And given the pricing of many Z590 motherboards, that makes for a welcome change. And if you need a lot of fast storage, youre well taken care of with up to five M.2 modules that can work simultaneously. Even so, the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro almost bucks that trend by offering a rounded feature set along with DDR5 support for around $330. Peripheral Component Interconnect Express slots on the motherboard are designed to accommodate add-in cards like graphics cards, SSD cards, dedicated sound cards, etc. Now he's back, writing about the nightmarish graphics card market, CPUs with more cores than sense, gaming laptops hotter than the sun, and SSDs more capacious than a Cybertruck. Whether you're buying one of the best motherboards or a different model, you may find some savings by checking our list of coupon codes, especially our list of Newegg promo codes and Micro Center coupons. Asus has always positioned its TUF products as reliable options, with decent pricing and a more basic feature set. Asus' ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero wants to be the last AM4 motherboard you'll ever need. And don't expect loads of external expansion. Still, those who need more than 64GB of RAM (professionals, content creators, etc), will have to look elsewhere. No, but the Gigabyte A520 Aorus Elite, unlike almost all preceding A320 boards, definitely does not mean cheap and nasty. If you do, there are Z690 options (we reviewed two already, the ASRock Z690 PG ITX-TB4 and MSI MEG Z690I Unify) though most of these are well over $300. Though a lot of the grey chipset and M.2 cooling will be hidden beneath a GPU, it might not be the easiest board to blend in with your build. Theres no PCIe 4.0, but no Intel systems have it either, not untilRocket Lake next year (opens in new tab). Other economics include details like just one heat spreader supplied for the two M.2 slots and arguably the general air of old-fashionedness. One obvious thing missing from the feature list is the support for PCIe 5.0 graphics cards, although seeing as no such cards currently exist, that's not the miss that you might think. Plus, if you're a fan of Razer products, then theres a Razer-themed Z690 Taichi for easy integration into the Chroma ecosystem, too. And I can totally get on board with that. Something has to be done about that ridiculous USB naming scheme, but thats a story for another day. And at $330 you'll have a few dollars that you can put towards the scarcer things, like DDR5 memory or a faster GPU. If youre on a budget, this Gigabyte A520 Aorus Elite is well worth a look. The Asus ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI is the ITX board of choice if youre looking to save some money and dont plan to overclock your Alder Lake processor. Your top Z690 boards offer 10Gbps LAN and Wi-Fi 6E, but for our purposes that is another one of those luxuries we can afford to ignore. Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. The board delivered average or above average results in the 3DMark tests and actual game tests. This helps reduce latency and allows for a little more performance headroom compared to a four-slot design. In our extensive testing, performance, thermals and overclocking were also well within the range of other Z690 boards we've tested. Memory testing went without a hitch, with DDR4 3600 supported at 1:1, and it easily handled the DDR4 4000 kit. The best gaming motherboard is like the foundation for your dream PC build. The primary PCIe slot is not the topmost one either, its the one below it. But what is it that makes a great motherboard? How about memory support? Read: Asus ROG Maximus XIII Extreme Glacial review. Outside of that, the appearance changed significantly from the companys previous boards, with shrouds dominating the surface and an absence of on-board RGBs. You get clear CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons, antenna connectors, the standard audio ports with S/PDIF, and finally a single Intel i225-V 2.5G LAN port. It benefits from the strengths of the Ryzen platform and adds some future-proofing into the mix. Heres why you can trust us. NY 10036. You're still looking at strong VRM, so the maximum turbo load of a 12900K shouldn't be an issue for it, and you still get a ton of I/O ports for your money. Gigabyte's audio implementations usually impress, and the X570S does again. Its a good option around the $200 mark, though there are similarly specced boards that cost less. Other than knowing which processor you're going to be fitting, size matters when picking up a motherboard. But if you're considering an AMD-based build here in