18 Intel B660 Boards Tested, VRM Thermal Test

[@garydurn7983]

For me, these types of reviews are exceptionally valuable because the consequence of combining a mis-matched cpu/mobo is an absolute pitfall and a real PITA to sort out afterwards. Far more useful than what makes +/-5 fps in whatever the latest game is. I can really appreciate the amount of raw time and effort goes into running these tests - well done Steve!

[@tobytoxd]

THIS 👍

[@Terry2020]

well said !

[@caribougoo349]

These vrm roundups, the revisitations of GPUs, and the monitor response testing will always keep me coming back to reference. Thank you for picking up the areas where the rest of industry lacks So basically right now you're looking at a $10 difference and having to take mATX for Intel. B550A-pro vs B660m-a pro for most, b550 tomahawk vs B660 mortar for high end

[@followtheori]

Perfect, at least one comprehensive source of info on these... thank you! And keep up the good work! :)

[@ddlog420]

Looks like MSI is the winner when it comes to AMD's B550 and Intel's B660 thermal tests. It seems like MSI is the only company out there who is listening to your critiques when it comes to thermals and performance!

[@TestarossaF110]

Yeah just wanted to say that as well, good to see but lets hope they don't become compliant.

[@ddlog420]

@@TestarossaF110 I agree 100%. Though I am sure Steve will keep them on their heels. ;)

[@euphoria842]

quite the redemption after their disastrous x570 lineup!

[@HuntaKiller91]

What bought b450i Found one from msi for $80 in my country

[@GewelReal]

MSI cracked the code to making money: make the best product you can so you make money by outselling your competition instead of squeezing margins of single cents out of every single unit

[@davidepannone6021]

MSI really got their shit together after the fiasco we've seen 4 years ago

[@chronicle_4]

yeah. MSI have been a consistent top performer for the midrange on both Intel and AMD platform. Their pro, mortar, and tomahawk lines are actually pretty good its price. while, Asrock has been always at the bottom.

[@ThunderingRoar]

@@chronicle_4 msi did really well with their b450 and b550 lineup

[@Rem_NL]

@@chronicle_4 yes and no, asrock was actually killing it in the budget segment of AM4 boards with their B450M Pro4, none of their boards are exceptional but they offer decent price performance usually.

[@mat-mat101]

Remember the X570-A PRO and GAMING EDGE VRM debacle?

[@yahiarafik9965]

i still have the b450 tomahawk max (Ryzen 3000 - not sure about 5000 support) to this day, a very decent one and i think it was the top performer as well in the b450 category, recommended it to all my friends who either got it or the Mortar one.

[@jorgepereira9455]

@Hardwareunboxed to when a new video with VRMs, thermals and Performance from the B760 boards? That would be awesome, since are the actual version, everyone's want to see!!!

[@fraxesz1598]

Thanks

[@jacksonpollock8984]

HardwareUnboxed: Some of the most relevant content on PC-Building, Overclocking and Hardware reviews.! Keep it coming... Greetings from Germany. (PC-Builder since 20 years now).

[@moooo7223]

Thank you. Was waiting for this comparison. Helped a lot.

[@neds95]

YES! It is here. Been waiting for this video for the whole week

[@puokki6225]

At least in my region B660 pricing is all over the place and prices change seemingly at random, so this kind of content is extremely useful for bargain hunting. Thanks Steve!

[@KindOldRaven]

I don't really understand the current pricing where I live. B660. Z690, it's basically all the same, plus or minus a few 10s of bucks.

[@NightMotorcyclist]

That's why I am happy with my MSI Z690 board that I snagged for a little over $200 at Micro Center when first released and the 12600K for $270 (which has since dropped to $250).

[@arz1898]

@@KindOldRaven same here it actually cheaper to buy a z690 board. I think bcz b660 is newer availability is not as good as z690

[@Oz-gv5fz]

I need matx board. So which is better b660m mortar wifi or z690m aorus elite? About $10 price different

[@NightMotorcyclist]

@@Oz-gv5fz Depends on what you want in a board. Generally the Z690 will be better if you plan on doing more OC'ing and need the extra features like more USB ports, more m.2 PCIe 4.0 slots and how you want your PCIe slots arranged. The MSI has proven reliable thus far but I'm pretty sure the Gigabyte is just as good. For an extra $10 though, I'd steer towards the Z690

[@christl2127]

please provide VRM thermal guide for B760 & Z790

[@1Lunex1]

i searched for ages a videos or any info like this, this is the only one out there that helped me decided, thanks!

