MSI MEG Z690I Unify DDR5 ITX Motherboard

On sale! (normally $699) The MSI MEG Z690I Unify D5 Motherboard supports Intel LGA 1700 for 12th Gen Core, Pentium Gold and Celeron processors, features up to 2 x DDR5 memory slots, PCI-E 5.0, 4.0, and 3.0 compatible expansion slots, 3 x M.2 slots, 4 x SATA ports (6GB/s), 8 x rear USB ports (2 x Type-C, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1), 5 x front panel header USB ports (1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 2 x USB 2.0), Intel I225V 2.5Gbps LAN, Intel Wi-Fi 6E Wireless, Bluetooth 5.2, Realtek ALC4080 HD audio codec and an mini-ITX motherboard form factor.

Warning: This product contains a button battery - If swallowed, a lithium battery can cause severe or fatal injuries with 2 hours. - Keep batteries out of reach of children. - If you think batteries may have been swallowed or placed inside any of the body, seek immediate medical attention.

Features

---

Features of the MSI MEG Z690I Unify D5 Motherboard at a glance:

• Supports 12th Gen Intel® Core™ / Pentium® Celeron® processors for LGA 1700 socket
• Supports DDR5 Memory, Dual Channel DDR5-6800+MHz(OC)
• Dual Thunderbolt 4 ports: Thunderbolt USB-C at true 40 Gb/s speeds, 8K display support, Daisy-Chaining and Multi-Port Accessory Architecture provide reliable connectivity and better user experience.
• Dedicated for Extreme OC: The top-notch R&D design and exclusive 2 DIMM solution for an even clearer DDR5 memory signal to explore the boundaries of memory overclocking, deliver the world class memory performance.
• Extreme Power Design: Premium digital PWM, direct 10+1+1 phases with 105A Smart Power Stage and Titanium Choke III to unleash the true power of your processors.
• Triple M.2 Connectors: Onboard triple M.2 connectors for the maximum storage performance with dual Lightning Gen 4 solution.
• Outstanding Cooling Solution: Frozr Heatsink, VRM Heat-pipe, Aluminium Cover, M.2 Shield Frozr and Aluminium Backplate ensure the extreme performance with low temp.
• 2.5G LAN with latest Wi-Fi 6E: Onboard 2.5G LAN with LAN manager and latest Wi-Fi 6E solution which supports 6GHz spectrum delivering the best online gaming experience.
• 12 Layer Server Grade PCB Design: Provides higher performance and long-lasting system stability without any compromise.
• Audio Boost 5: Isolated audio with a high quality ALC4080 audio processor & amp for the most immersive gaming experience.

Premium Hardware Design

With years of experience, MSI is no stranger to building high-performance motherboards. Our R&D and engineering teams have reviewed countless designs, evaluated a wide selection of high quality components, and developed products for reliability even under extreme conditions.

Cooling

Thermal Overview

Total Thermal Solution

Frozr Heatsink Design

MEG Z690I UNIFY features active cooling solution for the enthusiast gamers and prosumers. The Double Ball Bearing Design, Zero Frozr Technology and dedicated software functions enhance the user experience and provide the extreme performance.

Thermal Solution for More Cores and Higher Performance

With more cores’ processors, thermal and power design is more important to make sure the temperature keeps lower. MSI extended PWM heatsink and enhanced circuit design ensures even high-end CPU to run in full speed with MSI motherboards.

M.2 Shield Frozr

World’s fastest SSDs can start to lower performance when getting hot. Part of the motherboards heatsink design, M.2 Shield Frozr is the next generation M.2 thermal solution to avoid this by offering the best thermal protection to make sure that SSD maintains maximum performance.

With MSI M.2 Shield Frozr

• Prevents throttling
• Maximizes drive performance
• Higher maximum SSD speeds

Aluminium Backplate

The heavy and aluminium backplate not only strengthens the motherboard, protects components, prevents PCB bending, but also cools down your Mosfet with dedicated thermal pad, makes your VRM temperature low and ensures even high-end CPU to run in full speed.

Frozr AI Cooling

Detecting CPU & GPU temperatures and automatically adjusting fan duty of system fans to a proper value by adopting MSI AI ENGINE.

• Performance mode
• Silent mode
• Manual mode

Fully Fan Control

Fully Controllable in BIOS and Software

MSI motherboards let you manage speeds and temperatures for all your system and CPU fans. Total Fan Control allows you check your primary system characteristics in a simplified graphical interface. You can also set up to 4 temperature targets for CPU and motherboard, which will adjust the fan speeds automatically.

