Category: Motherboards

Thin Mini-ITX motherboard with LGA 1700? It’s here, from Asus

Motherboards, News | | Ľubomír Samák

Asus has the first standardized motherboard (Thin Mini-ITX format) with LGA 1700, which is powered by a 19V adapter and is also designed for retail sales. The wait was, naturally, for the power-efficient Intel processors from the 12th Generation Core. The Pro H610T D4-CSM motherboard is designed primarily for enterprise clientele, and its equipment is optimized with this in mind. All Alder Lake processor models with TDP up to 65 W are supported. Read more “Thin Mini-ITX motherboard with LGA 1700? It’s here, from Asus” »

Follow-up: MSI MAG B660M Mortar WiFi performance with Core i5

Extra tests, Motherboards | | Ľubomír Samák

We will do as we promised. We will test all motherboards with two processors – a powerful one, which will push the board hard, and a weaker one, which will show something a bit different. Namely, how the more expensive motherboard will (not) help the cheaper processor from the lower class. Can more expensive boards really benefit cheaper models in CPU tests, as some believe? Read more “Follow-up: MSI MAG B660M Mortar WiFi performance with Core i5” »

Overclocking 65W Alder Lake processors: which boards can do it?

Motherboards, News, Processors | | Jan Olšan

Last month, we were pleasantly surprised by the news that Intel’s new desktop platform (Core 12th Generation/Alder Lake) CPUs can be overclocked via BCLK. Despite Intel seeking to only allow OC  on the more expensive K-series enthusiast models. We took a look at which boards currently make it possible and if it’s worth it. Because whether BCLK OC helps or not depends on the cost of the overall setup more than anything else. Read more “Overclocking 65W Alder Lake processors: which boards can do it?” »

Larger test of the smaller MSI MAG B660M Mortar WiFi mobo

Extra tests, Motherboards | | Ľubomír Samák

While others have resigned from full-fledged motherboard tests long ago, we’re just kicking it off. Tests with differently powerful processors, without power limits, but also with limits set by Intel. And when we test performance, we also test M.2 slots, USB or Ethernet. Power draw analysis done at the level of individual branches, and thermal imaging with temperature tests (including SSD heatsink efficiency measurements) are a no-brainer. Read more “Larger test of the smaller MSI MAG B660M Mortar WiFi mobo” »

ASRock X370 mainboards with Ryzen 5000 support. End of the ban?

Motherboards, News | | Jan Olšan

This month AMD has announced they might cease blocking Ryzen 5000s from running on mainboards with X370/B350 chipsets (not the cheaper A320 though, ironically). This ban has been enforced on the AGESA code level. We possibly have some first signs of this: ASRock has just added Ryzen 5000 support to X370 motherboards, with a new AGESA. The company has previously floated alpha BIOSes supporting Zen 3, but now it is official. Read more “ASRock X370 mainboards with Ryzen 5000 support. End of the ban?” »

Gigabyte and MSI B350 & X370 boards support Ryzen 4000/5000

Motherboards, News | | Jan Olšan

One of the hot topics of last year was AMD not making Zen 3 processors compatible with the first generation of AM4 socket boards, so the 300 series chipsets are out of luck. However, this issue has seen an unexpected development. Last month, a number of 300-generation boards received new BIOSes, enabling official upgrades to newer processors – Ryzen 4000G APUs and, in some cases, even Ryzen 5000s. Read more “Gigabyte and MSI B350 & X370 boards support Ryzen 4000/5000” »

AMD X670 chipset on AM5 platform could be a pair of B650 dies

Motherboards, News | | Jan Olšan

New AM5 platform and a socket is coming this year for AMD CPUs, even adopting the LGA approach for the first time. Some details have already leaked, but much remains unknown. Rather interesting news about the new chipsets, to be used on ADM AM5, has popped up recently: a mainstream version named B650 and a high end version called X670 are coming, the latter being notable for allegedly consisting of multiple chips. Read more “AMD X670 chipset on AM5 platform could be a pair of B650 dies” »

Causes of high Alder Lake mobo prices? PCB, VRM, even the socket

Motherboards, News | | Jan Olšan

We got a peek at the prices of cheaper B660 motherboards for Intel Alder Lake recently. So far, motherboards for the new desktop platform have generally been expensive. Why is that? According to TechPowerUp’s intel, it’s a combination of many factors and several features of Alder Lake processors. Some are quite surprising, for example the LGA 1700 socket itself is apparently much more expensive than you’d expect it to be. Read more “Causes of high Alder Lake mobo prices? PCB, VRM, even the socket” »

