Z68

Z68 is a motherboard chipset designed by Intel and released in early 2011 to support the company's second‑generation Core i series processors (Sandy Bridge) and later the third‑generation (Ivy Bridge) with a BIOS update. It belongs to the Intel 6 Series family and serves as a bridge between the central processing unit, memory, storage, and peripheral interfaces. The chipset integrates the functions of the former P67 and H67 chips, allowing both integrated graphics usage and CPU overclocking on a single platform, a feature that previously required separate chipsets.

Key specifications of Z68 include support for dual-channel DDR3 memory up to 1333 MHz, up to eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, and PCI Express 2.0 lanes for graphics and expansion cards. The chipset also supports Intel Rapid Storage Technology, enabling RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 configurations, and Intel Smart Connect Technology, which maintains network connectivity while the system is in sleep mode. It provides the Intel HD Graphics 2000/3000 integrated GPU bandwidth via the DMI link, allowing users to disable a discrete graphics card for power savings.

Z68 was positioned as a high‑end solution for enthusiast and mainstream desktop builds, offering a balance of performance, overclocking capability, and flexible graphics options. It was succeeded by the Z77 chipset in 2012, which added support for USB 3.0 and further improvements for Ivy Bridge processors. Despite its brief market lifespan, Z68 remains notable for unifying overclocking and integrated graphics features in a single chipset, influencing later Intel platform designs.