supporting CPUs or discrete Arc graphics can use the QSV-AV1 encoder for hardware accelerated processing. QSV isn't supported if your CPU is an ‘F’ suffixed model (i.e. it doesn't have an iGPU), or it is older than the Skylake generation. If you are lucky enough to have multiple QSV accelerators in your system, support for Intel Deep Link Hyper Encode should accelerate processing further. While AMD and Nvidia have AV1 encoders available for their latest GPUs, they currently aren’t integrated with HandBrake.

AV1 video is set to become the dominant codec across app-based streaming services and the wider internet, offering attractions such as; an open and royalty-free architecture, improved compression enabling efficient 8K video streaming, and support for the newest HDR standards. Developed by the Alliance for Open Media, the AV1 standard is expected to usurp the likes of H.264/AVC and HEVC, and it looks like a sure-fire winner with the support of tech giants like Amazon, Apple, ARM, Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, and Samsung.

Alongside the new AV1 transcoding support, the HandBrake developers have put together several 10-bit encoder profiles, and a handful of presets for dealing with typical AV1 encoding tasks. For those still interested in H.264 and H.265 encoding there are new profiles too. Meanwhile, a multitude of the app’s built in filters are updated in v1.6.0, with many of the updates implemented to support >8-bit color depths. The latest release notes on GitHub details all the above changes, as well as the updated libraries, and tweaks such as bug fixes on various platforms.

If you are interested in grabbing the latest HandBrake release to dabble in AV1 encoding, earlier versions of the transcoding utility are currently not seeing the update as available. Instead of waiting, you can head on over to the official downloads page and download and install or upgrade your existing version. HandBrake is available for Windows 10 or later, MacOS, and Linux.

MSI’s MAG Z790 Tomahawk WIFI DDR4, our first MSI Z790 board, hails from the budget side of the product stack. Using DDR4 instead of DDR5 saves around $10-$20 on the motherboard cost and potentially a hundred dollars or more on the RAM itself. Going this route could save a lot of money (especially if you already have DDR4 RAM) that you can put into other parts, such as a video card.

At just over $300, the Tomahawk WIFI DDR4 is a full-featured option that gives you four M.2 sockets, a premium current-gen audio codec, capable power delivery, and the signature all-black appearance. Overall, it’s an attractive option in the budget Z790 space, although there are similarly equipped boards that currently cost less.

MSI’s Z790 product stack (at the time of this writing) consists of 14 motherboards in all shapes, sizes, and price points. At the top of the food chain are the MEG boards (Godlike, MEG Ace), followed by the MPG-class (Carbon WIFI, Edge WIFI, Edge WIFI DDr4, and Edge WIFI ITX). The less expensive MAG series has the Tomahawk WIFI in DDR4 and DDR5 flavors. Additionally, six “Pro” boards fill out the budget end of the company’s Z790 offerings.

Performance with our DDR4-based motherboard was solid nearly across the board. Where it lacked was mainly in the AIDA bandwidth tests, 7Zip compression, and Procyon Video editing – all were notably slower than our DDR5 systems. It did well in the Procyon Office tests and kept up with our other DDR5 offerings in the remainder of tests, including gaming. DDR4-based motherboards are just about as fast as DDR5 in utmost common tasks.

Below, we’ll dig into the details of the board and see whether it deserves a spot on our Best Motherboards list. Before we get into the nitty gritty, we’ll start by listing the specifications from the MSI website.

Specifications: MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WIFI DDR4

Inside the Box of the MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WIFI DDR4

MSI includes a couple of basic accessories along with the motherboard. This certainly isn’t a comprehensive accessory stack, but includes some of what you need to get started. Below is a complete list of the included accessories.

• Quick Install guide
• (2) SATA Data Cables
• EZ M.2 clips
• Wi-Fi antenna
• USB driver stick
• Cable stickers

Design of the MSI Z790 Tomahawk WIFI

MSI’s Tomahawk boards use a military-style theme, with an all-black appearance including the 6-layer PCB. In fact, the only contrast on the board is the reinforced PCIe slot and some numbering for the M.2 sockets. The board uses large, heavy heatsinks around the VRMs, sporting a brushed aluminum finish and other aesthetic cutouts. If you’re looking for onboard RGB lighting, the Tomahawk doesn’t have any, but there are headers to add your own. Overall, the board fits in well with most build themes, and you can add your own RGB glow if needed.

Starting with the top half of the board, we get a better look at the VRM heatsinks and their design elements. There isn’t a heatpipe shared between them, but the parts under the hood are good enough not to need a larger (and more costly) design. Sticking up between the two VRM heatsinks are two 8-pin EPS power connectors to feed the CPU (one required).

To the right of the socket, we run into four unreinforced DRAM slots with locking mechanisms on both sides. MSI lists support for up to DDR4 5333 and a capacity of 128GB. As expected, we had no issues with our DDR4 3600 or DDR4 4000 sticks. If I were to nit-pick about the RAM slots, I’d love to see single-side locking on the slots to make them easier to remove, but few will find this to be a concern.

Located above the DRAM slots, we spy our first two (of eight) fan headers and two (of four) RGB headers. Starting with the 4-pin fan headers, they all auto-detect if the attached device is PWM or DC-controlled. All of the System fan headers support 1A/12W, the CPU_Fan outputs up to 2A/24W, while the pump fan has the most at 3A/36W. Control over the attached 4-pin devices comes from the BIOS or the MSI Center software.

Along the right edge is another fan header, the EZ Debug LEDs, and the 24-pin ATX power connector supplying the board. Just below that is the front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) header.

Moving on to the VRMs, power flows from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) onto a Renesas RAA229132 PWM controller. For Vcore, power then heads on to 16 90A Intersil ISL99390 SPS MOSFETs. The 1,440 Amps available can handle the flagship Intel Core i9-13900K at stock and overclocked. We have no concerns whatsoever about the Tomahawk’s power delivery.

On the bottom half of the board, we see a lot more of the PCB in this class than we do on the more expensive offerings. To that end, the audio section is fully exposed on the left, showing off the Realtek ALC 4080 codec and several dedicated gold audio capacitors. It may not have the fancy DAC some high-end boards come with, but it does have a latest-generation codec. Most users will be satisfied with this audio implementation.

In the middle of the board are a couple of PCIe slots, and all of the M.2 sockets. Starting with the slots, There are two full-length PCIe slots and one x1-size slot. The top full-length slot (primary graphics slot) is reinforced to prevent shearing from heavy video cards potentially help with EMI. This slot connects through the CPU and is the only one that is PCIe 5.0-capable. The bottom full-length slot connects through the chipset and runs up to PCIe 4.0 x4, while the x1 slot is PCIe 3.0 x1 and also sources its bandwidth from the chipset. Neither the specs nor the manual mention Crossfire support, even though it is capable bandwidth-wise.

For M.2 storage, there are four sockets mixed in among the PCIe slots. Starting from the top, M.2_1 sources its lanes from the CPU and supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) modules up to 110mm. The next three sockets get their bandwidth from the chipset and run at PCIe 4.0 x4 (64Gbps) and up to 80mm modules. M.2_3 supports SATA-based storage devices as well as PCIe.

Across the bottom of the board are several exposed headers. You’ll find the usual, including additional USB ports, RGB headers, and power/reset buttons. Below is a complete list from left to right.

• Front panel audio
• 4-pin ARGB header
• 3-pin RGB header
• Thunderbolt header
• (3) System Fan headers
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (1) System Fan header
• SATA port
• System panel header

Out back on the preinstalled rear IO, the Z790 Tomahawk sports a black background with light grey labels on all of the ports. There are 10 USB ports: Six 10 Gbps ports (red, plus two Type-C), and four 5 Gbps ports (blue). The DisplayPort and HDMI ports sit on the far left, next to tiny clear CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons. The Intel 2.5 GbE port is above one of the Type-C ports, with the Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections to the right, next to the 5-plug analog plus SPDIF audio stack.

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Firmware

MSI’s BIOS for the Tomahawk hasn’t changed. The menus reside on the sides and information up top, a unique look compared to others. For Z790, the only updates were functionality for the new processors and chipset. It still has a black background with red highlights, making it easy to read. It also has an informative Easy Mode that displays various information about the system and allows for some changes (boot order and XMP enable). Though different than other UEFIs, it is easy to get around; everything has a place, and many frequently used options are readily available, not buried within sub-menus.

Software

MSI has a single utility, MSI Center, that covers quite a bit of functionality. From hardware monitoring to RGB control with Mystic Light, there are many applets to choose from within the software and a one-stop shop to download all of their utilities. I wish there were some overclocking options, however. But for those looking to use the Gamebar feature, Super Charger, or any other utilities MSI offers will all be at your fingertips in MSI Center.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver. We also updated to F1 22 for our games and kept Far Cry 6. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the 1.2KW monster we used previously) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for testing.

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

Across our synthetic benchmarks, the Tomahawk is the fastest in some and the slowest in others. But like most results (that aren’t affected by DDR4 heavily like the 7Zip compression test) the peaks and lulls are difficult to notice unless you’re specifically looking for them. Performance is right up there with the others across most tests.

Timed Applications

In the LAME benchmark, the Tomahawk was middle of the pack, but it was the fastest in Corona (by one second, minimal difference). During the Handbrake x264 testing, MSI’s board was the slowest by a couple of seconds, while the x265 test showed one of the faster results. We found nothing anomalous in the timed applications.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of Zen 4, we’ve updated one of our games, F1 21 to F1 22, while keeping Far Cry 6. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used (and CPU/system bound) resolution with settings most people use or strive for (Ultra). We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, which can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

The Tomahawk is a more than competent gaming board. The 3D mark results both landed in the middle of the other three data sets while it lead the pack in our Far Cry 6 benchmark in both minimum and maximums (though only by a frame on minimums) and tied for the fastest result in F1 2022. Here again, all of the results are close, and difficult notice a difference beyond benchmarks and frame counters.

Overclocking

When overclocking, we aim to increase the power and add stress to the VRMs. We do so by increasing the clock speed and voltage until we’re at the thermal threshold for the processor during stress testing. However, where these CPUs are allowed to run with ‘boost’ speeds, those speeds are closer to the limit than ever before.

With our i9-13900K, the approach was a bit different. We had to lower the voltage from what we recorded during stress tests to overclock our chip. We increased the clock speeds of the “P” and “E” cores by 100 MHz and 200 MHz, respectively, over the turbo boost and limited by our cooling. We ended up with  5.6 GHz P core and 4.5 GHz E core clocks using about 1.34V (from DMM). Temperatures peak just under the throttling point with this configuration. And as we’ve noted elsewhere, this is the intended performance for Intel’s flagship CPU.

Overclocking on the Tomahawk was the easiest of our tested boards so far. We set 1.35V in the BIOS with LLC (Load Line Calibration) set to 2, and the load voltage in Windows matched what was set in the BIOS. The board then ran stable and didn’t throttle using the same or less power than the out-of-the-box settings.

We had no issues with both memory kits. We used the latest BIOS, running them stable throughout our testing. The Tomahawk’s DDR4-5333 MHz is one of the higher ratings listed, so there’s plenty of headroom for those who want to push past DDR4’s performance sweet spot.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU, Cache and Memory enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC (minus the monitor). The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts remain the same. Please note we moved to use only the stock power use/VRM temperature charts, as the goal of this section is to ensure the power delivery can handle the chip even when overclocked. Since we’re using less power to get more clocks, those datasets are more novel than useful. We’re also temperature limited on the processor, so adding more power isn’t possible without increased throttling.

Idle power consumption for the Z790 Tomahawk was 62 watts (the lowest so far), while the load power use was 381 watts, several more than the Z790 Aorus Master (but nowhere close to the Taichi’s 498W number). It’s still early, but we expect the Tomahawk’s numbers to be around average after we get more data sets.

VRM temperatures on our board peaked at almost 58 degrees Celsius, just below the 500W actively cooled Taichi and around 10-plus degrees hotter than the Aorus Master and Hero. These temperatures are well within the specifications of the power delivery bits, so there’s nothing to worry about on this front. The combination of  90A SPS MOSFETs and the ample heatsinks is a great match.

Editor's Note 12/15/2022: After contacting MSI about an error on the webpage, they confirmed the power delivery on the Tomahawk (DDR4 and DDR5) is actually a "mirrored" configuration using Renesas ISL6617A phase doublers.

Bottom Line

MSI’s MAG Z790 Tomahawk WIFI DDR4 presents builders with a less expensive way to get into the latest and greatest Intel platform. It does so by using DDR4 instead of DDR5. Since DDR4 memory kits are still much less expensive and the boards are $10-$20 cheaper than their DDR5 counterparts, you can save a fair amount of money going this route.

But it’s not all about the money! The Tomahawk WIFI DDR4 comes well-equipped, integrating many things the platform offers, including a PCIe 5.0 slot, integrated Wi-Fi 6E, and the latest generation audio codec. However, it is missing a PCIe 5.0-capable M.2 socket. Performance was good, except in the few tests that show bandwidth matters. It’s a more than capable gaming machine for those who aren’t concerned with productivity. Overall, it’s a well-rounded option, specs-wise.

There’s not a lot of direct competition close to the $300 price point. If you have the budget for DDR5 sticks, there are several DDR5 boards around this price, including a DDR5 Tomahawk. Other DDR4 options include the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX DDR4 ($259.99), Asus TUF Gaming Z790-Plus WiFi D4 ($289.99), and the ASRock Z790 Pro RS/D4 – almost 33% less at $209.99. All of these boards have capable power delivery, 2.5 GbE, four PCie 4.0 x4 M.2 sockets, and Wi-Fi 6E.

Mostly, the difference between these boards lies in the audio codec (Tomahawk is the only one with the latest generation Realtek). However, it would be difficult to discern among most of them outside of the significantly cheaper ASRock board that uses a dated, budget codec. It’s going to come down to looks (which we all know is subjective) and price. I like the all-black look and aesthetic of the Tomahawk and Gigabyte boards over the Asus TUF and ASRock. But I don’t think this board is $50 better looking than the Gigabyte.

In short, we like MSI’s MAG Z790 Tomahawk WIFI DDR4. The hardware is comparable to the competition and it looks good. But the price is high for what we’re currently seeing on the market. If this were somewhere between $250 and $275, it would be a much more compelling option. Still, there’s no doubt it’s worth a look among other DDR4 boards. If you like the look and / or you need the seven SATA ports, it’s a great board to build your new Raptor Lake system around.

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Moore Threads Intelligent Technology, a major graphics processors developer from China, on Thursday announced its next generation GPU that can be used for gaming, artificial intelligence, and datacenter workloads. The MTT S80 gaming graphics cards as well as MTT S3000 server board promise to deliver compute performance akin to that of Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, though their actual performance in games and professional applications is something that remains to be tested. 

The Chunxiao GPU

Moore Threads's new graphics processor is based around the company's Chunxiao architecture that supports FP32, FP16, and INT8 precision and is compatible with the company's MUSA computing platform and application programming interface (it can work with standard APIs too though). The MTT Chunxiao GPU is clocked at 1.80 GHz – 1.90 GHz and packs 4,096 stream processors, 128 tensor cores, 256 texture units, and 256 render output. The GPU features a 256-bit memory interface and can work with GDDR6 memory with a 14 GT/s data transfer rate. As for host bus, it features 16 PCIe Gen5 lanes and fully supports the SR-IOV specification for PCIe virtualization in server environments. The GPU up to 32-way partitioning, which will be handy for Android games rendering.  

The chip also comes with a rather powerful video engine that supports AV1, H.264, and H.265 codecs for up to 8K videos as well as can decode up to 32 streams at a 1080p30 resolution. As for output, the GPU has four display engines supporting an up to 8Kp30 resolution and has three DisplayPort 1.4 as well as one HDMI 2.1 interface. 

Moore Threads says that depending on clocks, its Chunxiao GPU can deliver 14.4 FP32 TFLOPS or 15.2 FP32 TFLOPS, which is comparable to single precision compute performance of Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GPU. On paper, this is enough to make it to our list of the best gaming graphics cards available today, but how the ChunxiaoGPU works in real life is something that we will have to test. 

Meanwhile, since the Moore Threads Chunxiao graphics processor is aimed at AI, gaming and datacenter workloads, it comprises of 22 billion of transistors, which is fairly complex. To put the number into context, Nvidia's GA104 features 17.4 billion transistors, whereas AMD's Navi 21 packs 26.8 billion of transistors. Moore Threads does not disclose which process technology it uses to make its Chunxiao graphics processor.

Two Products Coming 

For now, Moore Threads plans to offer two products based on the Chunxiao GPU — the MTT S80 graphics card with a 14.4 FP32 TFLOPS throughput and 16GB of memory as well as the MTT S3000 server card with a 15.2 FP32 TFLOPS compute performance and 32GB of memory. 

Moore Threads has not disclosed power consumption of its MTT S80 and MTT S3000 products, though the former comes with a rather sophisticated cooling system with three fans. 

One of the main advantages that the Moore Threads Chunxiao offers is its broad compatibility; It can work with a variety of client and datacenter hardware platforms (Arm, Ampere, Intel, etc.) and operating systems. It is compatible with Microsoft's DirectX (and therefore will ship with appropriate drivers for Windows), Khronos Group's OpenGL/OpenGL ES, proprietary MUSA as well as multiple specialized APIs. Furthermore, the Chunxiao can work with PyTorch, TensorFlow, PaddlePaddle, Jittor and other mainstream deep learning frameworks and popular AI models. 

To ensure compatibility with modern games, Moore Threads says it had worked closely with developers of Unreal Engine and Unity as well as creators of popular titles (e.g., Call of Duty, Crossfire, Counter Strike, Diablo 3, League of Legends, etc.). Meanwhile, Moore Threads admits that for now its Chunxiao only properly supports about 20 DirectX titles and does not make any promises about performance. 

The GPU developer plans to start selling its MTT S80 graphics cards at JD.com on November 11, 2022.  No pricing has been announced.

Scientists from the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen have achieved 1.84 petabits per second data transfers using a single photonic chip connected via a single optical fiber cable. The feat was accomplished over a distance of 7.9 km (4.9 miles). For some perspective regarding this achievement, at any time of day, the average internet bandwidth being used by the whole world’s population is estimated to be about 1 petabit/s.

With the ever increasing amounts of data shifted across the internet for business, for pleasure, and software downloads or updates - infrastructure firms are always on the lookout for new ways to increase the available bandwidth. The 1.84 petabits/s over a standard optical cable using a compact single chip solution will therefore hold much appeal.

Photonic chip technology holds great promise for optical data transfer purposes – as the processor and the transfer medium both work with light waves. The New Scientist explains in simple terms how the Danish scientists, led by Asbjørn Arvad Jørgensen, managed to deliver such bandwidth with the resources at hand.

Firstly, the data stream used in the trial was split into 37 lines, with each one sent down a different optical thread in the cable. Each of the 37 data lines were split into 223 data chunks corresponding to zones of the optical spectrum. What this allowed is for creating a "frequency comb" where data was transmitted in different colors at the same time, without interfering with other streams. In other words a “massively parallel space-and-wavelength multiplexed data transmission” system was created. Of course, this splitting, and re-splitting massively increased the potential data throughput supported by a fiber optic cable.

It wasn’t easy to test and verify 1.84 petabits/s bandwidth – as no computer can send, or receive, never mind store, such a humungous amount of data. The research team used dummy data over individual channels to verify what would be the full-on bandwidth capacity. Each channel was tested individually to ensure data received matched what was transmitted.

In action, the photonic chip splits a single laser into many frequencies and some processing is required to encode light data for each of the 37 data optical fiber streams. A refined fully capable optical processing device should be possible to build at approximately the size of a match box, according to Jørgensen. This is a similar size to current single color laser transmission devices used by the telecoms industry.

Ut is reassuring that we will be able to keep the same fiber optical cable infrastructure, but replace matchbox-sized optical data encoders / decoders with the similar sized photonic chip powered devices, potentially delivering an effective 8,251x increase in data bandwidth. The researchers say there is enough potential shown in their work to inspire “a shift in the design of future communications systems.”

For further information about the record 1.84 petabits/s data transfers you can check out the Petabit-per-second data transmission using a chip-scale microcomb ring resonator source paper.

VESA this week released version 2.1 of the DisplayPort specification. The update brings several important changes concerning efficiency, but as you will read, VESA strove to keep things smooth for both implementers and consumers.

DisplayPort 2.1 is more than just backward compatible with DisplayPort 2.0. Due to the efforts of VESA and its partners, "all previously certified DisplayPort 2.0 products… have already been certified to the stricter DisplayPort 2.1 spec." So yes, any GPU, Docking Station, monitor, cable (or anything) certified for DisplayPort 2.0 will fall under the stricter newer v2.1 specification.

VESA says one of the most important things it has tried to achieve with this update is to offer a robust experience. This philosophy applies to users connecting peripherals via a native DisplayPort cable, via DisplayPort Alt Mode (DisplayPort over the USB Type-C connector), or tunneling through the USB4 link. Whichever solution you might use, the alignment of the spec and PHY (physical layer) has been tightened for dependability.

So, if all these things remain the same, and DisplayPort 2.0 and 2.1 are interchangeable, you might be wondering what's the point of the new specification. Perhaps the most important introduction is the new DisplayPort bandwidth management feature "to enable DisplayPort tunneling to coexist with other I/O data traffic more efficiently over the USB4 link." According to the VESA press release, this efficiency comes on top of new mandated support for VESA's visually lossless Display Stream Compression (DSC) codec and VESA's Panel Replay capability. VESA's DSC implementation will reduce bandwidth usage by as much as 67% without visual artifacts. Moreover, the new Panel Replay capability can reduce tunneling packet transport bandwidth by over 99% in certain situations.

VESA Board Chair and VESA DisplayPort Task Group Chair Alan Kobayashi boldly claimed that the higher bitrates supported by DisplayPort 2.1 "offers ample bandwidth for the needs of virtually every practical application."

The announcement also revealed that cable specs were updated. With DisplayPort 2.1, VESA aims to allow for improved capabilities and longer cable lengths, sometimes extending over two meters. "VESA certified DP40 cables support up to the UHBR10 link rate (10 Gbps), with four lanes, providing a maximum throughput of 40 Gbps," VESA explains. "VESA certified DP80 cables support up to the UHBR20 link rate (20 Gbps), with four lanes, providing a maximum throughput of 80 Gbps."

Interestingly, ex-HardOCP Editor-in-Chief Kyle Bennett tweeted last week that multiple sources had indicated to him that AMD Radeon Navi 31 GPUs would offer support for the DisplayPort 2.1 specification. This summer, there were rumors of RDNA 3 supporting DisplayPort 2.0 and UHBR20. Intel Arc LE model GPUs also support DisplayPort 2.0. Considering what VESA has said, both the AMD and Intel GPUs will support DisplayPort 2.1. Putting these into competitive perspective, the recently launched Nvidia Ada Lovelace flagship, the GeForce RTX 4090, supports DisplayPort 1.4.

