Manufacturers will launch Z690 motherboards that don’t support PCIe 5.0 to reduce the price
The first batch of 12th-generation Core series desktop processors released by Intel is all unlocked versions with the suffix “K/KF”, which are paired with the Z690 in the 600 series chipset. At present, some of the 12th-generation Core series processors are relatively affordable, attracting the attention of many PC enthusiasts who are pursuing high performance. However, because the Z690 motherboard is generally expensive, it has become one of the biggest obstacles for users to build the Alder Lake platform. Fortunately, this generation of processors supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The actual performance of early DDR5 memory is not necessarily better than that of high-frequency DDR4 memory, and the price is higher. Some affordable Z690 DDR4 motherboards have become consumers’ first choice.
Image: gigabyte
Although the price of some Z690 DDR4 motherboards is relatively reasonable, the price is still much higher than that of mainstream motherboards. According to Twitter user @momomo_us, in order to further reduce the price of Z690 DDR4 motherboards, some motherboard manufacturers are likely to cancel support for PCIe 5.0 and launch Z690 DDR4 motherboards that do not support PCIe 5.0. However, PCIe 5.0 makes it more difficult for manufacturers to design motherboards and increases production costs. The cancellation of PCIe 5.0 support will help reduce the price of Z690 motherboards.
The Z690 motherboard is on the market at this stage, the cheapest model is also very much more than $200. Some insiders believe that after the Z690 DDR4 motherboard no longer supports PCIe 5.0, the price can be much lower than $200, which will be much more user-friendly, and will also help the sales and popularization of the 12th-generation Core series processors.
