ASRock Z690 Motherboards

ASRock has always done their own thing when it comes to motherboards, and although its boards are not as unique as they once were, we're kind of sad to see that the company didn't go for at least one model with combined DDR4 and DDR5 support, as it so often did at transition points like this in the past. It might simply not be feasible this time around since DDR5 is quite different from past generations of DRAM, not only by going to dual 32-bit instead of a single 64-bit channel per DIMM, but also since the power regulation has been moved on to the DIMMs themselves rather than sitting on the motherboard. However, that doesn't mean ASRock hasn't come up with some unique features of its own, although most of them are rather underwhelming, to be honest. ASRock has, among other things, brought back the USB 2.0 bracket as a bundle, touting it as the ideal choice for wireless dongles to reduce interference from the onboard WiFi and Bluetooth module. Most of its other unique features we've already seen in the past, such as the CPU connected Ethernet controller, "Lightning Gaming" USB ports that supposedly aren't shared with other USB interfaces, mounting bracket for a small fan to improve VRM heatsink cooling, and bracket to support long graphics cards that mounts to the front of the motherboard. ASRock has listed 13 of what should be a total of 14 Z690 motherboards based on earlier leaks, and the model still missing is the Z690 Aqua, which is usually a limited edition flagship board.

ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming 4

At the bottom of the stack sits the Z690 Phantom Gaming 4, which can only be described as a mightily stripped down board, so much so that we're not sure which feature makes it a gaming product. The heatsinks are tiny, and none of the M.2 drives slots come with heatsinks either, nor do you get a pre-fitted I/O shield. The board has a single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot at x4, and three open-ended PCIe 3.0 x1 slots, plus one M.2 Key E slot for a CNVi or PCIe based WiFi/Bluetooth card. There's also four SATA ports and three PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs. Gigabit Ethernet is as good as it gets here, but there's at least an internal header for a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port around the back. ASRock went with a budget Realtek ALC897 audio codec, which is somewhat expected at this price point, but still disappointing, especially as you only get three analogue audio jacks. On a more positive note, ASRock has included an HDMI 2.1 port and a BIOS flashback button around the back. At $180, this is not a board we would go for as there are far better options in this price range. There's also an otherwise identical DDR5 version of this board, but we haven't managed to dig up pricing for it.

ASRock Z690M Phantom Gaming 4

Next up we have the Z690M Phantom Gaming 4, which is the mATX version of the Z690 Phantom Gaming 4, so you lose two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots and an M.2 SSD slot. However, this board also has a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, rather than a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, making this the only Z690 motherboard that doesn't support PCIe 5.0, which is clearly a cost cutting exercise and nothing else. We also don't understand why there are no USB-C ports on this board at all, nor why ASRock removed the BIOS flashback button. This board might sell for as little as $165 based on UK pricing, but considering its void of any features that would make it a worthwhile purchase, we'd say steer clear of it.

ASRock Z690 Pro RS

For $10 more than the Z690 Phantom Gaming 4, you can have the Z690 Pro RS, which at $190 or so is still a basic model, as there once again are no fancy heatsinks or board coverings, but you at least get one NVMe heatsink. The board has a single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot at x4 and one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot at x4, plus two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots and one M.2 Key E slot for a CNVi or PCIe based WiFi/Bluetooth card. There's also three M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs, of which two being PCIe 4.0 and one being PCIe 3.0. ASRock has gone for a full complement of eight SATA ports here, so this could be a good board if you have a lot of SATA drives you want to connect. Surprisingly, we're also getting 2.5 Gbps Ethernet at this price point, plus an internal header for a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), but once again only a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port around the back. Another positive surprise is the inclusion of an HDMI 2.1 and DP 1.4 port, and even a rear mounted BIOS flashback button. However, the audio is the same lackluster solution as on the Z690 Phantom Gaming 4. You do at least get ASRock's GPU holder bundled with this board as a small bonus item. Overall a decent entry-level motherboard, but pricing should really be $40–50 across the board on these entry level models.