According to Phoronix, Google has released a new AOM-AV1 update - version 3.5, that drastically improves encode times when streaming, rendering, or recording from the CPU. At its best, the update can improve encoding times by up to 34%. 

It is a fantastic addition to AV1's capabilities, with the encoder becoming very popular among powerful video platforms such as YouTube. In addition, we are also seeing significant support for AV1 hardware acceleration on modern discrete GPUs now, such as Intel's Arc Alchemist GPUs and, most importantly - Nvidia's RTX 40-series GPUs.

Depending on the resolution, encoding times with the new update have improved by 20% to 30%. For example, at 1080P, encode times featuring 16 threads of processing are reduced by 18% to 34%. At 4K, render times improved by 18% to 20% with 32 threads. Google could do this by adding Frame Parallel Encoding to heavily multi-threaded configurations. Google has also added several other improvements contributing to AV1's performance uplifts in other areas - specifically in real-time encoding.

In other words, CPU utilization in programs such as OBS has been reduced, primarily for systems packing 16 CPU threads. As a result, they are allowing users to use those CPU resources for other tasks or increase video quality even higher without any additional performance cost. If you are video editing and are rendering out a video in AV1, processing times will be vastly reduced if you have a CPU with 16 threads or more.

AV1's Performance Improvements Come At The Perfect Time

AV1's speed improvements couldn't have come at a better time. The video industry is aggressively moving to AV1 more than ever this year, thanks to the introduction of AV1 hardware acceleration engines and allowing content creators to use discrete GPUs to record and stream content with the AV1 codec.

AV1 came on the scene in 2018 as a newer potential alternative to the H.264 video codec. It has become a mainstream item due to its very attractive feature set; for one, it is entirely open-source, allowing anyone to use it for free. It provides up to 50% higher compression ratios than H.264. In addition, it is drastically reducing AV1 video file sizes.

This year we saw our first AV1 hardware acceleration engine in the Intel Arc A-series GPUs, providing drastic video quality improvements over its competitors, including Nvidia's legendary NVENC H.264 encoder. But now, Nvidia has finally entered the game with its RTX 40-series GPUs supporting AV1 encoding for the first time - thanks to the brand-new 8th generation NVENC engine.

It sets up the stage for AV1 to become a complete replacement for H.264, now that we have AV1 encoding present in both discrete GPUs and via software encoding on the CPU, which will make AV1 encoding very accessible to the public. The new AV1 performance update is just the cherry on top and will provide greater flexibility for users running the AV1 codec on live streams and within video editors.

Biostar’s B660M Silver is a Micro ATX motherboard that hailing from the budget end of the Alder Lake spectrum. Priced around $160 in the US, it offers just about everything you need to get the most out of your system–so long as you don’t want to overclock your CPU. The B660M Silver brings a black and silver aesthetic (no RGBs), two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 sockets, four SATA ports, capable power delivery, and a 2.5 GbE port. Overall, it’s a well-rounded option in this space, but lacks included Wi-Fi.

Performance on the B660M Silver was comparable to other like boards across our testing suite. It struggled a bit in a couple of the heavily multi-threaded tests, but that’s a common theme among most B660 boards. Biostar’s board excelled in the Procyon Office suite, with results near the top across all those tests. If you’re a gamer, there’s nothing to fear, as the performance there was average, too. Power consumption was also average overall, though load power consumption was higher than many others.

Before we get into all the details and see if this board earns a spot on our best motherboards list, below is a list of specifications from the Biostar website.

Specifications: Biostar B660M Silver

Inside the Box of the Biostar B660M Silver

Biostar, like all other board partners, includes some accessories to get you started. The B660M Silver’s accessory stack is sparse, but includes enough to get you started. Below is a complete list of the included accessories.

• (4) SATA cables
• I/O Shield
• Support DVD
• Quick guide

Design of the B660M Silver

The B660M Silver is a general purpose board that, according to Biostar, focuses on reliability. The black PCB gives way to light gray design elements stenciled on the board around the PCIe and socket areas. Cooling the power delivery, chipset, and one M.2 socket are silver heatsinks with a brushed aluminum finish. These aren't the biggest heatsinks we’ve seen, but they do the job. If you’re looking for integrated RGB LEDs, look elsewhere as the Silver doesn’t have any. But don’t fret if you want lights, because the board has a full complement of ARGB and RGB headers to add on your own.

On the top half of the board, we get a better look at the VRM heatsink that reaches out over the rear IO bits. It’s not the largest or heaviest VRM heatsink, but it keeps these MOSFETs running with spec. Across the top of this heatsink is the Silver branding in black, Biostar is stenciled on the chipset heatsink. Just above the VRM heatsink is the single 8-pin EPS connector (required) to power the processor.

Moving past the socket and small top VRM heatsink, we run into the first (of five) 4-pin fan/pump headers.  Biostar doesn’t list the output of these headers, so I would expect 1A/12W output for each, if only for safety reasons. To adjust the fans, use the Aorura software and AI Fan program.

Continuing right, we run into four unreinforced DRAM slots that only lock on the top side. Biostar lists support for up to 128GB of RAM and speeds up to DDR4-5000+(OC). We didn’t run into any issues with our two test kits with speeds up to DDR4-4000. As usual, your mileage may vary in reaching these (and faster) speeds as it depends on the memory kit and the processor’s integrated memory controller (IMC) to get you there.

In the upper right corner, you’ll find all three RGB headers: two 3-pin ARGB headers and one 4-pin RGB header. Control over the attached lighting comes from the Aorura software and Vivid DJ applet. Down the right edge, we run into the 24-pin EPS for board power, a 19-pin USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C header.

Power delivery on the B660M Silver consists of 12 phases for Vcore (13 total). Power comes from the 8-pin EPS connector and onto the Renesas RAA229130 controller. Power then moves to 12 70A OnSemi 5062 DrMOS MOSFETs. The 840A available isn’t the most we’ve seen, but it is plenty to handle our Intel Core i9-12900K at default speeds without getting in the way.

On the bottom half of the board, we spy a fully exposed audio section on the left side. To the left of the audio separation line, we run into a Realtek ALC1220 codec and four dedicated audio caps. Compared to most of its peers (except the B660M Mortar), this is a superior audio solution on paper, but tough to differentiate audibly.

In the middle of the board are three M.2 sockets and three PCIe slots. Starting with the slots, the B660M  Silver sports two full-length slots (one reinforced) and a single x1 slot. The top slot (primary) connects through the CPU and runs at PCIe 5.0 x16. The bottom slot connects through the chipset, running at PCIe 3.0 x4. Multi-GPU support isn’t mentioned, though the board has the bandwidth to support it. The middle x1 slot also connects through the chipset and supports up to PCIe 3.0 x1 speeds.

Regarding M.2 sockets, there are two Key-M slots for storage and one Key-E socket for Wi-Fi (CNVi module not included). The top socket connects through the CPU for PCIe 4.0x4 (64 Gbps) bandwidth and handles up to 80mm modules. The bottom socket supports up to 110mm modules and connects through the chipset for PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) bandwidth.

Across the bottom are several headers, including USB ports and RGB, and more. Below is a complete list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• (3) 4-pin fan headers
• (2) USB 2.0
• 9-pin Thunderbolt header
• Debug LEDs
• COM port
• Front panel
• 4-pin RGB header

The B660M silver includes a simple rear IO plate you need to install. It has a black background with silver labels and “Silver” branding in the upper-left corner. As far as ports go, from left to right, we run into video outputs – HDMI, DisplayPort, and DVI-D. Above that are Wi-Fi antenna connections which, I find misleading since this model doesn’t come with Wi-Fi. There are eight USB ports: two USB 2.0 (480 MBps) and six USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) ports, one of which is Type-C. Next up is the 2.5 GbE port and a 3-plug analog input-only audio stack.

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Firmware

Biostar’s B660 BIOS has the same look as the last generation and the Z690 Valkyrie reviewed a few months back. There’s an EZ Mode that's more informational than tweakable, covering high-level status information, including RAM and CPU speed, temperatures and more. Once in the Advanced section, there are headings across the top with options under each. There are a fair amount of switching sections to reach all of the overclocking functionality, and listing some values in milliwatts is confusing. I’d also like to see a description for highlighted items, as most other boards have. But outside of that, the BIOS is easy to navigate and read, with a high-contrast dark grey background and white letters.

Software

Biostar uses a single application called Aurora to cover multiple functions, including Fan control, RGB lighting, monitoring, overclocking and more, but little has changed since the Z690 version. Once opened, there is a menu system in the left column with a larger right-hand side to display the information. With Aurora, you can control system volume (Smart Ear), canned power plans (GT Touch), RGBs (Vivid LED DJ), Fans (A.I Fan), hardware monitoring (H/W Monitor) and overclocking/overvolting (OC/OV).

Overall, I like this software. The user interface is easy both to read and to find the items you are looking for. Fan, RGB, and overclocking control worked without issue. I would like to see more temperatures in the hardware monitor section (VRMs, for example), but what’s there is informative, if only at a high level.

Test System / Comparison Products

We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection has been updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for launch day testing.

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results and Final Analysis

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates in the future, though.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The B660M Silver performed well during most synthetic benchmarks, landing around the average of other DDR4-equipped motherboards. The only below-average tests were Cinebench R23 and POV-Ray’s multi-threaded tests. But if you’ve read our previous reviews, you know that’s a recurring theme due to the thermal throttling of the processor. The Procyon tests were all averag, as was the AIDA64 memory bandwidth.

Timed Applications

In the timed applications, the B660M Silver mixed in with average for LAME and Corona but was slower than most in Handbrake. LAME testing was completed in 9.60 seconds (average is 9.69) and 52 seconds in Corona (spot on the average). The x264 test completed in 120 seconds, against a 115-second average, and 305 seconds in x265 (barely above the average of 303 seconds). Nothing off here either.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests, moving to Far Cry 6 and shifting from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, which can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the B660M Silver proved itself a performant entrant, lurking around the average of all the boards with 141 frames per second minimum and 164 frames per second average. In Far Cry 6, the story was the same, as our testing showed a 121 frames per second minimum and 137 frames per second average.

In our synthetic 3DMark tests, the Biostar scored 14,201 on Time Spy and 17,899 on Fire Strike Extreme. All the results for games and gaming benchmarks blend in with our other results and shows the B660M Silver is a competent gaming motherboard.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the DDR4-based Silver consumed 47W from the wall, with load power shooting up to 345W. While the idle value is good and better than most, the load wattage was higher than average.

During stress testing, we saw very little throttling, which was surprising. The 70A MOSFETs and the heatsink keep the power bits running within specification. The board peaked around 66 degrees Celsius on our external sensors and 78 degrees Celsius in software, both well within specification.

Overclocking

Overclocking the CPU isn’t possible on B660-based chipsets, but the platform allows memory speed adjustment. With our DDR4-3600 and DDR4-4000 kits, we simply set XMP, and off we went without a hitch. Surely there’s some headroom left, but unless you’re chasing after every ounce of performance, we suggest sticking with the sweet spot, around DDR4 3600 with a low CL rating.

Bottom Line

Priced at $159.99, the Biostar B660M Silver is an inexpensive Micro ATX Alder Lake option for the general user. The board doesn’t do anything poorly, but also doesn’t deliver anything spectacular. That isn’t a bad thing, though! Hardware-wise, the B660M Silver includes what’s expected for this class board. You get capable power delivery, two M.2 sockets and four SATA ports, premium last-gen audio, plenty of USB ports on the rear IO, and more. While there are plenty of comparables in this space, it’s still a worthy option to for your Alder Lake processor.

As far as competition goes, all major partners have an option around this price range. The ASRock B660M Steel Legend is the least expensive at $114.99 (down from $159.99). Asus’ TUF Gaming B660M-Plus WIFI D4 sits at $169.99. Gigabyte’s B660M Aorus Pro AX is also $169.99, and the MSI MAG B660M Mortar WIFI DDR4 is  $159.99, just like the Biostar. Most of the hardware in this range is similar, offering two M.2 sockets and at least four SATA ports (MSI and ASRock have six). The difference comes in audio codecs (Biostar and MSI have the best here), integrated Wi-Fi (the Biostar and ASRock do not come with it), and maybe a few other things like USB port count and speed. If it’s looks you’re after and need integrated RGB, ASRock and Gigabyte have you covered on that front.

The Biostar B660M Silver is a great affordable way into the Micro ATX Alder Lake space. The black-on-silver design fits most build themes and doesn’t draw attention to itself out of the box. Hardware-wise, it has most everything users are looking for. But for the price, I would like to see Wi-Fi included as most of the other comparables include that handy feature. If you’re looking for a B660-based Micro ATX motherboard, the B660M Silver doesn’t stand out compared to others, but is still a worthwhile consideration for your Alder Lake needs. 

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In a surprising twist, Intel's future 14th Generation Meteor Lake CPU architecture will reportedly split video playback and encode functionality from the integrated graphics into a new area known as an SMU or Standalone Media Unit on the CPU, as reported by Phoronix. It is a significant change by Intel, which will allow media functionality to be used at all times, even if the integrated graphics chip is disabled.

In a real-world scenario, once Meteor Lake launches, users building gaming PCs or content creation machines on the future platform will have access to all of Intel's high-quality video decoding engines and Intel QuickSync technology, even if integrated GPU is disabled in favor of a discrete graphics card, which frees up memory resources and power resources -- moving them towards the CPU entirely. The situation gets even better if older discrete GPUs are installed that lack modern hardware acceleration codecs, such as AV1 or H265 encoding.

Another perk of this transition is related to Intel's F-series processors, which lack integrated graphics altogether. As a result, F-series Meteor Lake processors should theoretically gain access to all of Intel's media features - including QuickSync, even with the iGP disabled at a silicon level. In addition, Intel server CPUs and potential HEDT chips could also benefit from this change since Intel disables the integrated graphics chip from these CPU lineups altogether.

Phoronix saw this change based on new Linux enablement work for Meteor Lake, which includes patch notes detailing the SMU changes. These changes include further architectural modifications to the graphics unit and transitioning to Intel's Arc Alchemist GPU architecture. As a result, we should expect more advanced features such as AV1 encoding to make their way to consumer-based Meteor Lake chips.

Unfortunately, we won't see these new changes for a while since Meteor Lake is still at least a year or two away from release, with Intel busy preparing its upcoming 13th Gen Raptor Lake lineup. But, thanks to early Linux development work on Meteor Lake, we see exciting hardware changes on future CPU architectures before launch.

AV1 encoding has finally made its way to the public via integration with Intel's new Arc Alchemist GPUs — the first GPUs to feature this technology. According to a new video by EposVox, this new encoder has been tested on an Arc A380 and provides incredible efficiency for low-bit-rate video streaming, dominating every H.264 hardware encoder in existence — including Nvidia's tried and true NVENC encoder.

AV1 is an open-source, royalty-free video coding format developed by the Alliance for Open Media, a consortium founded in 2015. AV1 is a free, state-of-the-art codec that anyone can use on the internet. AV1 provides massively better compression performance with up to 50 percent smaller file sizes compared to H.264. 

AV1 has gained major traction in the video streaming industry in recent years — AV1 decoding engines already supported in many of the latest graphics engines, including Nvidia's RTX 30 series Ampere architecture, AMD's RX 6000 series' RDNA2 GPUs, and Intel's latest integrated graphics GPUs. Even older gaming consoles, such as Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro, support the AV1 codec.

According to EposVox, video streaming platforms such as YouTube have also adopted AV1 extensively in recent years — the YouTuber says nearly half the videos he watches on a daily basis support the new codec.

AV1 encoding for content creating and video streaming has been largely absent, despite AV1's adoption. None of the latest graphics engines support AV1 encode engines. You can definitely use AV1 encoding on the CPU with software encoding, but for some reason nobody has bothered to implement a hardware-accelerated method of AV1 encoding. Until now, of course, with Intel leading the charge with its Arc GPUs.

Arc A380 AV1 Quality Comparison

EposVox tested Intel's new AV1 encoder against a variety of H.264 encoders, including Intel's own Quick Sync technology, Nvidia's NVENC, AMD's AMF, and software-based H.264 encoders such as the one found in OBS. 

Testing was performed at 3.5 Mbps, 6 Mbps, and 8 Mbps using Netflix's VMAF benchmarking tool which analyses video quality with a scoring system of 0 to 100 (0 is unwatchable,100 is perfect video quality — compared to uncompressed video). 

The AV1 results are impressive: the new Intel encoder scored 83 points at 3.5 Mbps and 90 points at 6 Mbps — the highest of all the H.264 encoders at these bit rates. (This first example was taken from videos recorded from Battlefield 2042.)

The Nvidia NVENC encoder — surprisingly — produced one of the lowest test results:  71 points at 3.5 Mbps and 85 points at 8 Mbps. The AMD AMF encoder scored close to Nvidia, while Intel's Quick Sync encoder (the Alder Lake variant) scored higher with 76 and 87 points at the same bitrates. This makes Intel's new AV1 encoder 16 percent "better" than both the Nvidia NVENC and AMD AMF encoders.

The only H.264 encoder that came close to the AV1's results was OBS's x264 VerySlow H.264 software encoder preset, which scored 78 points at 3.5 Mbps and 88 points at 6 Mbps. These results are impressive for the AV1 codec since OBS's VerySlow preset is so resource-intensive it can't be run in real-time (and is therefore useless for live streaming).

For more details on the AV1 tests — including software accelerated AV1 testing — check out EposVox's video.

3.5 Mbps is the Sweet Spot for AV1 Live Streaming

The 3.5 Mbps results are where we see the most gains out of Intel's AV1 encoder. This encoder is so good at 3.5 Mbps that it was able to outperform both Nvidia's and AMD's encoders at 6 Mbps with nearly half the bitrate.

As you get into bitrates higher than 6 Mbps, however, there seem to be diminishing returns. This is especially true of Intel's AV1 encoder which only gains 2.2% better image quality at 8 Mbps (the Twitch limit) over 6 Mbps.

As a result, we can expect bitrates to drop substantially when streaming platforms make the switch to AV1. This will be great for viewers, as the new encoder will require significantly less internet bandwidth to watch videos at the same quality as H.264, and will put less strain on the internet as a whole.

These new AV1 codec results are very impressive overall. Thanks to Intel, AV1 has completely decimated H.264 encoding with superior image quality that requires significantly less bandwidth.

So far we've only seen Intel's implementation of AV1 encoding. We should get a better understanding of AV1's capabilities when Nvidia and AMD implement their own AV1 encoding engines in their next-gen GPUs. If H.264 hardware encoders have taught us anything, it's that encoding efficiency can change drastically between brands and versions.

Nvidia and AMD's AV1 encoder implementations could be even more efficient and higher quality than what Intel is providing right now — but we'll have to wait until the RTX 40 series and RX 7000 series launch to see if that's true.

ByteDance, the owner of the TikTok social media app, has begun to hire specialists to develop its datacenter system-on-chips (SoCs). ByteDance will join multiple high-tech Chinese companies that recently rolled out their own data center SoCs designed to work on specific workloads.

So far, ByteDance has posted 31 chip-related openings on its website, reports TMTPost. Thirty-one chip engineers will barely be able to build an advanced processor, but what they could do is create a set of design requirements for contract chip developers, such as Alchip. Then, once a contract chip developer creates an appropriate design, a contract maker of semiconductors (like TSMC) will mass produce it for ByteDance.

For now, ByteDance only says it plans to develop its chips without elaborating. Typically, chip design cycles take years, so we will only learn about the company's SoCs a few years later.

What exactly ByteDance plans to develop is a big question. CNBC cites a spokesperson from the company that the data center grade system-on-chip from the social media giant will support various business areas, including video platforms, information, and entertainment apps. Meanwhile, several China-based sources (such as) indicate that ByteDance is looking forward to designing artificial intelligence chips.

ByteDance's key business is its TikTok media app, so it would be logical for the company to develop an SoC akin to Google's Argos video (trans)coding (VCU) to transcode video streams uploaded by TikTok users. Meanwhile, to further reduce power consumption, traffic, and storage capacities used by TikTok datacenters, ByteDance could introduce all-new codecs or AI algorithms. Furthermore, adding AI enhancements could improve image quality.

ByteDance will be yet another China-based cloud giant that develops its chips. For example, Alibaba has its own AI inference chip and general-purpose processor. Meanwhile, Baidu has its own Kunlun AI processor. Tencent also has its processors for various cloud workloads.

After almost a decade of quality issues, AMD's AMF encoder has finally received a massive upgrade in image quality thanks to the introduction of B-Frames in AMF Release 1.4.24. The update actually dropped months ago, but it wasn't until yesterday that Chris Griffith from Code Calamity finally put the new update to the test.

According to Griffith, he saw massive gains from the update. The AMF encoder was able to close in on Nvidia's newest NVENC encoder found in its RTX 20 series and 30 series GPUs. This update could see AMD Radeon GPUs as much more viable solution for game streaming, with low bitrate images looking almost as good as Nvidia's counterpart.

Major issues surrounding AMD's encoders have gone back as far as the 400 series Polaris GPUs, and in some cases even further. Support and quality have been constant issues and, for the most part, were always inferior to other encoders such as Nvidia's NVENC or Intel's QuickSync encoder. 

But the quality issue was compounded by the introduction of Nvidia's 6th generation NVENC encoder, introduced into the RTX 20 series, which elevated GPU encoding significantly, putting performance on par with good x264 encoding.

Despite 6th generation NVENC coming out over four years ago, AMD never really made a comeback, with its encoders remaining largely the same, even on the latest Radeon RX 6000 series GPUs. Streaming expert EposVox's video illustrates how terrible AMF's streaming performance is in low-bitrate scenarios running on the H.264 codec.

The only exception to this is HVEC encoding, where AMD's AMF encoder performs exceptionally well. But this capability will almost never be used in the real world, with all modern video players today requiring H.264 support.

B-Frames Are Back

The decisive feature improving AMF's image qulaity is the re-introduction of B-frames into the AMD encoder. Ironically, AMD originally had B-Frame support with its original encoder and decoder engine VCE (starting with the 2nd gen implementation). But AMD seems to have dropped support for it when the company released its new VCN engine, which was first released with AMD Raven Ridge APUs and RDNA1 graphics cards.

B-Frames are a very important aspect of video compression in the modern era. These frames are paired with I and P frames to build a highly compressed video file. B frames allow the H.264 compression algorithm to predict image data from both past frames and future frames in a video stream. It is an optional feature, but one that has proven to significantly increase the image quality of streams at lower bit rates.

Benchmarks

Code Calamity used VMAF to measure the image quality differentiation between AMF, NVENC and Intel QuickSync, with Big Buck Bunny as the reference video. In this benchmark, the highest possible score 100 is points. For reference, NVENC scores 96.13 points, and Intel QuickSync scored 96.37 in this test. According to Code Calamity, AMD's AMF encoder is just half a point behind both those encoders, where as before (without B-Frames), AMD's AMF  was a full two points behind.