[@monk3synuts]

Had nothing but trouble with the Gigabyte B660 board, freezing and random BSOD's. Have RMA'd it and gone for the MSI B660 M-A Wifi for not much more. Thanks Steve, I wouldn't have been aware of the performance loss's otherwise.

[@treyquattro]

great video! And perfectly timed: I'm trying to decide between a Z690 and B660 board right now. VRM performance and thermals is the only thing I can't determine from spec sheets so this testing is priceless! Thanks.

[@tobytoxd]

Now for KZbin you are "Harvard Unboxed"! 🤣Such an elite channel! I'm so proud to be here!!

[@bhavyabhatia7270]

please continue this series in the future, helps a lot.

[@WSS_the_OG]

0:33 ... is that Tim vaping cannabis in the background? Ever since he grew that moustache, things have been headed that way haven't they ... haha. Anyway, fantastic breakdown as always. Your VRM testing videos, while I'm sure they consume immense amounts of time and effort, are an incredible service to the community. Very happy to be a Patreon supporter. Thanks Steve (and Tim-the-cannabis-vaper).

[@jlgroovetek]

Can I suggest in the future to make a video showing onboard VRM temp vs temp probe on rear of PCB? In my work we have had to do similar tests for PCB mounted electrical components and have found that the choice of component, the solder used, the PCB layers/thickness all impacted the delta between the rear of PCB temp vs actual component temp. Thats not to say reported VRM temps are more accurate, but ultimately it is used by the BIOS to thermal throttle, so it would be a useful comparison to see what the headroom is for the boards.

[@dsouza8015]

Bought a Soyo B660M from Ali the other day for $150AUD shipped. Looking forward to trying it out.

[@raptor1672]

I've been hanging out for this! Thanks mate.

[@Terry2020]

great detail review, thank you ! it deserves much more views.

[@reinardviloria3433]

First time builder and I really appreciate this video

[@themightykarp]

Really appreciate this content, it is invaluable for us and no one else really seems to dive as deep into motherboards.

[@HeirofCarthage]

Great video. Very helpful for making good decisions when building sensible gaming PCs for non k Intel parts.

[@odizzido]

This is good info to have. As someone with a 13 year old CPU that I use for gaming most of the time I am interested in vrm quality not just so that it works well but also hopefully lasts a long time by running cool.

[@wolfshanze5980]

I just love the MSI "Make America Great" boards... I have two older ones that I built for myself and my daughter for our 10th Gen Comet Lake builds; the MSI Make America Great B460M Mortar. Awesome boards!

[@crylune]

I hope you guys are still around for comprehensive tests like these once I get around to making a new build when Meteor Lake or Nova Lake is out.

[@ZeePirateMan]

Did we ever get a B760 roundup?!

[@ijustfelldown]

I just ordered an MSI B660 Mortar for a build that my Dad will be using. I'm actually watching this review *after* paying the money but I'm glad I won't have to cancel my order to change the Mobo. Happy that my choice is doing well in price vs performance & features.

[@happy-_-doggo681]

How about b660 Aorus master, is it any good? I’m looking to buy it with the i5 12600k. I’m not interested in overclocking.

[@user-l7ijhfg]

Hello. How about B760 chipset ?

[@michaelmiller7892]

Thanks a lot! You saved me from buying the Asus Prime B660-Plus D4. I would've spent money on a CPU and a good cooler to keep it from throttling, having no idea that my motherboard would be robbing me of some of the performance I paid for. I appreciate all the work you put into this, keep it up! Liked & subscribed. (I'm gonna go with the MSI B660 Tomahawk WiFi, it's about the same price as the Asus + a WiFi card)

[@tictechto]

Glad to see consistent performance from MSI tomahawk! Btw, nice job steve.

[@marcdwonn9772]

Best information i found after days of research. That seals it for me. I have an MSI board for my Skylake (my least troublesome motherboard i've had in the last 15 years), and my Raptor Lake upgrade will be on MSI as well. Subscribed.

