Mihawk. Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 A well-rounded overclocking-focused flagship board for under $700 Priced at $700 direct from EVGA, the Z690 Dark Kingpin is a feature-rich flagship-class motherboard that nearly has it all. Designed with extreme overclocking in mind, it sports robust power delivery, Probe IT connectivity and onboard switches and buttons. There are plenty of features to satisfy the average user as well. Pros + All-black style + Horizontal connectors + Robust VRMs, 90A MOSFETs Cons - No PCIe 5.0 M.2 socket (SLI instead) - Only three M.2 sockets - No RGB lighting (a pro for some) - Previous-gen audio Like it or not–and clearly only the motherboard makers like it–flagship boards these days often push up to or even above the $1,000 mark, all in the quest for the best features and performance. The EVGA Z690 Dark Kingpin (officially stylized K|NGP|N) hit the shelves priced at $849.99 and, as of today, is a more reasonable $699.99. Among flagship moboss, that price is comparitively reasonable when competitors cost between $900 and $1,200. The Z690 Dark has an updated appearance that carries over EVGA’s signature black styling, robust power delivery, horizontal connectors and a unique socket orientation that sets it apart from other boards. Performance-wise, the Dark Kingpin lit up the charts as one of the fastest boards across our multi-threaded tests, and nearly did a clean sweep as the best-performing board in our Procyon Office tests. Single-threaded portions of our tests didn’t fare as well, but the board was still average across most of those tests. Gaming performance was also above average. Overall, this is a well-perofrming board out of the box, especially when pushed with heavy multi-threaded loads. This board also has almost every high-end feature you can expect at the flagship level. You get two full-length PCIe 5.0 slots (and SLI support), 21-phase 90A MOSFETs, three M.2 sockets (though none are PCIe 5.0), eight SATA ports and a "legacy" U.2 port, a premium (though last-gen) audio codec with NU Audio software and dual 2.5 GbE ports along with integrated Wi-Fi 6E. What sets the Kingpin apart from the other luxury boards is all the overclocking-focused functionality. Where most focus on style and shoehorning in extra features , the Kingpin has a slew of switches, buttons and headers on board (to connect the ProbeIt tool) to help push your Alder Lake system to the limit. Before we get into the details and see if this board has a chance to make our best motherboards list, here are its detailed specifications, direct from EVGA. EVGA Z690 Dark Kingpin (Black) at Amazon for $699.99 Specifications: EVGA Z690 Dark Kingpin SocketLGA1700 ChipsetZ690 Form FactorE-ATX Voltage Regulator21 Phase (18+2+1 90A SPS MOSFETs for Vcore) Video Ports✗ USB Ports(1) USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C (20 Gbps) (4) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) (2) USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) Network Jacks(2) 2.5 GbE Audio Jacks(5) Analog + SPDIF Legacy Ports/Jacks(1) PS/2 Other Ports/Jack✗ PCIe x16(2) v5.0 (x16/x0 or x8/x8) PCIe x8✗ PCIe x4(1) v4.0 x4 PCIe x1✗ CrossFire/SLISupports Nvidia SLI DIMM Slots(2) DDR5 6600+(OC), 64GB Capacity M.2 Sockets(1) PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) / PCIe (up to 110mm) (1) PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) / PCIe (up to 110mm) (1) PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) / PCIe (up to 110mm) U.2 Ports(1) PCIe 3.0 x4 (32 Gbps) SATA Ports(8) SATA3 6 Gbps (Supports RAID 0/1/5/10) USB Headers(1) USB v3.2 Gen 2, Type-C (10 Gbps) (1) USB v3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) (2) USB v2.0 (480 Mbps) Fan/Pump Headers(8) 4-Pin (CPU, Pump, Aux, Pwr, System fans) RGB Headers(2) aRGB (3-pin) (2) RGB (4-pin) Diagnostics Panel(2) 2-character Debug LEDs, 22 LED display Internal Button/SwitchPower/Reset buttons and PCIe/BIOS, Slow Mode switches SATA ControllersASMedia ASM1061 Ethernet Controller(s)(2) Intel i225V (2.5 GbE) Wi-Fi / BluetoothIntel AX210 Wi-Fi 6E (2x2 ax, MU-MIMO, 2.4/5/6 GHz, 160 MHz, BT 5.2) USB ControllersASMedia ASM3142 HD Audio CodecRealtek ALC1220/NU Audio + Savitech SV3H615 Amp DDL/DTS Connect✗ / X Warranty3 Years Inside the Box of the EVGA Z690 Dark Kingpin Advertisement Inside the large EVGA Z690 Dark Kingpin box, the company includes a slew of accessories along with the board. You get common items such as SATA cables and a Wi-Fi antenna, as well as some more unique items, including a full-size PCB that displays and labels the major parts on the board. It even comes with a PCIe Release Assist bar (a long piece of PCB to reach the PCIe latch) and additional thermal pads for M.2 modules. Below is a complete list of the included extras: Case badge Driver USB disk Tall standoffs Screw sets (M.2) PCIe Release Assist Probe IT Cable Thermal