ASRock Z690 PG Riptide

The Z690 PG Riptide—"PG" stands for Phantom Gaming—is what we'd call ASRock's first "proper" motherboard if going by current motherboard standards. It has half-decent VRM heatsinks, but still lacks a lot in terms of connectivity. Not much has changed when it comes to the slots as there's a single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, PCIe 4.0 x16 slot at x4, three open-ended PCIe 3.0 x1 slots, and an M.2 Key E slot for a CNVi or PCIe WiFi/Bluetooth card. The board has three M.2 slots, of which two are PCIe 4.0 and one is PCIe 3.0, and you once again get the full eight SATA ports. This is also the entry point for a rear USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) port from ASRock, although now the front-panel connector gets downgraded to USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) instead. A somewhat bigger inclusion to a degree, at least if you buy into the hype, is the Killer E3100G Ethernet controller with support for 2.5 Gbps. Sadly, the audio remains the same as on the previous models, but does at last get a full complement of outputs, plus an S/PDIF out. Finally, we find a BIOS flashback button around the back and an onboard Clear CMOS button. Once again, the GPU holder comes bundled, but this time alongside a USB 2.0 bracket. The Z690 PG Riptide should retail somewhere around the $220 mark based on UK pricing, which isn't outright terrible considering the pricing of Z690 motherboards.

ASRock Z690 Steel Legend

All of a sudden, ASRock is taking quite a jump in terms of aesthetics with the Z690 Steel Legend, which not only gets an odd black and white "urban camo" design with white and silver heatsinks, but also comes with a pre-attached I/O shield. Feature-wise, things are pretty good as well, with one PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot at x4, one PCIe 3.0 x16 slot at x4, two open-ended PCIe 3.0 x1 slots, and an M.2 Key E slot for a CNVi or PCIe WiFi/Bluetooth card. Two out of the three M.2 slots come with heatsinks, although only two of them are again PCIe 4.0, with the third PCIe 3.0. There's also eight SATA ports, but ASRock decided to split them up, so four are right-angled and sitting in front of the chipset heatsink and four are grouped together at the bottom-front corner of the board. There's no Killer Ethernet on this board; instead, we find a Realtek Dragon 2.5 Gbps capable network chip. For some reason, ASRock decided to swap around the USB-C ports again, with the 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) port now using the internal header again and the 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port sitting at the back of the board. Audio remains the same as on the Z690 PG Riptide, but this is the first board in the lineup from ASRock with a DP 1.4 output in addition to an HDMI 2.1 port. BIOS flashback is also present, as is the GPU holder accessory. At a $250 price point, it's hard to knock this board but for a couple of minor exceptions, and we're guessing this will be one of the more popular Z690 motherboards for what you get for your money. A model with WiFi 6E is also available at $270, which seems like a fair price for the WiFi module and antenna.

ASRock Z690 Extreme

Things are now getting a bit confusing, as ASRock's Z690 Extreme does not sit in the same price bracket as ASUS's or Gigabyte's Extreme/Xtreme boards. Instead, we're looking at a mid-range board with somewhat "amped" aesthetics. At $290 with WiFi/Bluetooth or $270 without, this board still falls into the lower-midrange bucket of Z690 motherboards, and it's not a huge upgrade in terms of features compared to the Z690 Steel Legend. The slot layout is nearly identical, but the Z690 Extreme does lose one PCIe 3.0 x1 slot, and the explanation for this is simple as in its place is a second Ethernet interface, although of the Gigabit Ethernet variety. The SATA slots have also been re-arranged slightly, with six of them sitting by the chipset and two at the bottom-front edge of the board. At least you get better audio in the shape of a Realtek ALC1220 codec. The only other difference we spotted was that the BIOS flashback button at the rear now actually has a larger physical button. So unless you need dual Ethernet ports on your board and want better integrated audio, this is once again a board that's mostly about aesthetics rather than anything else, and we're not sure it's worth the price premium over the Z690 Steel Legend.