Autodetect DC or PWM Mode with Hysteresis

MSI fan headers automatically detect fans running in DC or PWM mode for optimal tuning of fan speeds and silence. Hysteresis also makes your fans spin up fluently to make sure your system stays silent, no matter what.

MSI:

• Smooth fan speeds
• Smooth sound levels

Others:

• Spiking fan speeds
• Annoying sound levels

Optimized for Water Cooling

Designed to support the most popular All-In-One & customized water cooling solutions on the market. A dedicated water pump PIN header supports up to 3 amp, giving you full control of the water pump speed. A clearly marked ‘keep-out-zone’ allows for easy and safe installation and a perfect fit.

Power Solution

Structure - Direct 10+1+1 Phases Power Design

Unleash and sustain the maximum performance with a flagship VRM design built with a total of direct 10+1+1 digital power phases. Combining 105A Smart Power Stage and Core Boost technology, MEG Z690I UNIFY is ready for the challenge of high-end processors.

• Direct Digital PWM
• Direct Power Phases Design
• 10 x 105A Smart Power Stage
• 10 x Titanium Choke III
• Optimized for Intel Processors

Core Boost

Core Boost technology combines MSI’s premium layout and digital power design which allows for faster and undistorted current delivery to the CPU at pin-point precision. Not only supporting multi-core CPU, also creating the perfect conditions for your CPU overclocking.

Game Boost - 1-Second Overclocking!

MSI Game Boost enables one-second overclocking, giving you the performance boost you need to get more FPS.

More for Performance

• Load-Line Calibration - What you set, is what you get. LLC makes sure your CPU voltage remains 100% stable under any load. This greatly improves stability when demanding more CPU performance.
• Overvoltage Protection - Prevents potential short-circuit damage to the CPU and other critical components.
• Digital Power Design - A fully digital power design allows for faster and undistorted current delivery to the CPU at pin-point precision. Creating the perfect conditions for CPU overclocking.

DIY Friendly

Pre-Installed I/O Shield

Featuring the pre-installed IO shield, makes your installation process easier and safer. The patent-pending design protect your IO ports and also prevent electrostatic discharge damage, makes your motherboard a strong gaming foundation.

DIY Gadgets - More User Friendly Gadgets

• Battery sticker, Cable labels and Case badge
• Cleaning brush
• USB drive
• Screwdrivers

More User Friendly Enhancements

• XL Clip - The enlarged PCI-E clip helps you swap or remove your devices easier. Keep the PCI-E slot stronger and safer.
• EZ Debug LED - Run into trouble? Onboard LEDs for key components will indicate the source of the problem so you know exactly where to look to get up and running again.
• EZ Front Panel Cable - This cable takes care of the tedious part of the build process, makes motherboard front panel connections quickly and accurately.

Protection

PCB Design

The PCB design has been optimized for higher bandwidth and faster transfer speeds, which is also beneficial for reliable circuit transmission.

• 12 PCB layers
• IT-170 Server-grade PCB material

Steel Armor - Fortify Your System with PCIe Steel Armor

MSI PCI Express Steel Armor slots are secured to the motherboard with extra solder points and support the weight of heavy graphics cards. When every advantage in games counts, Steel Armor shields the point of contact from electromagnetic interference.

Double ESD Protection - Ultimate Motherboard Protection

Double ESD protection doubles up the grounding layer around the mounting holes, preventing static discharge surges from damaging the motherboard.

Certification

Super Stable Gaming with the Highest Quality Components

MSI uses high quality components rated for reliable operation even under extreme conditions.

• Titanium Choke III - Ti choke III has 30% improved power delivery efficiency compared to its predecessor, allowing for improved overclocking stability
• 105A Smart Power Stage - Next-gen 3-in-1 Mosfet package capable of delivering more power at precise timings with fewer components.
• Solid Cap - Japanese made Solid CAPs are built for high-reliability motherboards with their aluminium core design. These capacitors have low Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) and are rated to work for more than 10-years.
• Humidity Protection
• Temperature Protection
• Circuit Protection
• ESD Protection
• EMI Protection

Windows 11 Certified

With MSI you benefit from great compatibility and a worry-free user experience when using Microsoft Windows 11. With a true dedication to performance, our R&D team has made sure everything works as intended when using the latest version of Microsoft Windows on any MSI product.

Certified for Gaming

MSI motherboards has been built and tweaked for hardcore gaming. Feedback from the world’s best esports players and rigorous testing sessions with demanding PC games has resulted in a motherboard that’s both powerful and reliable.

