Gigabyte Z690 AORUS XTREME Motherboard Review

Gigabyte is one of the biggest names in the business, but when it comes to more enthusiast-focused hardware, it's their AORUS division that takes things to the next level. I already teased the AORUS XTREME in my recent preview. However, today I can dive into more detail, and even show you performance figures, which is what I know you've all been wanting to see. The Gigabyte Z690 AORUS XTREME is one of the most high-end boards launching for Z690, and will likely remain one of the most high-end throughout this generation too. AORUS don't just slap the name XTREME on something unless you mean it. However, I'll warn you now, unless money is no object to you, it may be well over a thousand reasons why it's too extreme for you. Gigabyte Z690 AORUS XTREME If there's a high-end feature you want, it's likely on this motherboard. First up, there's a powerful 20+1+2 Phase VRM design with 105A Power Stages and Tantalum Polymer Capacitors, which is great news for those wanting to push their CPU to max 24/7. Of course, with the Intel 12th Gen CPUs and Z690 combined, you'll get DDR5 support, Intel Thunderbolt 4, PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes, and M.2 PCIe Gen 4. Add to that their flagship networking options, with the latest Intel WiFi 6E, as well as Aquantia 10 GbE LAN. Of course, this being the XTREME, things do go a little further, with their DDR5 memory shield and heatsink, USB Hex Audio Card, a full-suite of high-end heatsinks for the M.2 mounts, RGB Fusion 2.0 lighting, Smart Fan 6, and so much more. Features Support 12th Gen Intel® Series ProcessorsDual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR5, 4 DIMMsDirect 20+1+2 Phases VRM Design with 105A Power Stage* and Tantalum Polymer CapacitorDDR5 XTREME MEMORY Design with SMD DIMM and Shielded Memory RoutingThermal Reactive Armor with NanoCarbon Fins-Array III Heatsink, Direct-Touch Heatpipe II and NanoCarbon BaseplateIntel® Thunderbolt 4 onboardIntel® WIFI 6E 802.11ax 2T2R & BT5 with 2 x AORUS AntennaEssential USB Hex Audio Card and bundled Essential USB DACAQUANTIA® 10GbE BASE-T LAN and Intel® 2.5GbE LAN with cFosSpeed4 x Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe 4.0 / 3.0 x4 M.2 with Thermal Guards XTREMERGB FUSION 2.0 with Multi-Zone Addressable LED Light Show Design, Support Addressable LED & RGB LED StripsSmart Fan 6 Features Multiple Temperature Sensors , Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP and Noise DetectionQ-Flash Plus Update BIOS without Installing the CPU, Memory and Graphics Card For in-depth specifications, please visit the official Gigabyte Z690 AORUS XTREME Motherboard product page here. Tell Me More "With technology moving so fast, GIGABYTE still keep up with the latest trends and provide our customers with advanced features and latest technology. GIGABYTE Z690 Series motherboards come with upgraded power solution, latest storage standards and outstanding connectivity to enable optimized performance for gaming. Motherboards feature the latest DDR5 architecture and XMP 3.0 capability. The new DDR5 memory technology brings 50% more bandwidth to the platform and increases the system performance drastically by implementing Unlocked Native DDR5 Voltage, Xtreme Memory Routing and reliable SMD slot. In addition to the hardware upgrades, the user friendly UI provides full functionality to overclock higher with exclusive DDR5 tuning capability." - Gigabyte Z690 and 12th Gen Reviews Intel 12th Gen Core i5-12600K, i7-12700K & i9-12900K CPU ReviewASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME Motherboard ReviewASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO Motherboard ReviewASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 Motherboard ReviewASUS ROG Z690-I Gaming WiFi Motherboard ReviewGigabyte Z690 AORUS Pro Motherboard ReviewGigabyte Z690 AORUS Master Motherboard ReviewMSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 Motherboard ReviewMSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi Motherboard ReviewMSI MEG Z690 UNIFY Motherboard Review Of course, for this review, use the navigation menu below to see more! Packaging & Accessories The box looks really cool, with a huge AORUS eagle on the front. However, there aren't really any photos on the front, which is a shame. Around the back, you'll find a nice photo of the motherboard, showcasing all the RGB hardware in action too. There's a nice breakdown of all the major features too, such as the VRM, connectivity, and hardware support. Everything comes beautifully packaged, with separate compartments for all major components. You get a USB drive instead of a driver CD, which is nice, as well as all the usual documentation. This sexy little thing is a powerful external USB DAC for hooking up your headphones, speakers, etc. In the box, you'll find all the usual cables, as well as some larger stuff, like the DDR5 shield. The board comes with some premium braided SATA cables, cable-tied, and all the usual screws. There's also a set of WiFi antennas, and some temperature sensor cables too. A Closer Look The Gigabyte Z690 AORUS XTREME really is something to behold. Actually, it's also difficult to hold, as this is just about the heaviest motherboard I've ever handled. That's not all that surprising though, as it has some truly staggering amounts of metal bolted to it. The star of the show has to be the mighty VRM configuration, offering up a 20+1+2 Direct Digital VRM Design that's