Cheaper motherboards - these models could be a hit

The new Intel processors turned out to be a hit that was overshadowed by the expensive Z690 motherboards. However, we have good news - after the New Year, cheaper offers will also appear on the market. Photos of several models designed by ASUS have appeared on the web. What's new in Intel H670 and B660 motherboards?

The H670 and B660 models are to be an alternative to building cheaper gaming computers. Of course, we will still be dealing with the LGA 1700 socket, which supports Intel Core 12th generation processors (Alder Lake-S). Designs for older (and cheaper) DDR4 modules will appear more often.

What are the differences? The new boards do not allow for overclocking of unlocked processors (like the Z690 models ), but they do allow you to set a higher clock speed of the RAM. In addition, you should expect a less phenomenal design and a more modest set of ports. The prices are to be lower as well, but the details are not known yet. ASUS H670 and B660 motherboards

It is true that the premiere of the motherboards was planned only at the beginning of next year (along with the new 12th generation processors ), but the manufacturers already have ready-made designs. The VideoCardz service has published photos of four models from the ASUS stable.

ASUS TUF Gaming H670-PRO WIFI D4 is a proposal aimed at gamers who expect interesting design and good equipment. The board offers one PCI-Express 5.0 x16 slot for a graphics card, one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x4), and two PCI-Express 3.0 x1 slots, as well as four M.2 slots (three hidden under the heat sink) and four regular SATA slots.

There is a pretty good set of ports on the rear panel - including USB 3.2 Gen2x2 20 Gb / s, two USB 3.2 Gen2 10 Gb / s and four USB 3.2 Gen1 5 Gb / s. There's also a high-speed 2.5G LAN and Wi-Fi 6E network card, and HDMI and DisplayPort outputs for integrated graphics.

ASUS Prime H670-Plus D4 is one of the basic designs. The manufacturer used a modest power section with a single heat sink. As for the connectors, one PCI-Express 5.0 x16, two PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x4), and one PCI-Express 3.0 x1 are available. There are three M.2 slots for the drives (only one is equipped with a heat sink) and four SATA slots.

On the back panel, we will see only the necessary set of ports - incl. Eight USB ports (including one Type-C), HDMI and DisplayPort outputs, a network card, and three audio jacks.

ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WIFI should be of interest to gamers and enthusiasts. Interesting design and good functionality are noteworthy, including the PCI-Express 5.0 x16 connector, three M.2 sockets with heat sink, and four SATA. It is worth adding that it is the only one of the few B660 motherboards that support DDR5 RAM.

The set of ports on the I / O panel is also not bad - there are HDMI and DisplayPort outputs for integrated graphics, nine USB ports, as well as a 2.5G LAN and Wi-Fi 6 network card. There was also a good audio codec.

The ASUS ROG Strix B660-A Gaming WIFI model not only looks interesting but also stands out with a pretty good set of ports. PCI-Express 5.0 x16 slot, PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (x4) and two PCI-Express 3.0 x1 slots, three M.2 slots with cooling, and four SATA slots.

As for the rear panel, there are, among others, nine USB ports (including one USB Type C 20 Gb / s), HDMI and DisplayPort outputs, as well as a good quality audio chip. 2.5G LAN and wireless Wi-Fi 6E are responsible for connectivity.