The Asus ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI often is the first Mini-ITX B660 board to land on our check mattress, however it doesn’t disappoint. Whereas the title could also be so much to get out, the value (for an ITX board) isn’t. Priced just below $220, it sits in the midst of different related ITX boards and presents customers with a well-rounded choice on this house. The board comes loaded with options, together with a PCIe 5.0 slot, twin M.2 sockets, last-gen flagship-class audio, built-in Wi-Fi 6 and the Asus ROG look that many love. In all, it’s a feature-rich ITX board at an inexpensive worth.
Efficiency in our check suite was common general, with above-average leads to the Procyon check suite. The remainder of the outcomes have been near the imply, and generally, you wouldn’t discover a efficiency distinction between competing boards. Gaming efficiency was additionally spot on, simply mixing it up with the opposite boards. We noticed some throttling of the CPU throughout stress testing, as most Alder-Lake B660 boards do at inventory, however it did nicely even with closely multi-threaded masses. Efficiency just isn’t a priority.
Earlier than we get into the small print and see if it is a good board to construct your Alder Lake-based system on (and even ok to be on the finest motherboards), listed here are the detailed specs from Asus.
Specs: Asus ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI
| Socket | LGA1700 |
| Chipset | B660 |
| Type Issue | ITX |
| Voltage Regulator | 9 Section (8+1, 60A SPS MOSFETs for Vcore) |
| Video Ports | (1) HDMI (v2.1) |
| (1) DisplayPort (v1.4) | |
| USB Ports | (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Kind-C (20 Gbps) |
| (1) USB 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-C (10 Gbps) | |
| (3) USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) | |
| (3) USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) | |
| Community Jacks | (1) 2.5 GbE |
| Audio Jacks | (5) Analog + SPDIF |
| Legacy Ports/Jacks | ✗ |
| Different Ports/Jack | ✗ |
| PCIe x16 | (1) v5.0 (x16) |
| PCIe x8 | ✗ |
| PCIe x4 | ✗ |
| PCIe x1 | ✗ |
| CrossFire/SLI | ✗ |
| DIMM Slots | (2) DDR5 6200+(OC), 64GB Capability |
| M.2 Sockets | (2) PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) / PCIe (as much as 80mm) |
| U.2 Ports | ✗ |
| SATA Ports | (4) SATA3 6 Gbps (Helps RAID 0/1/5/10) |
| USB Headers | (1) USB v3.2 Gen 2, Kind-C (10 Gbps) |
| (1) USB v3.2 Gen 2, Kind-C (10 Gbps) | |
| (1) USB v2.0 (480 Mbps) | |
| Fan/Pump Headers | (3) 4-Pin (CPU, CPU_OPT, AIO Pump) |
| RGB Headers | (2) aRGB (3-pin) |
| (1) AURA RGB (4-pin) | |
| Diagnostics Panel | Q-LEDs (Boot, VGA, DRAM, CPU) |
| Inner Button/Swap | ✗ |
| SATA Controllers | ✗ |
| Ethernet Controller(s) | Intel I225-V (2.5 Gbps) |
| Wi-Fi / Bluetooth | Intel AX201 Wi-Fi 6 (2×2 ax, MU-MIMO, 2.4/5/6 GHz, 160 MHz, BT 5.2) |
| USB Controllers | ASMedia1074, ASMedia1543 |
| HD Audio Codec | ROG Supreme FX (Realtek) ALC1220A |
| DDL/DTS | ✗ / DTS Sound Unbound |
| Guarantee | 3 Years |
Contained in the Field of the Asus ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI
Asus tosses in a number of equipment together with the Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI itself. Whereas it isn’t probably the most full set of equipment we’ve seen, the board does include the fundamentals to get you began, together with a driver disk, SATA cables, Wi-Fi antenna, and even a USB 2.0 splitter cable for added USB ports. Under is an entire checklist of the included extras.
- (2) SATA 6Gb/s cables
- ROG USB2.0 splitter cable
- Panel cable
- ASUS Wi-Fi shifting antennas
- Cable tie
- (2) M.2 SSD screw packages
- M.2 bracket
- ROG key chain
- ROG STRIX stickers
- ROG STRIX thanks card
- Help DVD
- Person guide
Design of the Asus Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI
Asus’ B660-I Gaming WIFI sports activities an eight-layer matte-black PCB with ROG Strix branding on the VRM and M.2 heatsinks. The left VRM heatsink blends in with the Rear IO cowl, and is large enough with loads of floor space to maintain the MOSFETs under operating cool. If you would like RGBs, you’ll have to acquire your individual and fasten them RGB/ARGB headers, because the B660-I Gaming is devoid of them in any other case, which appears to be a rising development. Total, we just like the ROG Strix look on this tiny board, and it makes for a stunning centerpiece on your Alder Lake construct.
