Gigabyte Z690 AORUS ELITE AX DDR4 Motherboard Review

Conclusion and Verdict

As I write this review DDR5 is drastically dropping in price and even though it is becoming more affordable to migrate over to the latest and greatest. It still may not make much sense if you can still utilize your DDR4 with the newest chipset. You could still save some serious money by going with a motherboard that can still run DDR4. Trust me having some DDR5 would be nice for the numbers but DDR4 is still really relevant, and the performance will hold up for a while longer. You may be interested what you get with Z690 over the B660 chipset. The chipset will determine the features that are available on the board. This can be overclocking, number of PCI-E lanes, I/O connectivity, and more. So, if you are interested in some of the features that are considered to be higher end features that the Z690 is the only way to go. As far performance on things like graphics scores and SSD speeds are unlikely to see a huge increase compared to the lower tiered chipset. But things like memory clock, multiple SSD speed capabilities, and CPU performance can greatly be affected.

I did try a set of RAM at XMP 4800MHz and it was unsuccessful. If you were to tweak the setting I am sure you would be able to get there but when I can put the exact same RAM in a different B660 motherboard and it work without any hesitation. I kind of expected for this motherboard to be able to do the same. If you mess around with RAM then you know it can be the most frustrating thing to dial in if you are aiming for high MHz. I always say stick to the lowest CL and a 3600MHz speed will be plenty. You really wont see a huge increase in performance unless you can get up to that 4800MHz level anyways. Just know your RAM mileage will vary.

Overall, this board offers the features you can expect from a Z690 and has decent price tag.

The Gigabyte Z690 AORUS ELITE AX DDR4 can be found on NewEgg as well as other various e-tailers for around $239.99 USD. You can also buy the Gigabyte Z690 AORUS ELITE AX DDR4 motherboard for around USD $239.99 from Amazon – https://amzn.to/39kYZAw

Pros:

• Price
• x4 M.2 slots with 4×4 support
• Massive VRM cooling
• Great test results
• Plenty of headers for RGB and Fans
• Built in Wi-Fi
• PCI-E 5 even though I couldn’t utilize it

Cons:

• May loose some luster if DDR5 RAM becomes affordable

Final thoughts:

If you’re in the market for a Z690 but don’t want to jump to DDR5 then Gigabyte has you covered! The AORUS ELITE AX DDR4 has an affordable price tag and plenty of performance to keep you on the upper end of PC building!

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