Introductions
There’s no denying that Alderlake is a very expensive platform to get into considering the technological advancements that come with Intel 12th Gen, particularly PCI-E Gen 5 and DDR5. With Alderlake being out in the market for quite a few months, Intel recently launched the rest of the 12th Gen Core series processors as well as the H670, B660, and H610 chipset motherboards to cater to the mainstream market with budget options. The ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi Motherboard is one of the newest motherboards for the Alderlake platform that aims to take full advantage of the latest Intel 12th Gen Core series processors without the over the top features to keep the overall price low.
Intel B660 Chipset
| Z690 | H670 | B660 | H610 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memory | DDR5 / DDR4 | DDR5 / DDR4 | DDR5 / DDR4 | DDR5 / DDR4 |
| CPU OC | Y | N | N | N |
| MEM OC | Y | Y | Y | N |
| CPU PCIe 5.0 | 1×16 / 2×8 | 1×16 / 2×8 | 1×16 | 1×16 |
| CPU PCIe 4.0 | 1×4 | 1×4 | 1×4 | – |
| DMI 4.0 Lanes | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| PCIe 4.0 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 0 |
| PCIe 3.0 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 8 |
| USB 3 (20G) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| USB 3 (10G) | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| USB 3 (5G) | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| USB 2.0 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 |
| SATA 3.0 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
The new B660 Chipset comes with great connectivity options in a budget-friendly package which offers more bandwidth compared to the previous generation B560 chipset. The B660 Chipset supports sixteen lanes of PCI-E Gen 5, four lanes of PCI-E Gen 4, and four DMI 4.0 lanes. Like the Z690, B660 Chipset motherboards can support either DDR5 or DDR4 memory modules. The ASUS ROG Strix B660-FÂ and the rest of the ROG Strix B660 models supports DDR5 memory except for the -A variant which supports DDR4.
ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming Motherboard Specs
| Core Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Edition | ROG STRIX B660-F GAMING WIFI |
| Form Factor | ATX |
| CPU Socket | 1700 |
| Chipset | Intel B660 |
| RAM Memory Support | |
|---|---|
| Memory Type | DDR5 |
| Memory Channel | Dual (2) |
| Memory Type (ECC) | Non-ECC |
| Memory Type (R/U) | UDIMM (Unbuffered) |
| Memory Speed (Mhz) |
|
| Max. Memory Capacity | 128GB (4x32GB) |
| Audio | |
|---|---|
| Audio | ROG SupremeFX 7.1 HD Audio |
| Graphics Support | |
|---|---|
| Primary GPU Interface | PCIe 5.0 (x16) |
| NVIDIA SLI Support | N/A |
| AMD CrossFire Support | N/A |
| Integrated Graphics | Requires Processor Graphics or Discrete GPU |
| On-Board Graphics Connectors |
|
| Internal Connectivity | |
|---|---|
| Expansion Slots |
|
| SATA Support | SATA3 / M.2 |
| RAID Support via | |
| Storage Mode Support | |
| Internal I/O |
|
| External Connectivity | |
|---|---|
| Network Interface Type |
|
| Network Chip/Modules |
|
ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming Motherboard Unboxing
Packaging design of the ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi follows the overall ROG Strix aesthetic with the cybertext and gradient RGB.
Contents of the packaging are as follows:
- 4 x SATA 6Gb/s cables
- 1 x ASUS Wi-Fi moving antennas
- 1 x Cable ties pack
- 1 x M.2 Rubber Package
- 1 x M.2 Q-Latch package
- 1 x M.2 Q-Latch package for M.2 backplate
- 1 x ROG key chain
- 1 x ROG Strix stickers
- 1 x ROG Strix thank you card
- 1 x Support DVD
- 1 x User manual
ASUS skipped on the -E model for this generation making the ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi Motherboard is the highest-end model in the ROG Strix B660 lineup. Like the ROG Strix Z690 lineup, the whole ROG Strix B660 series comes equipped with WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.
The back of ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi shows a new ROG Strix design print on the back as opposed to the usual cybertext design that found on 6-layer PCB ROG Strix Motherboards.
Interestingly enough, there’s only one 8pin EPS 12V and one 4pin EPS 12V connectors for the ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi as most B660 motherboards, even DDR4 models that we have in the lab have two 8pin EPS 12V
Despite being a budget chipset motherboard, the ASUS ROG Strix B660-F uses 16+1 power stages in teamed configuration similar to the ROG Strix and ROG Maximus lineup allowing for efficient power delivery for the Intel 12th Gen Core series processors. The ROG Strix B660-F shares the same heatsink volume as previous ROG Strix motherboards that we reviewed like the ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming and ROG Strix Z590-E Gaming motherboard albeit in a refreshed design with very minimal RGB lighting.
