Gigabyte Z690 AORUS Xtreme WaterForce Review 22

Gigabyte Z690 AORUS Xtreme WaterForce Review

Audio Quality »

Finished Looks


Having this motherboard on a test bench does not do it any justice. Even so, it looks fantastic as the all-in-one monoblock fits perfectly into the motherboard. Install the memory cover along with all the cables routed over the sides and it is now a very clean setup. The EKWB fittings are not included, but pair well aesthetically nonetheless.

Test System

Test System
Processor:Intel Core i9-12900K
5.2 GHz (maximum Boost clock)
Memory:2x 16 GB DDR5-6000
Teamgroup T-Force Delta RGB
Cooling:Custom Loop: Gigabyte Waterblock,
D5 pump, 380/480 mm radiator
BIOS Version:F6d
Graphics Card:NVIDIA RTX 3080 Founder Edition
Hard Disk:1x Neo Forza NFS01 480GB SATA 6 Gb/s SSD (OS)
1x Neo Forza eSPORTS 1TB NVMe M.2 (data)
Power Supply:Corsair HX1200 Platinum 1200 W
Case:Primochill Praxis Wetbench
Software:Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
NVIDIA GeForce 471.96 WHQL

Supporting Hardware




Testing is performed with the newest available version of the BIOS at the time. All BIOS settings related to the CPU are left untouched. XMP is enabled for the memory. However, if the primary, secondary, or tertiary memory timings are incorrectly set by the BIOS, it is tested as-is to mimic a standard user. The same goes for the CPU. Unless it is a bug in the current BIOS—i.e., not present in other versions—any and all CPU boost parameters are left alone.


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