GIGABYTE Z690 Aorus Pro DDR4 Intel Motherboard

The Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro DDR4 is a full-size ATX motherboard built around the Intel Z690 Express Chipset and LGA1700 socket, designed to support 12th Generation Intel Core i5, i7, and i9 processors. It uses a 16+1+2 phase Direct Digital VRM with 90 A power stages and tantalum polymer capacitors, paired with high-coverage MOSFET heatsinks to sustain stable delivery under heavy workloads. Memory support spans four DDR4 DIMM slots in a dual-channel configuration, accepting up to 128 GB of system memory (32 GB per slot). Stock DDR4 speeds from 2133 MHz through 3200 MHz are supported natively, with XMP overclocking profiles reaching up to DDR4-5600 (O.C.). The primary PCIe x16 slot operates at PCI Express 5.0 speeds, while two additional x16-keyed slots run at PCIe 3.0 x4. Storage is handled by four M.2 Socket 3 connectors — one connected directly to the CPU (PCIe 4.0 x4) and three via the chipset (one of which also supports SATA), all accommodating 2260, 2280, and 22110 form factors. Six SATA 6 Gb/s ports provide additional drive capacity, with RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 configurations supported. Each M.2 slot sits under an enlarged thermal guard to manage SSD temperatures. Connectivity is a highlight of this board. The integrated Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 module supports 802.11ax on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands up to 2.4 Gbps (conditions dependent), with Bluetooth 5.2 and 160 MHz channel support. Wired networking is handled by an Intel 2.5 GbE LAN controller. The back panel includes one USB Type-C port with USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20 Gb/s), four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (red) ports, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and four USB 2.0 ports. Audio is managed by a Realtek ALC4080 codec with WIMA audio capacitors, S/PDIF optical out, and support for 7.1-channel digital signal output. RGB Fusion 2.0 controls multi-zone addressable LED lighting via two ARGB and two standard RGB headers onboard. Smart Fan 6 technology manages seven fan and pump headers, each capable of delivering up to 2 A / 24 W. Q-Flash Plus allows BIOS updates without installing a CPU, memory, or GPU. Two Thunderbolt add-in card connectors are present internally. Verified Specifications: – Socket: LGA1700 | Chipset: Intel Z690 Express – Memory: 4x DDR4 DIMM, up to 128 GB, DDR4-2133 to DDR4-5600 (O.C.), XMP support – PCIe: 1x PCIe 5.0 x16 + 2x PCIe 3.0 x4 – Storage: 4x M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4, 6x SATA 6 Gb/s, RAID 0/1/5/10 – Wireless: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200, Bluetooth 5.2, 2T2R, up to 2.4 Gbps (O.C.) – LAN: Intel 2.5 GbE – USB (back panel): 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2, 4x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 4x USB 2.0 – Audio: Realtek ALC4080, S/PDIF optical out, 7.1-ch digital – Display: 1x DisplayPort 1.2 (iGPU), max 4096×2304 @ 60 Hz – Form Factor: ATX, 305 mm × 244 mm – BIOS: AMI UEFI, 256 Mbit flash, Q-Flash Plus – Warranty: 3 years