A great motherboard is key to any gaming enthusiast’s rig, as it is the base upon which you can upgrade your components in the future.
Z690 motherboards are what you’ll need to future-proof your rig, and are designed to handle the new 12th Gen Intel CPUs that come with a brand new LGA1700 socket.
These Z690 motherboards offer several important features such as PCIe 5.0 support, DDR5 memory, thunderbolt 4 USB 3.2 gen 2×2 ports, 2.5G high-speed ethernet connections, and support for Wi-Fi 6 and 6E.
While these motherboards will have you spending a little extra than older boards, it’s a worthy investment if you don’t plan on getting a new motherboard for several years.
The best motherboards to buy in South Africa for Intel gaming PCs are listed below.
ASRock Z690 Taichi — R6,999
ASRock Z690 Taichi is unique as it has an epic cyberpunk theme — complete with copper accents and stylised cogs.
The motherboard’s key features include Dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, a solid audio solution, and strong DDR5-6400 memory support.
The only downside to buying this motherboard is that it is fairly expensive, and only comes with three M.2 slots.
ASRock Z690 Taichi specifications | |
---|---|
CPU support | Intel 12th Gen |
Socket | LGA 1700 |
Size | ATX |
Memory support | 4x DIMM, up to 128GB, DDR5-6400 (OC) |
Expansion slots | 2x PCIe 5.0 x16 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 1x PICe 3.0 x1 |
Video ports | 1x HDMI 2.0 2x Thunderbolt Type-C |
USB ports | 2x Thunderbolt 4 Type-C 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 9x USB 3.1 Gen 1 3x USB 2.0 |
Storage | 3x M.2 6x SATA 6Gbps |
Network | Killer Wi-Fi 6E | Killer E3100G 2.5G | Intel i219V 1G LAN |
Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro — R6,146
The Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro offers good value for money by cutting down on unnecessary luxuries, such as limiting it to Wi-Fi 6 (as opposed to Wi-Fi 6E).
While this might be a problem for some, it makes up for it by offering four M.2 slots, 13 rear USB ports and a strong VRM.
Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro specifications | |
---|---|
CPU support | Intel 12th Gen |
Socket | LGA 1700 |
Size | ATX |
Memory support | 4x DIMM | up to 128GB | DDR5-6400 (OC) |
Expansion slots | 1x PCIe 5.0 x16 2x PCIe 4.0 x16 |
Video ports | 1x DisplayPort 1.4 |
USB ports | 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 4x USB 3.2 Gen 2 6x USB 3.1 Gen 1 8x USB 2.0 |
Storage | 4x M.2 6x SATA 6Gbps |
Network | Intel Wi-Fi 6 | Intel i225V 2.5G LAN |
Asus Prime Z690-A — R5,499
The Asus Prime Z690-A is a great pick for those looking for the latest features of the Z690 motherboard without breaking the bank.
While it has no Wi-Fi support, it does offer DDR5 6400 memory support, AI overclocking, eight USB 3.2 gen 2×2 ports and a high-speed 2.5G LAN connection.
This motherboard also supports Aura Sync which allows you to synchronize the RGB lighting components of your gaming PC.
Asus Prime Z690-A specifications | |
---|---|
CPU support | Intel 12th Gen |
Socket | LGA 1700 |
Size | ATX |
Memory support | 4x DIMM, up to 128GB, DDR5-6000 (OC) |
Expansion slots | 1x PCIe 5.0 x16 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 1x PCIe 3.0 x4 2x PICe 3.0 x1 |
Video ports | 1x HDMI 2.0 1x DisplayPort 1.4 |
USB ports | 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 2x USB 2.0 |
Storage | 4x M.2 4x SATA 6Gbps |
Network | Intel 2.5G LAN |
MSI MAG B660M Mortar Wi-Fi — R4,999
A slightly more affordable Alder Lake option than some of the Z690 boards out there is the MSI MAG B660M Mortar WIFI DDR4.
Despite not supporting PCle 5.0, this motherboard offers a reinforced x16 PCIe 4.0 slot, a full-length slot running at x4, and one short PCIe 3.0 slot — which is plenty for most users.
MSI MAG B660M Mortar specifications | |
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CPU support | Intel 12th Gen |
Socket | LGA 1700 |
Size | Micro ATX |
Memory support | 4x DIMM, up to 128GB, DDR4-4800 |
Expansion slots | 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 1x PCIe 4.0 x4 1x PICe 3.0 x1 |
Video ports | 1x HDMI 2.1 1x DisplayPort 1.4 |
USB ports | 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 |
Storage | 2x M.2 6x SATA 6Gbps |
Network | Intel Wi-Fi 6 | Realtek 2.5G LAN |
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