Intel released the 12th generation of Core's sweet-grade car B660 motherboard chip at the beginning of the year, and GIGABYTE, as its core partner, immediately launched the AORUS "Eagle" and GAMING X "Magic Eagle" series of main B660 motherboards for performance-level players and mainstream players, including DDR5 and DDR4, with or without WIFI 6 wireless network card versions. So, what are the highlights of this upgrade of the GIGABYTE B660 motherboard? What are the differences between the specifications of each product? How to choose when installing the machine? Let's take a look.
Power supply design comparable to flagships
The B660 AORUS MASTER Super Eagle is equipped with a 16+1+1 phase digital power supply, comparable to the flagship Z690
The Super Eagle B660 AORUS MASTER and the Super Eagle B660 AORUS MASTER DDR4 are the benchmarks in the commercially available B660 motherboard in terms of design and materials
Even though the processor overclocking features are streamlined compared to the Z690, the B660 is still a motherboard chip that supports the full line of 12th generation Core desktop processors, including, of course, top flagships such as the Core i9 12900K. At the same time, don't forget that Intel officials also said that the 12th generation Core can work at the highest accelerated power state for a long time (much higher than the base power), which means that to ensure that they play their full performance stably, the B660 motherboard must also be strong enough in terms of power supply capacity.
Gigabyte Snow Sculpture B660M is a representative of the dessert grade motherboard
The dessert grade B660M AORUS PRO AX DDR4 snow sculpture is equipped with 12+1+1 phase digital power supply, which is also the best in its class
GIGABYTE's motherboard has always been known for pushing materials, and this B660 legion is no exception, the whole line is equipped with 8+1+1 phase power supply, and the high-end products have even reached 12+1+1 and 16+1+1 phases, which is completely comparable to the flagship Z690. For example, the highest-end B660 AORUS MASTER super eagle is equipped with 16+1+1 phase digital power supply, the processor power supply part is equipped with 60A Dr.MOS chip, the specification is higher than some Z690 motherboards, and it is not bad with the Core i9 12900K full blood output. The mainstream dessert-oriented B660M AORUS PRO AX DDR4 Snow Sculpture is also equipped with 12+1+1 phase digital power supply and the same Dr.MOS chip, which can also easily support the full line of 12th generation Core.
In short, GIGABYTE's B660 motherboard legion has higher specifications than similar products in terms of power supply, which not only better performs the performance of the 12th generation Core, but also maintains lower temperatures and better stability during long-term full load use.
Strong heat dissipation perfect escort
In order to save costs, some B660 motherboards on the market even cancel the heatsink of the power supply part, which will cause the VRM part of the temperature to be too high when the processor is fully loaded, which will seriously affect the stability and life of the motherboard, and trigger the VRM overheating protection will also reduce the acceleration power of the processor, resulting in a serious contraction in performance.
Obviously, GIGABYTE has higher requirements for the heat dissipation of the B660 motherboard of its AORUS "Eagle" and GAMING X "Magic Eagle" series, so all products are equipped with VRM cooling armor, of which the AORUS series and the GAMING X series are equipped with thick full-coverage thermal armor, which does not allow any part of the VRM circuit to be exposed. If you are interested, you can compare the cooling armor of each B660 motherboard in the market, look at the pictures of the e-commerce platform, it is very clear, and the advantages of GIGABYTE's B660 series in this regard are clear at a glance.
Even with the Core i9 12900K test machine, the VRM MOS temperature of the B660 AORUS MASTER DDR4 Super Eagle is only 67 °C
The actual output power of the Core i7 12700 on the snow sculpture B660M has reached 164W, and the maximum VRM MOS temperature of the motherboard IN half an hour is only 67 ° C
It can also be seen from the measured data that due to the high-specification Dr.MOS chip and full-coverage thermal armor, the temperature performance of the GIGABYTE B660 motherboard is also very eye-catching. Super Eagle B660 with Core i9 12900K, Snow Sculpture B660M with Core i7 12700 using Cinebench R23 test machine VRM MOS temperature is only 67 ° C, and some of the B660 motherboards that do not have VRM heat sinks basically have to overheat protection automatically power off under this load. Therefore, we also strongly recommend that you must choose a product equipped with VRM cooling armor like GIGABYTE B660 series when purchasing b660 motherboards to ensure that the processor can play its full performance stably.
High-frequency memory is easy to play with
Gigabyte's B660 series provides good support for DDR4/DD5 high frequency memory
Super Eagle B660 DDR4 Edition easily supports DDR4 4800 high frequency memory
Although the B660 has simplified the processor overclocking function, it retains the memory overclocking function, and can directly use the high frequency memory to obtain higher memory bandwidth after turning on XMP mode. In addition, the B660 natively supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, so GIGABYTE B660 series motherboards are also divided into DDR5 version and DDR4 version, of which products that support DDR4 memory are marked with the word DDR4 at the end of the model. GIGABYTE has greatly improved the electrical performance of the memory part by adding a separate signal shielding layer to the motherboard memory wiring area, using a more anti-interference daisy-chain trace, equipped with a 2-ounce copper 6-layer PCB board, etc., so it can support higher memory frequencies, of which the DDR5 version can easily support DDR5 6000 or more frequencies, and the DDR4 version can also reach the level of DDR4 5333+. In addition, on the DDR5 version of the B660, GIGABYTE also provides a voltage unlock function, supporting XMP 3.0, players can further tap the overclocking potential of DDR5.
