Question ASRock Z690M-ITX BIOS Intel 13th Gen Support

[Aolish]

Hey all! I was wondering if anyone has the ASRock Z690M-ITX and paired it with an i7 13700 or any 13th gen Intel CPU on this board. According to Newegg, the board might need a BIOS update. Since I do not have a spare older gen LGA 1700 CPU there is really no way of knowing if the 13700 will work on this board without an update. Does anyone know if this board supports a way to update the bios without a monitor? Thanks. Any insights are greatly appreciated, please let me know how this combo worked out for you if you have this setup.

 

[In2Photos]

According to both the motherboard page and manual the motherboard has a BIOS flashback button on the rear IO. Here's the support page on how to use the feature.

https://www.asrock.com/support/QA/FlashbackSOP.pdf

 

[BoomerD]

I just built with a MSI Z690 Tomahawk DDR4 board. Doing the BIOS update was quick and easy...and I did that BEFORE I installed CPU or RAM. The BIOS flashback is simple to do. Just follow the instructionss.

 

[Tech Junky]

Flashback is one of the great things about ASR boards! It keeps it simple to make it work. Grab the UEFI file from their website and unzip to the root of a USB drive and plug it into the one port on the back that doesn't look like the others and fire it up. Give it ~5-10 minutes if you're not using a monitor and it should flash on its own. Would be easier though with a monitor so you can see the progress and make sure it picks up the file. I just updated my UEFI the other day since it had been awhile and it took a couple of minutes from a slow USB key.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I just updated my UEFI the other day since it had been awhile and it took a couple of minutes from a slow USB key.

How can you tell it's done updating?

 

[Tech Junky]

How can you tell it's done updating?

You just wait. It only takes a couple of minutes and then reboots once or twice and then it's complete. I have mine hooked up and can see the progress. The UEFI on the 690/790 boards though is slow to post 30-45s typically on my system. Since flashing the updated file the other day though it seems a bit quicker to post though. I haven't timed it though to quantify it and it could just be psychological. The post on their site said an improvement in the CPU....


There are also indicators on the board when the case is open you can use to identify what's going on w/o a monitor hooked up.

I've stripped my system down to a terminal only boot at this point as the GUI isn't something I need. Saves a bit of space on the disk and speeds up things.

https://www.asrock.com/support/QA/FlashbackSOP.pdf

 

[Aolish]

Thanks so much guys for all the help. Appreciate it. I didn't know that this board had a bios update feature.

 

[Aolish]

Hello all, I just got all the equipment but ironically my ASrock Z690M-ITX didn't come with any motherboard screws (I can't remember if they came with standoffs also) Do I just use the stand offs and screws that come with my case? Is this a common thing with mobos? I haven't been in the scene in about 15 years and so I don't know if this is something that mobos manufacturers have recently done.

 

[OlyAR15]

ASrock Z690M-ITX didn't come with any motherboard screws (I can't remember if they came with standoffs also

Motherboards never come with those screws, or standoffs. The case should come with all that.

 

[Aolish]

Thanks appreciate the reply. I'm currently trying to update the bios using the bios flashback function. The instructions say that the bios flashback light is suppose to flash green and yellow alternately. However it does not do that but instead stays at SOLID green and yellow. It flashed a couple of times but after that BOTH green and yellow lights stay lit solid and is doing nothing. I have followed the instructions to the best of my knowledge. I renamed the bios file to CREATIVE.ROM and the stick is formatted to FAT32 and I have it in the USB Flashback port. I have a picture of the two lights that are solid now. They are NOT blinking at all, its as if its doing nothing. Now I don't know whether or not to pull the power or not.

 

[Tech Junky]

renamed the bios file to CREATIVE.ROM

This might be the issue as it's going to look for the file name. Also, the USB port should be indicated on the IO plate as to the proper one to do a flashback on. Then there's the little black button you have to use to initiate the process.