pads (4) SATA cables Wi-Fi antenna PCB Legend Design of the Z690 Dark Kingpin Taking the board out of the box, we’re greeted by a 10-layer black PCB, with sparse gold highlights dotting the board. There are large, actively cooled VRM heatsinks connected via a heat pipe, covered by a vented shroud, with the Z690 Dark branding in white. The biggest difference between this board and others is the rotated socket area, with the RAM slots up top and the VRM bank on the left (normal) and bottom. Along the right edge of the board, you’ll find a large notch cut out and horizontal connectors to help with cable management, and several buttons and switches for overclocking and other board functions. The bottom portion of the board is covered in shrouds and heatsinks, with the Dark branding cut out out of the large heatsink covering all three M.2 sockets. While there are literally dozens of LEDs on this board, none are RGB (they're mostly white) or designed specifically for looks. If you want to add RGB lighting to your case, you’ll need to use the headers hidden along the bottom edge. Overall, I like the look of the Dark Kingpin. While it won’t stick out on its own, the stealthy black look makes for a great centerpiece for your build. On the upper-left side, we get a better look at the vented shroud, socket area and the right edge. The circular vents in the shroud allow fresh air to reach the small fan hidden below. The tiny fan was inaudible during our testing, blowing the fresh air over the VRMs and kept the hardy power bits running cool. Above the socket are the two unreinforced DRAM slots that lock the sticks down on both sides. The Z690 Dark supports DDR5 up to 64GB with speeds listed up to DDR5-6600(OC). As always, your mileage may vary on reaching those speeds but with two slots and using a maximum of two sticks; the potential to reach that high is greater. Above the DRAM slots on the top edge, instead of seeing 8-pin EPS connectors we run into the Probe IT header, which is a convenient way to measure the system's voltage. EVGA includes an adapter cable that connects to the header, allowing you to check the voltage with a multimeter easily. This is a great feature for the sub-ambient/extreme overclocking crowd or anyone looking to get every last Mhz out of their processor. Just off to the right are a slew (22, to be specific) of status LEDs for varying functionality. It shows the status of PCIe slots, M.2 sockets, voltage, and more. Additionally, there are another dozen or so LEDs on board that also indicate the status of hardware. Please refer to the manual to see what each does. Just off to the right is a vertical USB 2.0 port used for updating the BIOS (this board has THREE) without a CPU installed. Advertisement The board's right edge is where most connectivity is located. First, in the upper-right corner, we run into a multi-function POST indicator with two two-character LEDs. You can configure the display to show data in decimal format (default) or hexadecimal. After POST, the same LEDs can display hardware monitoring details, including CPU temperatures and voltages. The Safe Boot and power/reset buttons are near the display. Next, we hit the first two (of seven available) fan headers (CPU_FAN1/2). These headers support PWM fans and output up to 2A/24W. To the right of the socket between the VRMs and the right edge are two more fan headers (AUX_Fan and PUMP1), while the last two are tucked in the bottom-right corner. The AUX header supports PWM and DC-controlled fans, with the PUMP1 header able to output 3A/36W. Continuing down the right edge, we spy the 24-pin EPS connector to power the board and the two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required). Below is a USB 3.2 Gen1 header and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header. Moving toward the middle of the board, we run into three different switches. The first (top) is a BIOS slow mode switch. Directly below that is a three-position switch to access all three BIOSes. Finally, five DIP switches are between the BIOS switch and the USB 3.2 Gen1 connector to disable/enable PCIe slots. The only active switches are one and two, which control the two full-length PCIe slots. The Dark Kingpin's overclocking pedigree comes with a 21-phase VRM, with 18 phases dedicated to Vcore. Power goes from the two 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) onto a Renesas RAA229131 20-channel controller. Power flows to 18 Intersil ISLL99390 90A power stages. Some napkin math says there is 1,620A available for just the processor, which is plenty for ambient and extreme overclocking. You’ll be limited by the temperatures long before this power delivery hinders progress. Advertisement https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-z690-dark-kingpin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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