GIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Elite DDR5 Intel Motherboard

The GIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Elite DDR5 is an ATX-form-factor motherboard built on the Intel Z690 Express Chipset and designed for the LGA1700 socket. It supports 12th Generation Intel Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron processors, and also accepts 13th Generation Intel Core processors, giving builders a flexible upgrade path within the same platform. At the heart of its power delivery is a 16+1+2 Twin Hybrid Phases Digital Power Design using 60A DrMOS components paired with Tantalum Polymer Capacitors, ensuring stable and efficient current delivery to the CPU under sustained workloads. Memory support centres on Dual Channel DDR5 across four DIMM slots, accommodating up to 128 GB of Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR5 RAM. Supported speeds span from DDR5-4800 natively up to DDR5-6000 with XMP 3.0 overclocking profiles. The board incorporates SMD DIMM slot design and shielded memory routing to reduce signal interference at high frequencies. Storage is a highlight: four M.2 slots support NVMe drives at PCIe 4.0 x4 or PCIe 3.0 x4, each protected by enlarged thermal guards to keep SSDs cool. Six SATA 6Gb/s connectors add conventional drive capacity. The primary PCIe x16 slot runs at full x16 bandwidth for discrete graphics, while two additional PCIe x16 physical slots operate at x4 for expansion cards. Connectivity includes a Realtek 2.5GbE LAN chip operating at 2.5 Gbps, 1 Gbps, or 100 Mbps with bandwidth management. Audio is handled by a Realtek ALC1220-VB codec complemented by WIMA audio capacitors. Rear video outputs comprise one DisplayPort and one HDMI port for use with Intel integrated graphics. A USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C header supports up to 20 Gb/s data transfer. RGB FUSION 2.0 with multi-zone addressable LED control supports both ARGB and standard RGB LED strips. Smart Fan 6 provides hybrid fan headers with FAN STOP functionality and multi-sensor temperature monitoring. Q-Flash Plus enables BIOS updates from a USB drive without installing a CPU, memory, or graphics card. Verified Specifications: - Socket: LGA1700 - Chipset: Intel Z690 Express - CPU Compatibility: 12th & 13th Gen Intel Core / Pentium Gold / Celeron - Form Factor: ATX (305 mm x 244 mm) - Memory: 4 x DDR5 DIMM, Dual Channel, up to 128 GB; DDR5-4800 native / up to DDR5-6000 (O.C.) - Storage: 4 x M.2 (PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4 NVMe); 6 x SATA 6Gb/s - PCIe Slots: 1 x PCIe x16 (x16); 2 x PCIe x16 (x4) - LAN: Realtek 2.5GbE (2.5G/1G/100M) - Audio: Realtek ALC1220-VB - Rear Video: 1 x DisplayPort, 1 x HDMI - Power: 24-pin ATX + 8-pin ATX 12V + 4-pin ATX 12V - USB: USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C (20 Gb/s) - Lighting: RGB FUSION 2.0 (ARGB + RGB headers)