So we took a look at the MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi and…

MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi in detail

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Something like the Intel H710 probably won’t come out anymore, and so the cheapest 700 series chipset for Raptor Lake processors is the Intel B760. Earlier this year we already tested the Asus ROG Strix B760-A Gaming WiFi D4 motherboard, now we’ll add another one for comparison – the MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi.

MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi

Categorically, the B760M Mortar WiFi is in the middle class of B760 boards. You’ll also come across significantly cheaper options, but these are usually only with DDR4 memory support. In case you are interested in DDR5 memory and also own a smaller case, a µATX motherboard like this one is suitable. However, even in this segment there is strong competition in the form of alternative models Asus TUF Gaming B760M-Plus WiFi and Gigabyte B760M Aorus Elite AX.

Compared to ATX format boards, this one is shortened only in height (by 61 mm). This means that there is still plenty of room to accommodate various connectors. And in part, MSI makes better use of this than with its predecessor the B660M Mortar WiFi. For example, there are more 4-pin headers for fans (six instead of four) or one 5-volt ARGB header, so there are two of these in total, and next to them there is also a 4-pin for connecting older components with analogue-type lighting.

   

On the other hand, the number of SATA connectors has been reduced to four. Considering that the use of inch storage (at the expense of the more modern M.2 format) is declining, this does not seem to matter so much in practice, but it must still be said that there has been a downgrade in this regard. This is due to the fact that the B760 chipset, unlike the B660, has fewer PCIe 3.0 lanes – only four, and MSI clearly didn’t want to “waste” PCIe 4.0 lanes too much.

The PCIe 4.0 lanes, of which the B760 chipset has more than the B660, have found a use for a second PCI ×16 slot, which is connected but only by four lanes, i.e. the same as in the B660M Mortar WiFi. Unlike the older board (with PCIe 3.0), however, this one uses the faster PCIe 4.0 interface. Thus, faster NVMe SSDs will also work in this slot at full speed via an adapter. And someone might need more than SATA ports for that, since there are only two M.2 connectors for SSDs. Both support PCIe 4.0×4 and the bottom hybrid also supports SATA SSDs. It’s perhaps a bit of a shame that MSI threw the second SSD cooler out of the design. It now cools the SSD only in the first slot. You have to buy a cooler separately for the second one if needed.

But the good news is that the first PCIe ×16 slot already supports PCIe 5.0, making it state-of-the-art. The older B660 Mortar WiFi board maxed out at PCIe 4.0. Whether because of the cheaper PCB or simply because MSI have not tested it properly and is only now assured of the stability of this interface, it doesn’t matter in principle. Finally, the short PCIe ×1 slot is of the 3.0 standard, which, given the range of devices you can plug into it, is enough and doesn’t limit them in any way.

The power delivery is 14-phase, with 12 phases dedicated to Vcore. All voltage regulators and coils are in contact with aluminum, fairly well articulated heatsinks through a thermal pad. Although they don’t hit any physical limits, the design of the aluminium heatsinks has some lateral cuts in addition to the longitudinal fins, so MSI’s attempt to achieve more surface area to increase effectiveness can’t be denied.

   

We mentioned that the number of phases of the power delivery is the same as the B660M Mortar WiFi, but there is a larger maximum current load per phase – 75 A instead of 60 A. The more robust Renesas RAA220075R0 voltage regulators are certainly chosen in view of the higher power requirements of Raptor Lake processors, which have seen an increase in PL2 power limits.

   

In order for MSI not to raise the suggested price, they had to cut somewhere. Many users will probably have some complaints about the use of the Realtek ALC897 codec (instead of ALC1200).

The rear-panel audio input/output selection is already full-featured, with five 3.5mm jacks as well as an S/PDIF optical connector. There are eight USB connectors, half faster (standard 3.2 gen. 2, the Type-C connector is 20-gigabitp, 3.2 gen. 2×2) and half slower, typically for connecting a keyboard, mouse, headset or multifunction device.