[@bulletproof8019]

Nice! Was waiting for this

[@ivovass195]

This is the one I was looking for. Great work Tim showing us what the boards are actually for capable of

[@treyquattro]

... except that was Steve

[@artemkuzyaev5648]

Can someone explain if b660 MSI Pro-a ATX version performs the same as mATX one? I already saw 2 praising reviews for mATX, but none for ATX

[@deadlypain5116]

I am really grateful for that video. Super in depth and super helpful

[@lateralus6512]

This was incredibly helpful, thanks!

[@TheRasputinPL]

I struggled for the whole past week to figure out which board should I buy and this video helped me a lot. In the end I bought outlet ASUS TUF Gaming B660M-Plus wifi d4 for around 150 dollars because of the great IO and thanks to seeing results of your tests. Thanks!

[@GrimpakTheMook]

Hmm.... What about testing h670 ones?

[@yourforeignlocal]

Will the B660-F perform better than the A iyo?

[@aos32]

Would be interesting to see if the absolute cheapest b660 motherboards would run a i5 12400 without any issues. Those motherboards does not even have cooling for the VRM, which is quite concerning.

[@wvjeepguy8178]

A cpu cooler that blows across the vrm would help.

[@NamTran-xc2ip]

It’s fine if you are fine with 80c

[@__aceofspades]

Look at the cheap B660 review, despite HUB bashing the $95 Asrock board, when paired with the 12600k it wasnt very far behind, if they actually paired it with a 12400 it wouldve been fine, but they refused to do that because they have a grudge against Asrock for blacklisting them.

[@RussLudwig]

Thanks Steve, appreciate the work!

[@Lemard77]

The chart at 16:40, the stark difference in temperatures is what separates the boards using power stages vs the boards using discrete mosfets right?

[@themoakley9]

Really appreciate this series, thanks guys. You all have any plans to check any mini itx board?

[@masoodreyhani4769]

What happened to the follow up video you were going go make about msi b660-E and exploring the Intel has made with B660 motherboards?

[@christfild]

11:20 corsair h170i is 420mm radiator not 240mm with 3x140mm fans. great video as always

[@HardyDimension]

Really appreciate you for the testing, it does helps a lot 🙏🙏❤😊

[@nulano]

It looks like the "Buy relevant products from Amazon, Newegg and others below: " section of the description was copied from the budget boards video and contains links to the wrong products.

[@Adromelk]

Man what an absolute mess. Thanks for all the work Steve. That being said, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the current DDR5 issues where 4 sticks and XMP are seemingly causing boot loops and failure to post. I saw JTC did a video on it but I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

[@A.S.M.ShoaibTanim]

Can you do B760 motherboard roundups including Maxsun boards?

[@arian_s_collection]

Thank you guys for these tests 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@EvernooBE]

These are the interesting ones... thank you for making this video

[@ivan_talivan]

Amazing video. Great job!

[@anatoliypoliakov2290]

What does mean "standard air flow"? What a cooler?

[@WTBMrGrey]

These comparrisons are my favourite reviews you do. Especially on the mobo side as it can make all the difference in a build.

[@delgjm49]

Not that this is a huge factor at this point in time, but the TUF is unique around the mid range B660s in this roundup with PCIe 5. I think most would prefer the MSI options around the same price, but it is worth noting, especially if there is a sale on the TUF.

[@ethansurveski2452]

Thank you for your extremely thorough investigation. The next time I buy a motherboard I am for sure checking this channel first to see if it meets HU's expectations.

[@brady28k]

The MSI Mortar without Wi-Fi is cheaper than the MSI Pro A in Australia so that'd be the better choice?

[@Shelldamage]

Brilliant content! I appreciate the effort!

[@mohdhanisramli5535]

damn, ive never known that motherboards could make such a different on processor performance. thanks for this informative vid. by the way i had those tuf b660m plus wifi because of aesthetic and aura sync, what a relieve to see that it was ok if for i7-12700

[@afre3398]

So when compering identical setup RAM/chip-set/CPU/GPU the only thing that matter in a modern PC is the power delivery (VRM) setup. To some but lesser degree your airflow setup. As an aside. why is it so few cases that offer options for fans in the side panel

[@xxovereyexx5019]

should I worry about 12400f installed on these B660 motherboards? which B660 board is best or worst for 12400f ?

