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

Radeon RX 6750 XT and Radeon RX 6650 XT reviews: 5-8% faster than their predecessors

Based on foreign press reviews, the performance of Radeon RX 6750 XT and Radeon RX 6650 XT graphics cards presented yesterday has indeed improved over the regular Radeon RX 6700 XT and Radeon RX 6600 XT.
But will it be enough to match or even overtake the competition? We have studied reviews of both gas pedals from PCWorld and TechPowerUp portals and below are the main excerpts.Image source: PCWorldBriefly recall the characteristics.
At the heart of both video cards are used exactly the same graphics processors as the predecessors.
The only difference is their slightly higher gaming and Boost frequencies.
In the case of Radeon RX 6750 XT the basis of the chip is Navi 22 with 2560 stream processors, operating in the frequency range from 2495 to 2600 MHz.
The chip of its predecessor in turn operates in the range from 2424 to 2581 MHz.Sapphire Radeon RX 6650 XT Nitro +.
Image source: Golem.deeThe Radeon RX 6750 XT also has faster GDDR6 memory.
It runs at 18Gbps per pin instead of 16Gbps.
Thanks to this its bandwidth increased from 384 to 432 GB/s.
The memory bus bit rate has not changed.
It is still 192 bits.
The capacity also remains the same: 12 GB.
Rated power consumption of the card increased from 230 to 250 W.
Sapphire Radeon RX 6750 XT Nitro+.
Image source: Golem.deModel Radeon RX 6650 XT in turn is built on the chip Navi 23 with 2048 stream processors.
Its gaming frequency is 2410 MHz, and in Boost mode it goes up to 2635 MHz.
Radeon RX 6600 XT in turn has frequencies of 2359 and 2589 MHz respectively.
The new booster also has faster GDDR6 memory at 17.5Gbps (instead of 16Gbps).
The memory bus bit rate remains the same at 128 bits.
The memory bandwidth has increased from 256 GB/s to 288 GB/s.
Declared power consumption index of the gas pedal increased from 160 to 180 W.
MSI Radeon RX 6650 XT Gaming X.
Image source: TechPowerUpReviewed by PCWorld portal got gas pedals Sapphire Radeon RX 6650 XT Nitro+ and Sapphire Radeon RX 6750 XT Nitro+.
They have a small factory overclocking of the graphics chip, which generally does not affect the overall picture of performance.
MSI Radeon RX 6650 XT Gaming X and ASUS Radeon RX 6750 XT Strix OC models, which turned out to be in the hands of TechPowerUp journalists, have additional overclocking as well.ASUS Radeon RX 6750 XT Strix OC.
Source image: TechPowerUpAccording to TechPowerUp, cosmetic improvements such as higher GPU frequency, faster memory and increased power consumption did both cards good, but do not count on significant improvements.
For example, Radeon RX 6650 XT in games with 1080p resolution (the target for this card) became faster than the usual Radeon RX 6600 XT on average by 5%.
Relative performance of Radeon RX 6650 XT (picture push).
Image source: TechPowerUpThe advantage of the new Radeon RX 6600 XT over the GeForce RTX 3060 model is now 13%.
At the same time, the novelty is still slower than the gas pedal GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which overtakes it by 10%.
As for the Radeon RX 6700 XT, it is 13% faster than the Radeon RX 6650 XT.
Relative performance of Radeon RX 6750 XT (picture clicks).
Image source: TechPowerUpThe Radeon RX 6750 XT, on the other hand, is on average 8% faster than the regular Radeon RX 6700 XT in games at 1440p resolution.
That's enough to match the performance of the GeForce RTX 3070 and at the same time close the gap with the GeForce RTX 3070 Ti to just 6%.
The proprietary Radeon RX 6800 is 11% faster than the new model.
Below in the gallery are performance charts for the Radeon RX 6650 XT and Radeon RX 6750 XT in various games at 1080p and 1440p resolutions without ray tracing provided by PCWorld.Radeon RX 6650 XT and Radeon RX 6750 XT performance without ray tracing jpg See all images (10) f1-2020.jpg horizon-zero-dawn.jpg metro-exodus.jpg rb6.jpg shadow-of-the-tomb-raider.jpg strange-brigade.jpg watch-dogs-legion.jpg wolfenstein-youngblood.jpg See all images (10) Radeon 6000 cards are not so good at ray tracing \"traditionally\".
Both gas pedals noticeably lag behind not only their direct competitors, but also from the initially less productive GeForce solutions.
For example, the Radeon RX 6750 XT is often inferior even to the GeForce RTX 2080 of last generation Turing.Radeon RX 6650 XT performance in ray traced games (1080p and 1440p) control-rt-1920-1080.png See all images (18) control-rt-2560-1440.png cyberpunk-2077-rt-1920-1080.png cyberpunk-2077-rt-2560-1440.png deathloop-rt-192