It also counts with the use of iGPU services, HDMI (2.1) and DP (1.4) connectors are brought out to it. The RJ-45 Ethernet connector has a 2.5-gigabit Realtek 8125BG adapter behind it.

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

What it looks like in the BIOS

The user interface is as you’ve long known it on MSI boards. In Advanced Mode, the navigation is made up of thematic tiles, and EZ Mode (you switch between these views with the F7 key) contains a few extra tabs for entering basic settings or buttons to (de)activate basic functions right from this screen.

   

However, to configure Resizabe BAR, you will need to go through the advanced settings to the PCIe/PCI subsystem settings. In the factory settings, ReBAR is enabled, which is one of the key changes compared to older generation boards (in general, not just MSI). In the past, ReBAR used to be off and there’s practically not much reason to avoid it. Despite this, you can still run into situations where it does more harm than good to the graphics card.

These will now be very rare instances (especially if there are any significant differences), but they can occur. Dramatic performance degradations with active ReBAR occur with Radeon graphics cards, for example in Blender using the Radeon Pro Renderer (OpenCL).

   

For CPU power management, MSI has three profiles labeled according to the type of cooler you have. This assumes that a liquid cooler will have a higher TDP than a tower cooler, which of course may not be the case. They’ve simplified it a bit at MSI in order to get closer to the majority. The best-selling liquid coolers are likely to have higher cooling performance than the best-selling Arctic Freezer 34 or Endorfy Fera 5 tower coolers.

With the Core i9-13900K processor, for all preset modes, PL1 equals PL2, so the Tau timeout during which higher performance is achieved is not applied. This is, unless you manually change it, always constant. For the “Water Cooler” profile the power limit is completely unlocked, for the “Tower Air Cooler” it is capped at 288 W and for the “Boxed Cooler” it corresponds to 253 W. Depending on the processor used, of course, the settings for these profiles will vary, and with lower-power models (than the “Ks”) there will likely already be a difference between the PL1 and PL2, similar to the B660M Mortar WiFi, which we tested with two more processors (and one of them was a 65-watt processor with a locked multiplier).

   

Activating the memory profile is easy, you can find it under the iExpo (Intel Expo) option with AMD Expo-enabled modules.

In combination with memory with higher bandwidth (6000 MHz modules are already considered as such), the memory divider is set to 1:2 (Gear 2).

   

“Hardware Monitor” provides everything you expect from a modern fan control management interface. You can create an individual speed curve for each connector based on any temperature source. The B760 Mortar WiFi has five sensors. In addition to the CPU, it also takes temperature readings from somewhere around the socket (CPU socket sensor), the chipset (PCH sensor), the VRM (MOS sensor), or a selected location on the motherboard (System sensor).

Traditionally, you can also switch from PWM control to linear control (DC). However, expect a higher minimum voltage with it and thus the fan may not start from as low a speed as you see with 3-pin fans in our tests, where we use a lab power supply with a range starting at 0.01 V to regulate it. For motherboard headers, this limit is pushed significantly higher and typically more expensive fans, which also have decent DC control, start from higher speeds.

   

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Gaming tests…

The vast majority of tests are based on the methodology for processors and graphics cards. The choice of games is narrower with motherboards, but for this purpose there is no need for more of them. The processor we use is always the powerful AMD Ryzen 9 79500X or on Intel platforms It’s the Core i9-13900K. These processors highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of any motherboard well. In the past we have tested with two processors, including a cheaper, more low-power model, but we don’t do that anymore. The hypothesis that more expensive motherboards might give an “advantage” to cheaper processors in performance has not been confirmed, so it’s rather pointless.

We’ve selected five titles from games we’re testing in two resolutions. There are significantly fewer games than in the CPU or graphics card tests, but these are just enough for the motherboard tests. Few people consider performance in a particular game when choosing a motherboard. But an indicative overview of which motherboard shapes gaming performance in what way (compared to another motherboard) is necessary. To avoid significant discrepancies over time, we’ve reached for relatively older titles that no longer receive significant updates.