B660 Chipset motherboards can support either DDR4 or DDR5 memory modules making it a versatile chipset as users have the option to go all in with high performance memory or save up with existing DDR4 memory. The ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi supports DDR5 memory up to 6,000 Mhz alongside the ROG Strix B660-G and ROG Strix B660-I Gaming motherboards. Like its Z690 brothers, the ROG Strix B660-F features ASUS Enhanced Memory Profile technology for comprehensive memory tuning, overclocking, and stability.
There’s ample amount of connectivity on the ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi with four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, one USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port, and two USB 2.0 Type-A ports. As mentioned earlier, the ROG Strix B660-F supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 via the 2×2 AX201 chip.
M.2 covers on the ROG Strix B660-F also act as a heatsink for M.2 SSDs. The top M.2 heatsink has the most cooling area as the second
ASUS brought some quality of life improvements in its mid tier B660 chipset with the most notable feature being the Q-Latch SSD lock for its M.2 slots. Q-Latch has been around since the ROG Strix Z490 line and its nice to see the feature being spread out across budget friendly motherboards.
Testbench Setup and Methodology
Gadget Pilipinas’ testing philosophy is to provide detail-oriented results as accurately as possible that our readers can replicate our tests given that these conditions are met. Different benchmarking apps and sequences are used depending on the component or device being tested.
| ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi Review Test Bench Specs | ||||||
| CPU | Intel Core i9 12900K | |||||
| COOLER | ASUS ROG RYUJIN II 360mm V2Â – Noctua NT-H2 Thermal Paste | |||||
| MOTHERBOARD | ASUS ROG Strix Z690-E Gaming WiFi | ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Formula | ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WIFI | ASUS TUF Z690 Gaming Plus WiFi | MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 | |
| MEMORY | Kingston Fury Beast 32GB(2x16GB) 5200 Mhz DDR5 | Tforce XTREEM ARGB 16GB(2x8GB) 3600Mhz DDR4 | ||||
| GPU | Inno3D RTX 3080 Ti iChill X4 | |||||
| STORAGE | WD Black SN850 2TB SSD | |||||
| POWERSUPPLY | ASUS ROG THOR 1000W Platinum II | |||||
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Windows 11 Pro Build 22000 | |||||
| DISPLAY | Lenovo Legion Y27Q Gaming Monitor | |||||
We use CapFrameX 1.6.6 as our primary FPS capture and analysis tool for all our gaming benchmarks. The latest build version of Windows 11 and WHQL certified drivers are used for our benchmarks. Readings such as temperatures and power draw are recorded using HWINFO64, and other relevant software for cross-checking.
ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi Benchmarks
SuperPI 32M
SuperPI is a single-threaded benchmark application that lets the CPU calculate Pi(Ï€) to the nth digit. In this benchmark, we selected the Pi calculation to 32M, the highest available in the software
wPrime 1024M
wPrime is a benchmark tool similar to SuperPI, but the former takes on finding prime numbers using Newton’s Method. The benchmark is set to calculate 1024 million prime numbers, and the performance is measured according to calculation time.
AIDA64 Memory Benchmark
AIDA64 is a very popular and powerful monitoring tool, as well as a benchmarking application. AIDA64 is commonly used to stress test CPUs, especially testing if an overclock is stable. We used AIDA64’s Memory Benchmark to measure the data transfer bandwidth of the system memory.
GeekBench 5.4.3
Geekbench is a multi-platform benchmark used to gauge CPU performance and compare them across Windows, Mac, and Mobile. Geekbench 5 is the latest version and doesn’t rely on memory than the previous Geekbench 4, making it a great tool to measure both single-core and multi-core CPU performance.
CINEBENCH R20 & R23
- ASUS ROG Strix B660 F Gaming Motherboard Review Cinebench R20 Benchmark
- ASUS ROG Strix B660 F Gaming Motherboard Review Cinebench R23 Benchmark
Maxon’s Cinebench benchmark is one of the most iconic benchmark applications used by reviewers and enthusiasts. The latest Cinebench R20 uses the latest rendering architectures, including Intel’s Embree ray tracing technology and other advanced features from AMD and Intel that allow users to render the same scene on the same hard. Cinebench R20 uses a larger and more complex testing scene than Cinebench R20 by about 8x computational power and requires 4x the memory.
GOOGLE OCTANE 2.0
Google Octane 2.0 is a benchmark that measures a Javascript engine’s performance by running multiple tests representing different use cases of JavaScript applications. While Google Octane is retired and no longer maintained, it is still a good representation of today’s dynamic, interactive web applications. Our Google Octane 2.0 is run on Microsoft’s latest Chromium-based Edge browser.