[@samh5886]

A similar video for itx boards please (h610/b660/h670), would like to see how most likely poor performers like ASRock 's ones can deal with a 12400 and below cpu for small itx builds.

[@peterlarsen4809]

I'd appreciate it if you could give more detail about how you set up the 120mm fan for the VRM.

[@LISTEDGames]

So if I have a 12400 or 13400 any motherboard should do, right?

[@Archmage1809]

Gigabyte also had an expensive B660, B660 Aorus Master. The B660AM got 16 phases (probably 8 doubled), which 'advertised 60A phase' (the Aorus Pro also get that 'advertised 60A phase' and gets 55A instead). But the price is reaching entry-level Z690 like the Z690 UD DDR4. TUF Plus, Mortar, Aorus Pro also exist in non-WIFI (with $10-20 price cut, depending on the region).

[@Scorpion_007]

Excellent video with lots of efforts 😮😲

[@dwaynestimpson5449]

My case is a mATX case, so needing a micro-atx board I swung for the MSI B660M Mortar to pair with a 12600k. Thanks for all the hard work Steve, you helped me make a good decision on my MB. I love my system and have absolutely no regrets!

[@SereBronx]

Hi, how it performs now? is it worth the money?

[@dwaynestimpson5449]

@@SereBronx Yep

[@benjaminoechsli1941]

Ah yes, the Motherboard Gauntlet has been endured once more. Thanks Steve, for everything you and Tim do.

[@derekenmachine]

Recently bought msi mag b660 mortar wifi! Can't express how happy I am 😊😊

[@storm209e]

Thank you steve. looking forward for the review of the cheaper msi board. As msi have created a good image with their b560 and b660 motherboards, i am curious how well the cheaper boards do. Also i didn't understood the direct air flow thing, Where exactly , the fan is placed for that because the temperatures are amazing.

[@MarcinTrybus]

The easiest way would be to use a downdraft CPU cooler instead of a tower. That way you can make the more budget boards usable.

[@storm209e]

@@MarcinTrybus tq

[@t3rminator777]

I got 13700k and as a temporary board I got gigabyte b660 and at start I noticed 14k cinebench r23 score. After lots of struggle I could make it higher up to 27k which goes lower and lower after each round while temps look fine except VRM.

[@OPGamified]

FeelsBadMan

[@t3rminator777]

Very close to getting a better board.@@OPGamified

[@oridavidmusai7184]

So glad I got the msi tomahawk b560 a year ago

[@mrp00n]

Where is the MSI B660M-E video?

[@MrReese]

Thanks a lot for this, I am glad my assessment that MSI is having the best packages with Alder Lake have been confirmed here. Super helpful as always!

[@joxster1112]

Thanks for this hard work, Steve. It makes shopping for budget builds really easy for us noobs!

[@aravindraja8034]

how do you mount 120mm on vrm pls explain and show pics

[@ciestermr1848]

god-tier motherboard tester THANKS STEVE

[@jeantechnoir7702]

I believe someone might have already mention it but the B660m Mortar has DDR4 version with and without Wifi and the non Wi fi version is all black themed, also, it has a nice audio codec the ALC1200. Edit: The most absurd B660 board I've seen so far is the Asus Rog Strix b660-g gaming wi fi.

[@yumeastolfo7664]

is 12700 good for a B660 mobo? Not planning to overclock

[@JayzBeerz]

yes just get a high quality one and you'll be fine.

[@Vermilicious]

Thanks for another useful test. I agree that it's a mess that Intel might have been able to avoid. I'd like to add that not all the boards have a PCIe 5.0 slot. I'm not sure how relevant it is going to be, but I went with that, and at the time the cheapest option was the TUF B660M-PLUS. While it might not be the very best, at least it performs okay. It's a relief that the board can handle a beefier processor if I choose to upgrade later.

[@olymind1]

And also has rear USB-C port. Where i live the ASUS TUF GAMING B660M-PLUS D4 also 10€ cheaper than the MSI Pro B660M-A DDR4, then for me the no brainer option would be the ASUS one.

[@Oz-gv5fz]

@@olymind1 that asus board cost $10 more than mortar wifi on my region 😶

[@samudrachetan6264]

i really loved your vids btw i am getting the MSI b660m-a and the MSI mag b660 bazooka for the same price they both are the same motherboard but look different which one should i go for??