These are Borderlands 3, F1 2020, Metro Exodus, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Total War Saga: Troy. With newer games, there might be some performance changes over time (updates) and especially in high resolutions with high details. This is one of the test setups (2160p and Ultra, or the highest visual detail but without ray-tracing graphics) that focuses on comparing performance, for which the bottleneck is the graphics card. In other words, it will be clear from these tests which motherboard can affect the performance of which graphics card to what extent for any reasons. In contrast, a setup with Full HD resolution and with graphical details reduced to “High” will also reflect the CPU’s contribution to the final gaming performance.

We use OCAT to record fps, or the times of individual frames, which are then used to calculate fps, and FLAT to analyze the CSV. The developer and author of articles (and videos) for the GPUreport.cz website is behind both.
For the highest accuracy, all runs are repeated three times and average values of average and minimum fps are displayed in the graphs. These multiple repetitions also apply to non-game tests.

… Computing tests, SSD tests, USB ports and network tests

We test application performance in a very similar way to the processor tests. Almost all tests are included, from the easier ones (such as those in a web environment) to those that push the CPU or graphics card to the limit. These are typically tests such as 3D rendering, video encoding (x264, x265, SVT-AV1) or other performance-intensive computing tasks. As with processors or graphics cards, we have a wide range of applications – users editing video (Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve Studio), graphic effects creators (Adobe Premiere Pro), graphic designers or photographers (Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, Affinity Photo, AI applications Topaz Labs, …) will find their own in the results, and there are also tests of (de)encryption, (de)compression, numerical calculations, simulations and, of course, tests of memory.

SSD performance tests are also important for motherboards. Therefore we test the maximum sequential read and write speeds on an empty Samsung 980 Pro SSD (1 TB) in the well distributed CrystalDiskMark, in all slots. We approach the USB port tests in the same way. We use a WD Black P50 external SSD to test them. It supports fast USB 3.2 gen. 2×2, so it won’t be a bottleneck for even the fastest USB controllers. We report only one result for each USB standard. This is calculated from the average of all available ports.

We won’t deprive you of network bandwidth tests either. We move large files in both directions within a local network between the motherboard network adapters and the Sonnet Solo10G 10-gigabit PCIe card. This from the aforementioned Samsung 980 Pro SSD to the Patriot Hellfire (480 GB), which is still fast enough to not slow down even the 10 Gb adapter.

   

The results of all performance tests are averaged over three repeated measurements for high accuracy.

CPU settings…

We primarily test processors without power limits, the way most motherboards have it in factory settings. For tests that have an overlap with power, temperature and CPU clock speed measurements, we also observe the behavior of boards with a power limit according to Intel’s recommendations, where we set PL1 to the TDP level (125 W) while respecting the Tau timeout (56 s). The upper limit of the power supply (PL2/PTT) is set in the BIOS according to the official values. For Core i9-13900K it is 253 W, for Core i9-12900K it is 241 W. On AMD platforms with the Ryzen 7950X test processor, the reduced power supply mode represents a TDP setting of 105W with a PPT of 142W. Such a load also corresponds to unconstrained power supply of the Ryzen 7 7700X and Ryzen 5 7600X processors. Aggressive overclocking technologies such as PBO2 (AMD) or MCE (Asus) and similar are not covered in standard motherboard tests.

… and application updates

Tests should also take into account that over time, individual updates may skew performance comparisons. Some applications we use in portable versions that do not update or can be kept on a stable version, but for some this is not the case. Typically games get updated over time, which is natural, and keeping them on old versions out of reality would also be questionable.

In short, just count on the fact that the accuracy of the results you are comparing with each other decreases a bit as time goes on. To make this analysis easier, we’ve listed when each board was tested. You can find this out in the dialog box, where you can find information about the date of testing. This dialog is displayed in the interactive graphs, next to any result bar. Just hover over it.

