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Gigabyte MB Z690 With NVME PCIe


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I'm aware that if you use a NVME PCIe that many are set up use the same 'channel' as one or more of the ordinary SATA ones ie. it disables those one or two ports.

As I'm currently getting the bits and pieces I need for a new PC build it is a matter of interest to me.

I've settled on a Gigabyte MB mainly because that's what I'm familiar with and likely the Z690 UD DDR4 or maybe the AX version which has built in wi-fi. However when I checked the spec nowhere can I see any reference to this SATA port disabling when using a NVME with this MB series. The PDF manual for their Z690 Gaming X series includes an additional page clearly showing which SATA ports the use of a NVME with that MB will cause. But there is nothing I can see like that in the manuals for the MBs I'm interested in: the UD - Ultra Durable series.

Can anyone here shed any light on this?

Contacting Gigabyte direct is a bit of pain because they do it via their web site by ticketing system so it often takes a comparatively long time for a reply to any inquiry, I already have a ticket open for another question I had about the UD range and that is now a week old.

BTW maybe somebody here knows the answer to that: what is the difference between the GA-Z690 UD DDR4 (rev.1) and the GA-Z690 UD DDR4 V2 (rev.1) and why can I not find any information let alone a supplier in the UK for that, presumably latest, V2 type? Their web site is no help; the comparison tool there shows zero differences between those two models or, likewise, their equivalent AX ones.

Info appreciated.   

Edited by WalksInSilence
typo
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The board photos on their site for the v1 and v2 are the exact same photo.

For other manufacturers, often a V2 is not a change in specifications, but that the board is built using different parts, come with a different firmware somewhere, or is constructed differently electrically.

There is nothing about the SATA ports being disabled when PCIe is used in any of their documents.

They have a UK forum

https://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/board,5.0.html

 

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Yes, the photos for the MBs seem to be the same but if you check each one the boxes are different - why box the same board differently with it clearly saying it is a V2 if they are exactly the same?

A theory suggested on another forum is that  the V2 is a regional name variation, possibly because an earlier MB (perhaps the GA-Z690-D3SH DDR4 UD), was marketed as GA-Z690 UD DDR4 in those countries. But that does not explain why a web search for the V2 returns no hits at all except for the Gigabyte web site itself.

Thanks for the info; I'll try the forum and see what they say there.

So you think the NVME PCIe doesn't disable any SATA port. That's what I'm hoping but it seems unlikely when the next tier up of GA-Z690 MBs, the more expensive GAMING X series, have SATA ports 5 and 6 disabled when using one.

Again I'll have to try asking about it in that forum. 

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Honestly , if you're that determined to buy something really new , just buy a DDR5 board 'cause they'll soon be down in price and you'll get a future proof solution . Why ? DDR5 is drastically faster, while DDR4 sucks . I didn't notice a huge difference between a good DDR3 and DDR4 . DDR4 is just basically overclocked DDR3L with insane timings (that's what make it suck). 

The only downside would be a problem to use 64-bit Vista with such boards. But then again , who knows ? Perhaps they change something again and it will run fine.

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I've already committed to DDR4 3600MHz, expecting 2 x 16GB Kingston Beasts to drop, gently, through my letterbox some time today. I'm hoping 3600MHz is going to be OK as the manual only refers to support up to 3200MHz but the web site clearly states the MB supports up to 5333MHz (OC) XMP. The use of a XMP profile has however been an issue with some other GA-Z690 MBs but nothing reported, I could find, about the Ultra-Durable series being involved.  

The DDR4 choice was done on advice from several people on another IT forum and supported by my various researches. The feeling seemed to be that DDR5 currently offers little performance improvement over DDR4 although that will (may?) change in the future.

I've now had responses to the two tickets I open with Gigabyte on the GA-Z690 MB matters. Here are the replies:-

 

1). "The difference between the V2 and non-V2 is the PWM material and the WIFI module.

However we do not have V2 motherboard release in the UK."

 

2). "The M.2 socket doesn't share bandwidth with SATA ports. If you have M.2 SSD installed, the SATA ports are available.

You may refer to the user manual page 23 and 24 for details.

https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_z690-ud-series_e_1101_n.pdf?v=ec13eff75a8df216a2cff1380bebcebe"

 

The first reply appears suspect but as they've confirmed the MB is not available in the UK, which I thought was going to be the case, it sounds like the differences are trivial anyway.

I have no idea what "PWM material" is meant to mean. I guess a slight translation hiccup - but possibly referring to the PWM fan speed control or related BIOS options. But the Wi-Fi info is clearly incorrect as only the "AC" MB versions have built in Wi-Fi.

The second answer still needs secondary confirmation because the pages referred to in the GA-Z690 DDR4 UD series manual makes no mention about whether or not any SATA ports are disabled when using a NVME PCIe.

The lack of clarity on those pages was the very reason I submitted the ticket. All it says is that the NVME PCIe can not be used in any RAID configuration with SATA connected devices. I thought that was the case anyway and why would you want to? But that does not mean there's no shared bandwidth disabling one or more SATA ports.

In suggesting referring back to the manual about this matter an element of doubt is introduced as to whether the information is reliable.

 

Edited by WalksInSilence
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Well , you already ordered it ... DDR4 is something I'd want in 2015 - 2016 , I remember there were tons of combo DDR3/DDR4 boards and changing the RAM type had almost zero impact on the performance. 

But with an Intel CPU you should be fine with that DRR4 , like I said.

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Yep, going for a i5-12600K when I've saved up enough.

I'm still using DDR3 with my current GA-H87 and GA-Z77 and recently up graded both to 16GB (2 x 8GB). Can't say I've noticed much of an increase in performance over 8GB I had before although no doubt its measurably faster.

One of the first things I took on board, something I think was in in a PC magazine article a long time ago about the most effective performance boosting upgrades. That was: beyond a certain level upgrading the system RAM becomes less and less cost effective.  What they said matters much more, particularly for gaming and other resource intensive uses like video editing is the GPU and its RAM not the system RAM.

So the advice for getting better performance for your bucks was not 'waste' money upgrading the system RAM, at least not beyond twice the recommended amount, and spend it on a better GPU instead.

I'd suspect that advice is still valid.

         

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