ASRock Z690M-ITX/ax

ASRock is so far the only company to offer two Mini-ITX boards for the LGA-1700 socket, and the first of these is the Z690M-ITX/ax, which comes in at around $270 according to Amazon. It surprisingly only uses an eight-layer PCB, and ASRock has managed to make the chipset disappear by the looks of it since a pair of PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots are where you'd expect it to be. As we don't have any pictures of this board without the heatsinks, we can't really figure out what ASRock has done here, but according to the user manual, which has a diagram of the board that doesn't quite appear to be to scale, the chipset is sitting underneath the M.2 slots and seems to share a heatsink with them. We're not sure whether this is going to be a great design for the M.2 drives without some additional cooling. The board also sports a single PCIe 5.0 x16 slot and four SATA ports. Around the back is a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) port and rather odd-looking PCB that's home to a USB 2.0 port and BIOS flashback button. Surprisingly, we also find a pair of Ethernet jacks, one for a Realtek Dragon 2.5 Gbps Ethernet controller and the other for an Intel Gigabit controller. WiFi 6E and Bluetooth are also part of the package, but sadly so are only three analogue audio jacks and the tired old ALC897 audio codec. Overall, not a bad board, but it feels overpriced for what it is.

ASRock Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4


Continuing on the Mini-ITX theme, we have the Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4, and as the name implies, this board sports Thunderbolt 4 support, but you only get a single port. The board design is more "traditional," with one PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot on each side of the PCB, plus, of course, a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot. Oddly enough, this board has three SATA connectors, which we can't say we've seen before. There's a front connector for a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) port, and Ethernet is once again courtesy of a Killer E3100G Ethernet controller, and the WiFi courtesy of a Killer AX1675 WiFi 6E card. We once more see an ALC1220 audio codec, and there's now both a BIOS flashback button and a Clear CMOS button around the back. We weren't able to pin down any exact pricing for this board, but it looks like it's going to land somewhere around the $400–450 mark, which is a big ask for a Mini-ITX board.

ASRock Z690 PG Velocita

We're getting close to the end of ASRock's lineup, and the Z690 PG Velocita is also a gamer-centric board with the full complement of network connectivity from Killer, just as the Z690 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB4. However, as this is a full-size ATX board, we're looking at a complete set of expansion slots consisting of a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, PCIe 4.0 x16 slot at x4, and PCIe 3.0 x16 slot at x2, with the last one an unusual configuration as there are no PCIe x2 add-in cards. There are also two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots, in addition to four M.2 slots, of which one supports PCIe 5.0 due to it sharing bandwidth with the GPU slot. The other three consist of two PCIe 4.0 slots and one PCIe 3.0 slot. The board also sports six SATA ports, and we once again have dual Ethernet support. We're not quite sure why almost all ASRock board have the USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) connectivity as a front header, as it's unlikely to be a common feature on cases since it requires different cabling from the 10 Gbps ports that have been around longer, but this board doesn't change things up. Other minor additions include heatsinks for all M.2 drives, a POST80 debug LED, and onboard power and reset buttons. There's still a rear-mounted BIOS flashback button, and the bundled accessories include the USB 2.0 bracket as well as the GPU bracket. Overall, this feels highly overpriced at $470—it's not easily recommended.

ASRock Z690 Taichi

As mentioned earlier, their final board, the Z690 Aqua, is nowhere to be seen, making it the Z690 Taichi, which ends up competing with other manufacturers' lower-tier high-end boards. This is the only board from ASRock so far that allows the PCIe 5.0 bandwidth to be split between two slots for dual x8 operation, and the board does as such feature two x16 PCIe 5.0 slots, a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot at x4, and PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. There are three M.2 slots, of which the first two are normal PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, but the third one is a gimped PCIe 3.0 x2 slot, which means most standard NVMe drives will run at half speed if installed in this slot. This is the second board from ASRock with an odd set of SATA ports; this time around, you get a total of seven ports. In addition to dual Killer networking interfaces, the rear of the board is also home to a 1 Gbps Ethernet port and maybe, more importantly, two Thunderbolt 4 ports. Audio is once again based on the ALC1220 codec, but has been paired with an ESS Sabre 9218 DAC for improved audio with headsets connected via the case front audio ports. As with the previous boards, there's a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) front-panel connector, and we also spot a POST80 debug LED, as well as power, reset, and rear-mounted BIOS flashback buttons. This is the only board that comes bundled with ASRock's VRM fan holder and a tiny 30 mm fan for it, although you do also get the GPU holder and USB 2.0 bracket. Pricing, you ask? Well, this one is a steep $590. While it does give you a fair amount of connectivity, it sadly is not an amazing board for the money. Note that there's also a Razer Edition of this board, but we don't have any word on pricing for that one.