mid-2022, you may want to wait a bit for the company's upcoming Ryzen 7000 processors, which will use the new AM5 socket and trio of chipsets, A670E, X670 and B650. Though we use an open test bench, even if you add 30 degrees or more, thats still well within range. You need to know which processor you want to build your new rig around. There are absolutely restrictions in place to stop that, especially on the Intel side. There are fewer USB ports and whats available is slower (no 20 Gbps USB or Type-C ports, for example). The A520M ITX/ac includes an 8-phase DRMOS VRM with 60a chokes. The little ASRock A520M ITX/ac has it where it counts and will serve you well at the heart of a budget gaming system. Purists will swear by discrete DACs, or 3rd party solutions, but with a decent ALC1220-VB audio codec and ESS Sabre Hi-Fi 9118 DAC for headphones, along with Chemicon and WIMA audio capacitors, gamers listening to bullets and bombs rather than Bach will be happy. If you need extra USB ports for that head massager or plasma ball, there are few better-equipped boards. Not only are we looking at great power design, but this little micro-ATX board manages to fit eight USB ports on the back panel (including one USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C), and a bunch of internal headers on the board itself. I'm talking 14+2 power stage, M.2 heatsinks, and pre-installed backplates. With some boards, you have to fight it to get it to do what you want, or expect it to, or have to crank up some voltage setting to a level you dont really want to, but the Dark Hero just boots the first time, even as we played with the memory clocks and timings and the Infinity Fabric. Sure it's lacking a little in the M.2 space, but three slots will cover most of us plebians not looking to store mountains of 4K video or every game in their Steam library simultaneously. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. They're proof that it's possible to blend function with form. Do you want to be able to overclock your CPU? This is a gaming motherboard positioned as an entry-level option for anyone looking to run Rocket Lake. It was almost inevitable that the top-end chipset for Intel's next-gen Alder Lake CPUs would end up being super-expensive. Everything else is present and correct though, including a reinforced x16 PCIe 4.0 slot for the GPU, another full-length slot running at x4, and then a final, short x1 PCIe 3.0 slot. The Ryzen 3100 is good for a 3.9GHz boost clock as standard, so thats a 300MHz overclock. Read: H610 Motherboard Roundup: i9-12900K Meets Sub-$120 Micro ATX. It doesnt have a VRM that youd use to run aRyzen 9 3950X (opens in new tab)at full power for extended periods but it will do the job with a suitable CPU. Thank you for signing up to PC Gamer. Fully equipped for the 48 lanes of Intel's 10th generation Core Extreme processors, the X299X Designare 10G comes loaded to the brink with Intel X550 dual 10Gb/s Ethernet and a pair of Thunderbolt 3 headers with dual DisplayPort passthrough on Intel's 40Gb/s controller. Its key features including Dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, a solid audio solution, and strong early memory support weigh in its favor. Standard fare, though perfectly adequate for most users. Alan Dexter There are twelve ports consisting of four USB 2.0, two USB 3.1 Gen 1, five USB 3.2 Gen 2, and a single Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port. For our review, we used anIntel Core i5 12600K (opens in new tab), a chip more likely to be paired with the mid-range chipset. We wouldnt try overclocking aRyzen 9 3950X (opens in new tab)with liquid nitrogen on this board, but a smart pairing of a 65W CPU with a bit of PBO for good measure wont present any issue, as long as you have good case airflow. It offered a good feature set and value for money without the excessive RGB overload that was common to gaming boards a few years ago. He first started writing for Official PlayStation Magazine and Xbox World many decades ago, then moved onto PC Formatfull-time, then PC Gamer, TechRadar, and T3 among others. The look of the board is definitely unique, and though looks are in the eye of the beholder, for me the cyberpunk theme, with its copper accents and cogs, looks great. A recorded peak of 73C VRM temperature is perfectly acceptable. AMDs laissez-faire approach to clocking the twangers off pretty much any CPU that comes its way, by enabling access to super-simple core ratio tweaks, means youd almost be mad not to give it a go. Outside of that, the performance across all of our testing was good, easily competing with the other DDR5-based boards. Its also