GIGABYTE Z690 A Elite V2 DDR4 Intel Motherboard

The Gigabyte Z690 A Elite V2 DDR4 is an ATX-form-factor motherboard built on Intel's Z690 Express Chipset and fitted with the LGA1700 socket, making it compatible with 12th Gen Intel Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron processors — commonly known as the Alder Lake platform. Its ATX footprint measures 30.5 cm × 24.4 cm, so it fits comfortably in any standard mid-tower or full-tower case. Memory flexibility is a highlight of this board. Four DDR4 DIMM slots support dual-channel operation with a stated maximum capacity of 128 GB, giving builders room to start modest and expand over time without swapping sticks. The Intel Z690 chipset also enables memory overclocking, so enthusiasts can push DDR4 frequencies beyond the stock XMP profiles when paired with supported kits. Storage connectivity is equally capable. Six SATA 6 Gb/s ports handle traditional drives, and the board supports RAID configurations in modes 0, 1, 5, and 10 for users who want redundancy or performance striping. On the expansion side, one full-bandwidth PCIe x16 slot handles the primary graphics card, while two additional PCIe x16 physical slots each run at x4 electrical bandwidth for capture cards, NVMe adapters, or other peripherals. Rear-panel connectivity covers a wide range of use cases. USB ports include one USB Type-C with USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (up to 20 Gbps), two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (10 Gbps each), three USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and four USB 2.0/1.1 ports — ten rear USB connections in total. A Realtek 2.5GbE LAN chip delivers wired networking at speeds up to 2.5 Gbps, an upgrade over the standard 1 Gbps found on older platforms. For display output from processors with integrated graphics, the rear panel provides both an HDMI port and a DisplayPort. Audio is handled by a Realtek ALC1220-VB CODEC, backed by two rear audio jacks and a dedicated optical S/PDIF output for connecting to home-theatre receivers or DACs. Verifiable Specifications: • Socket: LGA1700 • Chipset: Intel Z690 Express • Supported CPUs: 12th Gen Intel Core, Pentium Gold, Celeron • Form Factor: ATX (30.5 cm × 24.4 cm) • Memory: 4 × DDR4 DIMM, Dual Channel, max 128 GB • PCIe Slots: 1 × x16 (x16 bandwidth) + 2 × x16 physical (x4 bandwidth each) • SATA: 6 × SATA 6 Gb/s; RAID 0/1/5/10 • LAN: Realtek 2.5GbE (2.5 Gbps / 1 Gbps / 100 Mbps) • Audio Codec: Realtek ALC1220-VB • Rear USB: 1 × USB-C Gen 2×2, 2 × USB-A Gen 2, 3 × USB Gen 1, 4 × USB 2.0 • Video Outputs: 1 × HDMI, 1 × DisplayPort • S/PDIF: 1 × Optical Out