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Methodology: How we measure power draw

In contrast to the Z690/B660 tests, we’ll simplify it a bit and measure only the CPU power draw on the EPS cables. This means that (also for the sake of best possible clarity) we omit the 24-pin measurements. We have already analysed it thoroughly and the power draw on it doesn’t change much across boards. Of the ten boards tested with an Alder Lake processor (Core i9-12900K), the power draw at 12 volts of the 24-pin connector ranges from 37.3–40.4 W (gaming load, graphics card power supply via PCI Express ×16 slot), at 5V (memory, ARGB LEDs and some external controllers) then between 13.9–22.3 W and finally at the weakest, 3.3-volt branch, the power draw of our test setup tends to be 2.2–3.6 W.

On top of the CPU power draw, which also takes into account the efficiency of the power delivery, this adds up to some 53–66 W under gaming/graphics load and only 15–25 W outside of it, with the graphics card idle. We already know all this from older tests, and it will be no different on the new boards, and as the number of measurements increases, reducing measurements that worsen orientation is beneficial. But from the text above, you know how much to add for the total power draw of the motherboard components to the CPU’s majority power draw.

The situation will be a bit different on AMD platforms, for those we will deal with what is the power draw on which branch of the 24-pin, but already in a separate article that will better highlight this topic. In a large comprehensive motherboard test, these measurements disappear, they do not attract enough attention.

We measure the power draw of the CPU (and its VRM) on the power supply cables, with calibrated Prova 15 current clamps and a calibrated Keysight U1231A multimeter. The clamps measure the electric current, the multimeter measures the electric voltage. In the union of these two electrical quantities, we finally obtain the exact power draw. We measure this in different loads on the CPU. The maximum multithreaded load is represented by Cinebench R23.

   

Lower, gaming load by Shadow of the Tomb Raider (1080p@high), single-threaded load by audio encoding (reference encoder 1.3.2, FLAC with bitrate 200 kbps) and idle power draw is measured on the Windows 10 desktop when only basic operating system processes and launchers of some test applications are running in the background.

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Methodology: Temperature and clock speed measurements

By far the most critical part in terms of temperatures on the motherboard is the power delivery (VRM) for the CPU. This is where we return to the Fluke Ti125 thermal imager, which produces temperature maps that can be used to locate the average temperature, as well as the hottest point. We record both these values (average and maximum temperature on the Vcore) in graphs, and we will later evaluate the efficiency of the VRM heatsinks based on the maximum one. However, we lack a suitable thermometer for that yet. Of course, the thermovision is implemented without a heatsink, and a thermocouple needs to be installed on the hottest MOSFET to detect the reduction of temperature with a heatsink. This will be added soon.

Thermal imaging always relates to operating with the more powerful of the pair of test processors. With it, the differences and possible limitations or impending risks (for example, even from thermal throttling) become more apparent. In order to have a good view of the VRM, we use an Alphacool Eisbaer 360 liquid cooler with the fans fixed at full power (12 V) instead of a tower cooler (from the CPU tests). The temperature tests also include CPU temperatures for completeness, and we also test the efficiency of the supplied SSD heatsinks as part of the motherboard tests. These are already included with virtually all better motherboards, and so the question naturally arises whether to use them or replace them with other, more finned ones. We will test these heatsinks on a Samsung 980 Pro SSD during ten minutes of intense load in CrystalDiskMark. Finally, the temperature of the chipset’s southbridge and the cooling efficiency in this direction is noteworthy as well.

All tests are conducted in a wind tunnel, so full system cooling is provided. This consists of three Noctua NF-S12A PWMs@5V (~550 rpm) . Two of which are intake, one is exhaust. But the three fast AIO fans also function as exhaust fans, so there is underpressure in the case.

The temperature at the entrance to the tunnel is properly controlled and ranges between 21-21.3 °C. Maintaining a constant temperature at all times during testing is important not only for the accuracy of the temperature measurements, but also because a higher or lower ambient temperature also affects the eventual behaviour of the processors’ boost. And we also properly monitor and compare the clock speeds, whether under all-core load or even single-threaded tasks. We use the HWiNFO application to record the clock speeds and temperatures of the cores (sampling is set to two seconds).

