GIGABYTE Z690 Gaming X V2 DDR4 Intel Motherboard

The Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X V2 is an ATX-form-factor motherboard (305 mm × 244 mm) built on the Intel Z690 Express Chipset, designed to accept 12th Generation Intel Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron processors via the LGA1700 socket. Its 16+1+2 Twin Hybrid Phase digital power delivery uses 70A power stages and tantalum polymer capacitors to keep demanding workloads stable, while fully covered MOSFET heatsinks manage heat across the voltage-regulation circuitry. Memory support spans four DDR4 DIMM slots in a dual-channel configuration, accepting modules from 2133 MHz up to DDR4 5333 MHz (XMP/O.C.), with a total capacity ceiling of 128 GB (32 GB per slot). Shielded memory routing is integrated to reduce signal interference between the DIMMs and surrounding components. Storage is handled by four M.2 Socket 3 connectors — one tied to the CPU (PCIe 4.0 ×4, M2A_CPU) and three to the chipset (two PCIe 4.0 ×4 slots plus one hybrid SATA/PCIe 4.0 ×4 slot) — all covered by enlarged thermal guards. Six SATA 6 Gb/s ports round out internal storage, and RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 configurations are supported. Connectivity is anchored by a Realtek 2.5GbE LAN chip supporting 2.5 Gbps, 1 Gbps, and 100 Mbps operation. The primary PCIe ×16 slot runs at PCIe 5.0 ×16 for the graphics card, while two additional PCIe ×16-physical slots operate at PCIe 3.0 ×4. AMD CrossFire multi-GPU configurations (2-Way and Quad-GPU) are supported. Audio is delivered through a Realtek ALC1220-VB codec paired with WIMA film capacitors, offering High Definition audio, 7.1-channel digital signal output (via S/PDIF, external DAC required), and optical S/PDIF output on the rear panel. The rear I/O includes one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port (20 Gb/s), two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, HDMI 2.1 (up to 4096×2160 @ 60 Hz), DisplayPort 1.2 (up to 4096×2304 @ 60 Hz), and an RJ-45 port. Internal headers add further USB-C (Gen 2) and USB 2.0 expansion, along with two Thunderbolt add-in card connectors. RGB Fusion 2.0 manages lighting via two addressable LED strip headers and two standard RGB LED headers. Smart Fan 6 provides multi-sensor fan and pump control with FAN STOP capability, water-cooling flow-rate detection, and fan-fail warnings. Q-Flash Plus enables BIOS updates without an installed CPU, memory, or graphics card. The board ships with a licensed AMI UEFI BIOS (256 Mbit flash) and supports Windows 10 and Windows 11 (64-bit). Key Verified Specifications: • Socket: LGA1700 | Chipset: Intel Z690 Express • Form Factor: ATX — 305 mm × 244 mm • Memory: 4× DDR4 DIMM, up to 128 GB, DDR4-2133 to 5333 (O.C.) • Primary PCIe slot: PCIe 5.0 ×16 • Storage: 4× M.2 PCIe 4.0, 6× SATA 6 Gb/s, RAID 0/1/5/10 • LAN: Realtek 2.5GbE (2.5 Gbps / 1 Gbps / 100 Mbps) • Audio: Realtek ALC1220-VB + WIMA capacitors • Rear USB: 1× USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C, 2× USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 3× USB 3.2 Gen 1, 4× USB 2.0 • Display outputs: 1× HDMI 2.1, 1× DisplayPort 1.2 • BIOS: AMI UEFI, Q-Flash Plus support