This benchmark can be difficult to understand. But basically, it means AMF's image quality is right underneath Nvidia's latest NVENC encoder right now, which is much much better than where it used to sit before the latest update.

Support Is Still Largely Absent

As of now, the only problem with this new AMF encoder update is that no streaming platform has offered support, including OBS, despite the update being out for nearly four months. It's unclear why no one has implemented support for the update yet, but AMD does have a history of not broadly supporting developers in implementing its encoder SDKs. This might be the reason why support is taking so long to implement.

So for now, we have to take this benchmark as a future look into AMF's performance. Hopefully, it won't take long for apps like OBS to take advantage of the new update, so that current and future owners of AMD cards can make better use of them for streaming and other tasks.

Several months ago, we looked at the Z690 Aorus Master and found the upper-midrange board to have robust power delivery and many M.2 sockets for the latest storage. Today, we’ll look at the B660 Aorus Master that lives a bit down the product stack, on a chipset that eliminates CPU overclocking. Priced at a between $190 and $210 depending on where you find it, the B660 version of the Aorus Master also comes well-equipped and is a solid choice from a features perspective.

The B660 Master comes with almost everything you’d expect from a B660 board. There are three M.2 sockets, capable 16-phase 60A power delivery, a last-gen flagship audio codec, along with integrated Intel Wi-Fi 6 and 2.5 GbE. Gigabyte uses a black and gray heatsink combination here, which some may not find particularly appealing. That said, this is still a good-looking board and the heatsinks and shrouds covering most of the board, delivering a premium look.

Tested performance with our B660 Aorus Master was average among its DDR4 peers. It excelled in the Procyon suite but was a bit slower than others in the video and photo editing portion. Gaming results were on par with the rest, while power consumption was better than most overall. As usual, you’d be hard-pressed to notice any performance deficits without seeing them in a benchmark result.

Below, we’ll take a closer look at the Aorus Master’s features, software, and performance to see how this sub-$210 board stacks up against the rest and if it finds a spot on our best motherboards list. First, here’s a detailed list of the B660 Aorus Master’s specs, direct from Gigabyte.

Specifications: Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master

Inside the Box of the Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master

Inside the box, along with the motherboard, Gigabyte includes a barebones set of accessories including SATA cables, a Wi-Fi antenna, etc. As seems to be a growing trend, this board didn’t come with a driver disk/USB stick, but you can find the latest online at the website if your retail version is the same. Below is a complete list of the included extras.

• (2) SATA cables
• (3) M.2 screws
• Wi-Fi Antenna
• Microphone
• G-connector
• Stickers/case badge
• Manual

Design of the Aorus Master

Overall, the B660 Aorus Master looks like many of its more expensive (and overclockable) Z690 siblings. The matte black 6-layer PCB gives way to black and gray heatsinks to cover all the parts that get hot. The large black VRM heatsink dominates the left side of the motherboard and houses Aorus branding, backlit by RGB LEDs. The second RGB area is under the board in the top-right corner. The top VRM heatsink, along with the M.2 and chipset heatsinks, are gray with grooves cutout for more surface area and a design element. The chipset heatsink sports the Aorus falcon as well.

Overall we like the appearance. While there are other boards out there that cover more of the PCB, we have to remember this is a budget-focused board. Still, it will look good lit up inside your case, assuming you don’t mind the contrasting color of the heatsinks.

The top left corner of the B660 Master is taken up by the huge VRM heatsink that reaches out over the IO area, yielding a clean appearance. On top is the Aorus branding lit up from below with RGB LEDs. There are grooves cut out for additional surface area. Above the heatsink are two EPS connectors, an 8-pin (required) and 4-pin, to power the processor. To the right is the second VRM heatsink, but this time it’s gray and contrasts with the black PCB and other VRM heatsink.

Continuing right, we run into four DRAM slots that lock the memory down from both ends. Gigabyte supports up to 128GB of RAM with speeds listed to DDR4 5333(OC). Since you can’t overclock a CPU with this chipset, your only overclocking adventures have to come from the memory.

There are two 4-pin fan headers (CPU_FAN and CPU_OPT) and two RGB headers along the top-right edge. In total, there are eight fan headers scattered around the board, which should be plenty to control the cooling in your chassis. Each header supports both PWM- and DC-controlled devices. You’ll have plenty of power for all of your fans and a water cooling pump too, as each supports up to 2A/24W. Next to the fan headers are 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB headers, with the other two light headers along the bottom edge of the board. Gigabyte’s RGB Fusion application controls the board’s RGB ecosystem.

Working our way down the right edge, we run into the 24-pin ATX connector to power the board, two additional fan headers (SYS_FAN5/6_PUMP), a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) port, and slightly offset is the front panel USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) connector. Just below the screw hole here are the Q-LEDs that light up during the boot process. If there is a problem during startup, one of the four lights (labeled Boot/CPU/VGA/RAM) remains lit pointing out the general area of the problem. Since there isn’t a 2-character debug LED to share more details, you’ll have to rely on this LEDs for any pre-OS hangups during boot.

Gigabyte uses an 18-phase VRM here, with 16 phases dedicated to Vcore. Power comes in from the EPS connector(s) and then to an ON Semiconductor NCP81530 controller, which works in a teamed/parallel fashion (no phase doubler, but two MOSFETs receive one signal) with 16 55A ON Semiconductor NCP302155 MOSFETs. Since overclocking the processor isn’t an option with this chipset, the 880A for Vcore is plenty to run our Intel Core i9-12900K without issue.

The bottom half of the board sports the audio section, storage, and PCIe slots. Starting on the left side, we see Gigagbyte’s AMP UP! Audio branding covering a Realtek ALC1220-VB codec hidden below. While the B660 Aorus Master may not have a fancy DAC or opamp, it does sport several yellow Chemicon brand audio caps, along with four red WIMA caps to help deliver quality sound. This isn’t the newest audio codec, but being the last generation’s flagship, most users will be pleased with the audio.

The Aorus Master sports two full-length slots and one x1 size slot for PCIe connectivity. The top full-length slot uses reinforcement to prevent shearing from heavy graphics cards and runs at PCIe 4.0 x16 from the CPU. The second full-length slot sources its lanes from the chipset and runs at a maximum of PCIe 3.0 x4. The board supports AMD Quad-GPU Crossfire and 2-Way Crossfire with the available lanes. The bottom slot also sources its bandwidth from the chipset and runs at a maximum of PCIe 3.0 x1.

Hidden under the gray heatsinks are three M.2 sockets. All sockets support up to 110mm, but PCIe modules only. SATA-based M.2 modules are not supported. I would like to see that availability for a budget board, as SATA SSDs are cheaper ( although slower) than NVMe drives. And those on a budget might have more older storage they’d like to carry over to a new system. The top socket, M2A_CPU runs at PCIe 4.0 x4, along with the second socket (M2P_SB). The bottom socket, M2M_SB runs at a maximum of PCIe 3.0 x4. It’s worth noting that when a drive populates the M2M_SB socket, the second PCIe slot gets disabled.

Along the right edge, we run into two Thunderbolt AIC headers (for adding an add-in card) and four SATA ports. The SATA ports remain active regardless of what M.2 devices are used. If you want to RAID the SATA ports, they support RAID0/1/5/10. Four SATA ports will be plenty for most people. But again, if you have multiple older drives you want to carry over from a previous PC, this could be limiting.

Several headers live across the bottom, including USB ports, RGB, and fan headers. Below is a complete list of all the headers in this area.

• Front panel audio
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• TPM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Q-Flash+ button
• (4) System fan headers
• 2-pin temp header
• Clear CMOS jumper
• Front panel header

As we move to the rear IO area, Gigabyte was kind enough to preinstall the IO plate from the factory, which gives the B660 Master a premium vibe. All the ports are labeled and easy to read against the black background. There’s nothing fancy back here, just some branding to remind you this is an Aorus product.

One thing that stands out are the 10 total USB ports which is generous for a board in this price class. We run into a stack of four USB 2.0 ports on the left, while next to that is the Wi-Fi antenna connection. Video outputs consist of the DisplayPort (v1.2) on top, with HDMI(v2.1) on the bottom. Next is a USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) port that sits on top of the fast USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port. Continuing right, we hit four more USB ports (3.2 Gen 2, 10 Gbps), with the Intel 2.5 GbE port on top. On the right edge is the audio stack that consists of five analog plugs and a SPDIF out.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s B660 firmware looks no different than on pricier Z690 boards, except it excludes processor overclocking functionality. The BIOS starts in an informational EZ Mode that displays system information with limited functionality. You can enable XMP profiles from here, access Smart Fan 6 for fan control, use Q-Flash to update the BIOS, or enter Advanced Mode. When working in the Advanced portion of the BIOS, major headers are listed across the top, with sub-headings below. Page up/down functionality has finally been added, and the BIOS is easy to read and well organized to help find what you’re looking for.

Software

On the software side of things, Gigabyte’s primary tool is the App Center. This application is a central repository for all board-centric applications, some Windows settings, and other third-party software. Simply click to download the applications you want, install them, and an icon shows up on the screen. We installed @BIOS (BIOS flashing utility), Easy Tune (overclocking/system tweaking), RGB Fusion 2.0 (to control RGB lighting) and last but not least, SIV (for system monitoring). The Gigabyte website has many other helpful applications, including USB charging (to control power to ports), LAN, and more that aren’t covered here. Overall, we like App Center’s small footprint and found its modular tools helpful.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems.

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates in the future, though.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Aorus B660 Master did well here, with scores in 7Zip, Cinebench R23, POV-Ray, and Procyon Office all around the average for DDR4 boards. The Video and Photo editing tests inside Procyon were also average. AIDA64 memory latency results were also as expected. In short, there’s nothing to worry about performance-wise in this set of tests.

Timed Applications

Starting with LAME testing, the B660 Master took 9.51 seconds to complete, the second quickest result so far. The Corona Ray Tracing benchmark's results were just above average, finishing in 53 seconds. Handbrake results were average for DDR4, with the x264 test completed in 118 seconds, while x265 (which isn’t affected much by the slower DDR4) compared in 301 seconds, or slightly above average. There are no performance issues in the timed applications either.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the B660 Aorus Master DDR4 averaged 165 fps, with minimums of 140 fps, one of the faster results. Far Cry 6 was similar, with a minimum of 125 fps and an average of 137 fps. Both results here are slightly above average.

In the 3DMark tests, the B660 Master DDR4 scored 14,173 on 3DMark Time Spy and 16,912 on Fire Strike Extreme, both slightly below average. Although the synthetic game benchmarks run a bit slower than average, our real game tests showed good results. You’ll have nothing to worry about when gaming on this motherboard.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC, minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the B660 Master used 43W, which is one of the most efficient results we’ve seen. Load power use peaked at 342W, which is a bit higher than the average. Although the peak load wattage here was higher than many others, it will be difficult to see this on your power bill compared to other boards.

VRM temperatures on the B660 Master topped out at 54 degrees Celsius through the Extech (65 degrees Celsius through the internal VRM MOS sensor) during stock testing with DDR4-4000 RAM. Between the 55A VRMs, heavy heatsink, and the fact that you can’t overclock the CPU on this platform, the power bits and their cooling work well.

Overclocking

Overclocking the CPU isn’t possible on B660-based chipsets, but the platform does allow for memory speed adjustment. With our DDR4-3600 and DDR4-4000 kits, we simply set XMP and off we went without a hitch. Surely there’s some headroom left, but I’d imagine people purchasing a budget-class board aren’t looking to buy expensive RAM that’s far outside the sweet spot (DDR4 3600-4000).

Bottom Line

Priced at $209.99 (though it’s often found for sale at about $190), Gigabyte’s B660 Aorus Master is an affordable entry to Intel’s Alder Lake platform that’s well equipped for the price. The board includes capable power delivery, 10 USB ports (including 20 Gbps Type-C) on the rear IO, three M.2 sockets, a solid audio section, and generally good looks. Performance was right around average for DDR4 boards, so there’s nothing to worry about on that front either. In all, it’s a competent motherboard at a reasonable price.

As far as complaints or improvements go, there aren’t many. On the storage side of things, the three M.2 sockets should be enough for most, but none support SATA-based modules. Another potential shortcoming is the four available SATA ports, where many options in this class have six. Outside of that, the contrasting heatsinks could be a turnoff for some users, though the board still looks good overall.

There’s some stiff competition in this space, though. Asus has a ROG Strix B660-A for $229.99, MSI has a MAG B660 Tomahawk WIFI DDR4 ($189.99), and ASRock’s B660 Steel Legend is the least expensive of the group at $159.99. If you need more native SATA ports, the ASRock and MSI have you covered with six. If you’re looking for the best audio, the Asus is the only one that rocks the latest Realtek ALC4080 codec (although it’s priced significantly higher). All of the boards include a 2.5 GbE and Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 6), except the ASRock which does not come with Wi-Fi. They all support up to three M.2 sockets. In short, it’s going to come down to price and looks for most users.

In the end, the Gigabyte Aorus Master is a competent board in the wallet-friendly B660 space. If you can get the board at the sale price, it costs the same as the MSI. Between them, I like the Gigabyte over the Tomahawk if only for how the heatsinks cover more of the board, giving it a more premium and clean appearance. But if you’re not a fan of the contrasting colors, the MSI could be a more attractive solution at the same price. If B660 is your platform of choice and you want a solid motherboard that checks off all the expected boxes, the Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master DDR4 is a great option for around $200.

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Update: As it turns out, AMD's RDNA 3-based GPUs with VCN 4.x engines support hardware AV1 encoding, according to Linux driver patches released by AMD and discovered by @Kepler_L2. Previously, we reported based on Linux patches that AMD's upcoming Radeon RX 7000-series GPUs did not support AV1 encoding, which is not correct. We've modified the text to reflect the new information.

As part of the ongoing enablement of AMD’s next generation RDNA 3 GPUs, the company has released a series of patches for Linux that reveal details about the company’s upcoming video engines, the Video Codec Next version 4.x. Based on the information we have, VCN 4.x supports decoding of virtually all modern codecs.

AMD's VCN 4.0 engine appears to support H.264/MPEG 4 AVC, H.265, VP9, AV1, and JPEG decoding, as well as AV1, H.264, and H.265 encoding. For now, VCN does not appear to support H.266/VVC (versatile video coding) decoding/encoding. VVC is a next-generation codec that will be required maybe in 2023 or 2024 (when appropriate content becomes available), while AV1 is a current generation codec with expanding usage. There are users and companies that would like to have it now for encoding or transcoding video, but later this year should also suffice.

Intel's Arc Alchemist GPUs fully support AV1 decoding and encoding, the only chips to do so at present. We expect Nvidia may also support AV1 encoding with it's upcoming Ada architecture, though that remains as yet unconfirmed. AMD's RDNA 3 also won't arrive until later this year, but if AMD's VCN 4.x indeed does support AV1 encoding, all three major GPU companies will then offer hardware accelerated AV1 encoding and decoding.

AMD's current-generation GPUs based on the RDNA 2 architecture use the company's VCN 3.0, VCN 3.1, and VCN 3.1.2 video decoding blocks. By contrast, next-generation RDNA 3 graphics processors (at least the so-called SoC21, which is believed to be Navi 31) will feature the next-generation VCN 4.0 engine, according to a new Linux patch posted by AMD and discovered by @Kepler_L2.

Speaking of VCN 4.0, even the current VCN 3.x engine fully supports H.264/MPEG4 AVC, H.265, VP9, AV1, and JPEG decoding as well as H.264 and H.265 encoding. Unless there are more innovations, the key improvement with VCN 4.0 over 3.x will be hardware accelerated AV1 encode/decode support. It may also support higher resolutions, color depths/formats, and/or efficiency improvements, and we anticipate some additional feature set changes as well.

Keep in mind that not all GPU features get enabled ahead of launch, especially in Linux due to various legal and technical reasons. We'll find out for sure what VCN 4.x and RDNA 3 add to the feature list likely late this year, when we expect the RX 7000-series GPUs to launch.

Being one of the Alliance for Open Media founding members, Intel has done a lot to promote the AV1 codec and make it more accessible to content makers/providers and end-users. Intel was the first to offer hardware AV1 decoding with its Xe-LP GPUs in 2020. This week it released version 1.0 of its speedy open-source Scalable Video Technology AV1 encoder and decoder for CPUs. SVT-AV1 works with all modern processors. 

The AV1 open-source video codec was designed for ultra-high-def resolutions, wide color gamut, and high-dynamic range enhancements. AOMedia said in 2018 that its AV1 was 30% more efficient than existing codecs (implying primarily on H.265/HEVC that is designed for similar 4K+ content), which is a big deal. But one problem with highly-efficient codecs is that they are extremely hungry for resources and generally require hardware acceleration to work correctly. Meanwhile, modern CPUs have a lot of resources and new instructions that can be applied to decoding and encoding, which is precisely what SVT-AV1 does. 

SVT-AV1 is a scalable standard-agnostic encoder/decoder library that can take advantage of the multi-core nature of modern CPUs and AVX2 instructions. The SVT-AV1 also adds further AVX2 optimizations to boost performance, image quality improvements, fast-decode for more preset levels, and S-frames support, reports Phoronix. 

Intel's SVT-AV1 libraries are supported on modern x86 machines (Intel 5th Generation Core 'Broadwell' and higher) running Apple's macOS, Microsoft's Windows, and Linux. 

Intel and Netflix initially started the SVT-AV1 project to develop a production-quality AV1-encoder with performance levels applicable to various applications, from premium video-on-demand to real-time and live encoding/transcoding. In August 2020, the SVT-AV1 encoded/decode library was adopted by AOMedia's Software Implementation Working Group (SIWG) to make AV1 more popular. The SVT-AV1 version 1.0 release marks a milestone in the development of the encoder/decoder libraries. 

Version 1.0 of SVT-AV1 encoder/decoder libraries is a milestone and good news for content creators and end-users. However, for companies like Netflix, Intel now offers Arctic Sound-M accelerators based on DG2 silicon that can handle eight simultaneous 4K streams and supports hardware-accelerated AV1 encoding and decoding.

The single-tile Intel Arctic Sound 1T features an Xe-HP GPU with 384 EUs and 16GB of HBM2E memory, offering a peak bandwidth of up to 716 GB/s (which probably means that we are dealing with two stacks of HBM2E that use a 2048-bit interface). The accelerator is a short single-slot full-height card rated for a 150W TDP.  

Intel's Arctic Sound 2T card carries an Xe-HP GPU with two tiles, 960 EUs (480×2 to be more accurate), and 32GB of HBM2E DRAM. The accelerator uses a full-length, full-height (FLFH) form factor and is rated for a 300W TDP delivered using one eight-pin power connector. (One thing to keep in mind is that IgorsLab edited the images of the cards to protect the source.)

Intel's Xe-HP architecture is a far cry from the company's Xe-LP architecture we know from the Iris Xe consumer-grade GPUs. The Xe-HP card supports more floating-point formats (e.g., FP16, FP32, FP64 for general purpose, bfloat16 format for AI/ML computing), more compute-specific instructions, DP4A convolution instruction for deep learning, and Intel's XMX extensions.

The datacenter-oriented Xe-HP GPUs use all-new execution units (EUs) with various IPC improvements, feature HBM2E memory support, and are made using Intel's performance-optimized 10nm SuperFin process technology. In short, the Xe-HP is not the Xe-LP or Xe-HPG on steroids, but something completely different. 

Intel now allowed some of its customers to preview its Arctic Sound compute cards carrying single-tile and dual-tile Xe-HP implementations. Intel announced a quad-tile Xe-HP implementation last year and even demonstrated one of such accelerators in action offering over 42 FP32 TFLOPS of performance. However, the company is not ready to sample it right now or is only sampling it with select customers.

Intel's Xe-HP plans are not completely clear as the company has never detailed them. Meanwhile, the EU count of these two cards is somewhat lower than expected (assuming that one Xe-HP tile features 512 EUs). At present, we don't know how old these cards are and which configurations Intel plans to ship.

Motherboards get segmented and marketed to specific groups, like gamers or professionals. But each major board partner also has a board dedicated to getting the most out of overclocking. Any of these boards aimed at a specific niche can usually do at least an adequate job as a more general-purpose board as well. That brings us to Gigabyte’s Z690 Tachyon, which is designed to handle the rigors of extreme overclocking, but is also surprisingly well-rounded for more typical computing needs. This overclocking-centered board includes all of the basic specifications of the Z690 platform and features an extreme overclocker will love for $549.99.

The Tachyon has all you’d expect in a Z690 motherboard. There are a total of four M.2 sockets (but none are PCIe 5.0), premium audio, plenty of USB ports (including USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports), overbuilt power delivery, along with built-in overclocking buttons and switches to help speed enthusiasts get the most out of their platform. Compared to the Z590 version, the new model sports similar styling and layout. There’s one less PCIe slot, one more M.2 socket, and much-improved VRMs to help support extreme overclocking of Intel’s 12th Gen Alder Lake processors.

Performance using the Z690 Tachyon was slightly above average overall, with most benchmarks running as fast or faster than on other boards. We saw some of the fastest results in our new Blender benchmark, Cinebench R23, Procyon Office, and more. Power consumption was, surprisingly, slightly better than most, while gaming performance was spot on compared to others. The only result slower than average was the Procyon Video editing test. In our testing, almost all motherboards from Gigabyte sit around this same middling score in that benchmark. In all, the Tachyon is one of the faster Z690 boards we’ve tested out of the box.

Below, we’ll look more closely the latest Tachyon’s features, including all of the overclocking goodies, software and performance, to see if this $550 motherboard is worth the expense and perhaps a place on our best motherboards list. But first, here’s a detailed list of the Z690 Tachyon’s specs, direct from Gigabyte.

Specifications: Gigabyte Z690 Tachyon

Inside the Box of the Gigabyte Z690 Tachyon

Inside the box, along with the motherboard, Gigabyte includes your standard fare of accessories including SATA cables, Wi-Fi antenna, and more. Curiously, a driver disk/USB stick is missing, but you can download them from the website. Below is a complete list of the included extras.

• (4) SATA cables
• (2) Temperature probes
• RGB extension cable
• (3) M.2 screws
• Wi-Fi Antenna
• Microphone
• G-connector
• Stickers/case badge
• Rear IO plate
• Installation manual

Design of the Gigabyte Z690 Tachyon

Taking the E-ATX Z690 Tachyon out of the box, we see a black PCB with black heatsinks and gray accents. The oversized VRM heatsink looks capable of removing heat from the VRM under most circumstances. Outside of all the buttons and switches, there’s some Aorus branding on the left VRM heatsinks and an etched Aorus falcon on the gray chipset heatsink.

The Tachyon comes with two zones on integrated RGB lighting. The first is underneath the Aorus branding on the left VRM heatsink, while the second is around the chipset, which lights up a frosted strip between the M.2 heatsinks and chipset. The glow here isn’t going to light up your case out of the box, but it does provide some nice accent lighting.