Usually, we break up the motherboard into prime and backside halves, however since there isn’t loads of actual property to cowl, we’ll go round it clockwise. To the left of the socket, there’s a big (for ITX) heatsink protecting the left VRM financial institution, together with a tall heatsink protecting the highest set of VRMs. A single 8-pin EPS connector (required) to energy the processor is alongside the highest edge.
Simply above the highest heatsink, there are three 4-pin fan headers (CPU_FAN, CHA_FAN and AIO_PUMP) together with an ARGB (3-pin) and RGB (4-pin) headers. The CPU and Chassis followers default to Q-Fan management (through software program or the BIOS) and output as much as 1A/12W. The AIO_PUMP header runs full-speed by default and places out as much as 1A/12W. This ought to be sufficient for a small chassis and the few followers they often want. Nonetheless, I wish to see the AIO_PUMP capable of output extra (2A/24W) as that may be limiting to some customized loops/pumps.
Talking of energy supply, Asus implements a nine-phase configuration, with eight phases devoted to Vcore. Energy comes from the 8-pin EPS connector and onto the Digi+ EPU chip (ASP2100) controller utilizing a Teamed setup (one sign to 2 MOSFETs and not using a section doubler) to the 8x 60A Sic643 MOSFETs. The 480A obtainable to the CPU is a bit mild in comparison with others however nonetheless did the job. Since you possibly can’t overclock, I wouldn’t put an excessive amount of inventory in that worth, however make sure that there’s ample airflow to maintain these operating inside specification.
Simply off to the suitable, we run into two unreinforced DRAM sockets. Asus lists assist for as much as 64GB of DDR5 RAM at speeds as much as DDR5-6200+(OC). You’re restricted in capability in comparison with the bigger boards with 4 slots, however few want greater than the 64 GB gives within the first place. When you want extra and nonetheless need to use a smaller type issue, Micro ATX and its 4 slots are your solely choice. We had no points operating both of our DDR5 kits. Usually ITX boards are higher for reminiscence overclocking (shorter traces, extra stability), so I’d think about there’s some nonetheless headroom obtainable. How rather more depends upon your reminiscence package, processor, and overclocking expertise.
Alongside the suitable fringe of the board are a number of headers and connectors. From the top-down, we run into the 24-pin ATX connector to energy the board, the system panel header, a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Kind-C connector and a USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gbps) header. Just under which are 4 vertically oriented SATA ports that assist RAID0/1/5/10 modes.
Alongside the underside edge is the full-length PCIe 5.0 slot. Assuming you’re utilizing a devoted graphics card, you don’t have any different slots for growth. So be certain these tiny boards have what you want earlier than shopping for. Above the PCIe slot is the primary (of two) M.2 sockets, with the opposite on the again. Each sockets assist drives as much as PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gbps) speeds and PCIe modules as much as 80mm lengthy. Notice that the board helps PCIe-based M.2 modules however not SATA. Moreover, you possibly can run all SATA ports and M.2 sockets concurrently and with out decreasing bandwidth.
Wedged between the PCIe slot and M.2 socket are a number of headers. On the left are entrance panel audio, a transparent CMOS jumper, SPDIF header, and USB 2.0 header. Additionally situated on this space is the SupremeFX (Realtek ALC1220) codec, a few Nichicon Gold audio capacitors, and a Savitech SV3H712 amplifier to drive higher-end gaming headsets and Hello-Fi headphones. Of the B660 Mini ITX motherboards, this one makes use of the most effective audio codec (the others use a decrease mannequin within the ALC897 codec).
The rear IO space holds a pre-installed IO plate that matches the Asus ROG theme (black) and a small ROG image above the video outputs. Every port is labeled in white, which makes figuring out them straightforward.
In whole, there are seven USB ports round again. You get one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20 Gbps) Kind-C, One USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) Kind-C, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports, and three USB 2.0 (480 Mbps) ports. Some might discover the Kind-A port rely a bit low at six, so be sure you know what number of you want from the rear IO space. Video outputs on your CPU’s built-in graphics consist of 1 HDMI and one DisplayPort. You’ll discover the Intel-based 2.5 GbE port and the Wi-Fi 6 antenna mounts right here as nicely. Final is the audio stack, consisting of 5 analog plugs and an optical SPDIF port.
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