Enhanced Performance

High performance MSI motherboards are loaded with advanced features and the latest technology to overwhelm any challenge at hand no matter whether you're a gamer, prosumer, or PC enthusiast.

Memory

DDR5 - Latest DDR5 Memory

A huge step of DDR performance enhancement with the latest DDR5 memory. Combines with dedicated SMT welding process and MSI Memory Boost technology, MEG Z690 ACE is ready to deliver the world class memory performance.

Memory Support Stand

The aluminium backplate cools down your motherboard, while the dedicated sunken design strengthens the memory slot area to prevent PCB bending and to protect surrounding components.

SMT DDR5 Memory Slot

The advanced SMT(Surface Mount Technology) welding process reduces the defect rate of slot solder joints, electromagnetism, and interference. Combining with exclusive Memory Boost technology allows MSI motherboards to deliver the clean and pure high-frequency DDR5 signal.

Memory Boost - Extreme Stability & Compatibility Testing

MSI conducts thorough memory testing with the most popular memory brands under extreme conditions to ensure your system runs stable no matter what. Our memory partners include brands like Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, G.Skill and many more to optimize memory modules, configurations and even improve overclocking.

XMP 3.0 - Easy Overclocking with XMP Profile

The XMP (Extreme Memory Profiles) in MSI BIOS are tested and certified by MSI OC LAB. It is easy to enable with auto power settings to get the best memory speed and stability.

Extreme Memory Profile

• Dynamic Memory Boost
• Up to 5-XMP Profiles
• Enhanced Voltage Control
• Always on Program Mode

Memory Force – Easy Tuning Your DDR5 Memory

MSI MEG series motherboards feature exclusive Memory Force function which shows the current state of DDR5 memory. This patent-pending feature simplifies the complicated training flow to an easy graphic that helps you determine the direction of overclocking without the redundant reboot and testing process.

The longer bar means you have more room for memory overclocking. When you are doing the right thing that pushes the memory performance, the bar will shorten so you can easily know the tuning direction of overclocking with just one look.

Lightning Speed

SMT PCIe 5.0 Slot

MSI motherboards adopted the advanced SMT(Surface Mount Technology) PCI-E slot to diminish interference and electrical noise, fully supporting higher bandwidth and faster transfer speeds of PCI-E 5.0 signal.

Lightning Gen 5 PCIe

MSI Lightning Gen 5 PCI-E represents the bandwidth of a x16 interface to 128GB/s, which is double of the speed of the previous generation.

Storage Overview - Fast and Future-Ready Storage

MSI motherboards support all the latest storage standards, which allows users to connect any ultra-fast storage device. Higher efficiency makes your work easier.

Optane

Optane - Boost Your HDD to Perform Like an SSD

PC Enthusiasts can now enjoy the performance of an SSD on their HDD by coupling it with the new Intel® Optane™ Memory device. Intel® Optane™ technology provides an unparalleled combination of high throughput, low latency, high quality of service, and high endurance.

BIOS & Software

MSI Centre

MSI brand new MSI Centre unifies a suite of MSI software utilities into a single centralized application. Take control of advanced motherboards features and unleash endless possibilities.

• Mystic Light - Create your own colourful masterpiece with ease. Splash any colour you want with just a few clicks!
• True Colour - Optimized monitor’s brightness and colour in several modes for different situation, you can also customize by yourself.
• User Scenario - One click for setting your computer, even customize own profile as your preference.
• Hardware Monitoring - Get immediate access to your critical hardware information in real-time.
• Profile Setting - Tune select motherboard settings in the OC Setting menu, where options to boost core performance and optimize system cooling are presented in an intuitive interface.
• Fan Centre - Assume complete control of your fans with Fan Centre. Set up to four CPU temperature targets and the motherboard will adjust fan speeds automatically.
• LAN Manager - Elevate latency-sensitive for dedicated online games and restrict the bandwidth to non-essential programs for uninterrupted online gaming.
• System Diagnosis - Restore and backup your MSI storage devices in one click to provide stable system usage, you can even monitor the storage status to prevent system crash or data missing.

Click BIOS 5

• EZ-Mode
• Advance Mode

Get more from a loaded BIOS designed for ease of use. Fine-tune the motherboard for gaming performance, efficiency, or overclocking world records!

• XMP- Choose from a preset XMP profile and automatically overclock compatible DDR memory.
• VMD (Volume Management Device) - Enable direct control and management of NVMe SSDs from the PCIe bus without additional hardware adaptors.
• M-Flash - Conveniently flash or upgrade the BIOS in a few minutes from the CMOS Setup Utility.
• Hardware Monitor - Get immediate access to your critical hardware information in real-time including temperature, memory capacity, clock speed, and voltage.
• Memory Try It - Get extreme speed out of your system memory and get more performance.
• Search & Favourites - A permanent search & favourite option in the top right corner moves you through the BIOS menus quickly.

