Intel’s highly anticipated 12th generation Alder Lake launch is happening this week, and the chip giant is hoping to make a big splash in the desktop processor market. However, it appears that Newegg didn’t get the memo to keep Alder Lake-related products under wraps until launch. The company’s Canadian subsidiary is already listing the MSI Pro Z690-A DDR4 motherboard for sale, pre-announcement, priced at $279.99.
This early listing by Newegg Canada doesn’t come as too much of a surprise considering that one unnamed U.S. retailer has been shipping flagship Core i9-12900K processors to customers ahead of schedule. The Z690-A Pro DDR4 is an entry-level ATX motherboard that we first covered last week, so it likely won’t provide the performance or features that would be worthy of a Core i9-12900K. For starters, it supports legacy dual-channel DDR4 memory (up to 128GB) instead of the new DDR5 spec that Alder Lake is ushering in for the desktop PC market.
Also onboard are three PCIe x16 slots, one PCIe x1 slot, four M.2 slots, one USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, and six SATA III ports. Unfortunately, you won’t find onboard Wi-Fi given its entry-level positioning, but you receive integrated 2.5 GbE courtesy of an Intel I225-V chipset.
The Z690-A Pro DDR4 motherboard is on sale and in stock at Newegg Canada right now for $279.99 plus $7.99 shipping . To put that in comparison, the current generation Z590-A Pro is just slightly cheaper at $234.99 with free shipping (shipped by Newegg Canada). For comparison, the Z590-A Pro is priced at $179.99 from Newegg’s U.S. website, which could translate into U.S. pricing of just over $200 upon launch for the Z690-A Pro DDR4. We should also mention that the Z690-A Pro is available in both DDR4 and DDR5 versions with or without Wi-Fi.
The Z690-A Pro DDR4 will launch alongside no fewer than 16 other MSI Z690 motherboards, all of which are listed below:
| Motherboard | Memory Slots | M.2 Slots | SATA III Ports | PCIe x16 Slots | PCIe x1 Slots | USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Ports | USB 3.2 Gen 2 Ports | WiFi | Form Factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEG Z690 Ace | 4 x DDR5 | 5 | ? | 3 | ? | 2 | 7 | ? | ATX |
| MEG Z690 Unify | 4 x DDR5 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ? | ATX |
| MEG Z690 Unify-X | 2 x DDR5 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ? | ATX |
| MEG Z690I Unify | 2 x DDR5 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ? | Mini-ATX |
| MPG Z690 Carbon WiFi | 4 x DDR5 | 5 | ? | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | Yes | ATX |
| MPG Z690 Edge WiFi | 4 x DDR5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Yes | ATX |
| MPG Z690 Edge WiFi DDR4 | 4 x DDR4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Yes | ATX |
| MPG Z690 Force WiFi | 4 x DDR5 | 5 | ? | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Yes | ATX |
| MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi | 4 x DDR5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ? | Yes | ATX |
| MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4 | 4 x DDR4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ? | Yes | ATX |
| MAG Z690 Torpedo | 4 x DDR4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ? | ATX |
| Pro Z690-A | 4 x DDR5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | No | ATX |
| Pro Z690-A DDR4 | 4 x DDR4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | No | ATX |
| Pro Z690-A WiFi | 4 x DDR5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Yes | ATX |
| Pro Z690-A WiFi DDR4 | 4 x DDR4 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Yes | ATX |
| Pro Z690-P | 4 x DDR5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | No | ATX |
| Pro Z690-P DDR4 | 4 x DDR4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | No | ATX |
Intel will hold its virtual “Innovation” event this week from October 27th through October 28th. It is expected to formally announce its Core i9-12900K, Core i7-12700K, and Core i5-12600K processors, along with their supporting motherboard chipsets. The processors and motherboards from Intel’s various hardware partners (along with pre-built systems) are rumored to go on sale from November 4th.