Getting into the details, starting with the top half of the board, on the left side we spy the huge heatsink covering the left VRM bank. While both VRM heatsinks are passively cooled, there’s enough surface area for these to be effective. There’s also a heatpipe that connects the two VRM heatsinks in order to share the load. Just above this massive heatsink are two 8-pin EPS connectors with metal shielding that provides power to the processor. There’s also a 4-pin fan header in this area too.

Moving right, past the socket area, there are a slew of premium Tantalum capacitors which Gigabyte says improves transient response, while the flat shape of them yields less mechanical interference with extreme cooling methods (think a dry ice/LN2 pot there). It’s much easier to prepare (read: insulate) the board with this shape than the other cylinder-shaped caps.

Continuing our journey to the right, we run into two reinforced DRAM slots, with single-side locking mechanisms. With only two slots (a nod to the overclocking-centric design of the board),  maximum support for the Tachyron is 64GB, which is still plenty for most users. The two-DIMM daisy chain memory trace layout provides a shorter distance between the slots and the CPU to help reach high memory speeds. The resulting DDR5 7000 support is the highest we’ve seen listed for Z690. Even beyond that he board, using extreme cooling methods (LN2), has been shown to reach an astounding DDR5 8300. Just be aware your mileage may vary based on memory and CPU. We had no issues running either of our sticks and even reached DDR4 6400 with no issues.

Above the DRAM slots are several headers. First are three (of eight) 4-pin fan headers. All fan headers output up to 2A/24W, which should be enough to piggyback a couple of fans on a header if needed or support a standalone water pump.

In the same area are two (of four total) RGB headers. In this area, there’s a single 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB. If you’re going to use this as a daily driver and want more bling than what’s included, you have plenty of options for more lighting. You can control lighting through Gigabyte’s RGB Fusion software.

Along the right edge is where the Tachyon sets itself apart from most motherboards and shows off its overclocking pedigree. Here we spy several buttons and switches dedicated to overclocking, among other more standard items. Starting front the top is a simple power button. Below are four other buttons. The black one is to reset the CMOS while the white buttons cover Limp mode (reboot with default//safe settings), Retry button (forces a reboot), and a reset button. The +/- buttons raise or lower the CPU ratio/multiplier by one. Between these features and the DRAM slots are several solder spots for reading voltage, covering Vcore (die/skt/IO), CPU voltages (aux/vdd2/1v8/1v05) and PCH core voltage. Software is notorious for not being very accurate, so the ability to measure accurately, especially for the extreme overclocker, is key.

Next to the +/- buttons is a 2-character debug LED, followed by a 6-pin PCIe power connector to supply additional power to the motherboard. There’s a USB port here for a BIOS flashback or to use without reaching around your pot to the back of the board. Close to that is a switch that lowers the processor speed to cool it down and prepare the next benchmark. Where every degree counts in trying to break records, this is a convenient way to change values without using software. There’s a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) front-panel port, a BIOS selection switch, and another reserved for later use here as well.

Gigabyte implements a beefy VRM configuration to the Tachyon, and rightfully so as it’s a motherboard designed for overclocking. Power comes from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) and onto a Renesas RAA229131 20-channel controller. The power configuration is a direct setup, so each channel from the controller goes to its own MOSFET without phase doublers or any teaming involved. Power is then sent to the 15 105A Renesas RAA22010540 Smart Power Stage (SPS) MOSFETs. The 1,575A for Vcore is plenty to handle the flagship Intel i9-12900K processor even when overclocked using extreme cooling methods.

The bottom half of the board contains the audio, PCIe, and M.2/SATA storage. Starting on the left, we see the fully exposed audio solution to the left of the separation line. The Z690 Tachyon uses the last-gen flagship Realtek ALC1220-VB codec, which most users will find more than acceptable, particularly for an ‘overclocking’ board. Some yellow audio capacitors are paired with a few red WIMA audio caps to complete the implementation.

There are three full-length PCIe slots in the middle of the board, with the top two reinforced and CPU-attached supporting PCIe 5.0. The top slot runs up to PCIe 5.0 x16, while the bottom slot is limited to PCIe 5.0 x8. If both primary slots are in use, the top slot drops back to x8, yielding an x8/x8 configuration. Gigabyte lists AMD Crossfire support, but SLI isn’t listed even though it has the bandwidth to support it. The bottom slot sources its lanes from the chipset and runs at a maximum of PCIe 3.0 x4.

Surrounding the PCIe slots are four M.2 sockets. All sockets support up to 110mm modules and a maximum of PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds. The top socket above the PCIe slot (M2A_CPU) sources its lanes from the CPU while the others (M2P_SB, M2Q_SB, and M2M_SB) get their lanes from the chipset. The M2M-SB socket supports both PCIe and SATA-based M.2 devices. Shifting our focus to the right edge past the chipset, we run into a horizontal 24-pin ATX power connector and six SATA ports (support RAID0/1/5/10 modes).

With all of the M.2 sockets, there is some lane sharing, but nothing major. If you’re running a PCIe-based SSD in the M2M_SB socket, SATA ports 2/3 are disabled. The worst case scenario is that you run four total M.2 drives, where you’ll still have four SATA drives available.

Across the bottom are several headers, including USB ports, RGB, and even some temperature sensor headers. Below is a complete list of all the headers across the bottom of the board.

• Front panel audio
• LED demo header
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• 4-pin system fan header
• Thunderbolt AIC headers
• USB 3.2 Gen 1 header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• 4-pin system fan header
• Front panel header

As we move to the rear IO area, you’ll notice the IO plate is not pre-installed. For an overclocking board, this is acceptable considering common use is on an open-air test bench and the aesthetic plate isn’t needed. If you’re going to use it, the ports are labeled, and the writing is easy to read.

Working left to right, we run into the Q-Flash button to flash your BIOS without a CPU and an OC ignition button for testing the system (using water cooling, for example) without needing to boot the system. Next to those are legacy PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports. Using these low-level ports instead of USB can help with stability for the extreme overlocker. There are four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A ports and three USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports, along with a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port. The seven Type-A ports should be enough for most users. A single HDMI port handles video output. Aslo here is the Intel 2.5 GbE network jack and the Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections. Last but not least are the 5-plug analog plus SPDIF optical ports on the right for audio.

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Firmware

Gigabyte’s Z690 Tachyon BIOS is much like the previous generation and matches the Aorus Z690 Pro and Z690 Master we reviewed previously. The BIOS starts in an informational EZ Mode that displays system information with limited functionality. You can enable XMP profiles from here, access Smart Fan 6 for fan control, Q-Flash, or enter Advanced Mode.

When working in the Advanced portion of the BIOS, major headers are listed across the top, with sub-headings below. Everything is easy to find, but many common functions for overclocking are located in separate sections, so you have to bounce around a bit compared to other BIOS layouts. Page up/down functionality has finally been added, and the BIOS is easy to read. It’s not too hard to find what you’re looking for.

Software

On the software side of things, Gigabyte’s primary tool is the App Center. This application is a central repository for all board-centric applications, some Windows settings, and other third-party software. Simply click to download the applications you want, install them, and an icon shows up on the screen. We installed @BIOS (BIOS flashing utility), Easy Tune (overclocking/system tweaking), RGB Fusion 2.0 (to control RGB lighting) and last but not least, SIV (for monitoring). The Gigabyte website has many other helpful applications, including USB charging (to control power to ports), LAN, and more that aren’t covered here. Overall, I like App Center’s small footprint and found its tools helpful.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components:

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for launch day testing.

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona, and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates in the future, though.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Z690 Tachyon did well here, with scores in 7Zip, Cinebench R23, POV-Ray, and Procyon Office all above average. The Video and Photo editing tests were average. AIDA64 memory latency results were as expected too. In short, there’s nothing to worry about performance-wise in this set of tests.

Timed Applications

Starting with LAME testing, the Tachyon took 9.56 seconds to complete, which is slightly faster than average. The Corona Ray Tracing benchmark's results were also right around the average at 52 seconds. Handbrake results were faster than average, with the x264 test completed in 111 seconds - the fastest we’ve seen. There are no performance issues in the timed applications either.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the Z690 Tachyon averaged 165 fps with minimums of 141 fps, one of the faster results. Far Cry 6 was similar, with a minimum of 125 fps and an average of 138 fps. Both results here are also slightly above average.

In the 3DMark tests, the Tachyon scored 14,489 on 3DMark Time Spy and 17,022 on Fire Strike Extreme, both average or slightly above average. In short, you have nothing to worry about when gaming on this motherboard. And performance overall is quite good with this board.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC, minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the Tachyon used 55W, which places it more on the efficient side of average. Load power use peaked at 305W, an average result. Overall, this is one of the more efficient boards we’ve tested. But as usuall,it will be difficult to see the difference in your power bill.

VRM temperatures on the Tachyon topped out at close to 45 degrees Celsius during stock testing and almost 47 degrees Celsius when overclocked. While the VRMs are not actively cooled, the temperatures were lower than most other boards we’ve tested. Between the 105A VRMs and the heavy heatsink, you won’t have any issues with keeping the power delivery cool, even with sub-ambient cooling methods.

Overclocking

Overclocking with Alder Lake is slightly different from what we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. We set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking with the Tachyon and the flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved painless. Since we’ve found our required voltage with our first review, we plugged in that 1.25V value for Vcore, adjusted LLC to “Turbo”, and tested it successfully. Using the integrated voltage read points and a multi-meter, the voltage landed at 1.20V. If this slight vdroop bothers you, increase the LLC level.

On the memory front, we set XMP, and off we went with our GSkill Trident Z5 DDR5 5600 CL36 Kit, yielding a 600 MHz increase from the maximum rating of the platform. After months of trying, we finally procured a DDR5 6000 kit to use while overclocking. With this ADATA kit, we set XMP, and off we went without issue.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t try to overclock the RAM past its rated specs as well, and on that front, we were able to push our DDR5 6000 kit to 6400 MHz while lowering the CL rating to 30. In the right hands and with the right equipment, you can take your memory speeds far beyond the platform’s maximum specification. For GSkill users, just update the BIOS with the flashback feature first as there have been some compatibility issues.

Bottom Line

I have to admit, I was excited to get my hands on a motherboard that, at the core, is designed with overclocking in mind. While headroom from processors has shrunk (on both the Intel and AMD side)in recent generations for ambient cooled systems, those who employ extreme cooling methods (dry Ice, LN2/LHe, etc) can still extract insane speeds with the right tools. Most any Z690-based motherboard has the fortitude to handle ambient overclocking. But only some, like the Tachyon (or the Asus Apex/ASRock Aqua OC/MSI Unify-X) have integrated tools to make pushing the limits easier while still performing well as a daily driver.

The Z690 Tachyon ($549.99) comes with robust power delivery that supports sub-ambient overclocking of any compatible Alder Lake CPU. The 105A SPS MOSFETs, large heatsink, and overclocking tools ensure the board doesn’t get in the way prematurely. The E-ATX board has several features that make overclocking easier. including buttons to raise/lower the CPU ratio, cooldown functionality, limp modes, multiple BIOS capability, Tantalum capacitors around the socket area (better and easier to insulate for sub-zero runs), and more. Although this board is made for overclocking, it still does most everything else well too. From the four M.2 sockets and six SATA ports to the last-gen flagship Realtek audio solution, it comes packed with features that are useful for most any type of user. Still, those who need more than 64GB of RAM (professionals, content creators, etc), will have to look elsewhere.

As far as potential improvements go, there isn’t too much to complain about, especially when coming from an overclocking or extreme overclocking mindset. If your main purpose is to overclock, then some of the shortcomings don’t hold as much weight as someone who looks at the board through a different lens (think gaming, for example). To that end, I would like to see the latest generation audio codec used. Outside of that, power users looking for more than 64GB of RAM have to apply elsewhere as the Tachyon is limited to 64GB with the two DRAM slots. Considering the board is marketed to enthusiasts and extreme overclockers, I doubt these items are deal-breakers for that group.

There is competition in the overclocking space. MSI’s MEG Z690 Unify-X ($499.99) is the closest thing they have to an overclocking board, but due to a lack of dedicated overclocking buttons, it’s better suited as a daily driver with its five M.2 sockets. Asus’ ROG Z690 Apex ($719.99) is a viable competitor that also comes with a slew of onboard overclocking tools like the Tachyon and the latest Realtek audio codec. However, the price is a lot higher than the Gigabyte. Last, ASRock has the Z690 Aqua OC for $1,399.99. This is the only board in this group that includes a custom integrated water block which is part of the reason the price is so high. Lastly, I’m happy that Gigabyte is working on BIOS’ for this platform, but just be sure to use the latest version to help with memory compatibility, especially with GSkill kits.

If you’re into overclocking and looking to get every MHz out of your processor while using sub-ambient cooling methods, motherboards focusing on overclocking are the way to go. If you’re using ambient cooling with today’s hot-running CPUs, you’re going to be limited by the cooler and not the motherboard in most cases. So does it make sense to buy something like a Z690 Tachyon as a daily driver? That’s up to you as other, more well-rounded solutions are available for the price. However, none of them sport the onboard overclocking tools and raw overclocking ability as the Tachyon.  At $549.99 it isn’t the least expensive of this class of board, but it does bring a well-balanced offering to the table that looks just as good on a test bench as it does inside a case.

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Watercooling your PC doesn’t come cheap, with full custom loops that start around $300 and go up from there. And while cost is one consideration of custom cooling, another is trying to find a part that fits your specific hardware, or spending nearly double for some halo products that integrate onto an incredibly expensive motherboard. MSI solves the latter issues for you. The company worked with EK and developed a custom block made for the Z690 Carbon. And what was born out of this relationship is its own SKU, the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon EK X. You get a mid-range class motherboard and an EK monoblock designed to cool the CPU, VRMs, and the top M.2 socket for $629.99.

Along with the sweet-looking custom monoblock, the Carbon EK X provides ample storage options with five M.2 sockets and four SATA ports, fast USB including a 20 Gbps Type-C port, the latest-gen premium audio codec, and an even more capable power delivery. Some notable improvements from the Z590 version include an updated appearance with heatsinks on the bottom of the board covering more real estate. There’s also a festival of RGB lighting (which you can easily disable). This board just begs to be the center of attention, with that massive block covering the top portion of the board.

But it’s not all about looks! The Carbon EK X also performed well overall, ending up around average when testing was all said and done. Performance was slightly above average in the Procyon Office tests and gaming, but slightly slower than average for some longer-running multi-threaded tests. AIDA64 memory testing results were some of the slowest we’ve seen, which is part of the difference in performance on those tests. Power consumption was higher, but there’s a different pump and fans on the custom cooling we use compared to the AIO, which caused at least some of that increase.

Before we get into details to see if this is a good board to build your Alder Lake-based system on or is even good enough to be one of the best motherboards, here are the detailed specifications from MSI.

Specifications: MSI MPG Z690 Carbon EK X

Inside the Box of the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon EK X

Inside the box, you’ll find a slew of accessories designed to get you started without going out to buy additional parts. MSI includes all of the basics from SATA cables, RGB extensions, and drivers USB stick, but also includes a handy leak tester to pressure test the loop and check for leaks. You’ll still have to purchase all watercooling equipment outside of the included EK monoblock. Below is a complete list of the included extras.

• Quick Installation Guide
• Cable/MPG stickers, Case badge
• Screwdrivers
• Cleaning brush
• RGB extensions (Corsair, Y, Rainbow)
• (2) SATA Data cables
• (2) M.2 screw/standoff sets
• EK Leak Tester
• EK Monoblock
• Wi-Fi antenna

Design of the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon EK X

The MSI MPG Z690 Carbon EK X is built with a black 8-layer PCB, with 2 Ounnces of copper traces between. On the left, the rear IO cover sports a carbon fiber pattern on top, along with MSI branding and the familiar MSI Gaming Dragon lit up by RGB LEDs from below. The EK Monoblock looks similar to the Z590 version, though it’s larger here and extends out to cool the primary M.2 socket as well. It retains the Carbon fiber look and a black accent piece on the right edge with EK branding. A passive flow meter also spins when water moves inside the loop. The monoblock is full of RGB lighting that connects to the motherboard for control via MSI’s RGB Fusion software. The lighting is saturated and bright, making for a great centerpiece for your PC if you’re into that sort of thing.

On the top half, we’ve covered the rear IO cover and monoblock’s appearance, which takes the MSI MPG Z690 Carbon to another level. There are two 8-pin EPS connectors above the monoblock to send power to the processor.

To the right, four unreinforced double-side locking DRAM slots support up to 128GB of RAM with speeds listed to DDR5 6666+ MHz. Reaching these speeds depends on the memory kit used and the processor’s Integrated Memory Controller (IMC). Not all chips and RAM combos will be able to hit those top speeds.

Above the DRAM slots are the first two (of eight) 4-pin fan headers. The CPU_FAN1 header supports up to 3A/36W and auto-detects what type of fan (PWM or DC controlled) is connected. The PUMP_FAN1 also supports up to 3A/36W, but defaults to PWM mode. The rest of the fan headers, labeled SYS_FAN1-6, default to DC mode and support 1A/12W each. In short, there are plenty of fan/pump headers with enough power to support most anything you need power-wise for water cooling.

If the board and monoblock’s RGBs aren’t enough, to the right of the fan headers is a 3-pin ARGB header to add more. There is another 3-pin header, a 4-pin RGB and a 3-pin Corsair LED header. If you like loads of RGB, this board gives you all the options.

We spy the 2-digit debug code LED in the upper-right corner to help with POST issues. After another 4-pin fan header, along the right edge is the EZ Debug LED consisting of four LEDs that light up during the POST process. Each LED is labeled (CPU, DRAM, BOOT, VGA), and if a problem happens during POST, the LED remains lit and gives us a general idea of where the problem is located. Continuing down the right edge, we run into a vertical 24-pin ATX connector, USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header, and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C header.

The MSI Carbon EK X (and Carbon) sport 20-phase power delivery for the system, with 18 phases dedicated to Vcore/the processor itself. Power gets sent from the EPS connector(s) to a Renesas RAA229131 20-channel (X+Y=20) controller. Power is then sent to 18 75A Renesas RAA220075R0 Smart Power Stages then onto the CPU. The 1,350A available to the processor is plenty to handle the flagship Intel i9-12900K processor at stock speeds and overclocked.

On the bottom half of the board, heatsinks cover most of the area here, particularly where the M.2 sockets are between the PCIe slot and the chipset heatsink. Starting on the far left, we see the audio section with the Realtek ALC4080 codec fully exposed along with some yellow Nichicon audio capacitors. A dedicated headphone amplifier drives headphones up to 600 ohm. Overall, a majority of users will be happy with this audio implementation.

In the middle of the board are three full-length PCIe slots. The top two slots are for graphics and MSI’s PCIe Steel Armor to protect VGA cards against bending and EMI. These slots connect via the CPU with the top lane capable of PCIe 5.0 x16 operation, while the second slot is limited to PCIe 5.0 x8 speeds. When both slots are populated, they run at x8/x8 speeds. Although this configuration has enough bandwidth to support Nvidia SLI, only AMD Crossfire technology is listed as supported.

The MSI Z690 Carbon EK X has five M.2 sockets, more than most Z690-based boards. All M.2 sockets run up to PCIe 4.0 x4, with M2_4 the only one that supports SATA-based modules. M2_1 and M2_3 support up to 110mm modules, while M2_2/4/5 support up to 80mm modules. The Carbon EK X supports RAID0/1/5/10 modes for NVMe storage devices.

Skipping over the chipset heatsink to the edge of the board, we run into six SATA ports, four of which (SATA 5-8) are fed from the chipset while the other ports (SATA A/B) are managed through an ASMedia controller. There is some lane sharing between the SATA ports and M.2 sockets. If you’re using an M.2 SATA SSD in the M2_4 socket, SATA7 will be unavailable. Your worst-case scenario on this board is running four PCIe M.2 modules plus a SATA-based M.2 module and five SATA-based drives. If you’re lacking storage on this board, there aren’t many options in the mainstream desktop segment with more.

Across the bottom are several headers, including USB ports and RGB.  Below is a complete list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• 4-pin RGB header
• LED On/Off switch
• 3-pin ARGB header
• Power LED
• Thunderbolt header
• System Fan header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (3 System Fan headers)
• Front panel header

The rear IO area sports a pre-installed IO plate matching the Carbon EK X’s aesthetics. The black background gives way to grey writing for the ports and MPG branding.

There are 10 USB ports: Four USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), five USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) and a 20 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type port - enough for most users. Video outputs consist of a single HDMI v2.1 port and DisplayPort v1.4. There’s a 2.5GbE port, Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections, and five analog plug plus SPDIF port. Last but not least is a tiny BIOS Flashback button that allows you to flash the BIOS without a CPU or other parts.

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Firmware

Like the other MSI BIOS configurations, you start with an informational EZ Mode that allows editing of some high-level functions, including enabling XMP profiles, adjusting fan speeds, and more. The main menu is informational up top, while the bottom two-thirds is where the adjustments happen. You select the section you want on the left or right sides, and the details show in the middle. You don’t have to dig down several screens to reach the overclocking options, as they are mostly on the main page. Some digging is inevitable, but overall we find this BIOS full of options and easy to read and get around.

Software

For software, the theme these days is to place a lot of the functionality in one program. MSI’s take on this is called Dragon Center, which lets you to download individual applets. Some of the programs include Mystic Light (RGB control), LAN Manager, User Scenario (overclocking, monitoring, and fan control), Super Charger, MSI Companion (help record games), and many more. Though updates should fix this down the road, it’s worth noting that you cannot overclock the system with the version I had. But serious overclockers will want to do their tweaking in the BIOS anyway.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for launch day testing.

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates in the future, though.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Z690 Carbon EK X was around average in our synthetic benchmarks. It did well overall in the Procyon Office tests, but was slightly below average in Photo and Video editing. 7Zip and Cinebench R23 also ran on the slower side of average.

Timed Applications

The Carbon EK X showed good results in LAME (9.53 seconds, tied for second fastest) test, and the Corona ray tracing test was average at 53 seconds. Handbrake results were also solid, with the x264 test one of the fastest so far, while the x265 performance was average in a tight group of results.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests, updating to Far Cry 6 and shifting from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the Z690 Carbon EK X averaged 164 frames per second (fps) with minimums of 140 fps, an average result. In Far Cry 6, the EK X averaged 137 fps with a minimum of 122 fps, some of the better results thus far.

Our trend of not seeing significant differences among Z690 boards continues in our synthetic benchmarks. The MSI scored 14,260 on 3DMark Time Spy and 16,931 on Fire Strike Extreme. The former is on the lower side of average, but nothing noticeable outside of this benchmark.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the Carbon EK X on the test bench consumed 86W, the highest idle result so far, along with the load wattage that was also the highest recorded at 360W. The high power use is due to the addition of an external pump and more powerful fans than our AIO cooler uses. Left to default, the board ramps up to the same 4.9/3.7 GHz clock speeds we’re used to seeing. It could get away with using less voltage, however.

