Published: November 4, 2021 | Source: Gigabyte | Author: Tom Logan

Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master Review

Conclusion

Admittedly only for a couple of days, but we have finally reached the end of our marathon Z690 and 12th Generation Intel launch content. It’s fitting that we temporarily stop with the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master, as it’s a motherboard which beautifully fits amongst the high end models that we’ve seen. It’s a PCB rammed with all that the newest Intel Z690 chipset can bring to the party, and includes a lot of the touches that have let the Gigabyte Aorus range stand apart from the pack a little bit.

When you look at the Aorus Master the first thing that strikes you is the size of the heatsinks. Not only does the IO Shield/VRM Heatink section dominate the PCB, but the heatsinks themselves have incredible fin density. Then you see the massive chipset and M.2 heatsink and the idea that Gigabyte have gone all in with the Master is only strengthened. The more you look, the more there is to see. All the slots, be they DDR5 or the PCI Express ones, are armoured, but then you spot that the power connectors are all braced too. Take in more detail and the wealth of fan headers hove into view. It is a motherboard that promises performance, robustness and a focus upon temperatures. If the eyes alone indicate this then the second you lift it from the box you appreciate the high quality of those elements. This thing is a beast. It weighs the proverbial ton.

The top edge of the Aorus Master is absolutely dominated by that heatsink and fan headers. If you’ve ever felt annoyed that fans are placed in areas that make it difficult to tidy your cables away, then the Master has you covered with five fan headers at the top. Even those of you with 480mm Radiators are catered to. We know we’ve said about the importance of keeping the Core i9-12900K as cool as possible because it follows the Core i9-11900K in being a toasty CPU, and the Aorus Master provides you with all you could require.

This attention to detail extends everywhere you look. The nano-carbon backplate covers nearly the whole of the rear of the 8 layer PCB with just enough room left for the motherboard stands and CPU cooler, but otherwise spreading any heat across as much surface area as it can. The ‘Fins Array III’ VRM heatsink is similarly made of nano-carbon. The LAN port is no 2.5G number but a full fat 10GbE Aquantia. If you prefer your networking to be wireless the 802.11ax 2T2R Intel WiFi 6E should be fast enough for everyone. There are all the high-speed USB 3.2 G2x2 ports that are a hallmark of the newest Intel chipset both in front-panel and rear panel formats. Add 5 M.2 connectors to the six SATA ports and even the most storage and peripheral-rich user won’t be left gnashing their teeth.

Performance is very much on a par with the other Z690 motherboards we’ve looked at, and although the gaps between boards are slender the Aorus Master is, on average, generally to be found in the upper half of the performance charts. This bodes well for those of you with enough time to tweak your new purchase to within an inch of its life.

We appreciate the company-wide effort Gigabyte went to in reorganising themselves and returning with the Aorus range of high-end hardware, and how successful that reorganisation was. The Z690 Aorus Master is the latest in a now long line of high quality products and wins our OC3D Performance Award.