In brief: As we inch closer to the Intel Alder Lake reveal, more and more leaks are spoiling the surprises that Team Blue and motherboard makers have in store. One of Asus' upcoming Z690 motherboards for small form factor PCs has leaked in full glory, and two separate leaks have revealed EU pricing for several Asus and Asrock motherboards. Needless to say, they won't be cheap, but there will be plenty of options for people who still wish to upgrade but aren't willing to break the bank in the process.
Asus' upcoming Z690 motherboards were first spotted at a Canadian retailer earlier this month, which provided some clues about what we can expect in terms of pricing. The cheapest models will carry a price tag of around $220-$240 and the premium variants with more robust power phase designs will cost more than $600, while the price difference between DDR4 and DDR5 compatibility will be around $10.
| Model | Supported memory | EUR Price | CAD Price | USD Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme Glacial | DDR5 | €1969.83 | ? | ? |
| Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme | DDR5 | €1107.49 | ? | ? |
| Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Formula | DDR5 | €737.92 | ? | ? |
| Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Apex | DDR5 | €676.32 | ? | ? |
| Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero | DDR5 | €614.72 | $789 | $626 |
| Asus ROG STRIX Z690-E Gaming WiFi | DDR5 | €590.08 | ? | ? |
| Asus PROART Z690-CREATOR WiFi | DDR5 | €503.85 | ? | ? |
| Asus ROG STRIX Z690-I Gaming WiFi | DDR5 | €444.40 | ? | ? |
| Asus ROG STRIX Z690-G Gaming WiFi | DDR5 | €357.75 | ? | ? |
| Asus ROG STRIX Z690-F Gaming WiFi | DDR5 | ? | $511 | $405 |
| Asus ROG STRIX Z690-A Gaming WiFi D | DDR5 | ? | $447 | $355 |
| Asus TUF Gaming Z690-PLUS WiFi D4 | DDR4 | ? | $371 | $294 |
| Asus PRIME Z690-A | DDR5 | €320.61 | $383 | $304 |
| Asus PRIME Z690-P WiFi | DDR5 | €295.86 | $319 | $253 |
| Asus PRIME Z690-P WiFi D4 | DDR4 | €283.48 | $307 | $244 |
| Asus PRIME Z690-P | DDR5 | €283.48 | $294 | $233 |
| Asus PRIME Z690-P D4 | DDR4 | €246.34 | $281 | $223 |
| Asrock Z690 TAICHI ATX 4 | DDR5 | €472.82 | ? | ? |
| Asrock Z690 PG VELOCITA ATX 4 | DDR5 | €343.38 | ? | ? |
| Asrock Z690 EXTREME | DDR5 | €229.52 | ? | ? |
| Asrock Z690 STEEL LEGEND ATX 4 | DDR4 | €211.17 | ? | ? |
| Asrock Z690 PG RIPTIDE ATX 4 | DDR4 | €180.88 | ? | ? |
| Asrock Z690 PHANTOM GAMING 4 ATX 4 | DDR4 | €160.67 | ? | ? |
| Asrock Z690 PHANTOM GAMING 4 D5 | DDR5 | €156.07 | ? | ? |
Thanks to serial Twitter leaker @momomo_us as well as @julienjimenez11, we now also have some clues about the EU pricing for these LGA 1700 motherboards. If these new leaks are anything to go by, it looks like European gamers will have to pay a bit more than those in North America. The most expensive listing is the ROG Maximus Z690 Extreme Glacial, which is going to cost a whopping €1,969.83 ($2,283) with all taxes included.
Of particular interest, however, is a motherboard that has leaked in full glory to Videocardz --- the Asus ROG Strix Z690-I Mini-ITX. This board has three stacked daughterboards right where the M.2 slot is usually located.
Two of these are presumably for M.2 NVMe SSDs and one is for the audio chipset and RGB and fan headers. Other details are hard to distinguish from the leaked pictures, but after some squinting one can notice two front panel headers for USB 3.0 and USB-C.
Intel will reveal the first batch of Alder Lake CPUs in the coming weeks, so we won't have to wait long to see the full roster of LGA 1700 motherboards.