During stock stress testing, we saw thermal throttling due to the board’s liberal use of voltage by default. Because of this and some poor VRM contact on this sample, temperatures were higher than I would like to see. The room temperature was a couple of degrees Celsius higher than normal as my Window AC unit is down, and it was an unusually warm day outside, so that played a part in the results as we do not normalize to a specific temperature. Overclocked results where the voltage was locked to ~1.25V did well and ran cooler than those using air only. The monoblock keeps the CPU, VRM and M.2 socket cool, but make sure you get check contact with the block. It took me two attempts to get enough paste down. Otherwise, installing the monoblock was straightforward, though the included instructions were lacking in detail.

Overclocking

Overclocking with Alder Lake is slightly different from what we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. To that end, we set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking with the Carbon EK X and the flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved painless. Since we’ve found our required voltage with our first review, we plugged in that 1.25V value for Vcore, adjusted LLC to LLC4, and tested it successfully. According to CPUz, the voltage was 1.235V, so using LLC4 effectively mitigated the vdroop.

On the memory front, we set XMP and off we went with our GSkill Trident Z5 DDR5 5600 CL36 kit and the faster ADATA XPG DDR5 6000 kit. This yields an 800 and 1,200 MHz (respectively) increase from the maximum stock rating of the platform (DDR5 4800). We’re sure there’s more overclocking headroom available, but as always, your mileage may vary depending on the kit and quality of your CPUs integrated memory controller (IMC).

Bottom Line

After building and testing, I’m left with a good feeling for the Z690 Carbon EK X. While some other boards include water blocks on the board, most are in a different class altogether. Anything with a block from Asus, Gigabyte, or ASRock are built around flagship-class boards and cost at least $1,300. At $629.99, the Carbon EK X comes mostly with features you’d expect from a mid-range class board, including five M.2 sockets, 10 USB ports on the rear IO, plus the included EK monoblock to cool the CPU VRMs and top M.2 socket. If you intend to water cool the critical parts of your motherboard, MSI’s Z690 Carbon EK X is, by far, the least-expensive option with a custom monoblock included.

For the most part, the board itself has an impressive specifications list. Although it doesn’t have a PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket, it does come with five PCIe 4.0 sockets, which is the most you’ll see integrated on any Z690-based motherboard. There are also six total SATA ports, making this quite a board on the storage front. It also comes with flagship-class audio, Intel-based networking, an updated appearance, and improved power delivery. Overall it’s a well-rounded Z690 motherboard. If you like what you see, but don’t plan on spending the time or money on a custom loop, the Z690 Carbon, its air-cooled twin, is available for a lot less ($399.99).

There isn’t anything else close to the EK X’s price point as far as direct competition goes. The more expensive options we listed above are flagship-class which tend to have more, or higher-end, features or both. The big takeaway from the Z690 Carbon EK X is the ability to water cool the critical bits and get the matching custom monoblock in one package. You’ll still need to buy the rest of the loop, but at least the problem of finding a block is already done for you, and it includes EK’s handy leak tester. If you’re looking to build an Alder Lake-based system and plan to water cool the motherboard and the CPU, MSI’s MPG Z690 Carbon EK X is feature-laden and the least expensive option with a custom-made block.

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The ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4 is a compact Mini-ITX board that’s priced below most other Z690-based ITX offerings, at $349.99. But don’t let the price fool you. This little board packs almost the same punch as the higher-priced MSI MEG Z690I Unify we reviewed recently. The PG-ITX/TB4 comes with capable 10-phase power delivery, Thunderbolt 4, two M.2 sockets, three SATA ports and a last-generation flagship audio codec. Is the lower price worth having less of some items but full Thunderbolt 4 support? That’s up to you to decide, but we’ll help you get there.

If we take a moment to compare the previous-gen Z590 PG-ITX/TB4, we don’t see too many hardware changes outside of supporting the latest Alder Lake processors, along with PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 RAM. M.2 socket count remained the same (two), and SATA port count (three). Killer-based networking, integrated Thunderbolt 4 and even the last-gen flagship audio codec are all carryovers from the previous ITX Phantom. ASRock did improve upon the power delivery and tweaked the appearance, though the former was more of a necessity than an option.

Performance on the ASRock Z690 ITX/TB4 was all over the place. Some results were good and faster much of the competition, while others were slower. We saw above-average results in the Office tests within UL’s Procyon Office benchmark and in gaming, but Cinebench and memory bandwidth testing, among others, were on the slower side of the Z690 spectrum. Memory bandwidth in particular can certainly affect other results, especially in memory-sensitive applications.

While not much has changed on this generation’s Phantom Gaming ITX/TB4, not much has to. It’s a Mini-ITX size board, so there are inevitably some limitations. Whether or not you can live with them, is up to each person and use case. But since you’re paying a premium to use a small form factor, be sure it can support your needs, as expansion is limited. We’ll dig into the details shortly, but before we do, here are the full list of specifications from ASRock.

ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4 Specifications

Inside the Box of the ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4

While the accessory stack below the box’s cardboard partition doesn’t include much, it should have what you need to get started without a trip to the store.

• Quick Installation Guide
• Software Setup Guide
• Wi-Fi Antenna
• DVD driver disk
• PG keycap
• Case badge
• (2) SATA Data Cables
• (2) M.2 screws

Design of the ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4

Since this is a Mini-ITX motherboard, we’ll start the board tour with the left side and work our way around clockwise. One of the first things I see is the large VRM heatsink that covers a portion of the 10-layer PCB and keeps the VRMs underneath cool, with the help of a tiny fan hiding below. The large black heatsink sports the Phantom gaming branding, with its black and red theme and the name of the board on top as the only color contrast. A heatpipe connects this part to the tall top VRM heatsink. Overall, the appearance won’t win any awards, but it certainly won’t detract from most build themes.

Hidden below towards the bottom of the board are the Realtek ALC1220 codec and a couple of Nichicon Gold audio capacitors. While this audio solution will undoubtedly be fine for most users, I would like to see the latest audio codec used since other Z690 Mini-ITX options, including the less–expensive model, all have newer audio options.

Along the top, we spy an 8-pin EPS connector to power the CPU. Above the top VRM heatsink, we run into a 3-pin ARGB header. Since the board doesn’t include any LEDs, this is the only way to add RGB bling to your system. You can control these attached elements through ASRock’s Polychrome Sync software.

Next, we run into three 4-pin fan headers. CPU_Fan1/2 supports up to 1A/12W output, while the CPU/Water Pump header supports up to 2A/24W. CPU_FAN2/WP can also auto-detect if a 3-pin or 4-pin fan is in use. Otherwise, you’ll have to configure the header in the BIOS manually.

ASRock upgraded the power delivery compared to Z590 and added more phases and better MOSFETs. Power comes from the 8-pin EPS connector and onto a RAA229131 20-channel controller and ends at the 10 105A Renesas RAA22010540 SPS MOSFETs dedicated to Vcore. The 1,050A available is plenty to power your flagship Intel Core i9-12900K processor at stock and overclocked.

Along the right side of the board are two reinforced DRAM slots. ASRock lists capacity up to 64GB and supports up to DDR5 6400+(OC) speeds. The speed specification is lower than the MSI Z690I Unify, but most aren’t trying to break overclocking records in with a board like this. And this value is well past the DDR5 sweet spot for price and performance.

Next, we run into the four Debug LEDs on the right edge, which helps troubleshoot POST issues. Next is a 24-pin ATX connector to power the board and a 4-pin RGB header. Next to that is the front panel header, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (10 Gbps) header and a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) header. Mixed in between are three SATA ports that support RAID0/1/5/10 modes. ASRock doesn’t mention any sharing of the SATA ports, so you should be able to run any NVMe- and SATA-based M.2 modules and three SATA drives at the same time.

Across the bottom, you’ll find the single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for graphics. Like the M.2 sockets and SATA ports, you don’t lose any lanes here either. Above the PCIe slot is a USB 2.0 header and front panel audio. And above that is the primary M.2 socket, labeled M2_1, on the front, while behind it on the back of the motherboard is the second M.2 socket. Both sockets support PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) bandwidth and 80mm drives. M2_2 on the back supports SATA and PCIe-based devices. If you want to increase the speed or run M.2 drives in parity, the PG ITX/TB4 supports RAID0/1/5 modes on NVMe drives.

ASRock, like most boards in this price range, uses a pre-installed IO plate that matches the black and red theme of the Phantom Gaming ITX/TB4. White writing is used to label the ports, making them easy to identify. Outside of that, there are a bunch of hexagonal-shaped holes in the rear IO plate to allow the VRM fan to breathe.

Starting on the left, there’s a DisplayPort and HDMI port for video and the Thunderbolt header for those who want to connect monitors that way. There are five USB Type-A ports here, with four USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports and one USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) port. This will not be enough ports for some, so be sure to keep that in mind. The Killer 2.5 GbE network ports sit above the Thunderbolt 4 port, while the Killer Wi-Fi antenna connections are to the right. In the middle are BIOS Flashback and Clear CMOS buttons. Last but not least, the ITX/TB4 sports a full 5-plug plus SPDIF audio stack.

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Firmware

ASRock’s BIOS on the Phantom Gaming boards maintain the same format as the last generation as well. It has a black background with white writing and red for highlights. An EZ Mode displays high-level information, including CPU clock speeds and temperatures, fan speeds, storage information, and more. Advanced Mode has several headers across the top that drop down additional options. The BIOS is easy to maneuver in and laid out logically. You’ll need to do a bit of digging for some options for overclocking, but overall, it’s a user-friendly BIOS with more options than most will ever use.

Software

Unlike some other board partners, ASRock doesn’t combine most of its included utilities under a larger application. Instead, they are all standalone programs, but they do cover a wide gamut of functionality. From overclocking and monitoring (A-Tune) to audio (Nahimic), networking (Killer Dashboard) and RGB lighting (Polychrome), all of the applications worked without issue.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates in the future, though.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Z690 ITX-TB4 was hit or miss in this set of tests. Some tests, like 7-Zip, Cinebench and AIDA64 memory testing, were slower than average, while the Procyon Office tests were some of the faster results we’ve seen recently. That said, nothing was especially slow, so there are no worries here.

Timed Applications

In these tests, Z690 ITX/TB4 was spot on average. Handbrake, LAME, and Corona benchmarks show again that there’s nothing to be concerned about.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the ITX/TB4 reached an average of 162 frames per second (fps), with minimums of 142 fps, both on the higher end of results, with the minimum the fastest so far. Far Cry 6 testing resulted in average results. In that test, we averaged 138 fps, with a minimum of 125 fps.

The synthetic benchmarks continue to show a negligible difference between the fastest and slowest boards. Our ASRock ITX board hit 14,474 on 3DMark Time Spy and 17,066 on Fire Strike Extreme, both on the higher side of average. In short, gaming performance is as expected.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the ITX/TB4 used 62W, which is around the average of our tested boards. Load wattage peaked at 318W, or just above average. Overall this little board does use a bit more power than some others we’ve tested. However, noticing this difference on your electric bill will be difficult.

VRM temperatures peaked around 46 degrees Celsius on our Extech device sensors, but over 66 degrees on the internal sensor at stock speeds. This is one of the largest differences between our sensors and on-board sensors. If we’re going by the internal sensor (which is what the system goes by), it ran warm but well within specifications. I would like to see these temperatures lower with active cooling, but they are still fine. The tiny fan was active but inaudible, which is how we like it.

Overclocking

Overclocking with Alder Lake is slightly different from what we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. To that end, we set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking with Z690 ITX/TB4 and the flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved painless. Since we’ve found our required voltage with our first review, we plugged in that 1.25V value for Vcore, adjusted LLC to LLC1, and tested it successfully. According to CPUz, the voltage was 1.23V, so using LLC1 effectively mitigated vdroop.

On the memory front, we set XMP for both kits (GSkill Trident Z5 DDR5 5600 CL36, ADATA XPG DDR5 6000 kit) without issue. This yields an 800 and 1,200 MHz (respectively) increase from the maximum stock rating of the platform (DDR5 4800). With more kits becoming available and prices dropping, we’d call this range a sweet spot between price and performance for DDR5.

Bottom Line

After spending some time with the ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4 ($349.99), we found that it is just as capable as pricier options in some ways, but lacking in others. The PG-ITX/TB4 sports two M.2 sockets, integrated Thunderbolt 4, three SATA ports, Killer-based Networking, and robust 105A MOSFETs on the VRM. Although not much has changed on the board itself, pricing did jump from the last-gen PG-ITX/TB4 by over $50. While there are many redeeming qualities, I would still like to see this board cost less.

As far as shortcomings are concerned, the three SATA ports will be too few for some users, as will the five USB Type-A ports on the rear IO (six in total, including the Thunderbolt 4 Type-C port). The PG-ITX/TB4 also uses the last-gen flagship audio codec, but we can’t be too upset as most users will find this solution satisfactory.

Each board partner has its own Mini-ITX Z690 options. Asus has the ROG Strix Z690-I Gaming ($439.99), MSI the MEG Z690I Unify ($399.99), and Gigabyte has the Z690I Aorus Ultra ($309.99). If your needs are focused around storage, the Gigabyte with two M.2 sockets and two SATA ports is out, even at its notably lower price point, while the Z690I Unify has the most (three M.2 sockets and four SATA ports). The ASRock is the only board in this group with last-generation Realtek audio, but few would notice a difference. These boards include capable power delivery and would easily power any Alder Lake processor. Only the ASRock and MSI boards offer integrated Thunderbolt 4, so only those two fit the bill if that's a requirement. In the end, the difference comes down to hardware requirements (in particular rear IO USB count and storage capabilities), price, and looks, of which none of these boards made significant improvements.

Overall, the ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4 is a good option in the Z690 Mini-ITX space. It looks as good as an ITX board can, is priced reasonably among its peers, and has the specifications and features to back it up. While we feel the MSI Z690I Unify is the most well-rounded solution in the bunch, If you’re looking to spend less, require Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, and can work with the rear IO and storage limitations, ASRock’s Z690 PG-ITX/TB4 fits the bill.

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It’s been several months since we’ve reviewed an ITX size board, as we’ve focused on full-sized ATX boards first, which generally have broader appeal. But with over a dozen bigger Z690 boards tested and reviewed, it’s time to delve into smaller options, starting MSI’s MEG Z690I Unify ($399.99). The board comes with a robust 12-phase VRM, a whopping three M.2 sockets, four SATA ports, flagship-class audio and the familiar all-black styling in a Mini-ITX size package. But is it the complete package?

Compared to the previous-gen Z590I Unify, not much has changed outside of the obvious new socket and PCIe 5.0 capability that comes with the new Alder Lake processors. The appearance remains largely the same, with the only significant difference found in the orientation of the grooves in the top VRM heatsink. We won’t hold that against MSI as the board looks good, and there isn’t much you can do with such a small amount of real estate in the first place. MSI added another M.2 socket and upgraded the audio for the Z690 version, which is more than we can say for some of the company’s competitors.

Performance on the Z690I Unify was a mixed bag, but average overall. Gaming performance was spot on, as was memory bandwidth. However, the out-of-the-box memory latency is the highest we’ve come across for DDR5 in testing. The Procyon Office results were on the slower side of average, but nothing alarming. In short, performance is satisfactory on the Z690I Unify.

At a high level, there are a lot of features on this tiny board that people want, but is it worth paying a premium price to go small, or could it make our list of best motherboards? Before we get into the particulars, take a look at the full list of specifications, direct from MSI.

Specifications: MSI MEG Z690I Unify

Inside the Box of the MSI MEG Z690I Unify

While the box may be smaller with this ITX board, MSI includes what you need to get started, but not many extras. The drivers included reside on a USB flash drive instead of a CD, which is nice. Below is a complete list of the included extras.

• Quick Installation Guide
• Wi-Fi Antenna
• USB Drive (drivers)
• Cleaning brush
• Case badge and stickers
• DP to MiniDP cable
• EZ Front panel cable
• (2) SATA Data Cables
• (3) M.2 screws

Design of the MSI MEG Z690I Unify

With larger motherboards, we typically take you on a board tour starting with the top half and moving down to the bottom. Since that doesn’t make much sense on Mini-ITX size boards, we’ll start on the left and work our way around clockwise.

The VRM heatsink covers nearly all of the left side of the motherboard. Near the top, the heavy black heatsink has a small inlet for the actively cooled VRM, with the MSI Dragon emblazoned below. A heatpipe curls its way right and connects to a smaller heatsink. Together, these two share the heat load of the VRMs while the tiny fan tucked inside moves air out of the perforated rearIO area.

Hiding under the bottom of the rear IO shroud is the Realtek ALC4080 codec, a premium Nichicon audio capacitor and a dedicated headphone amplifier. MSI uses Nahimic software for audio control and immersion and most buyers should be pleased with this audio implementation that utilizes the flagship codec for the Z690 platform.

Along the top edge on the left is a single 8-pin EPS power connector for the processor. We also run into an RGB header. In this case, a 3-pin ARGB. This is the only onboard header for anyone who wants to add RGB lights to this RGB-free motherboard.

Continuing right, we run into two (of three) 4-pin fan headers (CPU_FAN1 and PUMP_FAN1), with the third (SYS_FAN1) located above the PCIe slot. The CPU fan defaults to Auto control mode, with output up to 2A/24W. The Pump fan header starts in PWM mode and supports up to 3A/36W, while the System Fan header outputs 2A/24W and defaults to DC mode. There’s plenty of power available and, for an ITX board, enough headers to go around.

While we’re here, let’s talk about the 12-phase VRMs. Power heads to the 12-phase (10 for Vcore) power delivery from the 8-pin connector and heads to the popular-for-z690 Renesas RAA229131 20-channel controller and ends at the 10 105A Renesas RAA22010540 SPS MOSFETs. The 1,050A available is plenty to support our flagship Intel i9-12900K processor at stock and while overclocked.

Along the right side of the board, we spy two unreinforced DRAM slots with single-side locking on top. MSI lists memory support up to 64GB and a mind-blowing 6800+ MHz (see specifications for details on limitations). These small boards tend to do well with memory overclocking due to the two-DIMM configuration, so we’re not surprised to see higher peak values.

The far-right edge has several connections including a 24-pin ATX connector (board power), USB 2.0, 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) and 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) headers. In between the USB headers are four SATA ports that support RAID0/1/5/10 modes. Last is the front-panel header and the EZ-debug LEDs. Without room for the typical 2-character LED to display POST codes, the EZ-debug LEDs help the pre-Windows troubleshooting process.

Along the bottom of the board is a single reinforced PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for the graphics card. There’s no lane sharing, so this remains at 5.0 x16. Just above the PCIe slot are two M.2 sockets stacked on top of the chipset. M2_1 is the bottom socket attached to the CPU, while the top socket, M2_2, is attached through the chipset. Both sockets support up to 80mm PCIe devices, with M2_2 also supporting SATA-based M.2 storage. MSI provides a third M.2 socket on the rear of the motherboard. As you may expect, this socket doesn't have a heatsink on it due to the proximity of the chassis behind it. This chipset-connected socket (M2_3) also runs up to PCIe 4.0 x4 like the other sockets. The Z690I Unify supports RAID0/1/5 modes for NVMe storage devices.

MSI uses a pre-installed IO plate matching the all-black theme of the Unify. The ports have grey-colored labels that describe the port it’s next to. There are triangle-shaped perforations filling some free space, which provides airflow for the actively cooled VRM heatsinks.

There are eight total USB ports: two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports (40/20/10Gbps depending on the protocol), two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-A ports, and four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports. The six Type-A ports may not be enough, so be sure you know your needs before hitting the buy button. On the left is a clear CMOS button to reset the BIOS to defaults, while for video outputs, the Z690I offers a DisplayPort (v1.4) and HDMI port (v2.1). Above the 10 Gbps USB ports (red) is the Intel 2.5 GbE port and to the right are the Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections. Between the 3-plug analog audio port and the Wi-Fi connections are the two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C headers and Mini-DisplayPort inputs.

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Firmware

Like the other MSI BIOS configurations, you start with an informational EZ Mode that allows editing of some high-level functions including enabling XMP profiles, adjusting fan speeds, and more. The main menu is informational up top, while the bottom two-thirds is where the adjustments happen. You select the section you want on the left or right sides, then the details show in the middle. You don’t have to dig down several screens to reach the overclocking options, as they are mostly on the main page. Some digging is inevitable, but overall we find this BIOS full of options and easy to read and get around.

Software

For software, the theme these days is to place a lot of the functionality in one program. MSI’s take on this is called Dragon Center. This application allows you to download all or individual applets. Some of the programs include Mystic Light (RGB control), LAN Manager, User Scenario (overclocking, monitoring, and fan control), Super Charger, MSI Companion (help record games), and many more. Though updates should fix this down the road, it’s worth noting that you cannot overclock the system with the version I had. But serious overclockers will want to do their tweaking in the BIOS anyway.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for launch day testing. MSI and Asus also provided launch day kits.

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates in the future, though.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Z690I Unify traded punches with the other boards we’ve tested so far. Like the previously-tested full-size Z690 Unify, it wasn’t the fastest or slowest in any benchmark.

Timed Applications

In these tests, Z690I Unify performed well overall. Starting with the LAME test, the little Unify put up the second-fastest time at 9.53 seconds. The Corona result was average at 52 seconds. Handbrake testing was a tale of two tests, with the Unify tying for the fastest result at 112 seconds in the x264 test, while it was one of the slowest performers in the x265 test, at 205 seconds.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the Z690I Unify achieved an average of 165 frames per second (fps), with minimums of 141 fps, both on the higher end of results so far. Far Cry 6 testing resulted in average results. In this case, the Unify averaged 137 fps, with a minimum of 123 fps.

The synthetic benchmarks continue to show little more than a negligible difference between the fastest and slowest boards. Our Z690I Unify hit 14,488 on 3DMark Time Spy and 16,928 on Fire Strike Extreme, both on the higher side of average.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the Z690I Unify consumed 71W, which is on the higher side of our results. Load wattage peaked at 339W, the second-highest value we’ve recorded. Overall, the Unify is one of the more power-hungry boards we’ve tested. That said, it will be tough to see a difference in your electric bill, but the differences are there.

VRM temperatures were some of the highest we’ve seen on this platform, reaching over 60 degrees Celsius on our Extech device sensors and over 80 degrees on the internal sensor at stock speeds. In fact, we saw some form of thermal throttling of the CPU a couple of times. Once overclocked, temperatures on the VRM went up a bit, but we didn’t capture any throttling when using a static voltage. I would like to see these temperatures lower with active cooling, but they are still within specification. The tiny fan was active but inaudible, so the board wasn’t concerned either as the fan speeds didn’t seem to change at our peak temperatures.

Overclocking

Overclocking with Alder Lake is slightly different from what we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. To that end, we set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking with Z689I Unify and the flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved painless. Since we’ve found our required voltage with our first review, we plugged in that 1.25V value for Vcore, adjusted LLC to LLC4, and tested it successfully. According to CPUz, the voltage was 1.24V, so using LLC4 effectively mitigated the vdroop.

