AORUS has formally unveiled their flagship Z690 Xtreme WaterForce motherboard which goes to price over $2000 US.
AORUS Z690 Xtreme WaterForce Motherboard Pictured, Prices Over $2000 US & Solely 200 Models Will Be Produced
The AORUS Z690 Xtreme WaterForce is the corporate’s flagship providing, even one step above the Xtreme itself. The principle distinction is that the WaterForce rocks a full cowl monoblock that covers the CPU, VRM, and PCH. Apart from that, the motherboard seems completely incredible however will probably be produced in restricted portions.
Videocardz states that the motherboard could have solely 200 items in its manufacturing timeline and as such, we will anticipate an enormous worth for this motherboard. Australian retailer, PLE Computer systems, has listed the motherboard for $2999 AUD which converts to over 2000 USD. This makes this motherboard the most costly Z690 possibility thus far.
Gigabyte has a variety of new options to speak about so let’s discuss concerning the new VRM design that they’re providing this technology. Gigabyte goes with a completely direct Digital VRM design that may comprise as much as 20 VCore Phases (105A Energy Stage), 1 VCCGT Section (105A Energy Stage), and a pair of VCCAUX Phases (70A DrMOS). Similar to the earlier technology, Gigabyte is utilizing Tantalum Polymer Capacitors for larger effectivity and decrease voltage whereas sustaining decrease temperatures so anticipate top-notch overclocking efficiency on the AORUS Z690 Xtreme WaterForce board.
Shifting over to DDR5 reminiscence, Gigabyte has mentioned that their motherboards are designed to assist as much as DDR5-8000 overclocked DIMMs out of the field in dual-channel mode. Moreover, the model new Xtreme reminiscence design on Z690 motherboards consists of DDR5 SMD DIMMs and the Shielded reminiscence routing to reduce all noise and electrical interference to realize larger efficiency. It additionally seems like Gigabyte has two modes for DDR5 voltages, a safe mode the place the PMIIC shall be locked at 1.1V and a Programmable mode which unlocks Native DDR5 voltage management & will increase the general reminiscence overclocking efficiency and functionality.
Gigabyte additionally contains a new function referred to as DDR5 Auto booster which might mechanically enhance native DDR5-4800 to 5000 Mbps with the clicking of a button inside the BIOS. The identical operate can be included to spice up XMP profiles which are validated by reminiscence makers. So quite than sticking to the default XMP profiles, you find yourself with barely sooner XMP 3.0 specs for a free efficiency.
Considered one of AORUS’s & Gigabyte’s strongest suites over the previous few generations has been their cooling designs on motherboards. The Z690 sequence takes it to the following degree with Fins-Array III. The brand new warmth sink resolution has virtually double the per-fin floor space with prolonged fins and a rise of greater than 900% in whole. The warmth sinks themselves are NanoCarbon Coated to reinforce thermal radiation and have proven to be 10% cooler than the usual design.
Beneath these huge warmth sinks is the Direct-Contact Heatpipe II resolution which is able to comprise 8 mm warmth pipes and have a slender hole design to dissipate warmth extra successfully. The identical is true for M.2 heatsinks that are receiving an enormous improve within the type of M.2 Thermal Guard Xtreme which options an prolonged fin design and even twin Heatpipe on top-tier Z690 boards.
Clearly, we won’t transfer on with out mentioning some options resembling PCIe 5.0 the place Gigabyte is providing as much as two Gen 5.0 slots (x8 / x8 mode). The slots include an SMD Iron Claw that reduces total sign degradation whereas the multi-point chrome steel pins enhance the general sturdiness of the slots. You additionally rise up to 4 PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, Thunderbolt 4 assist, 20 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 ports, and USB Sort-C entrance panel headers on all Z690 motherboards,
The highest motherboards are outfitted with 10 GbE Aquantia LAN ports whereas you will see 2.5 GbE networking as a typical on all Gigabyte Z690 motherboards. There’s additionally WiFi 6E assist with model new Antennas and you will see a brand new HEX ESS ES9080A 8×8 channel DAC line driver on the high-end designs. After all, the usual Z690 Xtreme will not price as a lot because the WaterForce because it does not function an AORUS monoblock that actually is 30% of all the price of the board. However even the usual variant is aimed toward premium customers and will price near $1000 US if not over that. You’ll be able to see AORUS’s full Z690 motherboard lineup right here.
