Review Gigabyte Z690 Aero G DDR4 Review: Budget Board for Creators

[Admin]

The Gigabyte Z690 Aero G is an inexpensive board designed for Creators. It features Thunderbolt-like VisionLINK functionality, plenty of fast M.2 and SATA storage, premium audio, 2.5 GbE and integrated Wi-Fi 6. It’s the least-expensive motherboard that supports video through a USB Type-C port.

Gigabyte Z690 Aero G DDR4 Review: Budget Board for Creators : Read more

 

[-Fran-]

The fine print on Z690 no one seems to care enough to publish and test:

CPU:

1. 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2A_CPU)

Chipset:

1. 2 x M.2 connectors (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2P_SB, M2Q_SB)
2. 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 2260/2280/22110 SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2M_SB)
3. 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors

Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
* Refer to "2-7 Internal Connectors," for the installation notices for the M.2 and SATA connectors.
Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready
* System acceleration with Intel® Optane™ Memory can only be enabled on the M.2 connectors supported by the Chipset.

You'll get full PCIe4 speeds with just one NVMe as it's using the CPU link, but the rest use the DMI and sATA connector's allocated bandwidth to keep up. Also shared with the USB3 bandwidth provided (why some boards come with less USB3 full-speed links).

Not necessarily a deal-breaker, but it irks me when it's not mentioned anywhere.

Regards.

 

[daeros]

I just want to be sure we’re all aware this is an article for a consumer CPU line (not HEDT, workstation, or sever) without support for the new costly DDR5, that costs $300 and gets the label ‘budget’.
More quality journalism from Tom’s “just buy it” Hardware.

 

[VforV]

How [insert swear word] things have gotten when $290 motherboards are now considered "cheap"... LMAO.

Just because there are $600 or more motherboards made for those that are [insert swear word], that does not mean $300 is cheap.

Pathetic, both these prices and the articles that promote such things as "cheap".

 

[Co BIY]

I guess I'm worn down to accept the "new normal" of $300 budget motherboards. But I'm just looking not buying.

I think the DDR5 / DDR4 problem is holding back Alder Lake.

To invest in a new motherboard and processor I want all the generational improvements.

DDR5 right now is overpriced and still only a marginal improvement over DDR4. Why buy into it now?

Still interested in seeing a review of the EVGA P6 PSU.

 

[samopa]

Support for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10
* Refer to "2-7 Internal Connectors," for the installation notices for the M.2 and SATA connectors.
Intel® Optane™ Memory Ready
* System acceleration with Intel® Optane™ Memory can only be enabled on the M.2 connectors supported by the Chipset.

You'll get full PCIe4 speeds with just one NVMe as it's using the CPU link, but the rest use the DMI and sATA connector's allocated bandwidth to keep up. Also shared with the USB3 bandwidth provided (why some boards come with less USB3 full-speed links).

Not necessarily a deal-breaker, but it irks me when it's not mentioned anywhere.

In my Z690 Aorus Master (similar config with this mobo), I'm using 3 x 980 Pro in RAID 0, all of them connected to the chipset (not direct to CPU) , I have got 14100 MB/s write speed (out of 15000 MB/s theoretical of 3 x 5000 MB/s 980 Pro capability) using CrystalDisk Benchmark on Queue Depth (QD) 8, and 12600 MB/s using QD2.

These facts say that connecting SSD to the Chipset (instead of direct to CPU) give negligible effects.

 

[-Fran-]

In my Z690 Aorus Master (similar config with this mobo), I'm using 3 x 980 Pro in RAID 0, all of them connected to the chipset (not direct to CPU) , I have got 14100 MB/s write speed (out of 15000 MB/s theoretical of 3 x 5000 MB/s 980 Pro capability) using CrystalDisk Benchmark on Queue Depth (QD) 8, and 12600 MB/s using QD2.

These facts say that connecting SSD to the Chipset (instead of direct to CPU) give negligible effects.

That's good and all, but benching you're testing best scenario. are you using the USB ports and other significant I/O?

Also, how are the random accesses?

Regards.

 

[g-unit1111]

This might seem like a dumb question but what's the difference between a "creator" board and a "gamer" board? Is it just marketing terminology or is it something else?

 

[samopa]

That's good and all, but benching you're testing best scenario. are you using the USB ports and other significant I/O?

I'm using 10GbE connection to my Asus 10GbE Switch and using Razer Ripsaw X to my USB 3.2 Ports.

Also, how are the random accesses?

Around 1300 MB/s at QD8 and 500 MB/s at QD2

 

[-Fran-]

I'm using 10GbE connection to my Asus 10GbE Switch and using Razer Ripsaw X to my USB 3.2 Ports.

Around 1300 MB/s at QD8 and 500 MB/s at QD2

That reads normal at least. As I expected, random access won't saturate even 1 PCIe4 link still.

I wonder what will happen when you use more USB ports and other drives. I have 4 disks with one NVMe, plus 8 USB devices pluggd in all the time and usin just a 1Gbps LAN. Also, some BT devices connected. So I'm using a lot of that uplink from the SB to the CPU in multiple things. I don't know how to measure the "saturation", but at times some USB devices don't work at full speed, so that's where I'm coming from. I'm on a X470 chipset though.

Regards.

 

[samopa]

I wonder what will happen when you use more USB ports and other drives. I have 4 disks with one NVMe, plus 8 USB devices pluggd in all the time and usin just a 1Gbps LAN. Also, some BT devices connected. So I'm using a lot of that uplink from the SB to the CPU in multiple things. I don't know how to measure the "saturation", but at times some USB devices don't work at full speed, so that's where I'm coming from. I'm on a X470 chipset though.

I have 3 WDC Gold 12TB installed in RAID5 configuration, I also had a Seagate FireCuda 2TB SSD in USB Type C external casing that I'm used to store my data files when I'm visiting my client's office. I also have Logitech Brio 4K for my zoom meeting and a WDC Black 4TB in e-SATA port for data backup.

 

[VforV]

This might seem like a dumb question but what's the difference between a "creator" board and a "gamer" board? Is it just marketing terminology or is it something else?

More RGB? 😉