unusual that theres not a Crosshair VIII Apex or Extreme, especially when Gigabyte and MSI have boards priced well above the Dark Hero. You will receive a verification email shortly. The Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme is the first AMD Extreme board since the X370 days, and it doesn't disappoint. In our testing, performance on our B660M Mortar was similar to those of the Z690-based DDR4 boards we tested previously. Read our full MSI MAG B550M Mortar review (opens in new tab). About the only downside with this option is the high contrast design, with lots of grey heatsinks. It has opened up memory overclocking across its 500-series chipsets, but still, the Z590 is your only chance of overclocking the latest Rocket Lake K-series CPUs. And as you would expect with a high-end board, our testing didn't reveal any issues in terms of the Maximus XIII Extreme Glacial's performance. Dave has been gaming since the days of Zaxxon and Lady Bug on the Colecovision, and code books for the Commodore Vic 20 (Death Race 2000!). The Mortar includes two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 sockets, six SATA ports, a premium last-generation audio solution and VRMs that easily manage the flagship Core i9 CPU. Read the full Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero review (opens in new tab). The Gigabyte was perhaps marginally behind under lightly threaded loads but was towards the front in the gaming tests. The 105A SPS MOSFETs, large heatsink, and overclocking tools ensure the board doesnt get in the way of top achievable clock speeds. It's possible for an x16 slot to only provide 8 lanes of data, for instance, which means the maximum possible data transfer rate is halved (though in many cases, because PCIe provides such a high ceiling for transfer speeds, a lower number of lanes doesn't make a tremendous difference). Note, though, that many higher-end B550 boards approach or exceed the price of X570 alternatives. That bodes well if you're looking for an affordable home for your AMD Zen 3 CPU of the future; this B550 has a great chance to ensure it performs to its fullest stock-clocked potential without breaking the bank. Realistically no one will run a setup like that but at least youre given the choice. The price premium for X570 models is still a serious consideration, as its X470 predecessors do not support the PCIe 4.0 integrated into the new CPUs. The MPG X570 features enough compatibility to get the most out of your hardware now and in the future, provided you're willing to pay a premium for it. Intel's Z690-chipset motherbaords, meanwhile, should work with Intel's upcoming 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs after a BIOS update. And overclocking testing proceeded without any issue. And in our testing, it performed above average overall, with some of the fastest results in our new Blender benchmark, Cinebench R23 and Procyon Office, with our game tests also showing results slightly higher than average for the Z690 boards we've tested. There are cheaper DDR4 boards aroundGigabyte also makes an Aorus Pro in DDR4 flavor, too, though that's not sold in the US or EUbut if you want to get the absolute most out of the new Intel platform you want DDR5. After our benchmark testing and a close look at its ample feature set, the Asus ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI has proved to be a worthy compact motherboard in the budget-friendly B660 space. So its overclocking ability is only limited to your cooling capability and the limitations of your silicon. AMD's A520 motherboard chipset might not make for the sexiest of PC components, thats for sure. Tested performance compared to the other Z590 models weve tested to this point was spot on, and often negligibly faster in many of our tests. Read our full Gigabyte X570S Aorus Master review (opens in new tab). Theres a single M.2 slot and four SATA ports. Read our full Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming review (opens in new tab). Its clear that this isnt a regular board with a fancy sticker slapped on it. When ASRock first launched its Taichi brand, we were impressed with its less-is-more design approach. The TUF Z590 Plus features a subtle design with a particularly nice white font. Wed like to have a 5G option at this price. EKWB makes a beautiful block for it and installation is a breeze even for beginners. So shop carefully based on the features you need or are likely to use in the future. Best 4K TV for gaming (opens in new tab): big-screen 4K PC gaming. Also, note the vertical SATA ports that sticklers for cable management might find objectionable. MSI's MEG Z690I Unify comes loaded with features including three M.2 sockets, four SATA ports, the latest-generation flagship audio, Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps Type-C) ports and integrated Wi-Fi 6E in this diminutive package. If youre on a tighter budget and dont care about PCIe 4.0 or the overclocking support offered by B550, then the A520 motherboards might be exactly what you need. The best gaming motherboards for AMD CPUs (including Ryzen 5000 and Threadripper) follow our Intel picks below. By The dual memory slot design, all those buttons and switches, a monstrous VRM, and a unique layout are all aimed at making life easier for overclockers. Gigabyte deserves credit for continuing to use finned VRM heatsinks which add a lot of surface area. There are several questions you should be asking yourself first before you start motherboard shopping. Where the Strix looks stronger, inevitably, involves overclocking. Packed with 12 USB ports (eight of which are USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds), a 2.5G LAN port, eight SATA ports, and integrated Wi-Fi 6, he Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero Wi-Fi is a good base for a high-end build. The underlying BIOS code is well and truly mature with Ryzen 3 CPUs having been in the marketplace for well over a year. There's sadly no overclocking capability with the MAG B660 Tomahawk, but it's a far more affordable option, particularly when compared with some Z690 options. will dictate the size of your PC case. Features such as Thunderbolt 4, a fifth M.2 slot, or 10G LAN would add considerable extra cost which is hard to justify. There's lots of competition in the Z690 Mini-ITX space, from all the major motherboard makers. UEFI has largely replaced the older BIOS standard. But just know that if you opt for an AM4 motherboard now you are buying into a dying last-gen platform. The heatsinks are big and chunky affairs. Read: MSI MAG B660M Mortar WIFI DDR4 review. A connector on the motherboard that allows you to run a cable to the case to add additional USB ports, typically on the front panel (though some cases provide top or rear panel slots as well). There are no less than eight USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, one of which is Type-C. That is compounded by the premium attached to anything which mentions DDR5. The X570S Master proved to be quite strong under multi-threaded loads while its single-threaded performance is about average. There was a problem. It doesnt feature the premium circuitry youll find on higher-end boards, but for an entry-level board, having the choice of a headset, S/PDIF or HDMI audio is superior to the implementations youll find on ancient ALC882 or 892 equipped boards. Overall, nothing to complain about with regards to how the Aorus Elite performed. There are just six USB ports here, none of them faster than the pair of teal 10 Gbps ports. The ASRock Z690 Taichi looks every inch a premium product. The Gigabyte A520 Aorus Elite is a high-end A520 board, which might seem oxymoronic, but if you didnt know what it was, youd be forgiven for assuming it was more of a mid-range board and not a $90 bargain. With plain Wi-Fi 6, 4x M.2 slots, a strong VRM, and loads of USB ports, most gamers will be happy. The Z690 Aorus Tachyon comes with robust power delivery that supports sub-ambient overclocking of any compatible Alder Lake CPU. After a rough start with the Mattel Aquarius as a child, Matt built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. If youre unsure which motherboard chipset youre after when choosing the best gaming motherboard, or you have other questions that aren't addressed here, you can visit our motherboard basics page and our motherboard buying guide features to help narrow down your shopping options. Although this board is made for overclocking, it still does most everything else well too. The primary slot is a x16 slot that supports PCIe 4.0, the second is a x16 slot (x4 electrical) that supports a PCIe 3.0 and finally, there's a PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. MPG X570 GAMING PRO CARBON WIFI Gaming Motherboard, The best Z690 board for DDR5 at a price that won't kill your bank balance, Grey metal might not blend into your build, Like all high-end Z690 boards, its expensive, The best Z590 motherboard for Rocket Lake CPUs, 4+8-pin power connectors could be restrictive, The best Z590 motherboard for overclockers and tweakers, The best X570 ever created, and the last AM4 board you'll ever need, The best gaming motherboard for AMD Ryzen 3000 builds, The best AMD motherboard with a million USB ports, Stock-clocked performance is unremarkable, The best B550 motherboard for pure gaming performance, Great stock-clock performance and efficiency, One for AMD's mini-ITX fans on a mini budget, The A520 Aorus Elite might be cheap, but it's definitely not nasty, We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices, BattleTech has grown into a sprawling, must-play mech war sim, Evolve Stage 2 servers are working again and nobody knows why, 1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 2x PCIe 4.0 x16 (running at x4), Up to 2x USB 3.2 Gen2x2, 4x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 6x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 8x USB 2.0, 2x PCIe 5.