On the memory front, we set XMP and off we went with our GSkill Trident Z5 DDR5 5600 CL36 kit and the new, faster ADATA XPG DDR5 6000 kit. This yields an 800 and 1,200 MHz (respectively) increase from the maximum stock rating of the platform (DDR5 4800). We’re sure there’s more overclocking headroom available, but as always, your mileage may vary.

Bottom Line

After taking a look at the MSI MEG Z690I Unify, I walked away feeling good about this motherboard. Compared to other ITX offerings, It comes loaded with features including three M.2 sockets, four SATA ports, the latest-generation flagship audio, Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps Type-C) ports and integrated Wi-Fi 6E in this diminutive package. You get all of the above for $399.99, which is an increase of $30 over the Z590 version. In all, the small black motherboard packs a punch both with the hardware that comes with it and performance easily matching larger ATX boards overall.

The only hardware concern with the Z690I Unify is the number of Type-A ports on the rear IO. For some, the six available Type-A ports aren’t enough to cover all your peripherals and extras. There are still front panel connectors to help, but unlike larger motherboards, you don’t have the luxury of a free PCIe slot for an add-in-card. Outside of that, there isn’t too much to complain about that other ITX size boards don’t all contend with anyway (lack of additional PCIe slots/SATA ports, etc.).

There’s plenty of competition in the Mini-ITX space, as each major board partner has one for Z690. Asus hit the market with a ROG Strix Z690-I Gaming ($439.99), ASRock the Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4 ($349.99), and Gigabyte has the Z690I Aorus Ultra ($309.99)s. If your needs are focused around storage, the Gigabyte with two M.2 sockets and two SATA ports is out, even at its notably lower price point. The ASRock is the only board in this group with the last generation Realtek audio codec, but few would notice a difference. All of these boards include capable power delivery and would easily power any Alder Lake processor. So the difference comes down to hardware requirements and price.

When choosing a Mini-ITX motherboard, it’s critical to ensure it has everything you need now and for the future, as expanding ports internally on this size motherboard just isn’t possible. The best you can do is add some kind of hub.

In the end, the MSI MEG Z690I Unify is a good choice in the ITX market. Although the price is high compared to most of its competition, it has the most features and connectivity users are likely to look for in a small form-factor board. Because of that, we feel the Z690I Unify is the best option for those looking to build a small but powerful Alder Lake rig.

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EVGA’s motherboards have been something of an enigma. Where most competitors have well over a dozen boards each for a given platform, EVGA often sticks with just two. The Z690 Classified we’re looking at here is the least expensive of the two Z690 SKUs released so far. And it delivers all the things EVGA motherboards are known for. From the distinct black styling and horizontal connector to the overbuilt VRMs, it’s all here, outside of the U.2 connector that’s been a staple on their boards for the last few generations (and it won’t be missed). But what about the rest? Does the Classified meet the lofty expectations of a modern high-end motherboard?

The Z690 Classified ($629.99) is technically the ‘entry level’ product in EVGA’s Z690 product stack, with the Dark K|NGP|N taking the flagship position at $829.99. The Classified comes packed with features, including robust power delivery, three M.2 sockets, dual 2.5 GbE and integrated Wi-Fi 6E, eight SATA ports, a last-gen flagship audio codec and an updated appearance. In all, the only shortcomings hardware-wise are M.2 socket count (three as opposed to four or five in many competing boards), and none of the M.2s support SATA-based modules. The USB count on the rear IO is also lower than I would like to see (eight total, with six Type-A). Outside of those minor gripes, the EVGA board comes with everything you’re like to expect to build your Alder Lake-based system around.

Performance on the Classified was average overall. It didn’t post the fastest or slowest results but landed right in the Goldilocks zone across our test suite. Performance in games was as expected, as was our memory bandwidth testing in AIDA64. Power consumption was higher than average (due to higher idle use), but only by a few watts. As we continue to declassify the Classified below, we’ll cover details on the hardware, software, and performance to see if this $600-plus motherboard is worthy of a spot on our best motherboards list.

Specifications: EVGA Z690 Classified

Inside the Box of the EVGA Z690 Classified

Inside the box, EVGA includes all of the basic accessories you’d expect, including SATA cables, a Wi-Fi Antenna and a driver/support USB stick. The board also comes with the ProbeIt connector that attaches to the motherboard for an easy and accurate way to check voltages with a multi-meter. For those into heavy overclocking, this is a wonderful feature to have. Below is a complete list of the included extras.

• (2) SATA cables
• Probeit Connector
• (3) thermal pads for M.2
• Case Badge
• USB Flash Drive (drives/manual)
• Wi-Fi Antenna
• Visual Installation Guide

Design of the EVGA Z690 Classified

The EVGA Z690 Classified is built with a jet black 10-layer PCB that’s the base for its stealthy appearance. The all-black look gives way to some subtle design cues, like the red Classified branding on the chipset and rear IO cover. The finned heatsink for the VRM hides two tiny fans that assist with cooling. What sets this board apart from most others is the cutouts on the right side and the horizontal connections. These features help out quite a bit with cable management, as almost nothing sticks up off the board.

The Classified designates two small zones with RGB lighting. The first area is the rear IO cover, where the Z690 Classified branding lights up, along with the EVGA name in the middle of the board. The implementation won’t illuminate the inside of the case like some, but if that’s your goal, there are plenty of headers to add your own. Overall, I like the look of the Z690 Classified and it blends in with most build themes–unless, of course, you’re after an all-white system.

Delving deeper, starting with the top half of the board, on the left side, a plastic cover hides the back of the rear IO and two small fans attached to the finned VRM heatsink. The fans were inaudible even during stress testing and kept the VRMs running well within their specifications. Power to the CPU comes from the two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) located just above and to the left of the VRM heatsinks. The socket area is relatively clean, with several capacitors scattered around it. Things are pretty standard on this front.

To the right of the socket, we run into four black unreinforced DRAM slots that lock the RAM down on both sides. The four slots support up to 128GB of RAM at speeds listed to DDR4 6400+(OC). We had no issues testing our GSkill DDR5 5600 kit, nor the DDR5 6000 kit we used for the first time in this review. Be aware that reaching high memory speeds depends on the kit used and the quality of the Integrated Memory Controller (IMC).

The first (of eight) 4-pin fan/pump headers are just above the DRAM slots offset to the left. Of the six chassis/CPU headers, two are PWM controlled while four control PWM and DC controlled fans. Output on these headers is 2A/24W, which should be plenty even when piggybacking a couple of fans on the same source. Additionally, the two pump headers output up to 3A/36W, enough to support a vast majority of AIOs and pumps. Be sure to check the power requirements of the connected devices as exceeding the limits of this (or any) board can cause damage.

The edge of the board has a lot going on. Starting at the top, we see two 2-character debug LEDs used for reading POST codes or limited monitoring functionality (voltage and temperature, to name two). Below are the power and reset buttons and a 24-pin ATX connector to power the board. Just below that, we see the ProbeIt header to connect the include ProbeIt cable for accurate voltage monitoring. Behind this are several LEDs that indicate power, connectivity, and board activity. This includes Vcore, Chipset, and other voltage domains. If the LED is white, there is voltage present (but that doesn't mean the PSU is outputting in spec, note). Continuing on, we run into a vertical USB port (used for BIOS flashback), a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header and a 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C connector. There are also a couple more fan headers here too.

For power delivery, EVGA utilizes a 19-phase VRM to help support the power-hungry Alder Lake processors. Power comes from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) to a Renesas RAA229131 20-channel controller. This is a direct setup, so you won’t find any phase doublers or teaming involved. Power then goes on to the 90A Intersil ISL99390 SPS MOSFETs. The 1,440A available for Vcore is plenty, even if you’re planning for some sub-ambient overclocking, though it is less than some comparable boards.

Moving on to the bottom half of the board, we get a better look at the heatsinks and shrouds that cover the M.2 sockets and audio bits. EVGA chose a simple ribbed pattern running diagonally through the surface of the heatsink, which increases surface area and cooling capacity, along with delivering a neat design. The chipset sports the Classified branding in red. The Realtek ALC1220 audio codec is hidden beneath a plastic shroud on the left side, but the unique large yellow Bennic brand audio capacitors are visible. Although most users will be completely satisfied with this implementation, I would like to see the latest and greatest codec (Realtek ALC4080) used for a board this expensive.

Shifting focus to the middle, underneath the heatsink, we find the three M.2 sockets. Each socket supports PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds (64 Gbps) and up to 110mm modules. We don’t find a PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) capable socket or support for SATA-based M.2 devices. From the looks of this board and the flagship Z690 Dark K|NGP|N, EVGA is skipping out on PCIe 5.0 support for M.2 on this generation. While that isn’t a huge deal today, when the 5.0 drives saturate the market in two or three years, you’ll have to use it on an add-in card. Outside of that, I also would like to see four M.2 sockets, as most boards in this price range, support four.

EVGA implements a total of three PCIe sockets on the Classified. The top two full-length slots (which are reinforced) are for graphics cards, supporting up to PCIe 5.0 x16. When both slots are used, they break down to x8/x8. This configuration allows for 2-Way NVIDIA SLI and AMD Crossfire. The bottom x4 slot connects via the chipset and runs at PCIe 3.0 x4. There is some lane sharing between PCIe and M.2 sockets. The third slot is disabled when a module is in the bottom M.2 socket.

Along the right edge, we run into eight SATA ports, which is one area where this board has more than most of the competition. The Classified supports RAID0/1/5/10 modes for SATA if you’re looking for redundancy or striping (or both). In all, you can run all eight SATA ports and all three M.2 sockets concurrently (you just lose the bottom PCIe slot).

Across the bottom are several headers, including USB ports and RGB. A 6-pin PCIe connector on the bottom left supports multi-GPU configurations when overclocking heavily and benchmarking.

• Front panel audio
• (2) 3-pin ARGB headers
• (2) 4-pin RGB headers
• 4-pin system fan header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Front panel header
• BIOS selector switch

Swinging back to the critical rear IO area, we see a pre-installed IO plate matching the Classified’s black theme. The black background gives way to white labeling and holes cut out for airflow to the actively cooled VRMs.

Hardware-wise, there are eight total USB ports around the back: Two Type-C (10 Gbps and 20 Gbps) and six Type-A ports (10 Gbps). The six Type-A ports may be too few for some users, although having two USB-C ports is nice. On the left side, we run into the Reset CMOS and BIOS update buttons and DisplayPort (v1.4) and HDMI (v2.0) ports for using integrated video. Just above the Type-C ports are the two 2.5 GbE, while to the right are the Wi-Fi antenna connections. Last but not least are the 5-plug analog plus SPDIF optical ports on the right for audio.

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Firmware

EVGA’s BIOS, like the other board partners, didn’t change much compared to Z590. Once the systems POSTs, you’re still presented with four options (Setup, Default, Gamer Mode, and EVGA OC Robot) to access different functionality. After entering the Setup portion of the BIOS where you have access to tweak settings, there’s an informative system summary up top. There are headings for different sections below that, with the rest of the screen taken up by options for each header. For the most part, there isn’t a lot of digging around in the sub-menus to find the most frequently accessed items, but CPU and memory overclocking are in different sections. Gamer Mode provides a slight boost to the CPU, while the EVGA OC Robot finds a faster clock speed by raising clocks and playing with voltage while stress testing. Overall, we like EVGA’s BIOS implementation for Z690.

Software

On the software side, EVGA’s Eleet X1 is a multi-functional monitoring and tweaking tool. For example, Eleet can overclock the CPU and Memory and monitor the system voltages, temperatures and fan speeds. Additionally, it offers RGB lighting control and several preset lighting modes, plus the ability to adjust by each strip attached to the motherboard headers. The latest version of Eleet X1 (1.0.11.0) is easy to read and helpful. The only thing we feel that’s missing from the software is fan control.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for launch day testing. MSI and Asus also provided launch day kits.

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results and Final Analysis

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates in the future, though.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Z690 Classified mixed in with the other DDR5-based Z690 boards we’ve tested so far. Nothing was the fastest nor the slowest, so performance in this set of applications was spot on what we’d expect.

Timed Applications

Starting with LAME testing, the Classified took 9.9 seconds to complete, one of the slower results that closely matched the DDR4 results. The difference between the fastest and slowest result is around 4% (9.50 to 9.9 seconds), so the variance isn’t huge, but still there. Corona testing was also slightly below average, completing the ray-tracing test in 53 seconds (average is 52 seconds, fastest is 51 seconds). Both Handbrake results were spot on average among the tested boards.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the Z690 Classified averaged 165 fps with minimums of 140 fps, one of the faster sets of results so far. Far Cry 6 was similar in that the average fps matched our other results, but the minimum was a couple of frames slower than most at 120 fps.

Our trend of not seeing significant differences among Z690 boards continues in our synthetic video card benchmarks. The Classified scored 14,458 on 3DMark Time Spy and 17,064 on Fire Strike Extreme, both of which are average to slightly above average. In short, you have nothing to worry about when gaming on this motherboard.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the Z690 Classified consumed 74W, which lands on the higher side of average. Load power use was also higher than average, peaking at 305W when running the typical 4/9/3.7 GHz default clock speeds. Overall, the Classified is just slightly over the average as far as power use goes. But as usual, it would be difficult to see the difference in your electric bill between these boards.

VRM temperatures on our Classified topped out at close to 50 degrees Celsius during stock testing and almost 52 degrees Celsius when overclocked. With the VRMs actively cooled, temperatures were lower than most others (that are passively cooled). Even when running stress tests, the fans are barely audible using default settings. You don’t need to worry about VRM temperatures at stock or while overclocked here.

Overclocking

Overclocking with Alder Lake is slightly different from what we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. We set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking with the Classified and the flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved painless. Since we’ve found our required voltage with our first review, we plugged in that 1.25V value for Vcore, adjusted LLC to “-50% Droop”, and tested it successfully. According to CPUz, the voltage was 1.32V, which seemed high for the temperatures and power the system was using. When moving to the EVGA Eleet X1 application, the reading was closer to 1.25V.

On the memory front, we set XMP, and off we went with our GSkill Trident Z5 DDR5 5600 CL36 Kit, yielding a 600 MHz increase from the maximum rating of the platform. After months of trying, we finally procured a DDR5 6000 kit to use while overclocking. With this ADATA kit, we set XMP, and off we went without issue.

Bottom Line

After our time with the EVGA Z690 Classified, we found it to be just as stable and speedy as any other motherboard we’ve tested so far. The BIOS arrived mature and handled our memory kits via XMP without issue. Features-wise, the motherboard has almost everything you need, including three M.2 sockets and eight SATA ports, robust power delivery, 2.5 GbE and Wi-Fi 6E, and last-gen flagship-class audio. Performance, including gaming, was average across the board, without anything reaching either extreme. In the end, we like what the new Z690 Classified brings to the table, including the updated appearance.

However, the board isn’t without its drawbacks. For a device over $600, I’d want to get everything Alder Lake offers, including a PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket. While we know it won’t take off for a while, you'll be forced to buy an add-in card (or buy another motherboard) when the time comes if you want to upgrade to a PCIe 5.0 x4 drive. Also, none of the M.2 sockets support SATA-based modules, which may be an issue if you have older M.2 drives that you might want to carry over to a new build. For most that won’t be an issue, but it’s a definite limitation that most competing boards don’t have. Last, I would like to see the latest Realtek audio codec, as other comparable boards bring that to the table.

Speaking of comparables, all major partners have a board somewhere around the Classified’s $629.99 price point. Asus has the ROG Maximus Z690 Hero ($599.99), MSI the MEG Z690 Ace ($599.99), ASRock Z690 Taichi ($589.99) and Gigabyte’s closest is the Z690 Aorus Tachyon ($549.99 - review coming soon). None of these boards include a PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket, but all have at least six SATA ports (ASRock has seven). The ASRock, like our Classified, runs with three M.2 sockets, while the other boards listed here have four or even five like the MSI MEG Ace. Power delivery on these competing boards will handle anything you can throw at them, even when using sub-ambient cooling methods. So none have a significant advantage there, regardless of the specifications. The best audio goes to the Asus and MSI boards that use the latest Realtek audio codec along with an additional DAC or Amplifier.

So if you’re looking to spend around $600 for your new Z690 motherboard, you can’t go wrong with any of the boards listed above. It will come down to your wants and needs, the appearance and price. The Classified is one of the more understated among this group as far as looks go, but it still looks the part of a premium motherboard. Considering the competition, I’d like to see the Classified priced at $599.99 (aren’t all motherboards a better deal cheaper?) but it’s still a sound option to build your Alder Lake-based system around.

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The Asus Prime Z690-A hails from the budget side of the pricey Z690 platform, offering up space shuttle looks alongside adequate power delivery and cooling. On their Z690 SKUs, Asus tweaked the appearance of the previous generation Z590 Prime boards, updated connectivity and improved power delivery. The result with the Prime Z690-A specifically is a well-equipped and fairly priced ATX motherboard for your Alder Lake processor.

The Prime Z690-A sports PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 support, four M.2 sockets with Q-Latch, a last-generation flagship audio codec, a 20 Gbps Type-C port and a 2.5 GbE – but no integrated Wi-Fi. It’s a full-featured motherboard at a reasonable $279 price, but the space-shuttle-inspired design and the low number of USB Type-A ports (six) on the rear IO may not work for everyone.

Performance on the Prime Z690-A was average to slightly above across most tests. Our benchmarking results for gaming were also average, as was memory testing with AIDA. Power use was also lower than most Z690 boards we’ve tested, though it’s not like you’ll notice it on your electric bill. In short, performance was not an issue on the Prime during our testing. Along those lines, with a few BIOS tweaks, overclocking went perfectly with this inexpensive board running our flagship Core i9-12900K processor well outside of specifications. Read on as we delve deep into the board’s features, our opinion from testing and use, and see how it stacks up to the best motherboards. But first, here’s a complete list of the Asus Prime Z690-A specifications from Asus’ website.

Specifications: Asus Prime Z690-A

Asus Prime Z690-A Accessories

Inside the box, Asus includes all of the basic accessories you’d expect, including SATA cables, Q-latch packages (plastic latches that mean you don’t have to fumble with the tiny M.2 screws), and a driver disk. While the accessory stack isn’t the most comprehensive, it should get you started without an unexpected trip to the store. Below is a complete list of the included extras.

• Quick Installation Guide, Support CD
• (2) SATA Data Cables
• M.2 rubber package
• Q-connector
• M.2 Q-Latch package

Design and Features of the Asus Prime Z690-A

Asus designed the Prime Z690-A with a black PCB and contrasting silver and white heatsinks on all the hot bits. The sole RGB lighting area is tucked up beneath the left VRM heatsink, in a small vertical strip. The light is nice and saturated, but it won’t flood the inside of your case with light.

The silver VRM heatsinks are large and heavy and at least look like they’ll do the job (they do, but more on that later). Three of the four M.2 sockets use silver/grey heatsinks along with the chipset, which contrasts against the PCB. The look doesn’t scream premium with so much PCB showing, but the “space-shuttle-inspired design elements” look good and fit nicely with many build themes, especially when used inside a white chassis. That said, the look can be a bit polarizing as some just want a nice design and not a built-in theme.

As we look at the top half of the black PCB, we’ll start on the left side and the large silver VRM heatsinks. While there aren’t a lot of cutouts to increase surface area, the mass of these should help keep the VRMs below running well within specification (and they do, which we’ll see later in testing). The left heatsink reaches out over the rear IO area, while below it is a translucent smoked grey accent piece matching the shuttle theme. There are two 8-pin EPS connectors above the heatsinks to power the CPU, one of which is required.

The socket area is relatively busy, with a lot of capacitors surrounding it. A pattern of white lines stenciled on the board also cuts through this area. To the right of the socket, we run into four unreinforced, single-side locking DRAM slots. The Prime supports up to 128GB of DDR5 RAM with speeds listed to DDR5 6000, one of the lower values we’ve seen. Still, that’s over 1200 MHz faster than the maximum rated platform speed (4800 MHz). Your mileage may vary reaching these speeds, as you need the right memory kit and controller to get there.

Just above the RAM slots and the top VRM heatsink is the first (of eight) 4-pin fan/pump headers. All CPU and Chassis fans (labeled CPU_XXX and CHA_XXX) are Q-Fan controlled and output up to 1A/12W. The AIO_PUMP and W_PUMP+ headers run full speed by default. The AIO header outputs 1A/12W, while the PUMP Header supports up to 3A/36W. There are plenty of headers to run your air- or water-cooled system from the motherboard, with control coming from the AI Suite or Dragon Center software.

If the small strip over the IO area isn’t enough RGB lighting, the Prime Z690-A has a few headers to add your own strips or other RGB parts. Up top above the DRAM slots are 3-pin ARGB and 4-pin RGB headers, with the other two (both 3-pin ARGB) located on the bottom edge of the board.

Along the right edge, working our way down, we run into the 4-LED Q-Code (your only notification if something went wrong during POST) and a 24-pin ATX connector to power the board. Just below are the front panel USB ports. First, we hit a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C header and then a 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A header. Since Prime Z690-A only has six total Type-A (plus two Type-C) ports, users may need to use the front ports out of necessity instead of convenience.

This board sees a worthwhile upgrade from the Z590 version for power delivery. Here Asus implemented a 16+1 phase VRM (versus 14+1 on Z590). Power comes from the EPS connector(s) and onto the Digi+ VRM chip, an ASP2100. We couldn’t find all the details, but we expect the board uses Asus’ “teamed” VRM configuration, where each channel on the PWM controller sends power to two MOSFETs, but without a phase doubler in the mix. Power then moves to the 16 Vishay Sic643 60A MOSFETs. The 960A available is a huge increase over the Z590 version (700A), and it handled our flagship Intel i9-12900K without concern. You’ll run out of cooling on the CPU before these VRMs hold you back.

Moving down to the bottom portion of the board, we find a lot more exposed PCB than on pricier boards, but that’s expected. Outside of a Faraday cage, the audio section is fully exposed. Three of four M.2 sockets sport simple heatsinks on them, while one doesn’t have any. Starting with the audio, hidden under the Crystal Sound cover is the last generation’s flagship, a Realtek ALC1220 codec and a few gold Nichicon audio capacitors. Priced where it is, I didn’t expect to see the latest and greatest here. Most users will be satisfied with this codec, but you won’t find any DACs or fancy amplifiers.

Moving to the middle of the board, we’ll look at the PCIe slots first. There are two full-length slots, two x1 size slots, and one x4. The primary graphics slot (top) is reinforced and runs at PCIe 5.0 x16. The bottom full-length slot sources its lanes from the chipset and runs at a maximum of PCIe 3.0 x4. The other three slots receive their lane allocation from the chipset and run their labeled speeds (PCIe 3.0 x1 and PCIe 3.0 x4). This configuration supports Crossfire technology. SLI users are out of luck, but multi-card setups for gaming have effectively been dead or dying for years.

