Gigabyte Z690 UD AX DDR5 Motherboard

The Gigabyte Z690 UD AX DDR5 Motherboard supports 12th/13th Gen Intel Core processors, LGA 1700 sockets, features up to 4 x DDR5 memory slots, PCI-E 5.0, 4.0 and 3.0 compatible expansion slots, 3 x M.2 slots, 6 x SATA ports (6Gb/s), 9 x rear USB ports, 7 x front panel USB header ports, Realtek 2.5GbE LAN, Bluetooth 5.3, Realtek HD audio codec and an ATX motherboard form factor.

Warning: This product contains a button battery - If swallowed, a lithium battery can cause severe or fatal injuries with 2 hours. - Keep batteries out of reach of children. - If you think batteries may have been swallowed or placed inside any of the body, seek immediate medical attention.

Features

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Z690 UD AX (Rev. 1.x)

Intel® Z690 Motherboard with Direct 16+1+2 Phases Digital VRM Design, DDR5 MEMORY, PCIe 5.0 Design, Ultra Performance VRM Heatsinks, 3 x PCIe 4.0 M.2 with Thermal Guard, 2.5GbE LAN, WIFI6 802.11ax, Rear USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C®, Q-Flash Plus.

• Supports 12th Gen Intel® Core™ Series Processors
• Dual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR5, 4 DIMMs
• DDR5 MEMORY Design
• Direct 16+1+2 Digital VRM Design with 60A Power Stage (Power Stage maximum current capacity is based on VCORE Phase.) and Tantalum Polymer Capacitor
• Ultra Performance VRM Heatsinks
• Intel® WIFI6 802.11ax 2T2R & BT5.2 with AERO Antenna
• Fast 2.5GbE LAN with Bandwidth Management
• 3 x Ultra-Fast NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 with Thermal Guards
• SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 TYPE-C® delivers up to 20Gb/s transfer speeds
• RGB FUSION 2.0, supports Addressable LED & RGB LED Strips
• Smart Fan 6 Features Multiple Temperature Sensors, Hybrid Fan Headers with FAN STOP
• Q-Flash Plus Update BIOS without Installing the CPU, Memory and Graphics Card

Overview

• WIFI 6 802.11ax 2T2R & BT 5 with AERO Antenna
• DisplayPort
• HDMI
• Rear USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C®
• 2.5 GbE LAN
• Advanced Thermal Design
  Fully Covered MOSFET Heatsinks
  5 W/mK Thermal Conductivity Pad
  Integrated IO Shield
• Next Generation PCIe 5.0 Design
  1*PCIe 5.0 x16 SMD Slot
  Ultra Durable™ SMD PCIe 5.0 Armour
• Audio Solution
  8-ch HD Audio
  Audio Noise Guard
  High-End Audio Capacitors
• RGB FUSION 2.0
  Addressable LED Header*2
  RGB LED Header*2
  Solid Pin Power Connectors
  8+4 pin CPU Power Connector
• 16+1+2 Direct Digital VRM Design
  60A Power Stage
  6-Layer PCB PCIe 5.0 Ready PCB
  Premium Choke and Capacitor
  2X Copper PCB
• Supports 12th Gen. Intel Core™ Processors
• Dual Channel DDR5
• Front USB3.2 Type-C® for Connecting Devices
• 3* M.2 Connectors
  PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe support
  1* Thermal Guard
• 6*SATA 6Gb/s
• Q-FLASH Plus Onboard Button

Unparalleled Performance

With technology moving so fast, GIGABYTE still keep up with the latest trends and provide our customers with advanced features and latest technology. GIAGBYTE Z690 Series motherboards come with upgraded power solution, latest storage standards and outstanding connectivity to enable optimize performance for gaming.

Direct Digital VRM Design

To ensure maximum Turbo Boost and overclocking performance of Intel‘s new generation CPU, GIGABYTE Z690 series equip the best VRM design ever built with the highest quality components.

16 VCORE Phases - 60A Power Stage

To unleash full potential of multi-cores CPU performance

1 VCCGT Phase - 60A Power Stage

For CPU integrated GPU performance

2 VCCAUX Phases - 70A DrMOS

Provide stable power for CPU integrated PCIe & Memory controller

The more advanced manufacturing process and the higher core count on the new generation of CPUs, requires motherboards to utilize a more sophisticated VRM design to make CPUs run at their full potential. GIGABYTE uses fully DIRECT VRM DESIGN, high quality MOSFETs and tantalum polymer capacitors to achieve higher efficiency, lower voltage ripple and lower temperature than traditional parallel VRM design.