sure to impress. However, it's the VRM heatsinks that really fill me with confidence, as the Fins Array III design offers significantly more surface area than the solid blocks we often see. There's a much larger heatsink on the left too, but that chunky heatpipe will ensure a more even heat distribution. The board uses premium Tantalum Polymer Capacitors throughout. Power comes from a pair of 8-pin PSU headers, both of which feature extra armour and shielding too. Z690 does support DDR4, but this is a premium board, so it comes with the latest DDR5 slots. These support DDR5 XMP 3.0 up to 6600MHz but certainly far beyond that with overclocking. Tucked into the corner, there's a small LED display for the BIOS debug, as well as built-in controls for those using this on a test bench. There are two full-size PCIe 5.0 slots on this motherboard, giving you some solid future-proofing for upcoming expansion cards. Both of the slots feature a new stainless steel shielding/armoured design. There's also an external Turbo B clock for PCIe 5.0 overclocking, and PCIe 5.0 Active Switches so you can switch PCIe 5.0 x16 into PCIe 5.0 x8/x8 with a strengthened signal. Cable routing should be a breeze with this board too, thanks to 90-degree mounted connectors. I love that shroud over the 24-pin too, it just looks cool! Actually, all of the connectors are all under a shroud, keeping things looking super sharp. The top M.2 mount comes with Thermal Guard Xtreme, and as you can see, it looks like total overkill for even the hottest running M.2 you could find. equipping with "GPU cooler level technology" according to Gigabyte, including Fins-Array, massive Heatpipes, NanoCarbon coatings, all to ensure SSD throttle-free performance. Of course, other M.2 mounts are hardly slumming it, with that enormous armoured body forming additional heatsinks for the drive mounts below it. The rear I/O is stunning, offering both 2.5 GbE and 10 GbE LAN, as well as the latest Intel WiFi 6 for truly awesome networking. There are 10 USB ports, all running the latest USB 3.2 Gen 2, but there's also a pair of the latest Thunderbolt 4 ports, running at a staggering 40 Gb/s each, while also supporting USB4, DisplayPort 1.4a, two 4K60 or one 8K60 display each and Power Delivery 2.0... Nice! The rear of the motherboard features a huge piece of armour, providing a little more cooling for the PCB. However, it's real purpose is so those enormous heatsinks can be secured to the backplate, as fitting them direct to the PCB would likely snap the board in two due to the weight of it all. How We Test Here at eTeknix, we endeavour to disclose vital information regarding the benchmarking process so that readers can quantify the results and attempt to replicate them using their hardware. When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of motherboard, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Therefore, your experience may vary, but our aim is to make our results as good a representation of real-world performance as possible. Testing Your Own System We typically focus on commonly available benchmarks so that you too can run the same benchmarks on your own system. We hope this makes it easy for our readers to gauge the performance improvement available to them when they upgrade their own systems. Gaming Tests All games are run at their specified resolutions using the "high" settings or equivalent. We avoid using the Ultra settings as these often offer diminishing returns for performance vs visuals. If a game runs extremely well using high settings, then we can safely suggest the hardware can be used at higher graphics settings. We may sometimes run more advanced settings, such as ray tracing, DLSS, and similar, but again, these will be made clear in the title of each benchmark. Test Bench ProcessorIntel 12th Gen Alder Lake Core i9-12900KMotherboardChanges Per ReviewMemoryCorsair Dominator RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 5200MHzGraphicsGigabyte RTX 3080 Gaming OCStorageSeagate FireCuda 530 2TBPower SupplyCorsair HX750 750WSoftwareWindows 10 Pro 21H1DriversNVIDIA GeForce Build 19043.1320 Synthetic Benchmarks Online Benchmarks Compression & Rendering Experience Lara Croft’s defining moment as she becomes the Tomb Raider. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Lara must master a deadly jungle, overcome terrifying tombs, and persevere through her darkest hour. As she races to save the world from a Maya apocalypse, Lara will ultimately be forged into the Tomb Raider she is destined to be. Available now on Steam. Shadow of the Tomb Raider Performance Welcome to Yara, a tropical paradise frozen in time. As the dictator of Yara, Antón Castillo is intent on restoring his nation back to its former glory by any means, with his son, Diego, following in his bloody footsteps. Their oppressive rule has ignited a revolution. Available now on Epic Games Store Far Cry 6 Metro Exodus is an epic, story-driven first-person shooter from 4A Games that blends deadly combat and stealth with exploration and survival horror in one of the most immersive game worlds ever created. Flee the shattered ruins of dead Moscow and embark on an epic, continent-spanning journey across post-apocalyptic Russia in the greatest Metro adventure yet. Explore the Russian wilderness in vast, non-linear levels and follow a thrilling story-line inspired by the novels of Dmitry Glukhovsky that spans an entire year through spring, summer and autumn to the depths of nuclear