Home » Hardware » Which Is A Better Chipset Between Z690 and Z790?

Z690 vs Z790 Chipset Key Differences & Performance Comparision

Read our detailed analysis of the Z690 and Z790 Chipset. What are the main differences, and which one to choose while buying a motherboard.

Z690 and Z790 are two Intel chipsets both featuring LGA 1700 socket design. LGA 1700 belongs to Intel’s 13th Gen Desktop CPU product line. Intel Codenamed the 13th gen as Rator Lake processors are designed to offer better gaming and multi-tasking performance. It is more of a suitable CPU line for Streamers and Content Creators.  If you are in a way to build a PC keeping Intel’s 13th GeN CPU in center then you must know about the available chipset. With each chipset, there are significant changes in the overall performance, hardware support, etc.

Z690 vs Z790 – Which One is Better & Why?

Z690 vs Z790

The key differences between Z690 and Z790 are RAM Speed and Max USB 3.2 Ports. Z690 supports RAm up to 6400Mhz and Z790 supports 6800. In the first one, you can have 4 USB 3.2 ports while in the second, there can be 5 max. Performance wise there are no notable changes, they are quite similar to each other in terms of overall features and specs.

The choice of picking one from Z690 or Z790 goes the buyer’s requirement. Unless you are building a high-end gaming PC where you need DDR5 RAM that can run up to 6800Mhz max then Z790 is good to go. Or else Z690 is one of the best alternatives to Z790. Both the chipsets are compatible with Intel’s 12 and 13th Gen Processors.

For overclocking you will have to go with a 13th Gen Intel CPU with a Z790 chipset. Z690 comes with PCIe 16 Gen 5 Slot. Z790 comes with support with next-gen GPU and SSD support for the Intel 13th-gen CPU line. Z790 comes with an extra 8xPCIe 4.0 lane.

What To Choose?

Z790 has a high-end motherboard, that brings extra features to the desk. This includes superior PCiE and extra ports for connectivity. Otherwise, both chipsets are almost identical with common specs. To help you in deciding what to go for here is a Z690 vs Z790 Table comparison.

Specs Z690 Z790
CodeName Alder Lake Raptor Lake
Release Date Q4 2021 Q4 2022
Bus Interface DMI 4.0 DMI 4.0
Link Speed ✕8 (15.76 GB/s) ✕8 (15.76 GB/s)
PCI Express lanes 4.0 12 20
PCI Express lanes 3.0 16 8
Intel Optane Memory Yes Yes
SATA Gbit/s 8 8
PCIe M.2 Yes Yes
WirelessMAC WiFi 6E WiFi 6E
USB v2.0 14 14
USB v3.2 1×1 10 10
USB v3.2 2×1 10 10
USB v3.2 2×2 4 5
TDP 6W W