Maintaining a constant temperature at the intake is necessary not only for a proper comparison of processor temperatures, but especially for objective performance comparisons. The clock speed development, and specially the single core boost, is precisely based on the temperature. Typically in summer, at higher temperatures than is normal in living quarters in winter, processors can be slower.

Temperatures are always read as maximum (both from the VRM thermovision and average, but still from the local maximum values at the end of Cinebench R23). For Intel processors, for each test we read the maximum temperature of the cores, usually all of them. These maxima are then averaged and the result represents the final value in the graph. From the single-threaded workload outputs, we extract only the recorded values from the active cores (there are usually two of these, and they alternate between each other during the test). For AMD processors it is a bit different. They don’t have temperature sensors for each core. In order to make the procedure methodically as similar as possible to the one we apply on Intel processors, we define the average temperature of all cores by the highest value reported by the CPU Tdie (average) sensor. However, for single-core workloads we already use the CPU sensor (Tctl/Tdie), which usually reports a slightly higher value that better corresponds to hotspots of one or two cores. However, these values as well as the values from all internal sensors should be taken with a grain of salt, the accuracy of sensors across CPUs varies.

Clock speed evaluation is more accurate, each core has its own sensor even on AMD processors. However, unlike the temperatures, we write the average values of the clock speeds during the tests in the graphs. We monitor the temperatures and clock speed of the CPU cores in the same tests in which we also measure power draw. Thus, sequentially from the lowest desktop idle load in Windows 10, through audio encoding (single-threaded load), gaming load in Shadow of the Tomb Raider to Cinebench R23.

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Test setup

Note: Graphics drivers used at the time of testing: Nvidia GeForce 466.77 and OS Windows 10 build 19045.

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

3DMark

We use 3DMark Professional for our tests and from the tests, Night Raid (DirectX 12), Fire Strike (DirectX 11) and Time Spy (DirectX 12). In the graphs you will find the CPU sub-scores, the combined scores, as well as the graphics scores. From this you can see to what extent a given CPU is limiting the graphics card.

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Borderlands 3

Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: None; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

   

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

F1 2020

Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: off, Skidmarks Blending: off; test scene: built-in benchmark (Australia, Clear/Dry, Cycle).

   

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: TAA, Skidmarks Blending: off; test scene: built-in benchmark (Australia, Clear/Dry, Cycle).

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Metro Exodus

Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Extreme; API DirectX 12; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: off; test scene: built-in benchmark.

   

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Highest; API DirectX 12; extra settings Anti-Aliasing: TAA; test scene: built-in benchmark.

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Total War Saga: Troy

Test environment: resolution 1920 × 1080 px; graphics settings preset High; API DirectX 11; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

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Test environment: resolution 3840 × 2160 px; graphics settings preset Ultra; API DirectX 11; no extra settings; test scene: built-in benchmark.

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

PCMark

Geekbench

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Speedometer (2.0) and Octane (2.0)

Test environment: To ensure that results are not affected by web browser updates over time, we use a portable version of Google Chrome (91.0.472.101), a 64-bit build. Hardware GPU acceleration is enabled as well, as it is by default for every user.

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Note: The values in the graphs represent the average of the scores obtained in the subtasks, which are grouped according to their nature into seven categories (Core language features, Memory and GC, Strings and arrays, Virtual machine and GC, Loading and Parsing, Bit and Math operations, and Compiler and GC latency).

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Cinebench R20

Cinebench R23

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Blender@Cycles

Test environment: We use well distributed projects BMW (510 tiles) and Classroom (2040 tiles) and the renderer Cycles. Render settings are set to None, with which all the work falls on the CPU.

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LuxRender (SPECworkstation 3.1)

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Adobe Premiere Pro (PugetBench)

Test environment: PugetBench tests set. We keep the version of the application (Adobe Premiere Pro) at 15.2.

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

DaVinci Resolve Studio (PugetBench)

Test environment: set of PugetBench tests, test type: standard. App version of DaVinci Resolve Studio is 17.2.1 (build 12).