Scattered among the PCIe slots are four M.2 sockets. All M.2 sockets run at a maximum of PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds. M.2_1 (top) and M.2_3 (bottom left) support 110mm PCIe drives. M.2_2 (socket without a heatsink) supports PCIe modules up to 80mm while M.2_4 supports up to 80mm PCIe and SATA-based M.2 drives. Since the Prime Z690-A only has four SATA ports, there isn’t any lane sharing with the M.2 sockets. In short, you can run any combination of M.2 modules and populate all of the SATA ports (which adds up to eight drives total) without worrying about a disabled port. Continuing right, we glide past the chipset heatsink and hit the right edge. There we find four SATA ports (supports RAID0/1/5/10), a simple power button and two 4-pin fan headers.

Across the bottom are several headers, including USB ports and RGB.  Below is a complete list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• 4-pin Chassis fan header
• (2) 3-pin ARGB headers
• Thunderbolt AIC header
• COM header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• Clear CMOS button
• Temperature sensor header
• 4-pin Chassis fan header
• Front panel header

Shifting focus to the critical rear IO area, we see a pre-installed IO plate matching the Prime Z690 theme. The white background has lines running throughout. Each port is labeled in a darker color, making them easy to identify.

There are eight total USB ports around back: one 20 Gbps and one 10 Gbps Type-C port, two 10 Gbps Type-A ports and four 5 Gbps ports. The six Type-A ports may not be enough for some users, however. Please be sure you can utilize the additional front panel ports if this is a concern. On the video front, Asus has a Displayport (v1.4) and HDMI (v2.1) for use with the integrated graphics found on many Intel  processors. Also, on the rear IO, you’ll find the Intel 2.5 GbE port (there is no Wi-Fi on this board) and the common five-plug plus SPDIF audio stack.

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Asus Prime Z690-A Firmware

Asus’ Prime Z690-A BIOS should be familiar to those who ran Prime boards in the recent past. The Prime’s black and light-blue/white theme persists, as does the ease of movement through the UEFI and similar to Z590, except for items new to Alder Lake (P and E core adjustments, to name a couple). It’s loaded with options and menus, though the most frequently accessed items are easily accessible and not buried several layers down. There’s also an easy mode that’s more of a dashboard with limited functionality. We’re a fan of the Asus BIOS and its logical layout. It has everything you need, and then some, to tweak your motherboard and component settings. If you want to know how to access your BIOS (from any system), we can help!

Software

Asus has applications designed for various functions, ranging from RGB lighting control, audio, system monitoring, overclocking and more. Instead of plodding through each application as if it changes for each review, we’ll capture several screenshots of a few major utilities moving forward. In this case, here’s a look at Ai Suite 3, Armoury Crate, Sonic Studio and the Realtek Audio application.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

Test System Components

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates in the future, though.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Prime Z690 PG Velocita traded punches with the other Z690 boards we’ve tested so far. It wasn’t the fastest or slowest in any benchmark, but it was faster than average overall. 

Timed Applications

In these tests, the Prime Z690 was average, except for the LAME test, where it ran 9.50 seconds, matching the fastest result. Mind you, in the LAME tests, the difference between the fastest and slowest is only a couple of percent, but it is still tied for the fastest. Outside of that, the Corona results (53 seconds) were average, as were both Handbrake tests. There’s nothing to worry about here either.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the Prime Z690 PG averaged 165 fps with minimums of 141 fps, one of the faster sets of results we have (bested only by 142/166 results). For Far Cry 6, the test board averaged 136 fps, with a minimum of 116 fps. The minimums are some of the slower results we’ve seen.

Our trend of not seeing significant differences among Z690 boards continues in our synthetic benchmarks. The Prime reached 14,452 on 3DMark Time Spy and 16,769 on Fire Strike Extreme, both on the lower side of average. Here again, the difference between the tested DDR5 boards is negligible.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, the Prime Z690-A used 64W, landing in the middle of our results. Load wattage peaked at 288W, one of the lowest load values tested. Overall, the Prime is just slightly better than average as far as power use goes. In most cases, it would be difficult to see the difference in your electric bill between most of these boards.

VRM temperatures on our Prime topped out at close to 55 degrees Celsius during stock testing and around the same when overclocked. The Prime Z690-A is another example of a board using more power at stock speeds than when we set our overclock. VRM temps were a bit warmer than some others. However, they are running well within their specifications. You have nothing to worry about regarding the VRMs.

Overclocking With the Asus Prime Z690-A

Overclocking with Alder Lake is slightly different from what we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. To that end, we set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking our Prime Z690-A and the flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved relatively painless. Since we’ve found our required voltage with our first review, we plugged in that 1.25V value for Vcore, adjusted LLC to Mode 6 (up from the Asus suggested LLC4), and tested it successfully with minimal vdroop. According to CPUz, the voltage was 1.23V, so using LLC6 effectively mitigated the vdroop.

On the memory front, we set XMP, and off we went with our GSkill Trident Z5 DDR5 5600 CL36 Kit, yielding a 600 MHz increase from the maximum rating of the platform.

Bottom Line

The Asus Prime Z690-A is a mostly full-featured board that includes platform upgrades such as support for Alder Lake processors and PCIe 5.0 support for graphics. For $279.99, the board includes four PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 sockets, 2.5 GbE (no Wi-Fi), a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port, last-gen flagship audio codec, upgraded power delivery and an updated appearance. Performance on our Prime board was average or above average, and overclocking wasn’t a concern. In all, it’s a well-performing SKU with several improvements over the Z590 version.

That’s not to say it isn’t without its shortcomings. First, the Prime color scheme can be polarizing. If you don’t want white in your build theme, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Outside of that, it looks like a less-expensive motherboard, as the heatsinks and shrouds don’t cover more of the bottom portion of the board as more expensive models do. The other shortcoming is a lack of USB ports on the rear IO. While you benefit from a 20 Gbps Type-C port (and another 10 Gbps Type-C port), there are only six Type-A ports. I don’t know about you, but I can use all of those right now. And if you plan to use more than four SATA ports, you’ll need an add-in card. Last but not least, there’s no integrated Wi-Fi here, while other similarly priced boards ship with wireless connectivity.

The Prime Z690-A’s primary competition is the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Elite AX ($269.99), the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk ($301.99) and the ASRock Z690 Steel Legend ($249.99). The Gigabyte and MSI boards include Wi-Fi, six SATA ports and four M.2 sockets, with the ASRock sporting a whopping eight total SATA ports. The Gigabyte offering has the most rear USB ports, while the MSI is the only one using a current-generation audio codec.

If you’re looking to spend less than $300 on a Z690 motherboard and don’t need Wi-Fi or more than four SATA ports, the Prime Z690-A is a worthwhile option. But it’s not the most well-rounded at this price point.

That’s not to say it isn’t without its shortcomings. First, the Prime color scheme can be polarizing. If you don’t want white in your build theme, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Outside of that, it looks like a less-expensive motherboard, as the heatsinks and shrouds don’t cover more of the bottom portion of the board as more expensive models do. The other shortcoming is a lack of USB ports on the rear IO. While you benefit from a 20 Gbps Type-C port (and another 10 Gbps Type-C port), there are only six Type-A ports. I don’t know about you, but I can use all of those right now. And if you plan to use more than four SATA ports, you’ll need an add-in card. Last but not least, there’s no integrated Wi-Fi here, while other similarly priced boards ship with wireless connectivity.

The Prime Z690-A’s primary competition is the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Elite AX ($269.99), the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk ($301.99) and the ASRock Z690 Steel Legend ($249.99). The Gigabyte and MSI boards include Wi-Fi, six SATA ports and four M.2 sockets, with the ASRock sporting a whopping eight total SATA ports. The Gigabyte offering has the most rear USB ports, while the MSI is the only one using a current-generation audio codec.

If you’re looking to spend less than $300 on a Z690 motherboard and don’t need Wi-Fi or more than four SATA ports, the Prime Z690-A is a worthwhile option. But it’s not the most well-rounded at this price point.

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Full-featured motherboards based on the Intel Z690 chipset don’t come cheap, with some models costing more than $600. In this marketplace, ASRock’s $469 PG Velocita is a relatively-affordable option costing more than $100 less than the Z690 Taichi we reviewed previously and providing built-in Wi-Fi 6E, a PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 socket and strong overclocking capability. However, stiff competition from other Z690 boards and a last-gen audio codec keep the PG Velocita from making our list of best motherboards.which. The Z690 version of the PG Velocita brings an updated appearance, improved power delivery, and an integrated PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 socket. Like all of the other Z690-based boards we’ve tested, we again see more of an iterative update with the significant changes coming in the form of support for the new socket and all of the benefits Alder Lake brings to the table, including PCIe 5.0 functionality.

The Z690 PG Velocita tweaked its appearance over the Z590 version in a couple of ways, including a chipset heatsink redesign, some color swaps on the M.2 heatsinks, and a redesign of the IO cover. Overall, we feel it’s an improvement. The board also increased the M.2 socket count to four (from three), including one native PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) socket, which we don’t see too much on Z690 boards. There are plenty of USB ports on the rear IO area; however, the only 20 Gbps port is on the front panel. ASRock even includes a GPU holder to support your heavy graphics cards.

Performance for the PG Velocita varied, but for the most part, it was average among the other DDR5 boards we’ve tested so far. Gaming performance was spot on, as was AIDA memory bandwidth testing. Power consumption was ever-so-slightly above average, not that you’d notice on your power bill. Overall, out-of-the-box performance is not a concern.

Specifications: ASRock Z690 PG Velocita

Inside the Box of the ASRock Z690 PG Velocita

Inside the box, ASRock includes in  all the basic accessories you’d expect, including SATA cables, a Wi-Fi Antenna and a driver/support CD.. It also comes with a graphics cards holder that attaches to the board to support heavy video cards and a USB bracket for wireless dongles. Below is a complete list of the included extras.

• Quick Installation Guide, Support CD
• (4) SATA Data Cables
• Graphics Card Holder
• Wireless Dongle USB Bracket
• 3010 Cooling Fan with Bracket and Screw Package
• 4010 Cooling Fan Bracket and Screw Package
• (2) ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6 GHz Antennas
• (3) x Screws for M.2 Sockets
• (3) Standoffs for M.2 Sockets

Design of the ASRock Z690 PG Velocita

The Z690 PG Velocita is built with a black, eight-layer PCB. Over the rear IO area is a black and grey plastic shroud that partially covers the active VRM heatsinks. The first RGB element hides below this shroud and lights up the lines around the Chrome ASRock branding.

All of the M.2 sockets on the bottom half of the board get a heatsink as well. The chipset heatsink sports a unique circle design with RGBs and a see-through plexi part just above. Overall, the black and red appearance should match well with most build themes, but to me, it doesn’t quite give off the premium vibe some other boards in this class do.

Focusing on the top half of the board, we get a better look at the VRM heatsinks, RAM sockets, and other connectivity in this area. Starting on the left, we already discussed the RGB lighting hidden below the shroud. It’s an accent and won’t take over the inside of your chassis, but the LEDs are saturated, producing nice color. The VRM heatsinks, while not as large as others, have active cooling on the left bank and a heat pipe that connects the two in order to share the thermal dissipation duties. Unlike with previous iterations, this fan started quiet and remained quiet throughout our testing. Two 8-pin EPS connectors provide power for the CPU.

Continuing right, we run into the four reinforced DRAM sockets that support up to 128GB of DDR5. ASRock lists speeds up to DDR5 6400+, but your mileage may vary. In order to reach those speeds, you need an appropriate memory kit and a solid IMC on the processor (along with a BIOS that will do it).

Just above the DRAM slots are the first three (of eight) 4-pin fan headers. We have the CPU_FAN, CPU_FAN2/WP, and VRM_FAN headers in this area. The first CPU fan and VRM fan headers support 1A/12W of output, while the CPU_FAN2/WP header in the middle supports up to 3A/36W. The rest of the chassis fans output 1A/12W outside of the WP header (bottom edge) which is good for 2A/24W. There are plenty of headers and power for your fans and water pump.

To the right are the first RGB headers. Here we find two 3-pin ARGB headers, while on the bottom of the board is another 3-pin ARGB and a 4-pin RGB header. Control over the RGB lighting is handled by the ASRock Polychrome software, which worked fine in our limited testing.

Sliding around to the right edge, we run into the onboard power and reset buttons followed by the 24-pin ARX connector to power the board. The first USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gbps) header and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C header are below that.

On the power delivery front, the Z690 PG Velocita got a slight upgrade from its Z590 counterpart. More power stages were added, and the VRM type was upgraded to SPS MOSFETs. Power comes from the 8-pin EPS connector(s) and onto a Renesas RAA229131 20-channel controller. Next, it goes to the 16 60A Intersil ISL99360 SPS MOSFETs. While the 960A available is incredibly low compared to similarly priced boards, it still handled our Intel i9-12900K processor at stock and while overclocked.

Moving down to the bottom of the board, we notice heatsinks covering all the important parts, but not much else. Starting on the left with audio, hidden below the plastic cover is the last generation flagship Realtek ALC 1220 codec and five dedicated audio capacitors. Most users will be happy with this solution, though other boards use the latest and greatest Realtek codec at the same price point. For the price, I would like to have seen the latest and greatest (ALC 408x) used here.

In the middle of the board, we find a few PCIe slots, along with four M.2 sockets sprinkled in among them. Starting with PCIe, there are four total slots--three full-length slots (top two are reinforced) and two open-ended x1 size slots. The top two full-length slots are wired for PCIe 5.0 and CPU-connected, while the bottom slot is PCIe 4.0 and fed from the chipset. The primary GPU slots run at x16/x0 or x8/x8, both PCIe 5.0. This configuration supports AMD Crossfire multi-GPU technology, but curiously (as it has the lanes/bandwidth), not Nvidia SLI. The x1 slots source their bandwidth from the chipset and run at PCIe 3.0 x1.

For M.2 connectivity, the Z690 Velocita has four sockets, an increase of one over the previous generation. The top socket, M2_1, supports PCIe 4.0 x4 modules up to 80mm, with M2_3 running the same speed and supporting the same PCIe protocol but supporting larger 110mm modules. M2_2 supports both SATA and PCIe drives with speeds up to PCIe 3.0 x4 (32 Gbps) and 80mm devices. M2_4 is your ‘Blazing’ PCIe 5.0 x4 (128 Gbps) socket. It supports PCIe modules up to 80mm. Note that the first PCIe socket downgrades to x8 mode with this socket occupied.

Moving right, we go past the uniquely designed chipset heatsink to the right edge. Here, we run into another USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) header and the six SATA ports. Also found in this area is the 2-character debug LED.

Across the bottom are several headers, including USB ports and RGB.  Below is a complete list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• 4-pin UART header
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• Thunderbolt AIC header
• (2) System fan headers
• USB 2.0 header
• 2-character debug LED
• Front panel header
• Clear CMOS button

Swinging back to the critical rear IO area, we see a pre-installed IO plate matching the PG Velocita’s aesthetics. The black background gives way to red highlights and additional branding. The Lightning Gaming ports, which use two different controller interfaces that reduce latency and jitter for mice and keyboards, are labeled.

Hardware-wise, there are 10 total USB ports around back: two 10 Gbps ports (Type-C and Type-A), six 5 Gbps Type-A ports, and two USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. The nine Type-A ports should be enough for most users. Also, on the rear IO, you’ll find a BIOS Flashback button, WI-Fi antenna connections, the Killer 2.5 GbE port (blue) and the Intel GbE port (black), along with HDMI (v2.1) and a DisplayPort (v1.4) output for video. The 5-plug analog ports on the audio stack light up, adding a bit of bling and perhaps helping you find the right plug a bit more easily.

Firmware

ASRock’s BIOS, as the other Z690 boards before it, keeps the same format as the last generation. An EZ Mode displays high-level information, including CPU clock speeds and temperatures, fan speeds, storage information, and more. Advanced Mode has several headers across the top that drop down additional options. The BIOS is easy to maneuver in and laid out logically. There is a bit of digging for some options for overclocking, but overall, it’s a user-friendly BIOS with more options than most will ever use.

Software

Unlike some other board partners, ASRock doesn’t combine most of its included utilities under a larger application. Instead, they are all standalone programs but cover a wide gamut of functionality. From overclocking and monitoring (A-Tune) to audio (Nahimic), networking (Killer Dashboard) and RGB lighting (Polychrome), all of the applications worked without issue.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for launch day testing. MSI and Asus also provided launch day kits.

Benchmark Settings

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Benchmark Results and Final Analysis

Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. For this baseline testing, the Windows power scheme is set to balanced (default), so the PC idles appropriately.

To get the most out of the Intel Alder Lake chips, you need to be on Windows 11 with its updated scheduler. In most cases, Windows 10 performs well. However, some tests (Cinebench R20, Corona and POVRay) take a significant hit. In short, if you’re going with Alder Lake, you must upgrade to Windows 11 for the best results across the board. That may change with patching and updates in the future, though.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics provide a great way to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The Z690 PG Velocita traded punches with the other Z690 boards we’ve tested so far. It wasn’t the fastest nor slowest in any benchmark, which is similar to its big brother, the Taichi.

Timed Applications

In this test, the Z690 PG Velocita was again average, running 0.15 100ths of a second behind the fastest result. The 53-second time in Corona tied a couple of other boards. During the x264 Handbrake transcoding, the Velocita completed the test in 113 seconds, just a second behind the quickest results.

The x265 transcoding result was also above average as the PG Velocita completed the benchmark in 300 seconds. Most results were right around the 300-second mark, with the fastest coming from the Z690 Valkyrie at 294 seconds.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the Z690 PG Velocita averaged 165 fps  with minimums of 140 fps, one of the faster sets of results so far. The same goes for Far Cry 6. In this case, the Velocita averaged 137 fps with a minimum of 125 fps, both some of the highest we’ve measured so far. There’s barely a difference in performance here, but the 125 fps minimum is the highest recorded so far.

Our trend of not seeing significant differences among Z690 boards continues in our synthetic benchmarks. The PG Velocita scored 14,423 on 3DMark Time Spy and 16,834 on Fire Strike Extreme, both of which are on the lower side of average. Here again, the difference between the tested boards is negligible.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, our Z690 PG Velocita consumed 68W, landing in the middle of our results and the matching the Z690 Taichi. Load wattage peaked at 305W, which falls around the average for Z690 motherboards so far. Depending on the board and its default settings, you may see similar power and temperature profiles between stock and overclocked situations, and we run into that. Leaving the PG Velocita to its own devices yields the same 4.9/3.7 GHz clocks as the other boards. Overall, the PG Velocita is just slightly over the average as far as power use goes. That said, in most cases, it would be difficult to see the difference in your electric bill between most of these boards.

VRM temperatures on our Z690 PG Velocita topped out at close to 48 degrees Celsius during stock testing and 50 degrees Celsius when overclocked. Since one of the VRM heatsinks is actively cooled, we expect to see lower temperatures than most boards and that came to fruition. What’s great is that the fan doesn’t make a lot of noise as I couldn’t hear it over the cooling solution we have in place.

Overclocking

Overclocking with Alder Lake is slightly different from what we’re used to due to the hybrid core configuration. Now, you can overclock the P and E cores separately, though they both use the same voltage domain. You can push one and not the other, or both, so there’s some flexibility. To that end, we set an overclock to 5.1 GHz across all P-cores and 4.1Ghz on all E-cores. This yields a 200 MHz bump on the P-cores and a 400 MHz increase on the E-cores. We’re topped out on the P-cores, primarily due to temperatures, but the more efficient E-cores still have some headroom.

Overclocking with the Z690 PG Velocita and the flagship 8+8-core/24-thread i9-12900K proved painless. Since we’ve found our required voltage with our first review, we plugged in that 1.25V value for Vcore, adjusted LLC to Mode 1, and tested it successfully. According to CPUz, the voltage was 1.24V, so using Mode 1 effectively mitigated the vdroop.

On the memory front, we set XMP, and off we went with our GSkill Trident Z5 DDR5 5600 CL36 Kit, yielding a 600 MHz increase from the maximum rating of the platform. Here’s to hoping that prices come down on RAM over time as these DDR5 kits are expensive.

Bottom Line

The ASRock Z690 PG Velocita is a feature-laden motherboard that gives you an integrated PCIe 5.0 (128 Gbps) M.2 socket, a slew of USB ports on the rear IO, updated styling, and more for $469.99. The board also includes Killer-based networking using a 2.5 GbE port and Wi-Fi 6E. Although the audio is last-generation, it is the flagship ALC1220 which most users will find perfectly acceptable. Performance was about as average as average can be, so there’s nothing to worry about there. In the end, it’s a well-rounded motherboard that’s a compelling option in the $475-$500 space.

However, ASRock’s board is not without its drawbacks. Compared to the other boards in this price bracket – the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master, MSI MEG Z690 Unify and Asus ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WIFI  – it falls a bit short on VRM capability and audio. The 60A SPS MOSFETs handled our flagship CPU without issue and thanks to the active cooling on the VRM, the temperatures remained low, but it’s still weak compared to the others listed. I would like to see a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) on the rear IO, but there is one on the front panel. The biggest selling point for the Z690 PG Velocita is the PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket, as that is uncommon even at this price point, though the ROG Strix Z690-E has one also.

ASRock’s Z690 PG Velocita should be on your short-list if you’re looking for a PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 socket. While all of these boards are competent and have one reason or another to buy them, only the Asus ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WIFI has a PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 socket like the ASRock. The problem is, at the same price, the Asus has better hardware all around and is the pick of this litter. While the Z690 PG Velocita is a solid board, it would be a more attractive option if it was undercutting the price on these similar boards.

After focusing on Intel’s Alder Lake processors and Z690 motherboards for a bit, AMD is back on our test bench in the form of the MSI MPG X570S Carbon EK X, which includes a custom monoblock from EKWB to cool the CPU and VRMs. Not only does the included water block effectively cool the processor and power bits, but it also gives the board a premium RGB-adorned appearance that makes it stand out from others.

The X570S-based board also updates the design aesthetic on the board’s bottom half, eliminating the chipset fan and going with full-coverage heatsinks/shrouds over the M.2 sockets. The ribbed lines run diagonal and are a much more premium look than the original X570 Gaming Pro Carbon. The X570S Carbon EK X sells for $549.99, which is on the high side for an X570-based motherboard. That said, it’s still one of the easiest and least-expensive ways to get into watercooling your PC. You’ll still need to buy the rest of the loop (radiator, fans, pump, tubing, etc), but it beats spending the time searching for a block that fits and has a generic (not custom-made) appearance.

In testing, our X570S Carbon EK X traded punches with the other 5950X results in our testing suite. Across the board, it was either riding the coattails of the Asus Maximus XIII Hero or vice versa. Gaming performance in both the synthetic tests and our games also matched up quite nicely. Overclocking went without a hitch, with the CPU and VRMs running well within specification under the monoblock and our 3x120mm worth of radiator. Read on for more details covering the features, overclocking, and our takeaways from testing and use. First though, here’s a complete list of the MSI X570S Carbon EK X specs, direct from MSI.