V-RAY 4.10 & 5
- ASUS ROG Strix B660 F Gaming Motherboard Review VRAY 4 Benchmark
- ASUS ROG Strix B660 F Gaming Motherboard Review VRAY 5 Benchmark
V-Ray Benchmark is a stand-alone version of V-Ray developed by Chaos Group. It is designed to test the CPU and GPU by rendering sample scenes at a fixed amount of time. V-Ray is a plug-in mostly utilized by 3D computer graphics software applications mainly for industrial design, product design, architecture, film, and video game production. V-Ray is not limited to 64-threads as it supports multi and mega-threading.
BLENDER
Blender is a widely used, free, open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the whole 3D pipeline process from modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, and even motion tracking. Blender has become a standard for CPU benchmarks with the BMW27 and Classroom scene most used. This prompted the company to release Blender Open Data Benchmark in 2018, a benchmark-specific version that allows users to run a preset benchmark and share the results online similar to 3D Mark.
CORONA RENDERER
Corona Renderer is an unbiased photorealistic render available for Autodesk 3Ds Max, Maxon Cinema 4D, and as a stand-alone application. Its popularity, like Blender, led Chaos Group to develop a benchmark version of the app which runs using Corona Renderer 1.3. Workstation systems, especially CPUs, can utilize Corona Benchmark as up to 72 threads can be used in the benchmark, making it very suitable for CPUs with various price segments.
PCMark10
From the same developers of the popular game benchmarking tool 3DMark, PCMark 10 is a benchmarking app for measuring a whole PC’s performance. It covers a wide variety of tests to reflect common tasks performed in a modern workplace. We selected PCMark 10’s extended benchmark and reported both the overall score and Digital Content Creation Score.
HANDBRAKE
Handbrake is a top-rated open-source video conversion software that is used by professionals, enthusiasts, and even reviewers as a reference point mainly because of its wide variety of media codecs. The rise of streaming and blogging makes video content, both encoding, and transcoding important for these people, regardless of whether they’re seasoned professionals or just starting out. Handbrake also takes advantage of AVX-512 and OpenCL to accelerate certain types of media codecs. Our Handbrake benchmark converts a 500MB MP4 video to H.264 to measure the processor’s performance.
3DMARK
- ASUS ROG Strix B660 F Gaming Motherboard Review 3DMark Firestrike Benchmark
- ASUS ROG Strix B660 F Gaming Motherboard Review 3DMark Timespy Benchmark
3DMark is the go-to benchmark for gamers because of the ability to share and compare results online. We tested the Intel Core i9 12900K and MSI MAG B660M Mortar WIFI DDR4 both in Fire Strike and Time Spy to get a good gauge of DX 11 and DX 12 API performance.
ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi UEFI BIOS
ASUS has been consitent with the overall uniformity of its motherboards regardless of series. The UEFI BIOS on the ROG Strix B660-F shares the same UI and layout as the previous ROG Strix motherboards as well as the higher end ROG Strix Z690 line. The only difference is the lack of CPU overclocking options as the B660 chipset does not support overclocking even when paired with a K-series CPU. For our benchmark and review, we ran the ROG Strix B660-F at its out-of-the-box settings with XMP enabled. Its UEFI BIOS is updated to the latest version –Â BIOS 1009.
ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming WiFi VRM Thermals
The ASUS ROG Strix B660-F Gaming is one of the coolest Intel 12th Gen motherboards that we’ve tested and is the coolest B660 chipset motherboard at 67°C. VRM Thermal performance is outstanding as the B660-F managed to handle the full 230W stock performance of the Intel Core i9 12900K with longer boost clocks over the MSI MAG B660M Mortar WiFi as reflected in our benchmarks.
Conclusion
As mentioned in our previous review, the B660 Chipset is an attractive way to get users into the latest Intel Alderlake platform without having to spend that much money on a CPU, motherboard, RAM combo. While B660 Chipset itself is affordable, DDR5 variants such as the ROG Strix B660-F sit near the expensive threshold for its class. Priced at Php 14,210, ASUS ROG Strix B660-F is on the premium side as far as B660 motherboards go but offers some features that you would mostly find on Z690 chipset motherboards such as robust connectivity, better VRMs, and thermals all at half the price of these premium Z690 motherboards. So, if you’re looking for a B660-F motherboard that supports the latest DDR5 technology, has robust connectivity, and can handle flagship Intel Core i9 12900K with headroom to spare, then you can’t go wrong with this top-tier B660 motherboard.
Grant is a Financial Management graduate from UST. His passion for gadgets and tech crossed him over in the industry where he could apply his knowledge as an enthusiast and in-depth analytic skills as a Finance Major. His passion allows him to earn at the same time help Gadget Pilipinas' readers in making smart, value-based decisions and purchases with his reviews and guides.