MSI Sound Tune - Sound Clearly. Tune Smartly

The AI-powered noise cancellation is trained through deep neural network (DNN), the model is generated with more than 500 million data, simulate the way human brain works. When a sound is heard, the model automatically recognizes and separate vocal sound from background noises; hence, filtering out all the unwanted Noise.

Resizable BAR (Re-Size BAR)

Resizable BAR (Re-Size BAR) is an advanced PCI Express feature that enables the CPU to access the entire GPU frame buffer at once and improve performance.

*Function may differ due to version change. Please update the latest VBIOS/BIOS/Driver through MSI official website or consult service centre.

Connectivity

MSI motherboards are built with a variety of connectors to satisfy garners. Enhanced audio, advanced LAN networking capabilities, USB and Mystic Light turn any gaming experience into an immerse one.

Networking

Intel 2.5G LAN- High-Bandwidth and Low-Latency Network

2.5Gbps LAN with LAN manager provides incredible data transfer speed faster than general Gigabit LAN, delivering the best online gaming experience.

Wi-Fi 6 - Surfacing with the Real MU-MIMO Technology

The latest Wi-Fi 6E solution supports 6GHz spectrum, Bluetooth 5.2, two-way MU-MIMO and BSS colour technology, provide up to 4X network capacity and efficiency in the high signal density environment, delivering speeds up to 2400Mbps.

Next-Gen Intel® Wi-Fi 6E & Bluetooth

Connect to a high-speed wireless network powered by an Intel® Wi-Fi / Bluetooth solution with dedicated high quality Wi-Fi antenna, delivering AX speeds up to 2.4Gbps.

LAN Manager - Optimize Online Gaming Traffic for Lower Latency!

MSI LAN Manager automatically classifies and prioritizes the latency-sensitive applications for online games, giving you the best online gaming experience with low latency.

• Automatically prioritizes games above other applications
• Allows you to change applications' traffic priority
• Allows you to customize bandwidth for each application

USB

Dual Thunderbolt™ 4 Ports

Experience Thunderbolt 4 with unprecedented interface bandwidth speeds up to true 40Gbp and support for up to six daisy-chained devices. Additionally, Maximum 8K display support, Multi-Port Accessory Architecture and USB 4.0 compliant provide reliable connectivity and better user experience.

• Maximum 8K display support
• Daisy Chain support
• Multi-Port Accessory Architecture

Front USB 20G Type-C - Double Bandwidth with Lightning USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20G Type-C

Front USB devices has never been faster! MEG Z690 series motherboards offer a wide variety of options to connect and boost your USB devices, offering never before seen USB speeds up to 20Gb/s when connecting the front USB Type-C.

Audio

Audio Boost 5

• High Definition ALC4080 Audio Processor - From HD-A to USB Interface, twice the DAC format from 32-bit/192kHz to 32-bit/384kHz, deliver the highest sound quality.
• High Quality Audio Capacitors - A high fidelity sound experience with exceptional acoustics and realism for studio level headphones is ensured.
• Golden Audio Jacks - Keep your sound perfect by transmit your audio with pure digital signal.
• Dedicated Headphone Amplifier - A dedicated headphone can drive audiophile headphones up to 600Ω impedance, delivering studio-grade sound quality from your gaming PC.

All New Nahimic 3 - For Next Level Audio Immersion

Get ready to be amazed by the all new Nahimic 3 and live the gaming immersion like never before! With simple and intuitive new UI, the Nahimic 3 not only further enhances in game 3D surround sound, but also offers even more finite control over your music, movies, and conference calls.

• Bass
• Calibration Auto
• Expert Setting
• Frequent Leveller
• HD Audio Recorder
• Smart Loudness
• Voice Leveller
• Sound Tracker
• Treble
• Virtual Surround
• Voice Sharper
• Voice Clarity

Isolated Audio Signal

• Isolated Audio Design - Like a dedicated sound card, audio components and circuits have been laid on a reserved motherboard section and electrically isolated.
• Separated Audio Layers for Clean Left & Right Channels - Using separated layers in the PCB ensures equally pristine sound quality for both left and right audio channels.

De-POP Protection

Audio Boost protects your ears by eliminating those annoying loud popping sounds when you plug/unplug devices or turn your PC on/off.