In this article we will test another Z690 motherboard for Alder Lake processors from Intel, but a more special product from the high-end segment, the BIOSTAR Z690A Valkyrie with support for DDR4 memory. The product has arrived inside a medium-sized cardboard enclosure, with a large product logo on the top cover. The end of the name signifies that this is a DDR4-compatible product, while the BIOSTAR Z690 Valkyrie runs with DDR5:

The back side informs the user on the main product highlights, the technical specifications, but we will also spot a drawing on the I/O shield interfaces:

After lifting the top cover, we will note the main product carefully wrapped inside a plastic anti-static bag:

The lower area includes the hardware bundle along with the documentation:

Speaking of the bundle, we will receive the User’s Guide, the software disk, four SATA cables but also an adapter for connecting the F_PANEL interfaces easier:

Here is a closer look at the adapter; we have seen a similar design many times before with other manufacturers:

The documentation is split in multiple chapters and comes with every bit of information needed to get the system up and running:

Z690A Valkyrie does come with an interesting, mech-like heatsink design, which is also RGB enabled. To avoid overheating with higher specced CPUs, BIOSTAR has equipped the board with no less than 20 power phases! Unlike other manufacturers which have used an inferior VRM design for the DDR4 boards, this is not the case for this board:

Power to the CPU is supplied from two 8-pin 12V ATX power headers: