The Intel Z690 Motherboard Overview (DDR5): Over 50+ New Models

MSI MAG Z690 Torpedo (DDR5) & Torpedo EK X (DDR5)

The MSI MAG Z690 Torpedo is a slightly cut-down version of the MAG Z690 Tomahawk WIFI, but with a slightly more affordable feature set and a futuristic styled deep bluey-grey aesthetic. Touching more on the aesthetic, all of the board's design includes a metallic grey and blue set of heatsinks, with alternating black and blue memory slots, and an all-black PCB. MSI is advertising an 18-phase power delivery operating at 16+1+1. 

Diving into the specifications of the MAG Z690 Torpedo, MSI includes one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, with two full-length PCIe 3.0 slots operating at x4/x1, with a one smaller PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. Looking at storage options, there's a total of four M.2 slots, including three PCIe 4.0 x4 and one PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slot. Other options include six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. In the top right-hand corner are four memory slots that are capable of supporting DDR5-6400, with a combined capacity of 128 GB. 

On the rear panel is one USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C, three USB 3.2 G2 Type-A, two USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. One of the USB 2.0 ports supports BIOS Flashback for which there is a small button, while five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are powered by a Realtek ALC4080 HD audio codec. The Torpedo doesn't include a wireless CNVi, but it does include an Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller. Finishing the rear panel is a pair of video outputs, including one DisplayPort 1.4 and one HDMI 2.1 output.

The MSI MAG Z690 Torpedo EK X addition is essentially the same as the Torpedo, except it comes with a custom EKWB monoblock, although we don't have any images or other information at the time of writing.