GIGABYTE Z690 UD V2 DDR4 Intel Motherboard

The Gigabyte Z690 UD V2 DDR4 is an ATX-form-factor motherboard built on the Intel Z690 Express Chipset and fitted with an LGA1700 socket, making it compatible with 12th Generation Intel Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron processors. At 30.5 cm × 24.4 cm it fits any standard ATX chassis and delivers a strong feature set for builders who want a capable, well-connected platform without moving to DDR5. Power delivery is handled by a 16+1+2 Twin Hybrid Phases digital VRM design using 90 A power stages and tantalum polymer capacitors, backed by covered MOSFET heatsinks with thick thermal pads to keep temperatures in check during sustained workloads. Memory support spans four DDR4 DIMM slots in a dual-channel configuration, accepting up to 128 GB of system memory (32 GB per DIMM). Native speeds run from DDR4-2133 through DDR4-3200, with XMP overclocking profiles reaching up to DDR4-5333 (O.C.). Storage options are generous: three M.2 Socket 3 connectors all running PCIe 4.0 x4, each fitted with an enlarged Thermal Guard heatsink. Six SATA 6 Gb/s ports round out internal storage, and the chipset supports RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 configurations. The primary PCIe x16 slot (PCIEX16) runs at PCIe 5.0 x16, ready for current and next-generation discrete graphics cards. Two additional legacy slots—a PCIe x16 physical slot running at x4 and a PCIe x1 slot—along with two further PCIe 3.0 x1 slots offer flexibility for add-in cards. Connectivity on the rear I/O panel includes one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port (20 Gb/s), one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port (red), four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, a Realtek 2.5 GbE LAN port (2.5 Gbps/1 Gbps/100 Mbps), one HDMI 2.1 output (up to 4096×2160 @ 60 Hz), one DisplayPort 1.2 output (up to 4096×2304 @ 60 Hz), a PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port, and three audio jacks backed by a Realtek HD Audio CODEC supporting 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel output with S/PDIF out. RGB FUSION 2.0 is supported via two addressable LED strip headers and two standard RGB LED strip headers, enabling synchronised lighting across compatible components. Smart Fan 6 provides per-header fan speed control, fan-stop functionality, and water-cooling flow-rate detection. Q-Flash Plus allows BIOS updates without a CPU, memory, or GPU installed—useful during initial platform bring-up. Two Thunderbolt add-in card connectors and a TPM header (GC-TPM2.0 SPI compatible) add further expandability. Verified Specifications: • Socket: LGA1700 | Chipset: Intel Z690 Express • Form Factor: ATX, 30.5 cm × 24.4 cm • Memory: 4× DDR4 DIMM, dual-channel, up to 128 GB; DDR4-2133–3200 native, up to DDR4-5333 (O.C.); XMP supported • Primary PCIe slot: PCIe 5.0 x16 • M.2 slots: 3× PCIe 4.0 x4 (with Thermal Guard) • SATA: 6× SATA 6 Gb/s; RAID 0/1/5/10 • Rear USB: 1× USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C, 1× USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 4× USB 3.2 Gen 1, 4× USB 2.0 • LAN: Realtek 2.5 GbE • Video out: HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.2 • Audio: Realtek HD Audio, 7.1-channel, S/PDIF out • BIOS: AMI UEFI, 256 Mbit flash; Q-Flash Plus supported • OS: Windows 11 64-bit, Windows 10 64-bit