Decent Z690 on a budget

[Mr G]

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?

 

[Journey]

I did some googling and according to user feedback apparently MSI doesn't do a clean up process anymore... whatever this means?

When it goes through the flux bath for soldering the PCB no longer is washed afterwards, you only used to get it on re-worked boards, but it seems to be more common now to save time/money not to wash down the components.

 

[mikeo]

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?

No sure if it covers all motherboards. I suggest you GOOGLE "MSI shout out" (that's the name of the promotion).

The back of my motherboard was fine.

 

[Troop]

Mine came with the underside of the board tacky, biggest peeve for me was no hard copy manual!.

Board is top notch for the price, been adding to my setup, now running 4 sticks of 3200c14 memory and 5 nvme drives (one from the usb-c in a caddy)
Not had one issue with the MSI a-Pro it just works and works well.

 

[Noxia]

Useful thread and replies. I confess I have never understood why motherboards have a huge range in price. For me, I want 2 or more M2 slots, I don't really get what warrants a £700 price compared to something in the middle. I will have a 12900k and yes I do normally overclock a wee bit but I'm not heavily into it as I only use AIO cooling. I also generally like to 'future proof' as well as I can which is why I am needing a DDR5 one, though ironically I've never really understood memory performance either.
The DDR5 version of the recommended board seems good value aswell.

I have found it for £198.99 which is a lot less than other places. I'm half expecting the DDR4 version to show up.

 

[arknor]

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

wait what? I registed and never got a steam voucher? they never gave me points for the point programme either...


ahh nevermind found it https://uk.msi.com/Promotion/go-forward-and-upgrade
but seems it already finished anyway

The back of my motherboard was fine.

Mine had a fingerprint on the metal backplate...

Would have suspected it as someone elses return but the place I bought it from had non in stock and I had to wait until they got a fresh delivery so I know it was band new.

 

[mikeo]

wait what? I registed and never got a steam voucher? they never gave me points for the point programme either...


ahh nevermind found it https://uk.msi.com/Promotion/go-forward-and-upgrade
but seems it already finished anyway


Mine had a fingerprint on the metal backplate...

Would have suspected it as someone elses return but the place I bought it from had non in stock and I had to wait until they got a fresh delivery so I know it was band new.

Promotion still running as far as I can see (IE.2022-01-01~2022-12-31).

When you register your product... Select "manage" for the relevant product, then click "eligible promotion". That should then allow you to "redeem" your give away. In my case, $20 STEAM voucher (well two vouchers for $10's actually). You basically need to write a review for the relevant MSI product and link to it on MSI's WEB site. A bit of a faff, but still something free is always good in my book.

PS. This is the MSI "SHOUT OUT" pomotion.

Shout Out for MSI

Share your msi product experience, help others choose by letting them know why you chose msi

uk.msi.com

 

[oweneades]

Quick question which aligns with the ethos of this thread. Do both the MSI Z690 Pro-A and GB Gaming X support unlocking power limits on non-k CPU's (specifically 12700)?

My guess is yes but my Google skills are failing me.

 

[Tetras]

Quick question which aligns with the ethos of this thread. Do both the MSI Z690 Pro-A and GB Gaming X support unlocking power limits on non-k CPU's (specifically 12700)?

My guess is yes but my Google skills are failing me.

As far as I know, all boards except the very cheapest (or OEM ofc) will allow you to change the power limits. Intel don't care.

 

[LiE]

Another contender is the ASUS PRIME Z690-P D4 which is currently at £180.

PRIME Z690-P D4｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global

ASUS Prime series is expertly engineered to unleash the full potential of AMD and Intel processors. Boasting a robust power design, comprehensive cooling solutions and intelligent tuning options, Prime series motherboards provide daily users and DIY PC builders a range of performance tuning...

www.asus.com

 

[Noxia]

Another contender is the ASUS PRIME Z690-P D4 which is currently at £180.

PRIME Z690-P D4｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global

ASUS Prime series is expertly engineered to unleash the full potential of AMD and Intel processors. Boasting a robust power design, comprehensive cooling solutions and intelligent tuning options, Prime series motherboards provide daily users and DIY PC builders a range of performance tuning...

www.asus.com

This is where I fall down, I convince myself that because I have an expensive CPU I definitely need an expensive motherboard even though that one is likely fine for my needs.

 

[arknor]

Promotion still running as far as I can see (IE.2022-01-01~2022-12-31).

When you register your product... Select "manage" for the relevant product, then click "eligible promotion". That should then allow you to "redeem" your give away. In my case, $20 STEAM voucher (well two vouchers for $10's actually). You basically need to write a review for the relevant MSI product and link to it on MSI's WEB site. A bit of a faff, but still something free is always good in my book.

PS. This is the MSI "SHOUT OUT" pomotion.

Shout Out for MSI

Share your msi product experience, help others choose by letting them know why you chose msi

uk.msi.com

yea I did it and got rejected because apparently what I uploaded isn't an invoice...
even though it shows what I bought, how much items cost, even says the last 4 digits of my card, has my fully name and address on it...

MSI are claiming it's shipping info because it shows where to pick up my order from and confirms I did pick up my order....
sorry for doing click and collect I didn't know that was against MSI rules or something....

it's a store thats even listed on the MSI website as eligible... I buy gigabyte next time..
I sent a complaint to customer support saying whomever reviewed my application and only glanced over my evidence is an imbecile.
funnily enough their website doesn't even specify invoice just "Proof Of Purchase"

MSI clearly trying not to pay out to people

made a web ticket about it and got 30$