• Gigabyte Direct VRM Design
• Traditional Parallel VRM Design

Tantalum Polymer Capacitor

• Lower impedance than regular capacitor to reduce voltage ripple
• Stable capacitance under high temperature
• Mounted right under the CPU area to stabilize CPU voltage during heavy loading

PCIe 5.0 Design

GIGABYTE Z690 Motherboards are ready to work with the upcoming PCIe 5.0 devices which are expected to experience double bandwidth than the current PCIe 4.0 devices. To reach the high speed and maintain good signal integrity, GIGABYTE R&D uses the low impedance PCB to provide the maximum performance.

• PCIe 5.0 x16 SMD slot
• 6-Layer Low Signal Loss PCB
• 2x Bandwidth - 128GB/s - PCIe 5.0
• 2.4x Lower - Low Loss PCB - PCIe 5.0 PCB

Ultra Durable™ SMD PCIe 5.0 Armour

GIGABYTE' exclusive stainless steel shielding design.

Double Locking Bracket

• Front Side - Inserted from the top for better retention.
• Back Side - Soldered for a stronger bond

SMD High-Frequency

• Signal Degradation - Upto 5.6x Better
• Lower is Better - SMD PCle 5.0

SMD Iron Claw

By means of multi-point stainless steel pins penetrating the PCB to increase the strength of the SMD slot to improve the Durability.

Tensile Strength

• Shearing Test Up To 1.7x Stronger
• Retention Force Shearing Test Up To 1.5x Stronger
• Shearing Test Up To 1.6x Stronger

Hybrid Cores Optimization

With new Intel Hybrid technology, GIGABYTE exclusively creates two new "CPU Upgrade" in BIOS profiles to meet different users’ scenarios by adjusting P-Core and E-Core activation and voltage policy.

Gaming

• Deactivate all E-Core
• Zero compromise on gaming performance
• Up to 20% lower CPU package power
• Up to 5°C lower CPU temperature

Max Performance

• Activate all P-Core and E-Core
• Maximize full multi-cores performance

Xtreme Memory

GIGABYTE Z690 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.

DDR5 Comes with 50% Performance Increase

• Superior OC capability
• XMP 3.0 Supported
• 50% Up Performance
• Lower Power Consumption
• DDR5 4800 - Up to 50% Faster

DDR5 delivers 50% improvement compared to last generation. DDR5 massively elevates the system level performance. DDR5 provides more bandwidth to keep up with the higher CPU core count bandwidth requirement. The new memory architecture also reduces the power consumption.

* USE AIDA64 to compare the write, read, and copy on DDR5 4800 vs DDR4 3200

XMP 6000+

Support for DDR5 XMP Up to 6000MHz and Beyond*

AORUS is offering a tested and proven platform that ensures proper compatibility with profiles up to 6000MHz and beyond. All users need to do to attain this performance boost is to ensure that their memory module is XMP capable and that the XMP function is activated and enabled on their AORUS motherboard.

*XMP profile support may vary depending on memory module.

Unlock DDR5 Voltage

DDR4

DDR4 voltage is managed by MB with wide range.

Native DDR5

Secure Mode

MB provides fixed 5V to Native DDRS memory and built-in PMIC outputs locked 1.1v to memory IC.

• GIGABYTE exclusive circuit design unlocks Native DDR5 voltage control
• Transforms Native DDR5 memory module to Overclocked DDR5 memory
• Increases DDR5 memory overclocking performance and capability
• Supports all PMIC vendors for maximum compatibility

*Memory overclocking capability will vary based an users' hardware configuration

Gigabyte Exclusive DDR5 Circuit Design

Programmable Mode

GIGABYTE's exclusive design unlocks Native DDR5 PMIC secure mode into programmable mode and control Native DDR5 voltage with wide range.

• Unlocked Native DDR5
• 100% Compatible
• Lower CAS Latency
• Higher Frequency Compatible

Shielded Memory Routing

All memory routing is under the PCB inner layer shielded by a large ground layer to protect from external interference.

XMP3.0

DDR5 Auto Booster

Automatically Boost the Native DDR5 frequency to 5000MHz while the system is under heavy loading by a single click.

DDR5 Memory Upgrade

GIGABYTE BIOS offers pre-defined and retrievable profiles for users to get higher performance easily. The profiles are based on a database that is created by checking each memory IC and PMIC vendors to optimize the modules to unleash their full potential. This is a time saving feature to manually configure overclocked DDR5 memory kits.

