First AMD B650-based motherboards showed up in US store - the cheapest one costs $200

Only the flagship chipset X670 and X670E motherboards are offered for AMD Ryzen 7000 processors, which are not so cheap yet.
In the near future, more affordable AMD B650 and B650E motherboards will be available for sale.
But even among them, it may be difficult to find a budget model.
American retailer B&H Photo Video has published prices of several B650-based motherboards, starting from $200.
MSI MPG B650 Carbon WIFI has the highest price among the reviewed models at $329.99.
At the same price you can find solutions based on the older AMD X670, albeit with basic equipment.
On the other hand, MSI PRO B650M-A WIFI is the cheapest amongst the devices announced by the retailer with a $199.99 price tag.
Of course this is not the full range of new motherboards even from MSI itself - obviously there will be a version of the MSI PRO B650M-A without Wi-Fi module and it will be cheaper.
But don't count on a significant difference.
On average, the price is about $250.
Models are available in Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX and ATX form factors of the MSI PRO, MAG and MPG series.
MSI MEG flagship series will feature only AMD X670 and X670E boards.At the end we should mention that AMD itself at the time of Ryzen 7000 processors and Socket AM5 platform announcement in August announced that the motherboards price for new chips will start from $125.
We would like to add that AMD B650 and B650E motherboards are expected to be announced on October 4.

Colorful CVN B660i Gaming Frozen compact board in white color

Colorful company has prepared for release the motherboard CVN B660i Gaming Frozen, designed to build small form factor desktops and home multimedia centers.Image source: ColorfulThe novelty is made in Mini-ITX format with dimensions of 170 × 170 mm.
It supports 12-generation Intel Core processors in LGA 1700 hardware platform Alder Lake.
There are two slots for memory modules and the drives can be connected to the standard SATA 3.0 ports.
In addition, there are two connectors for M.2 SSD modules: one of them supports PCIe 4.0 and is located on the front side under the heatsink and the other uses PCIe 3.0 and is located on the back side of the board.
A PCIe 5.0 x16 slot is available for the discrete graphics gas pedal.
The interface block includes DisplayPort and HDMI connectors, USB 3.2 Type-C, two USB 3.2 Type-A and four USB 2.0 ports, socket for Ethernet cable, sockets for Wi-Fi antenna and audio jacks.

Biostar unveiled the B660T-SILVER board for Intel Alder Lake-based compact PCs

Biostar Microtech International has announced the B660T-SILVER motherboard.
New design is in the form factor Mini-ITX with dimensions of 170 × 170 mm, making it suitable for building compact desktops and media centers.Image source: BiostarThe Intel B660 chipset is involved.
It is allowed to install twelfth generation Core processors in LGA1700 performance from the Intel Alder Lake platform.
Two slots are available for DDR4-1866/.../5000+(OC) memory modules with up to 64GB of RAM.There are two M.2 slots for 2280 SSDs with PCIe 4.0 x4 interface.
In addition, there are four SATA 3.0 ports.
A discrete graphics gas pedal can be installed into the PCIe 5.0 x16 slot.The equipment includes sound codec ALC1220 standard 7.1 and network controller Realtek RTL8125B with up to 2.5 Gb/s bandwidth.On the interface panel there are sockets for Wi-Fi antenna, PS/2 jack, HDMI and DP ports, four USB 3.2 (Gen2) and two USB 2.0 ports, set of audio jacks.
No price information is available.

Saving money the right way: a review of the 8 cheapest Intel B660 motherboards

\"Hey, kid, get an easier \"mother\".
Why overpay for all that junk you don't need? You'll save money on the motherboard, the cooler will be cheaper, the case will be cheap, and you'll find money for a better graphics card.
What is the most important thing for a gaming computer? Right, a graphics card! And you listen to these experts - they just want to sell you something overpriced! Well, you don't need Core i5-12400F to have a good graphics card, the CPU is cold.
Any cheap motherboard will do, don't worry...\" This monologue was made up, of course.
But I faced this kind of rhetoric all the time during last 15 years of my work in media - only names of processors, chipsets and sockets change but the essence remains the same.
Even now when the new Intel chipsets are great, the most difficult thing to decide is which motherboard to buy.
Moreover the devices for LGA1700 platform are much more expensive than their analogs for other competitive platforms.
Let's take a look at what modern motherboards are capable of with devices based on B660 logic set - these are probably the most popular and most popular devices for LGA1700 platform and Alder Lake processors.
And all because it is among the boards B660-series can find any level of hardware, suitable for building a simple office PC, and top gaming configurations.
In the computer store Regard, we took two of the most affordable boards from each Taiwanese company at the time.
What came out of it you can read in our big review.
⇡#Technical specs of the reviewersIf this is the first time you come here and you have no idea about LGA1700 platform segmentation, I strongly recommend you to read \"Best Gaming Platform for Mass Market - 2022: Core i5-12400F + DDR4 + B660\".
The article with a rather telling title describes in great detail what you will get with the corresponding hardware.
And if B660 and LGA1700 platform is your choice, you're welcome to take a look at the main characteristics of today's benchmarks.
ASRock B660M-HDVASRock B660M Steel LegendASUS PRIME B660M-A D4ASUS PRIME B660M-K D4supported processorsIntel Core, Pentium Gold, Celeron 12th generationB660 chipsetMemory system2 × DIMM, Up to 64GB DDR4-50664 × DIMM, up to 128GB DDR4-53334 × DIMM, up to 128GB DDR4-53332 × DIMM, up to 128GB DDR4-5333Expansion Slots1 × PCI Express x16 4.
0 2 × PCI Express x1 3.01 × PCI Express x16 5.0 2 × PCI Express x1 3.01 × PCI Express x16 4.0 1 × PCI Express x1 3.0 1 × PCI Express x4 3.01 × PCI Express x16 4.0 2 × PCI Express x1 3.0Drive interfaces1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2260/2280) with PCI Express x4 4.0 support 1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2260/2280) with PCI Express x4 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s support 1 × M.2 (Key E, 2230) for Wi-Fi/BT 4 × SATA 6Gb/s support1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2242/2260/2280) with PCI Express x4 4.0 and SATA 6Gb/s support 1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2280) with PCI Express x4 4.0 and SATA 6Gb/s support (Key E, 2230) for Wi-Fi/BT cards 4 × SATA 6Gb/s1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2242/2260/2280) with PCI Express x4 4.0 support 1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2242/2260/2280) with PCI Express x4 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s support 4 × SATA 6Gb/s1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2242/2260/2280) with PCI Express x4 4.0 support 1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2242/2260/2280) with PCI Express x4 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s support 4 × SATA 6Gb/s Local Area Network1 × Intel I219V, 10/100/1000Mb/s1 × Realtek RTL8125BG, 10/100/1000/2500Mb/s1 × Intel I219V, 10/100/1000Mb/s1 × Realtek, 10/100/1000Mb/s Audio subsystemRealtek ALC897/887 7.
1 HDRealtek ALC897 7.1 HDRealtek ALC897 7.1 HDRealtek ALC897 7.1 HDInternal interfaces1 × SPI TPM 1 × COM 1 × F-Audio 2 × USB 2.0 1 × USB 3.
2 Gen11 × SPI TPM 1 × RGB LED 3 × ARGB LED 1 × F-Audio 2 × USB 2.0 1 × USB 3.2 Gen1 1 × USB 3.2 Gen21 × SPI TPM 1 × COM 1 × AURA RGB 3 × ARGB LED 1 × F-Audio 2 × USB 2.0 2 × USB 3.2 Gen1 1 × USB 3.
2 Gen1 Type C1 × SPI TPM 1 × COM 1 × S/PDIF Out 1 × RGB LED 1 × F-Audio 2 × USB 2.0 1 × USB 3.2 Gen1The rear panel interfaces1 × PS/2 1 × HDMI 1 × D-Sub 1 × DisplayPort 2 × USB 2.
0 Type A 3 × USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A 1 × USB 3.2 Gen1 Type C 1 × RJ-45 3 × 3.5 mm1 × PS/2 1 × HDMI 1 × DisplayPort 2 × USB 2.0 Type A 4 × USB 3.
2 Gen1 Type A 1 × RJ-45 6 × 3.5mm 1 × S/PDIF Out1 × PS/2 2 × HDMI 1 × DisplayPort 4 × USB 2.0 Type A 2 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A 1 × RJ-45 3 × 3.5mm1 × PS/2 1 × HDMI 1 × D-Sub 2 × USB 2.0 Type A 4 × USB 3.
Gen1 Type A 1 × RJ-45 3 × 3,5 mmFormatrixmATX, 244 × 201 mmmATX, 244 × 244 mmmATX, 244 × 244 mmmATX, 244 × 211 mmmATX, 244 × 211 mm Price* from 7 400 rubles from 11 200 rubles from 13 000 rubles from 8 500 rubles GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4GIGABYTE B660M GAMING DDR4MSI PRO B660M-A DDR4MSI PRO B660M-E DDR4Supported processorsIntel Core, Pentium Gold, Celeron 12th genB660P chipset

MSI has taken a cue from Gigabyte and makes its motherboard with connectors on the inside out

It looks like Gigabyte has set a new trend with its Project Stealth components with ports \"inside out\".
MSI is developing a Project Zero motherboard for Alder Lake processors with all connectors for cables moved to the back side.Image source: VideoCardzThe motherboard for Project Zero is the MSI MEG Unify, most likely based on the Intel Z690 chipset.
The company decided to move the board's connectors for SATA drives, 24-pin power cable, EPS connectors for CPU power and at least one of the USB connectors.
The regular MSI MEG Unify Z690.
Image source: Twitter / @g01d3nm4ng0It's very likely that the bottom USB connectors and other ports for the front of the case have also been moved to the back of the motherboard.
The angle of the published photos of Project Zero doesn't allow us to establish exactly, but now the places where the USB and front panel connectors are usually placed are covered by the casing.
MSI Project Zero Whether MSI plans to put a similar motherboard on the market, as Gigabyte has decided to do, is still unknown.
Note that use of back-to-back connector cards also requires rethinking computer chassis design.
Gigabyte has solved this issue by upgrading its Aorus C300G case.
At the same time, the company believes that placing power wires on the inside of the motherboard not only improves the aesthetics of the final assembly, but also improves air circulation within the system.
MSI Project Zero.
Image source: Twitter / @g01d3nm4ng0 Whether MSI also plans to experiment with graphics gas pedals and its computer cases, as Gigabyte did, is not yet known.

MSI has published a video tutorial on how to install a processor into Socket AM5 and showed a sample 16-core Ryzen 7000

MSI has published a video that explains how to install Ryzen 7000 series processors on a motherboard with Socket AM5 socket.
The video features an engineering sample of the next-generation 16-core flagship chip.
Such a chip, according to VideoCardz, has already been seen in the distributed computing network MilkyWay@Home in January this year.Image source: MSI The Ryzen 7000 engineering sample shown in the MSI video is labeled 100-000000665.
The existence of the same sample became known earlier this year.
At that time, the following next-generation AMD desktop processor engineering samples were found in the MilkyWay@Home distributed computing network database:AMD Eng Sample: 100-000000665-21_N [Family 25 Model 96 Stepping 0] - 16 cores / 32 threads;AMD Eng Sample: 100-000000666-21_N [Family 25 Model 96 Stepping 0] - 8 cores / 16 threads.Both were entered into the database between December 21-24, 2021.
In other words, these are very early engineering samples.
Image source: MilkyWay@HomeThe MSI video shows that the 665 sample was actually manufactured back in 2021.Image source: MSIAs for MSI's instructions on installing the Ryzen 7000 processor into the Socket AM5, the process is nothing short of easy and not much different than installing Intel processors.
Although the instruction may be useful for AMD chips fans that have never encountered processors in LGA socket, AMD added special notches on chip's textolite that indicate exactly which side you need to put the processor in the socket for the ease of installation.
The AM5 CPU socket itself has special protrusions that correspond to the cutouts on the chip.
A video on Ryzen 7000 installation is available below.It is worth noting that you need to install chips into LGA sockets with great care.
But to fix accidentally bent legs on the processor, as it was with former Ryzen and not only, is much easier than in the LGA socket.

ASUS unveiled the flagship ROG Crosshair X670E motherboard for Ryzen 7000 processors

ASUS has announced the flagship ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme motherboard for Ryzen 7000 processors.
The novelty should be released this fall, along with the release of AMD's next-generation processors.Image source: ASUSThe board has two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, which are likely both working in x8 mode when installing two graphics gas pedals.
The ROG Crosshair X670E supports the installation of up to five NVMe SSDs, four of which can be PCIe 5.0 standard.
However, there are only two M.2 slots on the board itself to mount them.
The other three are mounted using proprietary ROG PCIe 5.0 M.2 and ROG GEN-Z.2 expansion cards.
The company also promises USB 4.0 support for the novelty and the presence of a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 front connector with Quick Charge 4+ support up to 60W.
However, this will require a computer case equipped with a USB Type-C connector on the front.
The rear connector panel is covered by a casing with an AniMe Matrix LCD display.
At the heart of the motherboard is a 20+2-phase power system that should be more than enough for the most powerful Ryzen 7000 processors with a TDP rating up to 170 W (this is the TDP for the AM5 socket).
CPU power is provided by means of two 8-pin connectors.
manufacturer has also added a novelty patented mechanism to simplify the dismantling of graphics gas pedal Q-Release, which first appeared on motherboards with Intel chipset Z690.
In addition, there are Q-Latch snaps for easy installation of NVMe SSDs.On the upper left side of the board added Q-LED LEDs for diagnostics, as well as an indicator of POST-codes.
There are several connectors for ARGB backlighting.
The board received Marvell AQtion and Intel network controllers.
The first one supports wired connection up to 10Gbps, the second one is responsible for Wi-Fi 6E.
The company has equipped ROG Crosshair X670E with SupremeFX audio driver with ESS ES9218PQ Quad DAC amplifier.
It also claims six SATA III (6Gbps) slots and an additional PCIe x4 slot of unknown standard.On the whole, the ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme package speaks for the fact that it is designed for overclocking enthusiasts.
The presence of BIOS reset buttons, as well as start and restart buttons on the top of the board only confirms this.

MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 review: we wish we had such a board

If we consider LGA1700 platform, boards based on B660 chipset look like the most balanced devices in their class.
We talked about this in detail in our article \"The best mass gaming platform - 2022: Core i5-12400F + DDR4 + B660\".
Yes, the junior chipset in comparison with the same Z690 has a number of limitations, such as the inability to overclock the CPU.
But they do not prevent the user to build a gaming PC or workstation of almost any level.
Performance from this almost does not suffer, and functionality - a parameter that must be considered individually.
So we are not surprised that there are so many B660 chipset based motherboards already released, and over time there will be more.The MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 is an example of a quality motherboard based on a junior Intel chipset.
It can do a lot - and in this review, we will tell you what is so good in it.
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4⇡#Technical specifications and equipmentThen writing this article there are nine B660-boards on the MSI website, which the manufacturer considers a gaming board.
Interestingly, there are four versions of MAG B660M MORTAR: one supporting DDR5-memory, the second with DDR4, the third with DDR4 and DDR5, and a wireless module.
And finally, ours, with wireless module and DDR4.
At that, the models with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are in black and silver coloring, and the other \"Mortyrs\" are entirely black.
The table below shows the specifications of the tested MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4.
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4Supported processorsIntel Core, Pentium Gold, 12th generation CeleronChipsetB660Memory system4 × DIMM, up to 128GB DDR4-4800Expansion slots1 × PCI Express x16 4.0 1 × PCI Express x4 3.0 1 × PCI Express x1 3.0Drive interfaces1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2242/2260/2280) with PCI Express x4 4.0 support 1 × M.2 (Socket 3, 2242/2260/2280) with PCI Express x4 4.0 and SATA 6Gb/s support 4 × SATA 6Gb/sLocal networking1 × Realtek RTL8125BG, 10/100/1000/2500MbpsAudio subsystemRealtek ALC1200 7.
1 HDI internal interfaces1 × SPI TPM 1 × RGB LED 2 × ARGB LED 1 × F-Audio 1 × Thunderbolt (RTD3) 2 × USB 2.0 1 × USB 3.2 Gen1 1 × USB 3.2 Gen2 rear panel interfaces1 × HDMI 1 × DisplayPort 4 × USB 2.
0 Type A 3 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type A 1 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type C 1 × RJ-45 1 × S/P-DIF Out 5 × 3.5mmForm FactormATX, 244 × 244mmCostNo dataThere's lots of useful and not so useful waste paper, a CD with various software and drivers, two SATA cables, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth antennas, and an SSD mount in the package.
Among the interesting and rare things in the box were a couple of small screwdrivers.
The MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 motherboard has a mATX form factor.
Within the standard, we are dealing with a complete device in the sense that a 244mm PCB length is used here.Motherboards are the type of device that you can understand a lot from the photo.
On these pictures the MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 looks really impressive.
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4If you want to use a big super cooler like Noctua NH-D15 in your build be prepared for it to overlap all DIMM slots as well as the M.2 slot closest to the CPU socket.Four DIMM slots is great.
To recap, the Alder Lake chips support up to 128GB of DDR4 RAM.
The maximum effective frequency of the modules is 4800 MHz - so stated in the characteristics of \"Mortira\".
True, the operation of RAM is accompanied by a number of nuances, which will be discussed later.
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 has three expansion slots:PCI Express x16 works in PCIe 4.0 mode and is the main and only PEG-port connected directly to the CPU.
The slot is additionally reinforced with metal.PCI Express x4 works in PCIe 3.0 mode, but is made in PCI-E x16 case.PCI Express x1 works in PCIe 3.0 mode.So, if we talk about gaming builds, we can install one video card of any class here.
However, take into consideration that a powerful graphics gas pedal with three sectional cooler will overlap PCI Express x1 and M.2 slots.
There are two M.2 ports in the device, and the location of both of them suits me fine.
Especially nice is the fact that both SSD slots are equipped with aluminum heatsinks.
The MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 supports SSD form factors 2242, 2260 and 2280 - both of which are four PCI Express 4.0 lanes.
The second (lower) M.2 can work in SATA mode, but then the SATA8 port will be disabled.At that, the board has only six SATA 6Gbps connectors - just the numbering of the pads starts with the number 3.
The hero of the review has four connectors for connecting fans.
All of them are 4-pin, but motherboards have been able to regulate the speed of \"fans\" for a long time