winter. Available now on Epic Game Store. Metro Exodus Performance World of Tanks enCore RT is the demo of the updated Core graphics engine. It will let you know how well your PC will perform in World of Tanks with the updated Core engine. Available now here. World of Tanks Performance Memory & Storage Power Consumption Z690 Motherboards and Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake Pricing Here's a round-up of all the motherboards and processors I've reviewed today. This includes up to date pricing that was correct prior to launch. However, I expect prices and stock to be a little more volatile after the launch, so please keep in mind that they are subject to change. Most of the prices and links are from Amazon UK. However, I have included some prices and links to Scan.co.uk for items that were not available on Amazon at the time of writing. Intel 12th Gen Core i5-12600K, i7-12700K & i9-12900K CPU (review) - £290 @ Scan / £419 @ Scan / £599 @ ScanASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 EXTREME Motherboard (review) - £935 @ Scan / £1669 Glacial EditionASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO Motherboard (review) - £520 @ ScanASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4 Motherboard (review) - £280 @ ScanASUS ROG Z690-I Gaming WiFi Motherboard (review) - £375 @ ScanGigabyte Z690 AORUS XTREME Motherboard (review) - £767Gigabyte Z690 AORUS Master Motherboard (review) - £416Gigabyte Z690 AORUS Pro Motherboard (review) - £290MSI MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi Motherboard (review) - £410 @ ScanMSI MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 Motherboard (review) - £301MSI MEG Z690 UNIFY Motherboard (review) - £510 @ Scan Overview OK, so this motherboard costs around £760, and that is a lot. However, it's a lot less than I expected. It was just a couple of years back a board like this was over £1000, sometimes a lot more than that even. What's cool is that it's around £200 cheaper than the ASUS flagship, they're both extremely well equipped, but I suspect there's just that ASUS tax on there because they know they can get away with it. Alas, it just makes the AORUS XTREME look like bloody good value for money in comparison. One thing is for sure, you get at least one of everything for your big investment; this board is jacked! Build Quality & Design It's about as good as a motherboard could ever hope to look; it looks like it was sent from the future. It's also made from the core of a neutron star, at least that's what I think judging by the weight of it. It's a big motherboard, and every bit of it is extremely well armoured and cooled. There are so many raw materials in this that it feels genuinely excessive in every way possible. There's a massive 20+1+2 Direct Digital VRM, which is nuts, but if you're riding that CPU 24/7, it'll pay off in the long run. M.2 cooling won't be an issue either, with easily the biggest heatsinks possible protecting. Both the PCIe 5.0 slots have the new and much more robust SMT design and armour, and there's armour on the older PCIe 3.0 lane, the DDR5 dims and more. Then you have the solid-pin headers mounted at 90-degree. This is a flagship board, and literally, every detail is better built and designed than it likely needs to be, and it's awesome. Performance Well, as we might have expected, pretty much all of the Z690 motherboards performed around about the same, so if all you care about is straight-up gaming performance, then just pick the one you like. What really affects the price, however, is VMR configuration and connectivity. If you're building a system that will render high-resolution video 24/7 and push max boost clocks on flagship CPUs, then sure, it's investing in a more premium board with the heatsinks that can cope with sustained loads. Furthermore, some of the Z690 boards have DDR4 DIMMS, making them more affordable, while DDR5 will add a price premium but bring performance benefits too. However, all the boards get PCIe 5.0 lanes and Gen 4 storage too, which is where some of the most significant gains are to be found from one board to the other. Added Value While this board is expensive, you are getting a lot in return. It has a pair of ultra-fast Intel Thunderbolt 4 ports, which can be used as display outputs too. There's 2.5 GbE LAN, but then you also get the AQUANTIA 10 GbE BASE-T LAN and WiFi 6E! There's a front USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, but also all 10 USB ports on the rear I/O are USB 3.2 Gen 2! All of these do not come cheap. There's the stunning ESSential HEX Audio Card, that's a premium addition to any setup too, and that funky DDR5 RGB shield cover thing. It's not cheap, but you get so much for your investment. Should I Buy One? Honestly, probably not. This board is complete overkill for most people, and you could save a small fortune going for something like the AORUS MASTER. The XTREME only makes sense if you plan on maxing out the fastest CPUs, and you plan to run the CPU long and hard too (and no, gaming doesn't even come close in this regard). Plus, you're paying a huge premium for cooling hardware, so if you're not ragging your hardware, it's total overkill. There's an even bigger premium on connectivity, and unless you really need all those USB 3.2 Gen 2, dual Thunderbolts, and 10 GbE LAN, then you're really just throwing your money away. However, if you have a stack of cash and need extreme connectivity and performance... well, this is it.