MSI Pro Z690-A Wifi DDR4 Intel Motherboard

The MSI Pro Z690-A WiFi DDR4 is an ATX-form-factor motherboard built around the Intel Z690 chipset and LGA1700 socket, designed to pair with 12th Generation Intel Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron processors. Its professional-grade engineering focuses on thermal management, connectivity, and long-term system stability for power users and prosumers alike. Power delivery centres on a 14+1+1 phase VRM design backed by dual 8-pin ATX 12V connectors. The extended PWM heatsink uses 7W/mK thermal pads to keep even demanding multi-core CPUs running at sustained loads without throttling. Four M.2 slots — each protected by the M.2 Shield Frozr heatsink — deliver high-speed NVMe storage options: the primary CPU-connected M.2 slot supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4, as do two additional chipset slots, while the third chipset slot handles PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA. Six SATA 6Gb/s ports add conventional drive support, and RAID 0/1/5/10 configurations are available for SATA drives. The primary PCIe x16 slot, fed directly from the CPU, runs at PCIe 5.0 x16, giving next-generation discrete graphics cards the headroom they need. Two additional chipset-fed x16 mechanical slots (electrically x4 and x1) extend expansion options, and AMD CrossFire multi-GPU configurations are supported. Network connectivity combines an Intel I225-V 2.5 Gbps wired LAN controller with an Intel Wi-Fi 6 module (802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, MU-MIMO TX/RX, up to 2.4 Gbps on the 5 GHz 160 MHz band) and Bluetooth 5.2. The rear panel provides a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-A port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Type-A ports, and four USB 2.0 Type-A ports, along with HDMI 2.1 (4K/60 Hz) and DisplayPort 1.4 (4K/60 Hz) outputs for integrated-graphics use. A Flash BIOS button enables firmware recovery without a CPU installed. Audio is handled by the Realtek ALC897 codec delivering 7.1-channel High Definition Audio. RGB customisation is available via one 4-pin RGB header and two 3-pin ARGB headers, with four EZ Debug LEDs for quick fault diagnosis. Six 4-pin system fan headers, one CPU fan header, and a dedicated water-pump header give comprehensive cooling control. Total Fan Control in the BIOS allows up to four temperature targets to adjust fan curves automatically. Verified Specifications: Socket: LGA1700 | Chipset: Intel Z690 | Form Factor: ATX (30.5 cm × 24.4 cm) | Memory: 4× DDR4 slots, up to 128 GB, JEDEC up to 3200 MHz, XMP OC up to 5200+ MHz (1DPC 1R) | Storage: 4× M.2 (PCIe 4.0/3.0), 6× SATA 6Gb/s | PCIe: 1× PCIe 5.0 x16 (CPU), 2× PCIe 3.0 (chipset), 1× PCIe 3.0 x1 | LAN: Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE | Wi-Fi: Intel Wi-Fi 6, BT 5.2 | Audio: Realtek ALC897, 7.1-ch HD | USB rear: 1× USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, 1× USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 2× USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 4× USB 2.0 | Display: HDMI 2.1, DP 1.4 | Multi-GPU: AMD CrossFire | RAID: 0/1/5/10 (SATA), 0/1/5 (NVMe) | OS: Windows 11/10 64-bit | Warranty: 3 Years