Decent Z690 on a budget

Mr G · 21 Jun 2022 at 18:17

Can't find many reviews with regards to the Gaming X motherboard and wondered if any folk here at OcUK are currently rocking it as I'm looking to pull the trigger on a build I'm slowly putting together... DDR4 version.

Mr G · 21 Jun 2022 at 21:07

@mrk @Vimes - Thank you for the detailed feedback.

I agree it's a clean looking board however, what's your thoughts on the MSI Z690-A Pro?

Is it only the Gigabyte that suffers with memory issues or is it Alder Lake?

Mr G · 21 Jun 2022 at 21:49

@mrk @Vimes - Thanks again both for your feedback. I've got around £200 to spend on a decent 'ish' board, what would you folks recommend given your experiences so far?

I've got DDR4 Corsair 2 x 8GB 3200Mhz CL16 memory to use.

Mr G · 22 Jun 2022 at 05:43

@mrk - The Gaming X can be had for around £180 with the Z690-A Pro at £160.

I watched a few YT videos and Buildzoid recommends the MSI Pro, both are close in pricing.

Mr G · 22 Jun 2022 at 08:52

@Vimes - Plenty of choice however now torn between both and prices are still salty for the vast majority of Z690 line-up. Forgot to mention I have a 12600K.

Mr G · 22 Jun 2022 at 09:41

@Vimes - The MSI and GB Gaming X is at an affordable price for me, plus offers all the bells and whistles for the future if needed. I did think about the B660 but not sure how a 12600K would perform, but then the price of the MSI is almost to good to miss out on.

Mr G · 22 Jun 2022 at 09:52

Thank you all for the advice going to settle on the MSI for my next purchase.

Mr G · 22 Jun 2022 at 11:06

Placed my order and it's on the way as I type however, I won't be building it for a few weeks. I do prefer the black aesthetic overall which will suit my build.

Mr G · 8 Jul 2022 at 08:44

Recently returned the MSI PRO Z690-A and looking now to replace it with the Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X after some quality control issues. Upon unboxing and inspection, I noticed it was covered from back to front in what looked like flux oil/residue and some scrapes of exposed copper showing through the PCB.

I didn't want to chance testing it myself and immediately returned it under the 14 day period. Retailer later confirmed it was indeed faulty bearing in mind this was a brand new motherboard. I'm now left looking for a replacement and may consider my original pick of the Gaming X which can now be had for around £175.

Mr G · 8 Jul 2022 at 09:19

Vimes said:
@Mr G That's frustrating. I might have been tempted to try a second MSI board. Cheap as chips and amazingly good. Then again as mentioned, the Gaming X seems decent enough.
At least you got your returns sorted out promptly.

It was a no fuss return thankfully and all handled swiftly. I was tempted to retry however might go with my first pick the Gaming X. Noticed Gigabyte has a Gaming X V2 model now?

Mr G · 8 Jul 2022 at 09:29

Journey said:
That wasn't a new board, that was a re-worked board that has been wrongly put into new stock or has been incorrectly sent my MSI. Not a fan of the Gaming X personally, on a professional level is seems OK but the MSI is a better buy IMO.

Had a feeling this was the case. Any experience with the Gaming X? Might raise my budget for the TUF and that's my limit, £225.

Mr G · 8 Jul 2022 at 09:45

Journey said:
Only used one in a build, and wasn't a huge fan of the BIOS and the weird issues they had with NVMe when first released put me off recommending them in builds. MSI Z690's haven't had a single problem at all, other than one which ended up having the bent CPU issues due to socket over mounting pressure, so had issues with RAM. Have you considered going the DDR5 route btw? Prices are coming down so if you are keeping your system a long time it could be an (almost) sensible move if you don't mind some OC'ing and tweaking of the RAM.

I have considered the DDR5 route and noticed prices are becoming accessible

mickyflinn said:
Try msi pro again you was just unlucky .

I'm thinking about it.

Mr G · 8 Jul 2022 at 09:52

Journey said:
Yeah there are some nice 32GB 5600MT/s Corsair kits starting at ~£175 that can easily be pushed to 6400+ speeds with much better timings that out of box. Only good if you want to tinker mind, otherwise stick with the DDR4 for now, assuming gaming is the primary function of the system.

Gaming is the primary function and don't mind tinkering with speeds. Will keep this in mind though aa I've been looking into some options.

Mr G · 9 Jul 2022 at 11:30

mikeo said:
and remember folks... anyone buying an MSI motherboard, remember to register it with MSI to get their free 20$ STEAM voucher.

Does this promotion cover all of their motherboard range or just Z690 platform?

Anyway, I purchased the same motherboard but from OcUK however this board is covered in the same flux oil that the previous one had from a competitor. I did some googling and according to user feedback apparently MSI doesn't do a clean up process anymore... whatever this means?