Luxury specifications extend hassle-free
Gigabyte B660 motherboards are equipped with dual PCIe 4.0×4 M.2 slots across the board, and one pcIe 3.0 ×4 M.2 slot in the flagship class
The integrated I/O panel of the dessert grade snow sculpture B660M is equipped with 10 USB interfaces, and the 2.5G wired network card and WIFI 6 wireless network card are easily adapted to a variety of network environments
Expandability part, Gigabyte B660 series is also not shrinking, AORUS and GAMING X full line standard with two PCIe 4.0×4 M.2 slots, of which the flagship product is also equipped with 1 PCIe 3.0×4 M.2 slot, fully able to meet the performance level users to expand the needs of high-speed solid-state drives, while the motherboard is also equipped with M.2 cooling armor, to ensure that the full load work will not be due to overheating and drop or drop the disk. I/ O part, GIGABYTE's AORUS and GAMING X series B660 are equipped with USB 3.2 Gen2 interfaces, of which the mainstream and flagship levels are also equipped with USB 3.2 Gen2×2 interfaces, with bandwidth up to 20Gbps; the network part, these two series are also standard with 2.5Gbps wired network cards on the whole line, and the models with the word AX in the model are equipped with WIFI 6 wireless network cards, which is equivalent to fully popularizing ultra-gigabit network connections. All in all, if you're building a 12th Generation Core console that's easy to upgrade and expand, choosing a GIGABYTE B660 series motherboard won't disappoint you.
Summary: Eagle B660 positioning full coverage, upgrade the installed machine always has a suitable for you!
Finally, let's take a closer look at the positioning of each product of GIGABYTE B660 Legion, so that there is a clearer direction when purchasing. Here are a total of 14 main products in the two series of AORUS and GAMING X.
First of all, for enthusiast players, you can choose the B660 AORUS MASTER Super Eagle. It is the top flagship of the commercially available B660 motherboard, 16+1+1 phase digital power supply, luxurious cooling armor, dual PCIe 4.0×4 plus PCIe 3.0×4 M.2 slot is enough to meet the demanding needs of enthusiasts with Core i9 12900/K/KF flagship processor to build flagship console. This motherboard is available in DDR5 and DDR4 versions, both with a WIFI 6 wireless card as standard.
Secondly, the explosive dessert grade has snow sculpture and small eagle PRO to choose from, but also divided into DDR4 and DDR5 versions, the power supply also reaches the high specifications of 12+1+1 phase, USB 3.2 Gen2×2, 2.5Gbps Gigabit network card, dual PCIe 4.0×4 M.2 slot are readily available. Both are mATX architecture, the chassis adaptability is very good, the difference is that the snow sculpture cooling armor is silver, with WIFI 6 wireless network card, small eagle PRO heat dissipation armor is black, without WIFI 6 wireless network card. This series is recommended to assemble a performance-level host with the Core i9 12900, Core i7 12700/K/KF, and Core i5 12600/K/KF.
In addition, the eagle series also has a B660I AORUS PRO DDR4 mini eagle specially created for mini host players, using Mini-ATX architecture, 8+1+1 phase digital power supply, 90A Dr.MOS, 10 layers of PCB, proper mini small steel cannon, which can completely make many large board B660 ashamed of themselves. Mini Eagle only supports DDR4 memory, and comes standard with a 2.5Gbps Gigabit network card and a WIFI 6 wireless card. Although according to the power supply specifications of the mini eagle, it is okay to match any 12th generation Core, but considering that the heat dissipation conditions of the ITX chassis are relatively harsh, it is recommended that you use the Core i7 12700 and the Core i5 12600/K/KF.
For players who are looking for value for money, you can consider the GAMING X Magic Eagle series. Among them, B660 GAMING X Magic Eagle is ATX large board architecture, 8+1+1 phase digital power supply, divided into DDR4/DDR5 version, B660 GAMING X AX DDR4 Magic Eagle is its WIFI 6 wireless network card version, and only DDR4 version. B660M GAMING X Magic Eagle is mATX architecture version, also divided into DDR4/DDR5 and wifi 6 wireless card version, a total of 4 models, suitable for players who like the middle board. The Magic Eagle series can also easily support the 12th generation of Core products, but considering the comprehensive cost performance, you can choose to match the Core i7 12700, Core i5 12600/K/KF.
In short, whether you need to top the fever model, dessert performance model, super cost-effective model, you can find the right product in the GIGABYTE B660 Legion.