• Instantly upgrade memory performance
• Overclock Native and XMP 3.0 DDR5 memory to higher frequency easily
• No need to input dozens of memory parameters such as clock, voltage and timings
• Built-in wide variety pre-tuned profiles database for different memory IC vendors

XMP 3.0 User Profile

Define and create your own SPD profile into Native and XMP 3.0 memory modules or apply the pre-tuned profiles to XMP 3.0 User Profile. Two user-defined profiles can be saved, loaded either locally or from/to an external storage device.

• Two empty SPD profiles can be defined by users and carry to next computer
• Transfer DDR5 XMP Booster profiles into XMP 3.0 User Profiles
• Quick memory performance simulation based on user input clock and timing parameters
• Profile save and load function to share your memory parameters online
• SPD Re-defined or retrieve from database
• Performance Simulation
• Save/Load Profile
• Overclocked Performance
• Profile Clearance

Advanced Thermal Solution

Z690 UD AX uses high performance Covered thermal design with high coverage MOSFET Heatsinks and thick thermal pad, providing ultimate MOSFET cooling performance for enthusiasts, overclockers and gamers.

Thermal Design

Fully Covered Thermal Design

High coverage MOSFET and integrated moulding Heatsinks to improve thermal efficiency with better airflow and heat exchange.

M.2 Thermal Guard

The M.2 Thermal Guard prevents throttling and bottlenecks from high speed M.2 SSDs as it helps to dissipate heat before it becomes an issue.

5 W/mK Thermal Pad

By using 1.5mm thicker 5 W/mK thermal conductivity pads, it can transfer 2.7x more heat compared to traditional thermal pads in the same time.

2X Copper PCB

2X Copper PCBs design effectively lower the component temperature by its high thermal conductivity and low impedance.

Fully Covered MOSFET Heatsink

2X Large Surface

Increased surface area up to 2X larger compared to traditional heatsinks. It improves heat

Real One-Piece Build

TMOS is a TRUE single piece heatsink. Its one-piece design and larger surface drastically improve the cooling performance against competitors' multi-piece design.

Multi-Cut Design

TMOS features several channels and inlets on the heatsink. This design allows for the air flow to go through which leads to a great improvement of the heat transfer performance.

M.2 Thermal Guard

Gigabyte Ultra-Efficient M.2 Thermal Guard

With durability in mind, GIGABYTE provides a thermal solution for M.2 SSD devices. The M.2 Thermal Guard prevents throttling and bottlenecks from high speed M.2 SSDs as it helps to dissipate heat before it becomes an issue.

Thermal Throttling As Temperature Rises

• Cooler - AORUS M.2 Thermal Guard
• Hotter - Without Thermal Guard

2X Copper PCB

3% Cooler by Implementing 2X Copper PCB Design

By adopting 2X copper on PCB inner layer, it lowers the components' temperature at least 3% by turning the PCB into a super thin PCB size copper heatsink to dissipate the heat from the components effectively, due to it’s high thermal conductivity and lower impedance.

Smart Fan 6

Smart Fan 6 contains several unique cooling features that ensure gaming PC maintain its performance while staying cool and quiet. Multiple fan headers can support PWM/DC fan and pump, and users can easily define each fan curve based on different temperature sensors across the board via intuitive user interface.

Headers & Sensors

• 6 PWM/DC Fan Headers
• 6 Internal Temperature Sensors

Cooling Features

High Current Support

Each fan headers support PWM and DC fan and Water Cooling Pump , and up to 24W (12V x 2A) with Over-Current Protection

Precision Control

Multiple temperature/fan speed control points for precise fan curve

Dual Curve Mode

Slope/Stair dual mode for different user scenario

Fan Stop

Fan can stop completely below users' specified temperature point

Smart Fan 6 BIOS UI

Improve Fan Curve UI

We increase control points from 5 to 7 and larger fan speed graph for precise and easier fan curve control.

Slope/Stair Dual Graph Mode

Fan curve can be quickly switch with Slope and Stair modes for different user scenario. Slope is traditional and intuitive linear fan speed curve. With newly added Stair non-linear mode, fan keeps at same speed between specified temperature interval.

Manual Input

For advanced users, we provide fan speed manual input for more precise control.

EZ Tuning

Use can place 4 EZ Tuning points at rough temperature/fan speed, and Smart Fan 6 can quickly generate a fan curve.

Fan Curve Profile

Fan curve profile can be saved in BIOS ROM, profile will be kept after updating BIOS.

Fan Stop

Achieve fan silence. With Fan Stop, map any fan to stop completely when temperatures drop below a specified threshold. Which fan stops, based on readings from which sensor, and at what temperature—all of it can be customized to your liking.

Intelligent Fan Control Design

• Low Temperature - Fan Off
• High Temperature - Fan On

Next Generation Connectivity

GIGABYTE Z690 Series Motherboards let you experience ultimate connection flexibility and blazing data-transfer speed with next generation network and storage connectivity.