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Graphics effects: Adobe After Effects

Test environment: set of PugetBench tests. App version of Adobe After Effects is 18.2.1.

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

HandBrake

Test environment: For video conversion we’re using a 4K video LG Demo Snowboard with a 43,9 Mb/s bitrate. AVC (x264) and HEVC (x265) profiles are set for high quality and encoder profiles are “slow”. HandBrake version is 1.3.3 (2020061300).

x264 and x265 benchmarks

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Audio encoding

Test environment: Audio encoding is done using command line encoders, we measure the time it takes for the conversion to finish. The same 42-minute long 16-bit WAV file (stereo) with 44.1 kHz is always used (Love Over Gold by Dire Straits album rip in a single audio file).

Encoder settings are selected to achieve maximum or near maximum compression. The bitrate is relatively high, with the exception of lossless FLAC of about 200 kb/s.

Note: These tests measure single-thread performance.

FLAC: reference encoder 1.3.2, 64-bit build. Launch options: flac.exe -s -8 -m -e -p -f

MP3: encoder lame3.100.1, 64-bit build (Intel 19 Compiler) from RareWares. Launch options: lame.exe -S -V 0 -q 0

AAC: uses Apple QuickTime libraries, invoked through the application from the command line, QAAC 2.72, 64-bit build, Intel 19 Compiler (does not require installation of the whole Apple package). Launch options: qaac64.exe -V 100 -s -q 2

Opus: reference encoder 1.3.1, Launch options: opusenc.exe –comp 10 –quiet –vbr –bitrate 192

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Adobe Photoshop (PugetBench)

Test environment: set of PugetBench tests. App version of Adobe Photoshop is 22.4.2.

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Affinity Photo (benchmark)

Test environment: built-in benchmark.

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Topaz Labs AI apps

Topaz DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI. These single-purpose applications are used for restoration of low-quality photos. Whether it is high noise (caused by higher ISO), raster level (typically after cropping) or when something needs extra focus. The AI performance is always used.

Test environment: As part of batch editing, 42 photos with a lower resolution of 1920 × 1280 px are processed, with the settings from the images above. DeNoise AI is in version 3.1.2, Gigapixel in 5.5.2 and Sharpen AI in 3.1.2.

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

WinRAR 6.01

7-Zip 19.00

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

TrueCrypt 7.1a

Aida64 (AES, SHA3)

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Aida64, FPU tests

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FSI (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Kirchhoff migration (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Python36 (SPECworkstation 3.1)

SRMP (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Octave (SPECworkstation 3.1)

FFTW (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Convolution (SPECworkstation 3.1)

CalculiX (SPECworkstation 3.1)

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

RodiniaLifeSci (SPECworkstation 3.1)

WPCcfd (SPECworkstation 3.1)

Poisson (SPECworkstation 3.1)

LAMMPS (SPECworkstation 3.1)

NAMD (SPECworkstation 3.1)

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Memory tests…

… and cache (L1, L2, L3)

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

M.2 (SSD) slots speed

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

USB ports speed

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Ethernet speed

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Analysis of power draw without power limits

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Analysis of power draw with power limits

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Achieved CPU clock speed w/o power limits…

… and with power limits

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

… and with power limits

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

VRM temperature w/o power limits…

… and with power limits

When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

SSD temperature

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Chipset temperature (south bridge)

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When building a relatively cheaper Intel-based desktop, you’ll probably choose a “B” chipset motherboard. One of those is the B760M Mortar WiFi. Because of the use of the Micro ATX format, this motherboard is also attractive for smaller computer cases. The cross-generational comparison with the B660M Mortar WiFi is also striking. What direction is MSI taking this?

Conclusion

A cross-section of all the tests quite nicely shows that the MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi is a motherboard better optimized for a gaming PC environment than a computing one. The differences compared to other motherboards are always cosmetic. If a build on this board achieves the highest fps in a game, such as Metro Exodus or Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the fps gain is below 1%.

