MSI Z690 Motherboard Specifications Leaked Ahead Of Launch

MSI Z690 Motherboard
MSI Z690 Motherboard (Image credit: MSI)

MSI released a couple of teasers for the brand's upcoming Z690 motherboards for Intel' 12th Generation Alder Lake processors. While the renders of the rear I/O don't tell us a lot, hardware detective momomo_us has dug up retailer listings that give us a general idea of the specifications for each motherboard.

3Logic, one of Russia's largest hardware retailer, listed 17 different Z690 motherboards from MSI that span from the MEG, MPG, MAG and Pro series. Logically, these are mmotherboards based on Intel's Z690 flagship chipset and budget models with the B660 and H610 chipsets should arrive in January. There was no sign of the MEG Z690 Godlike, suggesting that the flagship Z690 motherboard will arrive at a later date.

The MEG Z690 Ace, which falls behind the Godlike, features four DDR5 memory lots and up to five M.2 slots. 3Logic didn't specify the number of SATA III ports, but we expect the motherboard to provide at least six of them. Expansion-wise, the MEG Z690 Ace will supply three PCIe x16 expansions slots. According to a recent Alder Lake leak, only the primary PCIe x16 slot reportedly adheres to PCIe 5.0 speeds. You'll also find up to two USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports and seven USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports on the MEG Z690 Ace.

Avid overclockers and consumers who detest RGB lighting will be happy to know that the Unify series is back with Z690. As usual, MSI will offer the X and non-X variant almost identical specifications. The Z690 Unify-X should overclock memory better because of the dual-DIMM design. The motherboards' other specifications include five M.2 slots, six SATA III ports, two PCIe x16 expansion slots and one PCIe x1 slot.

MSI Z690 Motherboard Specifications

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MotherboardMemory SlotsM.2 SlotsSATA III PortsPCIe x16 SlotsPCIe x1 SlotsUSB 3.2 Gen 2x2 PortsUSB 3.2 Gen 2 PortsWiFiForm Factor
MEG Z690 Ace4 x DDR55?3?27?ATX
MEG Z690 Unify4 x DDR5562127?ATX
MEG Z690 Unify-X2 x DDR5562127?ATX
MEG Z690I Unify2 x DDR5341012?Mini-ATX
MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi4 x DDR55?3026YesATX
MPG Z690 Edge WiFi4 x DDR5463005YesATX
MPG Z690 Edge WiFi DDR44 x DDR4463005YesATX
MPG Z690 Force WiFi4 x DDR55?3116YesATX
MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi4 x DDR546311?YesATX
MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi DDR44 x DDR446311?YesATX
MAG Z690 Torpedo4 x DDR4463113?ATX
Pro Z690-A4 x DDR54?3116NoATX
Pro Z690-A DDR44 x DDR44?3116NoATX
Pro Z690-A WiFi4 x DDR54?3116YesATX
Pro Z690-A WiFi DDR44 x DDR44?3116YesATX
Pro Z690-P4 x DDR5342300NoATX
Pro Z690-P DDR44 x DDR4342300NoATX

It appears that the only Z690 mini-ITX motherboard in MSI's arsenal is the MEG Z690I Unify-X. It should possess the same, if not better, memory overclocking potential as the MEG Z690 Unify-X. Obviously, the reduced landscape means that the MEG Z690I Unify is less rich in features. Nevertheless, the mini-ITX motherboard supplies three M.2 slots and four SATA III ports for storage. As is customary, you only get one PCIe x16 expansion slot.

The Tomahawk model has been a fan-favorite for mainstream gamers for generations now. On this occasion, the company will sell the Z690 model in both DDR4 and DDR5 variants. With the difference of the memory slots aside, both motherboards share the specifications, including four M.2 slots, six SATA III ports, three PCIe x16 expansion slots and one PCIe x1 slot.

Consumers that want a micro-ATX motherboard may have to wait until Intel officially launches the B660 and H610 chipsets. The listings from 3Logic didn't expose any micro-ATX options, insinuating that MSI is keeping that form factor for the cheaper chipsets. There should be at least one more mini-ITX model as well.

The Intel Innovation event will take place between October 27 and 28 where many believe Intel will announce Alder Lake. MSI has announced its on "The Next Playground" for November 2, lending credenced to the rumored Alder Lake launch n November 4.

Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • wifiburger
    "A motherboard for every taste " :rolleyes:
    If you like DDR5 that is....

    DDR4 ? Here's some basic boards with no premium features and crap VRM.
    Reply
  • pengha13579
    Ok, the bottom line is that I will use i9-12900K + DDR5, but some people say like this:
    AMD's side: oh intel's 12th gen is an experimental CPU and it won't work well in Win10 and gaming!
    Intel's side: no it has a 'big.LITTLE Solution', so it'll distribute its calculation perfectly! So that's why it is better than RYZEN CPU!
    Reply
  • bolweval
    pengha13579 said:
    Ok, the bottom line is that I will use i9-12900K + DDR5, but some people say like this:
    AMD's side: oh intel's 12th gen is an experimental CPU and it won't work well in Win10 and gaming!
    Intel's side: no it has a 'big.LITTLE Solution', so it'll distribute its calculation perfectly! So that's why it is better than RYZEN CPU!
    Strange how people get so personal about a CPU makers isn't it?
    Reply
  • hasten
    bolweval said:
    Strange how people get so personal about a CPU makers isn't it?
    Corporation is the new church. The concept of blind loyalty to an entity, brand, person or product is baffling to me.
    Reply
  • BILL1957
    Actually going to be interesting to see these boards pricing with the different memory standards and levels of performance.
    Also real world benches that show the performance differences between DDR5 and several different speed levels of DDR4 memory.
    If the pricing on a complete Alder Lake platform greatly exceed that of its current AMD competitors then even with a decent performance increase the platform will see much lower sales.
    Alder Lake is now being questioned as well whether it will work on older games as well without that game getting an update patch, another possible strike against the new CPU.
    A lot of questions to be answered prior to many making the jump I expect.
    Reply
  • truerock
    For now, I'll continue to use my current 12 year old PC that supports 1080p, 8-bit video at 60Hz.
    I will not be buying any new motherboard, video card or monitor that does not have thunderbolt 4.0 USB-C ports.
    I will only be purchasing motherboards that support PCIe 5.0 and DDR5.
    I have no interest in purchasing old or obsolete technology. I already own old, obsolete technology and I don't require additional old, obsolete technology.
    Reply
  • BX4096
    The hell, not a single board with 8 RAM slots? I have 8 sticks of DDR4 RAM on my current MSI MB and was hoping to move all 8 with the upgrade. Guess I'll be looking for another brand.
    Reply
  • ocer9999
    Shame the good stuff is all DDR5, I was looking for a Taichi, always rock solid choice, cant go wrong with them..but didn't want to spend 300$ on new memory sticks ahaha
    Reply
  • DerCribben
    BX4096 said:
    The hell, not a single board with 8 RAM slots? I have 8 sticks of DDR4 RAM on my current MSI MB and was hoping to move all 8 with the upgrade. Guess I'll be looking for another brand.

    I mean, 4 sticks of DDR5 can be 512GB of RAM at something like 4800Mhz-8400Mhz so...
    Reply