[@petertailor8545]

Hi! I dont understand the difference between standard and direct airflow. You showed the standard back fan in the case. I googled direct vrm fan, but its something differnt? idk. Anyway, lot of work in this video! Really cool! Helped me choose better! Thanks!

[@paulogago-k2t]

Would the MSI PRO B760M-P DDR4 behave similarly. It's impossible to get the hands on a 660 in my country. The 760 cost around 100 dolars

[@sweetdemisky]

So mortar is the best value performance?

[@mieramen27]

Mantab Jiwaaaaaa.... Thx for the test Steve.. But a lil sad coz there is no Asrock B660 Steel Legend..

[@mariolp2999]

Thank you very much for these detailed tests...simply the best...

[@mariolp2999]

I have already messaged you using telegram..but I don't know if it worked...

[@TheDaNuker]

I took a gamble and bought the B660 Tomahawk D4 to pair with a 12700F as an stopgap upgrade after seeing HWB's Mortar's review and it is worked out great for all core render workloads since MSI was showing it to exceed PL2 limits with adequate cooling. That said, I'm not really happy about the pricing since it was only slightly cheaper than the best budget MSI Z690-A D4 board which was out of stock locally at the time and I needed the extra connectivity. It's really annoying that you need to spend this much to get the boosted all core performance out of a i7 CPU.

[@kaustubhx5452]

With your experience do you suggest using MSI Pro B660M-A board with i7 12700f with full potential performance or drop to i5 12600k with the same Mobo? Not a hardcore gamer or creator.

[@TheDaNuker]

@@kaustubhx5452 getting a 12600K might be a bit wasted on that motherboard since paying the same price and getting the Z690 PRO-A means you can overclock to 5 GHz+ if you are willing to get a bigger cooler. I just didn't want to spend too much now since a DDR5 platform next year is probably going to blow the current gen out of the water.

[@hanionline563]

why u didn't mention MSI PRO B660-A

[@ferchrist770]

He mention it in another video, and thats a realy good Mobo.

[@vladdyboy2612]

Question: In your direct airflow tests, do you just strap a 120mm fan onto the vrm heatsinks?

[@Hardwareunboxed]

Yes

[@killerhawks]

Thank you for telling us which board is best right off the bat..also out of all the boards list which in your opinion is the best ddr4 compatible bord?

[@NGreedia]

Wondering if the phantom gaming 4, Steel Legend, Pro4 and Riptide series fare any better thermally?

[@ChupetaDeBaleio]

The only difference between the Gigabyte B660m Aorus Pro AX and the non-AX version is the WiFi ? The non-AX version is on sale here and I'm thinking of buying it for my 12600k... from the gigabyte site it seems that everything is the same, with AX only standing for the addition of wifi.

[@LaxonPfc]

MSI PRO B660M-A costs around 60$ less than both Tomahawk and Mortar in my country so the choice is pretty clear. Thanks for the video

[@xsvrrx]

Thanks I been looking at the MSI boards and wanted one with us c type Soni been looking ant the mag motor but then remembered your review that the MSI pro was the best... At that time so came back and found this.

[@yahel092100]

As usual thanks for this. When are you going to do a Z690 board comparison? Looking forward for that video

[@MarcinTrybus]

Not much point to it. All Z690 are on par with B660 Tomahawk or better.

[@yahel092100]

@@MarcinTrybus sure? This was not the case on previous generations, same for AMD boards..

[@thelawnet]

they already did lol check their videos

[@thelawnet]

@@MarcinTrybus no, the gigabyte z690m ds3h is far worse than the tomahawk and is absolute garbage trash, just should never have been put on sale it's that bad. Asrock's Z690 boards aren't as terrible as that awful Gigabyte board, but the Z690(M) PG4 and ITX-AX have much worse specs than the Tomahawak. Even MSI's own Pro Z690-P is worse than the Tomahawak (albeit it's not terrible like the Gigaturd). Maxsun/Soyo's Z690 board is identical to their B660 board and will perform worse than the Tomahawk.

[@yahel092100]

@@thelawnet I literally did, they don't have any proper Z690 motherboard roundup video.

[@ryuubi2010]

Has anyone gotten the B660 Aorus Master board? How would it stack up against boards like the MSI Tomahawk?

[@itsmyname_real]

Aorus master is more expensive