Analysis: What have we learned from motherboard tests

An examination full of new knowledge

Over time, we have tested ten motherboards with Intel B660 and Z690 chipsets in great detail. From more than 5000 different measurements, we can thus confidently deny some speculations that are usually spread on the Internet from the ignorance of the authors of articles or comments (in discussions). But this is natural. The less substantial the reviews are, the more fertile ground they create for various confusions.

SSD coolers are good enough, but they waste material

Motherboard are also usually equipped with SSD coolers. Quite a lot has changed since MSI’s thin plate that kicked off the M.2 SSD cooler era, so to speak.

Instead of a thin shell, which can also act as a thermal insulator in certain circumstances, it is usually already solid aluminium profiles. These always work well from a cooling perspective and you don’t have to worry about even the most powerful SSDs overheating. And certainly not in a gaming PC, where SSDs can do without a heatsink, but that’s another story, which we’ll also get to sooner or later.

In any case, SSD coolers on motherboards always knock a few degrees Celsius off the controller and SSD memory temperatures compared to if they weren’t there at all.

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However, when we take it from the point of view of design efficiency in terms of cooling power/weight ratio, it is already significantly weaker compared to standalone coolers. There is some hint of a more articulated surface, but the “brute force” – the amount of material used – prevails. This often outperforms third-party coolers, such as those from BeQuiet!, many times over, for the same cooling performance. We recently compared a cooler from them (MC1) to motherboard solutions and it was in the top half in performance despite its below average weight.

For the most efficient cooling of SSDs, motherboard manufacturers should also work on other things than heatsink designs. Namely, that the connector (M.2) and the top of the standoff post for screwing the other side of the SSD should be in perfect alignment. This doesn’t always happen and even when you mount the SSD correctly, with adequate force, there is often some flexing, bending. To which side, it depends on the characteristics of the standoff post and, of course, the influence of the heatsink itself, which may not be perfectly flush with the SSD across the entire surface. But we won’t elaborate on that now, there will be room for it later, in the thematic test, which is full of measurements.

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

• Contents
• An examination full of new knowledge
• Possible differences in CPU performance
• Power draw under control...
• ... more efficient VRM does not equal lower power input
• Motherboards are also network, slots and...
• ... USB ports
• SSD coolers are good enough, but they waste material

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