2.5GbE LAN

First Adopter on 2.5GbE LAN Onboard

2x Faster than Ever

• Adoption of 2.5G LAN provide up to 2.5 GbE network connectivity, with at least 2X faster transfer speeds compared to general 1GbE networking, perfectly designed for gamers with ultimate online gaming experience.
• Support Multi-Gig(10/100/1000/2500Mbps) RJ-45 Ethernet

802.11ax WiFi 6

WiFi 6 802.11ax + BT 5 Module

Wireless solution supports 802.11ax, enables gigabit wireless performance, provides smooth video streaming, better gaming experience, few dropped connections and speeds up to 2.4Gbps*. Moreover, Bluetooth 5 provides 4X range over BT 4.2 and with faster transmission.

Benefit of WiFi 6

• 5.5X throughput than 802.11ac 1x1*
• 4X better network capacity, no traffic jams especially in those dense area with lots of devices
• Network efficiency increase for better user experience
• Upto 5.5x Faster Transmission Speed (Mbps) - 2400 (2x2 802.11ax)

*Based on WiFi Theoretical Bandwidth

USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C®

Connecting the Future - USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C®

Featuring the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 design which is doubled the performance than previous generation of USB 3.2 Gen 2. It works up to 20Gbps ultra-fast data transfer while connecting to USB 3.2 compliant peripherals. Through the USB Type-C® connector, users can enjoy the flexibility of reversible connection to access and store massive amounts of data rapidly.

Superspeed 20 Gbps

• Upto 4x Faster - USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 - Up to 20Gb/s

*Theoretical Bandwidth

Hi-Fi Audio

High-End Audio Capacitors

GIGABYTE motherboards use high-end audio capacitors. These high quality capacitors help deliver high resolution and high fidelity audio to provide the most realistic sound effects for gamers.

Audio Noise Guard

GIGABYTE motherboards feature an audio noise guard that essentially separates the board’s sensitive analogue audio components from potential noise pollution at the PCB level.

Lighting

RGB Fusion 2.0

Z690 motherboards feature RGB FUSION 2.0 to offer lighting effected options and customized settings with outstanding aesthetics, and able to let enthusiasts building a stylish and unique gaming PC.

* Addressable LEDs are available only on select Motherboards, external LED Strips, Addressable LED Strips are not included with Motherboard purchase.

• Cycle Colour
• Static
• Pulse
• Flash
• Double Flash
• Music
• Random
• Game
• Digital A
• Digital B
• Digital C

Light Strip Support

• RGB LED x2
• Digital Addressable LED x2

Refreshed BIOS

The BIOS is essential for users during initial setup to allow for the most optimal settings. With a new GUI and easier to use functionalities, GIGABYTE has been able to reinvent the BIOS to give users a better experience while setting up their new system.

EasyTune™

GIGABYTE's EasyTune™ is a simple and easy-to-use interface that allows users to fine-tune their system settings or adjust system and memory clocks and voltages in a Windows environment. With Smart Quick Boost, one click is all it takes to automatically overclock your system, giving an added performance boost when you need it the most.

System Information Viewer

GIGABYTE System Information Viewer is a central location that gives you access to your current system status. Monitor components such as the clocks and processor, set your preferred fan speed profile, create alerts when temperatures get too high or record your system's behaviour; these are the possibilities of the System Information Viewer.

Ultra Durable

GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ features its product durability and high-quality manufacturing process. GIGABYTE motherboards use the best components and reinforce every slots to make each of them solid and durable.

Q-Flash Plus

Update the BIOS Easily without Installing the CPU, Memory and Graphics Card.

With GIGABYTE Q-Flash Plus, you don't need to install the CPU, memory and graphics card nor enter the BIOS menu to flash the BIOS. Just download and save a new BIOS file (rename to gigabyte.bin) on the USB flash drive, then press the dedicated Q-Flash Plus button and you’re good to go!

Step 1

Plug 24pin & 8pin power supply cable on motherboard

Step 2

Download motherboard BIOS file and rename to "gigabyte.bin", save to USB flashdrive, and plug USB flashdrive into Q-Flash USB port

Step 3

Press Q-Flash Plus button, and motherboard will start updating BIOS automatically.

Solid Pin Power Connectors

Z690 motherboards feature solid plated ATX 12V 8pin + 4pin power connectors to offer a stable power supply during CPU overloading.

Solid Pin Power Connector Advantages

• Larger contact area for electricity
• More metal quantity to sustain higher power and generated heat
• Ultra durable and longer lifespan