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1x PICe 3.0 x1, 2x Thunderbolt 4 Type-C; Up to 1x USB 3.2 Gen2x2, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 9x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 3x USB 2.0, Killer Wi-Fi 6E; Killer E3100G 2.5G and Intel I219V 1G LAN, 1x PCIe Gen4 x16, 1x PCIe 3.0 x1, 1x PCIe 4.0 x4, 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C; 3x USB 3.2 Gen2; 2x USB 3.2 Gen1, 3x M.2 PCIe, 1x PCIe 3.0 x1, 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, 5x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 2x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 8x USB 2.0, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x4), 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x4), 2x PCIe 3.0 x1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, 5x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 6x USB 2.0, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x8), 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x4), 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x1), 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 4x USB 3.2, AMD Ryzen 5000 Series / 4000 G-Series / 3000 Series/ 3000 G-Series / 2000 Series / 2000 G-Series, 2x PCIe 4.0 x16, 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x1, 4x USB 3.2 Gen1, 8x USB 3.2 Gen2 (1x USB Type-C), 802.11ax 2.4Gbps Wi-Fi; Intel I211-AT 1G & Realtek RTL8125 2.5G LAN, AMD 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Gen Ryzen / Ryzen APUs, 1x PCIe x16, 1x PCIe x16 (x4), 2x PCIe x1, 4x USB 3.2 Gen2 (1x Type-C), 2x USB 3.2 Gen1, 2x USB 2.0, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16, 2x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x4), 3x PCIe 4.0 x1, Up to 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 8x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 6x USB 2.0, Intel Wi-Fi 6, Intel 2.5Gb ethernet, Bluetooth 5.1, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 2x USB 2.0, 2x DIMM, up to 64GB, up to DDR4-4600 (OC), 4x DIMM, up to 128GB, up to DDR4-4733 (OC), 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, 1x PCIe x16 (x2), 3x PCIe 3.0 x1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen2, 3x USB 3.2 Gen1, 4x USB 2.0, Best graphics card deals in Australia (July 2022), The best gaming laptops in Australia for 2022, The best gaming headsets in Australia for 2022, G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 2x16 GB DDR5-5600 CL28, Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag, Try a single issue or save on a subscription, Issues delivered straight to your door or device. It has four DIMM slots that can handle speeds up to 4,400Mhz and two M.2 slots sporting PCIe 4.0 connections. For $219.99, its reasonably priced, feature-rich and a good performer. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). It includes a 12+2 phase VRM powered by dual 8-pin power connectors. The idea behind having only two memory slots instead of four is to minimize trace complexity and bring the slots closer to the CPU. The BIOS is maturing regularly as well, which makes us completely confident in recommending the Gigabyte board as our pick of the Z690 bunch. The fact that it comes with four M.2 slots alone is impressive along with a decent heatsink. A single PCIe slot is more than enough for today's SLI/CrossFire-less GPU world, and even some Mini ITX boards will come with multiple M.2 SSD slots. Its one of few A520 boards to include WiFi though, so that alone adds a great deal of usefulness. This brings us to one crucial thing to consider about motherboards; future-proofing. If youre not sure which chipset youre after or have more basic questions, you can visit our motherboard basics and motherboard buying guide stories to help narrow down your board buying options. When choosing a motherboard, consider the following: At around $330, the Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Pro is a mid-range Alder Lake motherboard that covers all the bases very well, with