ASRock Z690 PG Riptide

Full-size ATX motherboard with Intel Z690 chipset, designed for high-performance systems with Intel Core 12th, 13th, and 14th generation processors. Part of the Phantom Gaming series from ASRock, it combines a gamer-oriented design, a reliable component base, and a reasonable price point. Ideal for systems with a Core i7 or Core i9, including builds focused on upgrades and overclocking.

The power section is built on a 13-phase scheme, cooled by two massive heatsinks and is more suitable for powering moderately potent and warm processors without extreme overclocking. The main PCIe slot operates on the Gen5 bus, offering maximum bandwidth for future generations of graphics cards. For storage, there are three M.2 ports (two supporting PCIe 4.0, one with PCIe 3.0), as well as eight SATA 3 ports for classic storage devices.

Heatsinks on the M.2 slots help maintain stable performance even under prolonged load. The ASRock Z690 PG Riptide board's network features include a 2.5-gigabit network controller based on the Killer E3100G chip. It lacks built-in Wi-Fi but provides an M.2 Key-E slot for installing external wireless modules. The audio path is built on the ALC897 with shielding and dedicated components — sufficient for everyday use, communication, and streaming. Visually, the board maintains a dark color scheme, features Phantom Gaming's signature RGB lighting, and comes with a pre-installed I/O shield.