 

[Aolish]

This might be the issue as it's going to look for the file name. Also, the USB port should be indicated on the IO plate as to the proper one to do a flashback on. Then there's the little black button you have to use to initiate the process.

Yeah, it turns out it was the file name. Whoever is doing a google search, you might want to try creative.rom rather than CREATIVE.ROM. It turns out the file name had to be in all lower case. However I had bumped into another hurdle. And this one unfortunately may be know way around it. I bought the Vetroo 5 Heatsink to be used with the ASRock Z690M-ITX mobo and the ram is to close to the heatsink which prevents me in installing in the fan. The only other route I can take is to use the stock heatsink fan that came with my cpu unless anyone here has another suggestion. Pic is below.

 

[Tech Junky]

I just move the fan clips up a few fins for clearance. As long as the fan isn't in the way of the case closing it should be fine. I'm using a se226 cooler and put dual fans on it instead of the single fan or comes with and the fans daisy chain together with pwm pst sharing.

 

[OlyAR15]

The only other route I can take is to use the stock heatsink fan that came with my cpu unless anyone here has another suggestion.

Welcome to the joys of building with an mITX board. Especially with the LGA1700 socket. Space is tight, and a lot of air coolers are incompatible with tall RAM modules. Even AIOs have issues. If you are not doing anything strenuous, the stock HSF is an option. Another is to go custom watercooling, which is what I did. Or you can try a top-down HSF combo.

 

[Aolish]

I am having some problems installing this new intel heatsink. On the older styles you had arrows that you had to turn to point out in order for the pegs to go in. In this new one they are not there. I'm pushing down and they don't seem to be going all the way in. Do these new intel heatsink knobs need to be turned just like the old styles or do I just simply push down on these new ones. Please tell me below if you think these pegs went all the way through. For some reason the heatsink look loose when I wiggle it but the pegs don't go in further.

EDIT: Incase your wondering what the sticky residue is on the bottom of the CPU bracket, I had to remove the bracket that was on the Vetroo V5. Unfortunately it left a mark. Will the leftover mark do anything negative? Thanks for all the help you guys have been giving me.

 

[Aolish]

mmmmm, I turned on the system and I am getting no picture. I have the bare minimum installed. CPU and RAM and I have a monitor. CPU power, 24-pin, hdmi to monitor are all connected and no picture. Any help is appreciated.

EDIT: System just turned on, it looks like the test bench that I was laying it on some how shorted the mobo in a way that prevented it from turning on. I laid it on the box and now it is on and running.

 

[Mantrid-Drone]

I was thinking if you're happy going with the stock Intel cooler which I believe uses a 100mmx100mm fan you could get more cooling by going down a fan size to get more clearance using the, I'd suspect better, Vetroo V5 heat sink with, a push/pull Noctua 92mm 'quiet' fan pair, one fan each side of the heat sink connected by a splitter cable.

There looks to be enough room for that sort of set up.

Noctua will supply extra CPU Cooler fan clips for free if you ask them nicely. Whether they have specific ones for 92mm fans I do not know but I'm certain that 120mm clips could be easily adapted and should fit the Vetroo V5 as that looks like a fairly standard symmetrical heat sink design.

 

[Aolish]

Or you can try a top-down HSF combo.

I was thinking if you're happy going with the stock Intel cooler which I believe uses a 100mmx100mm fan you could get more cooling by going down a fan size to get more clearance using the, I'd suspect better, Vetroo V5 heat sink with, a push/pull Noctua 92mm 'quiet' fan pair, one fan each side of the heat sink connected by a splitter cable.

There looks to be enough room for that sort of set up.

Noctua will supply extra CPU Cooler fan clips for free if you ask them nicely. Whether they have specific ones for 92mm fans I do not know but I'm certain that 120mm clips could be easily adapted and should fit the Vetroo V5 as that looks like a fairly standard symmetrical heat sink design.

I was thinking the same thing, however I think I'm going to stick with the stock HSF. If anyone can give me a good top down HSF combo that doesn't have to much of a wide top would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the help again.