Gigabyte Z690 UD AX LGA1700 DDR5 ATX Motherboard

Gigabyte Z690 UD AX - Description

LGA1700 DDR5 ATX Motherboard

Gigabyte Z690 UD AX is an Intel LGA1700 ATX motherboard with DDR5 support, built for 12th Gen Intel Core processors. It features next-gen PCIe 5.0, triple M.2 slots with PCIe 4.0 NVMe support, 2.5GbE LAN, WiFi 6 with Bluetooth 5, and front USB 3.2 Type-C. Designed for durability and performance, it offers a 16+1+2 phase digital VRM with 60A power stages, fully covered MOSFET heatsinks, premium components, and a 6-layer 2X copper PCB. Additional highlights include RGB Fusion 2.0 lighting, high-definition 8-channel audio, an integrated I/O shield, Q-Flash Plus, and extensive cooling and connectivity options.

Performance:

Keeping pace with rapid technological advancements, GIGABYTE equips its Z690 series motherboards with cutting-edge innovations to deliver optimized performance for gaming and high-demand applications. The Z690 UD AX features an enhanced power delivery system, support for the latest storage standards, and superior connectivity options.

Direct Digital VRM Design:

Modern CPUs with advanced architectures and higher core counts demand more precise and efficient power delivery. To meet this need, GIGABYTE implements a fully Direct VRM design, using premium MOSFETs and tantalum polymer capacitors. This setup ensures greater efficiency, reduced voltage ripple, and lower operating temperatures compared to conventional parallel VRM configurations.

Tantalum Polymer Capacitor:

These capacitors offer lower impedance than standard variants, minimizing voltage fluctuations. They maintain stable capacitance even under high thermal loads and are strategically placed near the CPU to ensure consistent power delivery during intense workloads.

PCIe 5.0 Ready:

Designed to support future PCIe 5.0 devices—expected to deliver double the bandwidth of PCIe 4.0—GIGABYTE’s Z690 motherboards use low-impedance PCBs to maintain signal integrity and maximize performance at higher data rates.

Hybrid Cores Optimization:

Leveraging Intel’s Hybrid Core architecture, GIGABYTE has introduced two dedicated "CPU Upgrade" BIOS profiles. These allow users to tailor system performance by adjusting P-Core and E-Core activation and voltage settings based on specific usage scenarios.

DDR5:

GIGABYTE Z690 motherboards embrace the latest DDR5 memory standard, featuring XMP 3.0 support and advanced memory technologies. DDR5 delivers approximately 50% more bandwidth than DDR4, significantly boosting system performance through innovations like Unlocked Native DDR5 Voltage, Xtreme Memory Routing, and secure SMD memory slots. Alongside hardware enhancements, an intuitive BIOS interface enables advanced overclocking with exclusive DDR5 tuning tools.

XMP 6000+:

Supports DDR5 XMP profiles up to 6000MHz and beyond.* AORUS provides a rigorously tested platform ensuring compatibility with high-speed XMP memory modules. Users simply need to install XMP-capable DDR5 RAM and enable the XMP profile in BIOS to achieve enhanced performance.

Unlocked DDR5 Voltage:

GIGABYTE’s proprietary circuitry allows users to switch from the default locked mode—where DDR5 PMICs are fixed at 1.1V—to a programmable mode. This grants full control over memory voltage, improving overclocking potential, ensuring compatibility across different PMIC manufacturers, and expanding memory tuning flexibility.

Shielded Memory Routing:

Memory signal traces are embedded within inner PCB layers and shielded by dedicated ground planes to minimize electromagnetic interference and ensure signal stability.

XMP 3.0 Support:

The XMP 3.0 standard enables users to create and save up to two custom memory profiles, either on the motherboard or external storage. These profiles can include timing, frequency, and voltage settings, support performance simulation, and allow online sharing of configurations.

DDR5 Auto Booster:

A one-click feature that automatically increases native DDR5 speeds to 5000MHz under heavy system load, simplifying performance optimization for users.

DDR5 Memory Upgrade:

GIGABYTE’s BIOS includes pre-configured and easily accessible memory profiles designed to help users achieve higher DDR5 performance with minimal effort. These optimized settings are derived from an extensive database that evaluates various memory IC and PMIC manufacturers, ensuring each module operates at its peak potential. This feature eliminates the need for manual tuning, offering a fast and reliable way to maximize DDR5 memory performance without complex overclocking.

Thermal:

The Z690 UD AX features a high-performance thermal solution with fully covered MOSFET heatsinks and thick thermal pads, delivering exceptional cooling for power delivery components. This robust design is ideal for enthusiasts, overclockers, and gamers who demand sustained performance under heavy loads.

Thermal Design:

Engineered for superior heat management, the motherboard includes an M.2 Thermal Guard to prevent SSD thermal throttling, large full-coverage MOSFET heatsinks for enhanced airflow, and 1.5mm-thick thermal pads with a thermal conductivity of 5 W/mK—offering up to 2.7× better heat transfer than standard pads. The 2X copper PCB further improves thermal performance by spreading heat more efficiently across the board, reducing component temperatures through enhanced conductivity and reduced electrical resistance.

Fully Covered MOSFET Heatsink:

2X Large Surface:

The heatsink offers up to twice the surface area compared to conventional designs, significantly improving heat dissipation from the VRM components.

Real One-piece Build:

Known as TMOS (True MOSFET Heatsink), this is a genuine single-piece design. Its integrated structure and expanded surface area deliver far better cooling efficiency than multi-part heatsinks used by competitors.

Multi-Cut Design:

Strategically placed grooves and ventilation channels in the heatsink allow airflow to pass through, enhancing convective cooling and dramatically improving thermal transfer performance.

M.2 Thermal Guard:

GIGABYTE’s M.2 Thermal Guard is a high-efficiency heatsink solution designed to keep M.2 SSDs cool during sustained read/write operations. By effectively managing heat, it prevents performance throttling and maintains consistent speeds, ensuring reliability and longevity for high-performance NVMe drives.

2X copper PCB:

The inclusion of double the copper thickness in the inner layers of the PCB acts as an ultra-thin, built-in heatsink. Thanks to copper’s excellent thermal conductivity and low impedance, this design helps lower component temperatures by at least 3%, improving overall system stability and longevity.

Smart Fan 6:

Smart Fan 6 provides intelligent and customizable cooling control, helping gaming systems stay cool and quiet under load. Multiple fan and pump headers support both PWM and DC modes, and users can configure individual fan curves using temperature inputs from various sensors across the motherboard. The intuitive interface makes it easy to balance performance, noise, and cooling efficiency.

Connectivity:

The GIGABYTE Z690 series delivers exceptional connectivity with next-gen networking and ultra-fast data transfer options, giving users maximum flexibility and speed.

2.5 GbE LAN:

Equipped with a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet controller, the motherboard offers network speeds up to 2.5 Gbps—more than double the bandwidth of standard 1 GbE. This ensures smoother online gaming, faster file transfers, and reduced latency, ideal for performance-driven users.

802.11ax WIFI 6:

Supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) standard, delivering wireless speeds of up to 2.4 Gbps*. It enables seamless 4K streaming, reduced lag in online gaming, improved connection stability, and better performance in crowded wireless environments. Bluetooth 5.0 enhances wireless range by up to 4× compared to BT 4.2, with faster data transfer and lower power consumption.

USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C:

Featuring USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 technology, this port doubles the bandwidth of USB 3.2 Gen 2, supporting data transfer speeds of up to 20 Gbps. The reversible USB Type-C® connector allows for quick and easy connection to compatible devices, enabling rapid access and transfer of large files with ease.

Hi-Fi Audio:

GIGABYTE integrates premium audio-grade capacitors and an Audio Noise Guard to deliver high-fidelity sound. The high-resolution audio components produce rich, detailed audio for immersive listening, while the physical separation of analog circuits from digital noise sources minimizes interference, ensuring crystal-clear sound output.

Lighting:

RGB Fusion:

The Z690 UD AX supports RGB Fusion 2.0, GIGABYTE’s advanced lighting control system. It offers a wide range of customizable lighting effects and synchronization options for RGB and digital LED strips. Enthusiasts can create a visually striking and personalized build, matching components for a cohesive and stylish gaming rig.

Refreshed BIOS:

The BIOS plays a crucial role during system setup, enabling users to configure optimal performance settings. GIGABYTE has redesigned the BIOS interface with a modern, intuitive GUI and enhanced usability features, offering a smoother and more user-friendly experience. This refreshed BIOS environment simplifies navigation and configuration, helping users get their new system up and running with ease. *Images are for reference only. Features may vary by model.

EasyTune™:

GIGABYTE’s EasyTune™ provides a user-friendly software interface that allows fine-tuning of system performance directly within the Windows operating system. Users can adjust CPU and memory clock speeds, voltage settings, and power parameters without leaving their desktop environment. With the Smart Quick Boost feature, a single click automatically applies optimized overclocking settings, delivering an instant performance boost when needed—ideal for gaming or intensive workloads.

System Information Viewer:

The GIGABYTE System Information Viewer acts as a centralized monitoring hub, giving users real-time insight into their system’s status. It enables monitoring of CPU clocks, temperatures, voltages, and fan speeds. Users can customize fan profiles, set temperature alerts, and log system behavior over time—making it a powerful tool for performance tuning, troubleshooting, and maintaining system health.

Ultra Durable:

Part of GIGABYTE’s Ultra Durable™ series, this motherboard is built with long-term reliability and robust construction in mind. High-quality components are selected for superior performance and longevity, while critical slots and connectors are reinforced to ensure physical strength and stability—ideal for demanding builds and extended use.

Q-Flash Plus:

GIGABYTE’s Q-Flash Plus technology allows BIOS updates to be performed without installing a CPU, memory, or graphics card. Simply download the latest BIOS file, rename it to gigabyte.bin, and place it on a USB flash drive. Then, press the dedicated Q-Flash Plus button on the rear I/O panel to start the update process—making BIOS flashing fast, safe, and hassle-free, even on a brand-new or malfunctioning system.

Solid Pin:

The Z690 UD AX features reinforced 8-pin + 4-pin ATX 12V power connectors with solid pin design, engineered for maximum power delivery and system stability—especially under high CPU workloads. These connectors use a plating process that increases the metal contact area and structural mass, improving conductivity, reducing resistance, and enhancing heat dissipation. Compared to standard connectors, the solid pin design offers greater durability, better electrical performance, and an extended service life, ensuring reliable power transmission for high-performance builds.

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