minimal sacrifices. The compact black motherboard packs a punch both with the hardware that comes with it. That includes memory DIMM slots with clips at both ends and a user manual that feels a little dated and clunky compared to the relative polish of Asus. You cant ask for much more out of this class of board. Read: NZXT N7 B550 review. This is a board for anyone who would prefer to allocate money towards a faster GPU or larger SSD instead of paying through the nose for 10Gb LAN or expensive add-in cards. What youll no doubt be wondering about is performance: Is it actually all that much better than a more prosaicand cheaperB550 alternative? The tiny board comes equipped with a PCIe 5.0 slot, two M.2 sockets, integrated Wi-Fi 6, and a last-gen premium audio solution. Combined it means this is a good affordable option for someone after a no-fuss, solid, and reliable system. A second may be desirable for some but now that Wi-Fi 6 and 6E are becoming widespread, dual LAN and Gigabit, are not as important as they once were. The Dark Hero features a rather subtle design. That said, of the B550 boards we've tested, it's the far more affordable MSI board that actually comes out top in our straight performance testing. Read our full Gigabyte A520 Aorus Elite review (opens in new tab). Asus ROG Strix B550-F Gaming Wi-Fi delivers premium features including SupremeFX Audio, Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200, solid power delivery and more. Gigabyte has been smart about the way it's specced out the Aorus Pro. Chris Szewczyk Which is significant, if not exactly stellar. Choosing the best motherboard for gaming (or best board for another type of computing task) is an essential step in your system build, even though things like CPUs and graphics cards usually get more attention. MORE: CPU Benchmarks. The layout of modern ATX boards tends not to vary too much these days. Contributions from We've tested several X570 boards, including many models refreshed for AMD's Ryzen 5000 CPUs, as well as a few with the updated X570S chipset that does away with the fan. Its all cooled by chunky black heatsinks. Serial Advanced Technology Attachment ports, an interface for connecting storage devices/drives to a motherboard (HDDs, SSDs, optical drives, etc.). The only real concern hardware-wise is with the hot VRM temperatures, but do note this was during a stress test and isnt a typical loading scenario. The Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming is the whole package then, and right now is our all-around pick for the best B550 motherboard. While it's certainly an excellent mobo, if you aren't already committed to a shopping list of top-of-the-line components now or shortly, you may want to consider a slightly less expensive board for your needs. If you want to save some money, consider a B550 motherboard, which has PCIe 4.0 support, but generally only enough lanes for one fast SSD and graphics card. The rear I/O is fully featured, particularly when it comes to USB connectivity. There are headers for the included Wi-Fi antenna to help with wireless connectivity, as well as a gigabit ethernet port. An enthusiast who loves to tweak, spending time reducing latency and tweaking sub-timings, or a gamer dedicated to finding a few extra FPS will enjoy peace of mind knowing youve got a board thats specifically designed to take whatever punishment you throw at it. Heres why you can trust us. Best gaming monitor (opens in new tab): pixel-perfect panels for your PC That being said it's still one of the better AMD motherboards out there. Thank you for signing up to Tom's Hardware. You get a good splash of RGB and those cogs above the I/O actually move. The chipset determines which processor generations a motherboard is compatible with and what add-in cards can be used. But don't worry, they don't overclock very well. Some might even say its a little bland. MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard From the four M.2 sockets and six SATA ports to the last-gen flagship Realtek audio solution, it comes packed with features that are useful for most any type of user. Read the full ASRock Z690 Taichi review (opens in new tab). The Strix B550-E gets Asus slick and familiar BIOS interface that allows access to not only the core ratio but pretty much every setting a keen overclocker could wish for. Last-gen Ryzen 5000 processors and AM4 motherboards are still capable performers, and enticingly affordable. Though that still feels like a tough recommendation when X570 boards are the same price. Read our full MSI MAG B660M Mortar WiFi DDR4 review (opens in new tab). The ASRock A520M ITX/ac is one of the most