Radeon RX 6950 XT reviews: 10% faster than the regular RX 6900 XT, but still slower than the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti in 4K

AMD today released the Radeon RX 6950 XT, RX 6750 XT and RX 6650 XT graphics cards.
They are updated Radeon RX 6900 XT, RX 6700 XT and RX 6600 XT, but with slightly faster GPUs, faster memory and higher TDP.
In the current reality we have to rely on the experience of our western colleagues, who have already had a chance to get acquainted with these cards.
In this article, let's discuss the flagship Radeon RX 6950 XT based on reviews from Tom's Hardware, Guru3D and TechPowerUp resources.Image source: Tom's HardwareThe Radeon RX 6950 XT is built on the same 7nm Navi 21 GPU as the regular Radeon RX 6900 XT, only it is labeled KXTX instead of XTX.
It includes 80 compute blocks with 5,120 stream processors, 320 texture blocks, 128 rasterization blocks and 80 ray trace acceleration blocks.
The GPU has a benchmark gaming frequency of 2100 MHz (85 MHz higher than the RX 6900 XT), and in Boost mode it goes up to 2310 MHz (60 MHz higher than its predecessor).
The novelty is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 RAM with 256-bit bus.
The data transfer rate is 18 Gbit/s per pin.
Due to this its bandwidth is not 512 GB/s as it is in regular Radeon RX 6900 XT but 576 GB/s.
It also has a high speed 128 MB Infinity Cache buffer.
Rated power consumption (TGP) of video card at reference frequencies is 335 W, which is 35 W higher than that of Radeon RX 6900 XT.Image source: Guru3DThe novelty is available both in AMD reference design and as proprietary solutions of the company's partners.
Tom's Hardware journalists examined Sapphire Radeon RX 6950 XT Nitro+ Pure (first photo), Guru3D resource got the MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X Trio (second photo).
TechPowerUp portal was able to get the graphics card in several versions at once.
For coverage, let's take data from Gigabyte Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming OC (in the third photo).
All of them have massive and efficient cooling systems and have additional factory overclocking of the GPU.
The latter, although it adds a few frames per second in games depending on the version of the video card, the overall picture is not affected.
Radeon RX 6950 XT even with reference specifications turned out to be very fast in games.
But only without ray tracing, in which it is inferior even to the model two classes below - GeForce RTX 3080 10GB.
However, more about that below.Image source: TechPowerUpWe have tested Radeon RX 6950 XT in 25 games, the novelty was on average 9% faster than its predecessor.
The resource Tom's Hardware, which tested the gas pedal in 8 games, the difference was 10% in favor of the new card.
Guru3D reports similar results based on tests of 9 games.
If we talk directly about the competitors, on average Radeon RX 6950 XT is 1-2% faster than GeForce RTX 3090, but about 7% slower than GeForce RTX 3090 Ti.
We are, of course, talking about the gas pedal performance in games at 4K resolution and at maximum graphics settings.Games 2160p control-3840-2160.png See all images (16) elden-ring-3840-2160.png GD4SQA2btq23BRR8.png god-of-war-3840-2160.
png gQKaR6ZvRGSEZ7VL.png GUBY35MVHGchJfbBDa.png halo-infinite-3840-2160.png jiViFZ2vhJPb2YdD3G.
png N7aDwS5GyKPsawrUgL.png pAWPShuZCvdoAiNJZ.png resident-evil-village-3840-2160.png scRoLCWYSNAHN8pL.png untitled-1.
png untitled-10.png yrnWkoSKVeHVJGBQ8.png cyberpunk-2077-3840-2160.png See all images (16) The map was also tested in 1440p resolution.
In this case, Tom's Hardware notes that the Radeon gas pedal was on average 3 percent faster than the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti and 9 percent faster than the regular Radeon RX 6900 XT.
TechPowerUp and Guru3D data are similar.
The Radeon RX 6950 XT is behind the competition only in some games.Games 1440p 4KpGiKYfZkJ2qyiUv.png See all images (16) 7zaQFwED5esHTSRmY.
png control-2560-1440.png cyberpunk-2077-2560-1440.png elden-ring-2560-1440.png FuunEPDHy6TXDbU6SR.png GUE5KuZKfL4jFTZ3z.png halo-infinite-2560-1440.
png p8Ny4WvagQrAWWDr.png resident-evil-village-2560-1440.png S9ccg6z4NGaTt67Tip.png sGXEUFgihvryrft7Sm.png untitled-2.png untitled-11.png ZVsUG2X9FYRo6KfC.png god-of-war-2560-1440.
png See all images (16) In the game tests with 1080p resolution the novelty of \"red\" also overtook everyone.
Its average FPS was 184.8, the Radeon RX 6900 XT had 173.2, and the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti had 17