Specifications - MSI X570S Carbon EK X

Sitting inside the box, along with the motherboard, is the accessory stack designed to get your system up and running by including some essential extras. This consists of a USB stick with drivers, SATA cables, manuals, and more. It even comes with the EK Leak tester to test your loop. Below is a complete list of the included parts.

• USB drive (drivers)
• Cleaning brush
• EK Leak tester
• Wi-Fi antenna
• Case badge
• User manual
• Quick installation guide
• MPG and Cable stickers
• (4) M.2 screws/standoff sets
• EZ M.2 clip
• Thermistor cable
• 1-2 RGB extension Y cable
• Corsair LED extension
• Rainbow extension cables
• Screwdrivers
• EZ Front panel cable
• (2) SATA cables
• EK Monoblock

With EKWB’s custom monoblock mounted and RGBs shining brightly, the Carbon EK X looks majestic sitting on the test bench lit up with RGBs lighting. Otherwise, the all-black 6-layer PCB (2 Oz copper) is mostly covered in heatsinks and shrouds. Around the socket area, the monoblock and rear IO cover sport a Carbon fiber look, along with the MSI Gaming dragon, MPG, and EKWB branding. The chipset area also sports a ribbed appearance and has “Carbon EK X” branding lit up from behind with more RGBs. In all, it’s a good-looking board and more than capable of beomg the centerpiece of your AMD-based build, especially for those who like bright RGBs.

Focusing on the top half of the board, we get a better look at the RGB-laden monoblock and the RGB lighting. Out of the box, it’s bright and the colors are saturated, making it the board’s focal point. The rear IO cover and monoblock have a carbon fiber look to match the namesake. The block covers and cools the VRMs and CPU below and has a simple pinwheel-type water flow indicator. There are two EPS power connections on the board’s top edge between the block and rear IO, a required 8-pin and optional 4-pin.

To the right of the socket area, we run into the four unreinforced, single-side locking DRAM slots. MSI states the board is capable of running up to DDR4 5100 MHz (APUs a higher at 5300 MHz), but as usual, your mileage may vary due to the kit used and the number of sticks as well as the quality of your memory controller (and the board’s BIOS).

Just above the DRAM slots are the first two (of eight) 4-pin fan headers. In this location are the CPU fan and water-pump fan connectors. Unfortunately, the MSI website for this board doesn’t appear to have the manual available, so we can’t confirm the output. That said, if it’s anything like the X570S Carbon MAX WIFI it’s based on, it’s 2A/24W on the CPU, 3A/36W on the pump, and 1A/12W for the System fan headers. Please confirm these values before you plug in high-draw components.

All headers support PWM and DC-controlled fans, but only the CPU fan auto-selects the mode. The pump fan runs in PWM mode by default, while the system fans start in DC mode. If you need to swap modes, you do so in the bios. In all, there are plenty of fan headers to go around.

In the upper-right corner, we come across the two-digit debug display for codes during POST. Below that is a 3-pin Corsair RGB header and a system fan header. Continuing down the right edge, we run into the EZ Debug LED, consisting of four LEDs that light up during the POST process. If one of the four areas (CPU, DRAM, VGA, and Boot) has issues, the light remains lit and gives you an idea of where the problem is. But the previously mentioned two-digit display should be easier to see and read.

The X570S Carbon EK X sports a 16-phase VRM with 14 phases dedicated to Vcore. Power comes from the EPS connector(s) then onto a Renesas (Intersil) ISL69247 PWM controller. The EK X uses a “Deut Rail” system, where each channel feeds two MOSFETs without using a phase doubler. The deut rail feeds fourteen Renesas 75A SPS MOSFETs. This yields 1,050A available to power your CPU, which is plenty for overclocking, even the flagship Ryzen 9 5950X we use for testing.

An overwhelming majority of the bottom half of the board is covered in heatsinks and shrouds. On the left side, the audio section is partially covered. However, the Realtek ALC4080 audio codec is in plain sight (not under a Faraday cage), along with a few Chemicon capacitors dedicated to audio. This section also sports a dedicated headphone amplifier to drive headphones up to 600Ω. In short, you won’t find much better integrated audio.

In the middle are the PCIe slots and M.2 sockets. There are two full-length slots reinforced with MSI’s Steel Armor. The top slot (primary graphics card slot) sources its lanes from the CPU and runs at PCIe 4.0 x16. The second full-length PCIe slot gets its lanes from the X570 chipset and supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds. For those still hanging on to multi-GPU setups, the Carbon EK X supports AMD Crossfire Technology. The two x1 size slots also get their bandwidth from the chipset, but run at a maximum of PCIe 3.0 x1.

Hidden below the heatsinks are four M.2 sockets. The top socket  (CPU connected), M2_1, Supports SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4 devices up to 110mm. M2_2, M2_3, and M2_4 source their lanes from the chipset. M2_2 supports 80mm PCIe- and SATA-based modules up to 80mm. M2_3 supports up to 110mm PCIe- and SATA-based devices. Last but not least, M2_4 handles 80mm PCIe-based storage devices.

With all those slots and sockets, there is some sharing going on. In fact, you lose quite a bit when you start loading this board up, depending on your configuration. For the M2_3 socket, SATA ports 5/6 will be unavailable when installing a SATA SSD and SATA 5-8 unavailable when installing PCIe SSD. Additionally, the PCIe_E4 slot (bottom full-length slot) is unavailable when installing an M.2 SSD into the M2_4 socket. Your worst-case scenario for storage is all for M.2 sockets in use with four SATA ports. MSI manuals typically break the lane sharing down well in visuals, so check there when the company gets around to uploading a manual (or look at the X570S Carbon MAX WIFI’s).

Moving right over the chipset heatsink, we run into eight SATA ports. These connect via the chipset and don’t use a separate controller chip for extra lanes. TheCarbon EK X supports RAID0, 1, and 10 modes if you’re into RAID for speed or redundancy reasons.

Several headers live across the bottom, including USB and SATA ports and RGB connections – nothing out of the ordinary. Here’s the complete list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• 4-pin RGB header
• (2) 4-pin System fan headers
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• 2-pin Temperature probe header
• USB 3.2 Gen1 header
• 4-pin System Fan header
• LED enable/disable switch
• Clear CMOS jumper
• Front panel header
• 3-pin ARGB header

Looking at the integrated rear IO, we see the Carbon and black theme continues here. Each port is labeled with a lighter grey writing that’s easy to read. There are 10 USB ports in total, nine Type-A (3x USB 3.2 Gen2, 4x USB 3.2 Gen1, 2x USB 2.0) and a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-C port. We find the BIOS Flashback and Clear CMOS buttons on the left side, while just above the two USB 2.0 ports is a legacy PS/2 port.

The Carbon EK X uses a single HDMI (v2.1) port for video, not that it’s likely you’ll be using an APU here. We find the 2.5 GbE port and the Wi-Fi 6E antenna connections to the right. Last but not least are the five plug-plus SPDIF audio connections. It’s pretty busy back here, but we’d still like to see a second, faster USB-C port for this price.

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Firmware

Like the other MSI BIOS configurations, you start with an informational EZ Mode that allows editing some high-level functions that enable XMP profiles, adjust fan speeds, and more. The main menu is informational up top, while the bottom two-thirds is where the adjustments happen. You select the section you want on the left or right sides, and the details show in the middle. You don’t have to dig down several screens to reach the overclocking options as they are primarily on the main page. Some digging is inevitable, but overall we find this BIOS full of options and easy to read and get around.

Software

For software, the theme these days is to place a lot of the functionality in one program. MSI’s take on this is called Dragon Center software. This application allows you to download all or individual applets. Some of the programs include Mystic Light (RGB control), LAN Manager, User Scenario (overclocking, monitoring, and fan control), Super Charger, MSI Companion (help record games), and many more.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows:

Test System Components

EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the outgoing 1.2KW monster we used) for our test systems, and GSkill sent us a fast and good-looking DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for launch day testing.

Benchmark Settings

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Our standard benchmarks and power tests are performed using the CPU’s stock frequencies (including any default boost/turbo), with all power-saving features enabled. We set optimized defaults in the BIOS and the memory by enabling the XMP profile. The Windows power scheme is set to Balanced (default) for this baseline testing, so the PC idles appropriately.  For this baseline testing, Windows is set to High Performance before switching over to Balanced during power testing, so the PC idles appropriately.

Synthetic Benchmarks

Synthetics are a great tool to determine how a board runs, as identical settings should produce similar performance results. Turbo boost wattage and advanced memory timings are places where motherboard makers can still optimize for either stability or performance, though, and those settings can impact some testing.

The X570S did well overall in our synthetic benchmarks, trading punches with the other X570S board that’s been under the new test suite (Hero). The Procyon Office test was slower than the Hero, but still close and not something you’d notice with regular PC use.

AIDA testing for bandwidth placed the Carbon EK X ahead of the other dataset. Latency was better, but not by a significant amount. Like we’ve seen before, the differences are so minor that, in most cases, it’s inconsequential.

Timed Applications

In LAME testing, the Carbon EK X was faster than our Hero, completing the test in 11.08 seconds (versus 11.15). Corona testing resulted in 46 seconds for our board, or one second slower than the Hero. Handbrake results were also close, with the Carbon EK X taking 129 seconds (versus 128 seconds on the other X570S dataset) for x264 testing and 304 seconds (against 301 seconds) in x265. The two boards are pretty close together here, again.

3D Games and 3DMark

Starting with the launch of the Z690 chipset, we’ve updated our game tests. We’ve updated Far Cry: New Dawn to Far Cry 6 and shifted from F1 2020 to F1 2021. We run the games at 1920x1080 resolution using the Ultra preset (details listed above). As the resolution goes up, the CPU tends to have less impact. The goal with these settings is to determine if there are differences in performance at the most commonly used resolution with settings most people use or at least strive for. We expect the difference between boards in these tests to be minor, with most falling within the margin of error differences. We’ve also added a minimum FPS value, as that can affect your gameplay and immersion experience.

In F1 2021, the X570S Carbon EK X averaged 162 frames per second (fps) with minimums of 136 fps. Both values were faster than the Hero, which came in at 157 (avg) and 132 FPS (min), respectively. In Far Cry 6, the EK X averaged 125 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS. This compares well with the other X570 dataset, but is still significantly behind the Alder Lake-based (i9-12900K) result. 

In our synthetic 3D benchmarks, the EK X scored 13,609 in Time Spy and 16,940 in Fire Strike Extreme. Both results compared well against the X570S Hero. Overall, the X570S Carbon EK X fared well in our synthetic 3D results and games.

Power Consumption / VRM Temperatures

We used AIDA64’s System Stability Test with Stress CPU, FPU and Cache enabled for power testing, using the peak power consumption value. The wattage reading is from the wall via a Kill-A-Watt meter to capture the entire PC minus the monitor. The only variable that changes is the motherboard; all other parts are the same.

At idle, our MSI board consumed 80W while under load and peaked at 210W. Compared to the Hero, it uses slightly less power all around, especially under load. Although we only have two datasets with the new test suite, looking back at the power use on the old results, these results match up well, placing the EK X in the middle of the pack.

VRM temperatures on our Carbon EK X at stock speeds topped out just under 40 degrees Celsius during stock and about 48 degrees Celsius when overclocked. The custom EK water block and 360 radiator did a great job keeping the CPU and VRMs running nice and cool.

Overclocking

Depending on your goals, there are several ways to overclock on AMD platforms. If your use case prefers   single-threaded performance, you may want to focus on using Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) and adjusting its parameters. If you can use all cores and threads, setting a manual CPU multiplier and voltage is likely the better route. While the latter clips peak single-threaded performance slightly, it increases all core/thread performance over the all-core boost. To that end, we settled on 4.4 GHz at ~1.3V for an all-core/thread overclock.

The X570S Carbon EK X had no issues with our 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 5950X. We simply plugged in, set Vcore to roughly 1.3V, adjusted LLC to mitigate vdroop, and plodded through the test without issue (our CPU ran a bit warm, but that was more due to our cooling than anything).

On the memory side, we know AMD is limited to around 3600/3733 MHz when keeping FCLK at a 1:1 ratio with the memory. With this in mind, we add two more sticks and run 4x8GB at DDR4 3600, which is AMD’s current sweet spot. For our X570S Carbon EK X, we set XMP and it was stable enough to run through several of our benchmarks. As always, your mileage may vary depending on the memory kit used and the quality of the CPU’s integrated memory controller.

Final Thoughts

MSI’s X570S Carbon EK X takes the Carbon MAX WIFI it’s based on to a whole different level. The custom EKWB block provides better cooling opportunities and looks good while doing so. Putting together a package like this takes less effort than starting a loop from scratch, as you already have a custom monoblock included. Sure, you still need to get the radiator, reservoir, tubing and fittings, but at least you know you have a great-looking block to start and a solid motherboard below it.

The main selling point is the included custom monoblock, but the board itself has a lot going for it. First, there are plenty of storage options between the four M.2 sockets and eight SATA ports. Although there is some lane sharing among the ports and slots, I don’t imagine many users find this area lacking. On top of that, the board has flagship-class Realtek audio, included Wi-Fi 6E and 2.5 GbE, and solid VRMs to support even those most power-hungry Ryzen processors. As we saw from all of the charts, performance is right where it needs to be. In all, there’s a lot to love about this board, especially if you’re looking to add custom water cooling.

As far as complaints go, about the only one is price.  At $549.99, it’s expensive for what amounts to a mid-range board. But that said, you’re not going to find a custom-made monoblock and quality motherboard for less. In fact, any X570 boards that include a water block are at the $1000 mark or more. The good news is that if you like what the board offers but don’t need custom cooling, you can buy the MSI MPG X570S Carbon MAX WIFI for $339.99, which is quite reasonable. The only other item I’d like to see on this board is a 20 Gbps USB port (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2).

Wrapping things up, the MSI and EKWB relationship brings some much-appreciated collaboration to motherboards, particularly for the price. Instead of the typical focus on halo-type (read: ultra-expensive) products, it brings custom monoblock water cooling to a more reasonable price point (keep an eye out for Z690 Carbon EK X review). The board itself has almost all of the features you’d expect with the latest AMD enthusiast chipset, outside of a 20 Gbps USB port. If you’re looking to get into water cooling and don’t want the hassle of finding a custom block, the MSI X570S Carbon EK X is a great choice. And if you’re not watercooling, the Carbon MAX WIFI it’s based on is another great option at a lower price.

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Although MSI’s MAG Z690 Tomahawk WIFI is priced fairly low (yes, $310 is low for a flagship-chipset board these days), the motherboard doesn’t disappoint on features. It comes with four M.2 sockets, integrated WI-Fi 6, the latest-generation audio codec, and a stealthy appearance that’s refreshing after years of RGB overload.

Compared to the previous generation Z590 Tomahawk, you get PCIe 5.0 support, an additional M.2 socket, updated power delivery, and a more premium appearance that skips integrated RGB lighting. The best part about the Tomahawk is the price. At $309.99, it’s on the ‘reasonable’ side of Z690 motherboards, and its price only increased about $30 over the last generation Tomahawk. Most (if not all) motherboard pricing has increased over the last couple of years, due to a combination of shortages and the more demanding needs of faster PCIe lanes. So to see such a meager increase from one generation to the next is refreshing.

Performance on the Z690 Tomahawk ended up average overall among the other boards we tested. While all tests were very close in either direction, the Procyon tests showed the most significant departure from average, matching the slower DDR4 boards more closely than their DDR5 counterparts. Gaming results were on par, if not marginally faster, than the rest so we’re in good shape there.

During testing, the only complaint I had with the MAG Z690 Tomahawk WIFI was that the board used too much voltage for stock operation, which caused minor thermal throttling during a stress test. Read on for more details covering the features, overclocking, and our takeaways from testing and use. First though, here’s a complete list of the MAG Z690 Tomhawk’s specs, direct from MSI.

Specifications - MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WIFI

Inside the box, along with the MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WIFI, is the accessory stack designed to get you started with the basics (think SATA cables, Wi-Fi antenna and a driver disk) without another a trip to the store. We have all of that, plus the driver disk is on a USB stick. Below is a complete list of the included extras.

• USB drive (drivers)
• Cleaning brush
• Wi-Fi antenna
• Case badge
• User manual
• Quick installation guide
• MAG and Cable stickers
• M.2 screws/standoff sets
• EZ M.2 clip
• Screwdrivers
• EZ Front panel cable
• (2) SATA cables

Looking at the Z690 Tomahawk WIFI itself on our test bench, we get a better view of the jet-black 6-layer PCB and heatsinks. The Tomahawk still keeps the military theme, with the heatsinks looking like panels on an army vehicle. You’ll find minimal branding, including the Tomahawk name in white on the chipset, while the MSI and MAG names hide on the VRM heatsink in black.

If you’re looking for integrated RGB lighting from the motherboard, look elsewhere as the Tomahawk WIFI does without. All lighting has to come from external RGB strips, but you do get four headers for that purpose on the board. In all, this board doesn’t jump out at you as a showpiece, but you don’t need to hide it in a windowless chassis either.

Focusing on the top half of the board, we’ll start on the left side and look at the large metal VRM heatsinks first. There is plenty of mass and surface area here to keep the VRMs below running within spec. The heatsinks aren’t connected to each other, but proved they could handle whatever we threw at them using the Intel Core i9-12900K processor. The two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required), located between the VRM heatsinks, deliver power to the CPU.

Shifting focus toward the right, we move past the socket area and run into the four double-side locking DRAM slots. These unreinforced slots support up to 128GB of DDR5 RAM (there is a DDR4 version of this board as well) with speeds listed up to DDR5 6400+ MHz. The more RAM sticks and higher capacity used, the lower peak value. For example, a two DIMM per channel configuration lists up to DDR5 4000. As always, your mileage may vary as to what you can achieve as what’s achievable depends on the memory kit in use and the processor’s memory controller.

Just above the DRAM slots are the first two (of eight) 4-pin fan headers. The CPU_FAN1 and PUMP_FAN1 located here default to PWM mode and output up to 2A/24W and 3A/36W. The remainder of the fans (SYS_FAN1-6) start in DC mode and provide up to 1A/12W. Overall, there are plenty of fan headers with plenty of power behind them to drive your chassis fans and water pump without worry.

To the right of the fan headers are the first two (of four) RGB headers. There are three 3-pin ARGB headers and one 4-pin RGB header. It’s nice to see plenty of RGB options, despite the lack of lighting on the board itself.

We spy a SYS_FAN header along the right edge, the EZDebug LED, 24-pin ATX connector, a USB 3.2 Gen1 header, and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header. Everything is in its place here.

Focusing on the VRM, MSI uses an 18-phase configuration with 16 phases dedicated to Vcore. Power is fed through the 8-pin EPS connectors and onto a Monolithic Power Systems MP2120 PWM controller. Details are scarce on the controller itself. However, MSI states this is a duet power design (two MOSFETs get fed per channel without a phase doubler) that feeds 70A Monolithic Power Systems DrMOS MOSFETs. The 1,120A available for the processor is enough for stock operation and some overclocking.

Moving down to the bottom half of the board, we see (among other things) the audio section, all four M.2 sockets covered with MSI M.2 Shield Frozr cooling, and the PCIe Steel armor that reinforces the PCIe slot. Starting with the audio on the left, we see everything the Z690 Tomahawk offers, because there’s no should or faraday cage. You can see the premium Realtek ALC4080 audio chip, is covered by a shroud or faraday cage and several Chemicon-branded audio caps. Overall, this is a quality audio implementation, especially at this price.

Moving to the PCIe slots in the middle of the board, there are four total, three full-length, plus a closed-back x1 size slot. The primary video card slot (top) uses reinforcement (Steel Armor), connects via the CPU and supports PCIe 5.0 x16 speeds. The two other full-length slots source their lanes from the chipset and run PCIe 3.0 x4 and x1, respectively. The small x1 slot is connected through the chipset and runs PCIe 3.0 as well. Be warned that the x1 slot could be covered and rendered unusable if a large 2-plus slot size graphics card is used.

On the M.2 front, the Z690 Tomahawk has four total slots, all of which are covered by MSI’s M.2 Shield Frozr heatsinks. The top two sockets (M2_1 and M2_2) run PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds with PCIe-based drives up to 110mm (80mm for M2_2). M2_1 sources its lanes from the CPU while the second uses the chipset. The third and fourth slots (M2_3 and M2_4) support PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) and SATA-based modules up to 80mm.

Just to the right, hidden under the chipset heatsink, are two of the six SATA ports. The other four ports are oriented vertically and on the bottom edge of the board. MSI doesn’t list any lane sharing, and according to the block diagram in the user manual the M.2 sockets and SATA ports don’t share anything. In other words, you’re able to run any combination of SATA drives and M.2-based storage without losing a port or socket.

Several headers run across the bottom, including USB and SATA ports and RGB connections – nothing out of the ordinary. Here’s the complete list, from left to right:

• Front panel audio
• 3-pin ARGB header
• 4-pin RGB header
• (2) 4-pin fan headers
• Thunderbolt header
• 4-pin fan header
• (2) USB 2.0 headers
• (4) SATA ports
• RGB enable/disable switch
• TPM header
• 4-pin fan header
• Front panel header

Looking at the integrated rear IO, we see the black theme continues here as well,  along with grey writing on the ports. There are eight USB ports in total, seven Type-A (3x USB 3.2 Gen2, 2x USB 3.2 Gen1, and 2x USB 2.0) and a single USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port. The seven Type-A ports may be too few for some users. On the left side are two video ports, HDMI and Displayport, for use with an integrated graphics processor. There’s also an Intel I225-V GbE port, connections for the Wi-Fi antenna, and a five plug (plus SPDIF) audio stack.

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Firmware

Like the other MSI BIOS configurations, you start with an informational EZ Mode that allows editing of some high-level functions that include enabling XMP profiles, adjusting fan speeds, and more. The main menu is informational up top, while the bottom two-thirds is where the adjustments happen. You select the section you want on the left or right sides, and the details show in the middle. You don’t have to dig down several screens to reach the overclocking options as they are mostly on the main page. Some digging is inevitable, but overall we find this BIOS full of options and easy to read and get around.

Software

For software, the theme these days is to place a lot of the functionality in one program. MSI’s take on this is called Dragon Center software. This application allows you to download all or individual applets. Some of the programs include Mystic Light (RGB control), LAN Manager, User Scenario (overclocking, monitoring, and fan control), Super Charger, MSI Companion (help record games), and many more. Though updates should fix this down the road, it’s worth noting that you cannot overclock the system with the version I had.

Test System / Comparison Products

As of October 2021, we’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver to version 496.13. Additionally, our game selection was updated, as noted in the table below. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware used is as follows:

Test System Components