expensive A520 boards at $105. There are other, less common form factors (XL-ATX, HPTX, etc. Performance is about where we expect it to be. This version of the MPG X570 supports Wi-Fi 6, and while that does necessitate a Wi-Fi 6-compatible router, it's backward compatible with other Wi-Fi standards and gives the potential for a speed boost down the line. Asus X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Hero Wi-Fi, Asus X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Hero Wi-Fi Review, Asus ROG Strix B550-F Gaming Wi-Fi review, Raspberry Pi 4B Used to Restore Broken Vending Machine, How to Send and Receive Data Using Raspberry Pi Pico W and MQTT, Patriot Viper Venom RGB DDR5-6200 C40 Review: Stealthy Stinger, AMD Zen 4 Ryzen 7000 Specs, Release Date Window, Benchmarks, and More. Usually, this is reserved for use with more expensive motherboards. The original X570 chipset is starting to show its age, but there's a subtle difference with this motherboardsomething given away by that trailing S. That S stands for silence, and unlike many of the first-generation X570 motherboards, this one doesn't require active cooling to keep it running smoothly and coolly. Bearing in mind that overclocking is not allowed on B660 boards, all it has to handle is the maximum turbo load of a 12900K. With nothing more than a 2.4Gb/s Wi-Fi 6 module to add to its basic Gigabit Ethernet, the paucity of premium add-in features helps Gigabyte to maintain a sub $300 price despite the cost of PCIe 4.0 compliance. This makes upgrading whenever those CPUs drop in price easy. If you're building out a standard ATX scale gaming PC, then pretty much any motherboard is open to your whims, but if you want to go for a smaller chassis, either Micro ATX or Mini ITX, then you'll need a corresponding mobo. Theres also a full set of audio ports including a SPDIF. The board was happy to run DDR5-6400 memory, something not all Z690s could do. The most common form factors/sizes of a motherboard from largest to smallest, which beyond physical dimensions determines which cases it'll fit into and (broadly) how many expansion slots are available. He built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 16, and finally finished bug-fixing the Cyrix-based system around a year later. Do you need a block of USB ports? Built my first custom PC with it a few months ago and I'm in love, The Best Intel Gaming Motherboards: Z690, Z590, Z490 X299, (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C (10 Gbps), (4) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), (4) USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), (4) USB 2.0, (2) Thunderbolt 4 Type-C (40/20/10 Gbps), (2) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gbps), (4) USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C (20 Gbps), (3) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10 Gbps), (4) USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), 14 Phase (12+1+1, 12 60A MOSFETs for Vcore), (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port (20 Gbps), (3) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), (4) USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C (20 Gbps), (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gbps), (3) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), (3) USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), (2) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), (4) USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), (2) Thunderbolt 4, Type-C , (6) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A, (2) USB 2.0, (2) Thunderbolt 4, Type-C , (8) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A, (4) v3.0 (@48: x16/x8*/x16/x8), (CPU @44: x16/x4*/x16/x8), (CPU @28: x16/x4*/x8/x0), The Best AMD Gaming Motherboards: X570(S), B550, TRX40, X470 and B450, 40 Gbps: (2) Type-C (via Thunderbolt 4); 10 Gbps: (8) Type-A, USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps): 7x Type-A, 1x Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps): 4x Type-A, 10 Gbps: 2x Type-A, 1x Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1; 5 Gbps: 3x Type-A, USB 2.0: 4x Type-A, (2) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), (4) USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), (2) USB 2.0, (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gbps), (3) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (5 Gbps), (4) USB 3.2 Gen 1, Type-A (5 Gbps), (2) USB 2.0, diagram and explanation of motherboard parts, H610 Motherboard Roundup: i9-12900K Meets Sub-$120 Micro ATX, Asus ROG Maximus XIII Extreme Glacial review, 2.

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