Intel Z690 Chipset

In 2021, Intel is only launching the Z690 chipset alongside a handful K- and KF- processor SKUs for the 12th Generation. The lineup will be joined by mid and entry-tier chipsets in 2022. Most motherboard manufacturers have two distinct classes of motherboards based on the Z690, one which uses the newer DDR5 memory and the other with current-gen DDR4 memory. The processor itself supports both, one type at a time. We haven't come across any motherboards with both DDR5 and DDR4, although we can't rule out the possibility in the future. The Z690 chipset is relevant to enthusiasts as it enables all of the overclocking features available to the unlocked processor SKUs.

The Z690 chipset talks to the processor over a DMI Gen 4 x8 chipset-bus we detailed earlier. This bus offers 128 Gbps bandwidth per direction, which will prove crucial for today's bandwidth-heavy I/O. Just like the Alder Lake processor has a part-Gen 5 + part-Gen 4 PCIe interface, the Z690 chipset has a part-Gen 4 + part-Gen 3 general purpose downstream PCIe interface. The chipset puts out 12 PCI-Express Gen 4 downstream lanes and 16 PCI-Express Gen 3 downstream lanes. The Gen 4 lanes will come in handy with NVMe SSDs or NVMe RAID setups that can benefit from the Gen 4 bandwidth, as well as future generations of Intel's Thunderbolt controllers or third-party USB4 controllers. The 16 Gen 3 lanes will cover almost everything else, including the network interfaces, additional USB3 controllers, etc.


The Z690 PCH features an integrated SATA RAID controller with eight SATA 6 Gbps ports and full Optane Memory support. The mix of USB interfaces include up to four 20 Gbps USB 3.2x2 ports, up to ten 10 Gbps USB 3.2 x1 ports, up to ten 5 Gbps USB 3.1x1 ports, and up to fourteen USB 2.0 ports. The chipset also integrates two wired Ethernet MACs, supporting the latest generation 2.5 GbE and 1 GbE controllers. Boards with WLAN will support the latest Wi-Fi 6E controllers.