The bigger difference compared to other boards is in power draw, which is as much as 29% above the Strix Z790-E Gaming WiFi in gaming load. But that’s a significantly more expensive motherboard with a significantly more efficient power delivery, and it’s fair to note that compared to the Strix B760-A Gaming WiFi D4, the power draw is already 6% lower. We can conclude that the power draw in games is adequate for the price range and the gaming performance can be above standard. But again, we’re really talking about cosmetics here.

The bigger difference (than in gaming performance) is in computational tasks, where the B760M Mortar WiFi, on the other hand, often ends up performing below average when it comes to “hard” workloads like rendering (3D, but also in video editing) or x265 encoding. Given the record power draw, it would seem that this is due to the cooling capacity limit, but that’s wrong. There is a similar performance deficit even after lowering the CPU power limits, where cooling performance is available with a large margin. So what is the main reason for this?

Under high load, CPU core clock speeds are on average 50–100 MHz lower than, for example, on the Strix B760-A Gaming WiFi D4. In no-power-limit mode, this is also a kind of prevention against very high VRM temperatures. We measured the surface temperature of the voltage regulators at the most critical points at over a hundred degrees Celsius (but that’s also the case with the Strix B760-A Gaming WiFi D4). It should be noted here, however, that we arrive at these values without the use of heatsinks (in order to use IR to create temperature maps), with them the temperatures will be significantly lower. And in fact, MSI has quite effective VRM coolers.

The M.2 slot speeds are not out of line and the results are as expected. It’s similar for USB ports and in Ethernet tests – they don’t exhibit any top-notch or even below-average behavior to point out.

A grimmer view is, as is traditionally the case with MSI boards, of SSD cooling results. Not only does the second slot no longer have its cooler, but the first one is somehow even “weaker” than it was on the MSI Pro Z690-A DDR4. Whether this is due to the design of the heatsink, the composition of the thermal pad or insufficient pressure we do not know, but it is definitely a weak point. How important it is to remove it is a question, however, as even under these circumstances it is nothing that would in any way degrade the performance of the SSD, and certainly not in the environment this board is heading into. In games, the power draw of any SSD is low enough that no cooler is needed, it is more of a decoration than something “really important”.

The MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi is a motherboard where you can see a few compromises, but also that they are chosen quite sensibly with an eye to pushing the retail price as low as possible. Saving on SSD coolers and audio adapter is balanced out by the investment in the power delivery, which is important considering the increase in PL2 limits on processors. And for an unchanged price (compared to the B660M Mortar WiFi), it also adds PCIe 5.0 support for the graphics card, which may come in handy when upgrading later on.

English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš

Some of the tested motherboards are also available in the Datacomp e-shop

Special thanks to Blackmagic Design (for licenses for DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI) and Topaz Labs (for licenses for DeNoise AI, Gigapixel AI and Sharpen AI)

• Contents
• MSI MAG B760M Mortar WiFi in detail
• What it looks like in the BIOS
• Methodology: Performance tests
• Methodology: How we measure power draw
• Methodology: Temperature and clock speed measurements
• Test setup
• 3DMark
• Borderlands 3
• F1 2020
• Metro Exodus
• Shadow of the Tomb Raider
• Total War Saga: Troy
• PCMark and Geekbench
• Web performance
• 3D rendering: Cinebench, Blender, ...
• Video 1/2: Adobe Premiere Pro
• Video 2/2: DaVinci Resolve Studio
• Graphics effects: Adobe After Effects
• Video encoding
• Audio encoding
• Photos: Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Photo, ...
• (De)compression
• (De)encryption
• Numerical computing
• Simulations
• Memory and cache tests
• M.2 (SSD) slots speed
• USB ports speed
• Ethernet speed
• Power draw without power limits
• Power draw with power limits
• Achieved CPU clock speed
• CPU temperature
• VRM temperature – thermal imaging of Vcore and SOC
• SSD temperature
• Chipset temperature (south bridge)
• Conclusion