AMD 4800S: Zen 2 console APU comes to PCs, now with PCIe 4.0

Motherboards, News, Processors | | Jan Olšan

Obscure hardware has been thriving lately, with AMD choosing to recycle APUs used in consoles into improvised PC CPUs. Following the Jaguar chip from the Xbox One, this year theAMD 4700S Desktop Kit, a CPU with 8 Zen 2 cores produced from defective PlayStation 5 APUs, has appeared. And AMD now seems to be preparing a similar CPU with a new 4800S designation. A mainboard fitted with such should be suited for gaming. Read more “AMD 4800S: Zen 2 console APU comes to PCs, now with PCIe 4.0” »

Z690 Alder Lake boards can lack PCIe 5.0 too, for cost reasons

Motherboards, News | | Jan Olšan

There was news that (some) boards for Alder Lake using B660 chipset won’t support PCI Express 5.0. But it looks that may not be an actual limitation of that chipset, but rather something that will depend on pricing of each particular model. It turns out that even some Z690 boards will be like this. Gigabyte has a first such board, and it seems that these models might be the key to building an Alder Lake PC relatively cheaply. Read more “Z690 Alder Lake boards can lack PCIe 5.0 too, for cost reasons” »

There’s plenty of DDR4 Alder Lake mobos. DDR5 only in high end?

Motherboards, News | | Jan Olšan

On Monday we have had an Alder Lake CPU benchmark, based on which, the support for DDR5 memory might pose a dilemma: it has high bandwidth, but might worsen latency, threatening gaming performance. But Alder Lake can also use DDR4. We now have information on the selection of DDR5 and DDR4 mainboards. Apparently getting a quality mainboard for DDR4 should not be a problem, such mainboards might even be in the majority. Read more “There’s plenty of DDR4 Alder Lake mobos. DDR5 only in high end?” »

Intel Z690 chipset for Alder Lake detailed: Gear 4 and other news

Motherboards, News | | Jan Olšan

Alder Lake, a new and significantly improved CPU generation by Intel will be released in a few months (reportedly on 19th of November). The CPUs will be released together with new motherboards using the Z690 chipset and the new LGA 1700 socket. A document leak now shares insight into the features and innovations of this platform. For example we learn that Alder Lake’s memory controller will also use Gear 2 and now even Gear 4. Read more “Intel Z690 chipset for Alder Lake detailed: Gear 4 and other news” »

„Windows 11 requires TPM“. Don’t panic, just do this in BIOS

Guides, Motherboards, Processors | | Jan Olšan

Microsoft has unveiled Windows 11. In addition to new features and improvements, it also has higher HW requirements than Windows 10. It’s not performance that’s needed, but rather special features that not every PC may have. W11 requires TPM 2.0 (or Trusted Platform Module), which many people are now looking for. But there’s no need to get nervous, because in fact you probably already have it, just need to enable it. How to do it? Read more “„Windows 11 requires TPM“. Don’t panic, just do this in BIOS” »

ASRock’s cheap chipset-less Thin Mini-ITX motherboard with AM4

Motherboards, News | | Ľubomír Samák

There are only a few modern motherboards of the Thin Mini-ITX format. The latest among them is the ASRock X300TM-ITX. It is in its essence very simple and does not even have its own chipset. The equipment of the board is thus more modest, but it will be one of the cheapest options for AMD APU. Support is across all classes, from Athlon Raven Ridge to the highest performance Renoir (Ryzen 7 Pro 4750G). Read more “ASRock’s cheap chipset-less Thin Mini-ITX motherboard with AM4” »

More on AMD AM5: TDP to reach 120 W, more PCIe lanes, CPU’s look

Motherboards, News, Processors | | Jan Olšan

We have recently covered the first info detailing the new AMD desktop platform for Ryzen 6000 processors (or 7000, we’ll see) that will introduce DDR5 memory. The source of this report has now provided more on the connectivity specs, as well as a picture showing what the processors for the AM5 socket might look like. But it also looks like the TDP will increase, perhaps due to the TDP increasing strategy of Intel’s. Read more “More on AMD AM5: TDP to reach 120 W, more PCIe lanes, CPU’s look” »

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