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We’ve been doing lots of Intel B660 motherboard testing as of late. For these of you who do not need to sit via dozens of assessments and almost 20 completely different motherboards characteristic units, we’ll get proper to the purpose and present you our prime picks for finest Intel B660 motherboards.
You ought to know, shopping for a extremely strong funds Intel motherboard is as troublesome as ever with energy limits and efficiency in all places. There are few good choices, primarily from MSI, whereas we have been dissatisfied with what Gigabyte and Asus have to supply on the decrease finish, as their sub-$150 boards are solely appropriate for Core i5 CPUs, which issues quite a bit for those who plan to push your CPU to the restrict or improve later.
That compares poorly to funds AMD B550 boards, most of that are excellent. You can decide up one thing just like the Gigabyte B550M DS3H for simply $90, which may run the Ryzen 9 5950X. It’s a missed alternative, in our opinion, as Alder Lake CPUs are nice. Without additional ado…
Best Entry-Level
The finest entry-level motherboard must be able to supporting as much as the Core i7-12700, at or close to most efficiency. As we have proven, the most cost effective B660 boards just like the Asrock HDV are a whole waste of cash as they’re going to restrict you to Core i3 and some choose Core i5 elements (anything and they’re going to make the CPU throttle), at which level you would possibly as properly purchase a less expensive B560 board or ideally soar to AMD’s AM4 platform.
Even for those who solely plan on shopping for a Core i3 or i5 processor now, having the choice to improve down the observe for extra processing energy is value spending one other $20. The drawback is that there are only a few inexpensive B660 motherboards that are not full junk, the Asrock HDV is presently retailing for $100, the Phantom Gaming isn’t any higher prices $110, after which there’s the mATX model of the Pro RS for $120. In my opinion, $120 is what it is advisable spend proper now for a good B660 board as that can afford you the Soyo B660M Classic by way of AliExpress with free transport to the US.
Frankly, it is value risking any potential guarantee points on the Soyo board because it’s worlds higher than something you should purchase regionally for below $140. When in comparison with the Asrock HDV, you are ~60% larger CPU efficiency when paired with the Core i7-12700.
Best Budget / Value Intel B660 Motherboard
If you are not as thinking about penny pinching and simply desire a good worth B660 board, then I extremely suggest the MSI Pro B660M-A for $140 or $150 for the Wi-Fi model. This is with out query the perfect worth B660 motherboard on the market, capable of get essentially the most out of all locked Alder Lake CPUs with ease.
This is an MSI motherboard, so you may get guarantee by way of an area retailer, that makes it value the additional $20 over the Soyo B660M Classic. Warranty apart although, it is a significantly better high quality board with much more options.
The I/O panel options two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports in addition to two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports after which two USB 2.0 ports. There’s additionally two DisplayPort outputs and two HDMI outputs. The VRM is totally lined by two giant heatsinks, the first M.2 slot will get a heatsink, there’s 4 DIMM slots, 4 SATA ports, a second full size PCIe x16 slot and a pair of.5Gbps community help, so it is a properly geared up board given the worth and my final finest worth B660 motherboard.
Best mATX Intel B660
For these of you along with your sights set on a Core i7-12700 or Core i9-12900 construct, and are keen to drop a bit additional cash on the motherboard, the MSI B660M Mortar WiFi is a superb choice and the perfect MicroATX B660 board in our opinion. It’s a tad steeper at $180, and whereas that’s Z690 territory, its VRM places most entry-level Z690 boards to disgrace.
Wi-Fi 6 help is offered out of the field, together with 2.5 Gbit LAN and loads of USB ports, 8 in whole and that features a Type-C. The board itself is littered in heatsinks, there’s a big heatsink over the B660 chip, two M.2 heatspreaders and two giant VRM heatsinks which additionally extract warmth from the inductors, and the I/O defend comes pre-installed.
The VRM on this one is slightly mighty, packing a 6-phase vcore with two Renesas 60A powerstages per section, so for the vcore there are a dozen 60A powerstages. Couple that with the large heatsinks and you’ve got a recipe for a excessive efficiency VRM which dominated our testing.
Alternatively, if you do not have entry to this mannequin in your area or pricing is not favorable, a robust competitor is the Gigabyte B660M Aorus Pro AX, which additionally prices $180. The VRM efficiency is comparable and it additionally packs an awesome characteristic set.
Best Mini-ITX Intel B660
We may solely discover three Mini-ITX B660 motherboards presently in the marketplace: the Asus ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WiFi which prices $220, the Gigabyte B660I Aorus Pro which is not on sale within the US but, and the Asrock B660M-ITX/AC which prices simply $120.
The inexpensive Asrock board shall be finest suited to Core i5 processors given it solely packs a 5-phase vcore utilizing 5 50A powerstages, so the identical powerstages utilized by the Soyo B660M Classic, there’s simply three much less of them, which means Asrock’s little ITX board will not be capable of get essentially the most of of the Core i7-12700, doubtless removed from it. If you solely need to use the Core i5-12400 then it will work, you simply cannot improve.
While doubtlessly a very good worth combo, when paired with a 12400, it isn’t precisely the perfect Mini-ITX B660 board. That battle shall be fought by Asus and Gigabyte, and I’m giving it to Asus because the ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WiFi is on the market within the US and is for my part barely higher providing prime quality audio and an additional M.2 slot which is very beneficial on this sort of product.
You get an 8-phase vcore utilizing Vishay 60A energy levels, so extra present dealing with than most B660 boards. It additionally consists of Wi-Fi 6, Intel 2.5 Gbit LAN and eight USB ports on the I/O panel. It’s a jam packed board that provides virtually every thing you get on the bigger mATX fashions.
Best High-end Intel B660
If for any motive you resolve you need to spend approach an excessive amount of on an Intel B660 motherboard, MSI, Gigabyte and Asus are all keen to accomodate you. Full disclaimer although, we extremely suggest that as pricing approaches $200, you take into account abandoning the B660 platform in favour of Z690, as high quality boards such because the MSI Pro Z690-A begin at $190.
For $190, you may get the MSI B660 Tomahawk WiFi, and whereas I might usually go for the Z690 board, for those who do not care about CPU overclocking, it is attainable to argue that the B660 is the higher worth choice.
For starters, you get Wi-Fi 6 and wi-fi networking of any kind is not provided on the Z690 board. The B660 board additionally packs higher USB help with 5 gen-2 ports on the I/O panel, whereas the Z690 mannequin solely presents two. The B660 board additionally will get a better high quality audio codec, although the distinction will doubtless be minimal.
The MSI B660 Tomahawk Wi-Fi is a greater general board with full M.2 heatsink protection and a pre-installed I/O defend. Again, for those who do not care about CPU overclocking — you are not going to purchase a Ok-SKU half — then the B660 board is the higher deal.
High-end options to the MSI B660 Tomahawk Wi-Fi embody the Gigabyte B660 Aorus Master, which I am unable to discover anyplace, after which there’s the Asus ROG Strix B660-F Gaming Wi-Fi which can also be MIA within the U.S., however out there in different areas for $50 greater than the Tomahawk. Frankly, it is simply not value that premium, so the MSI B660 Tomahawk Wi-Fi is the perfect high-end B660 motherboard.
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