Choosing The Right B560 Motherboard

One of Intel's new Rocket Lake (11th gen) processors' biggest driving forces is official support for PCIe 4.0. We've seen AMD implement PCIe 4.0 into the mainstream with its Ryzen 3000 series processors almost two years ago now, back in the summer of 2019. It took a while for Intel to catch up finally, but PCIe 4.0 after March 30th will be a key element of Intel's desktop platforms going forward into 2021 and beyond.

Not just looking forward to the future of its technologies and designs, Intel has also made its Z590, B560, and H510 backward compatible with existing Comet Lake (10th gen) processors too. This allows users to either use existing chips to upgrade to the 500 series chipsets or pick up a cheaper 10-core Comet Lake processor. However, using Comet Lake with 500-series boards willmean PCIe 3.0 as per Intel's specifications.

The most notable additions toB560 over the previous B460 are in networking. Not only do a number of boards come with a Wi-Fi 6 interface, a lot of B4570 models are 2.5 Gb Ethernet enabled. Over half of the models announced so far include either a Realtek RTL8125 or Intel's own I225-V 2.5 GbE controller. Even in a mid-range chipset such as B560, it's a notable statement of intent and an indicator that Gigabit Ethernet could soon be a thing of the past.

When paired with an 11th generation Rocket Lake processor, on all the B560 boards we've looked at so far, at least one of the M.2 ports will support super-fast PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drives. The rest of the M.2 slots are all PCIe 3.0, as they come from the chipset, which is limited to PCIe 3.0. Regarding the number of M.2 slots on B560 boards, the maximum number we've seen a B560 model includes is three, but this requires an ATX model, and uses 66% of the chipset PCIe lanes in full speed mode (some boards use x2 links instead).

Regardless of the needs or requirements, functionality, storage support, even in rear panel connectivity, we have a handy table that specifies which model includes what specific feature.

Note: We usually include a list of micro-ATX models in the below list, but given that most B560 models are micro-ATX, we've opted to highlight the ATX and mini-ITX boards. Outside of this, it means that the model is micro-ATX.

Choosing the Right B560 Motherboard
If You Need Then The Options Are Size Price
2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ASRock B560 Steel Legend ATX $130
  ASRock B560M Steel Legend mATX $120
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-F Gaming WIFI ATX -
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-A Gaming WIFI ATX $175
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-G Gaming WIFI mATX -
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-I Gaming WIFI ITX -
  ASUS TUF Gaming B560-Plus WIFI ATX -
  ASUS TUF Gaming B560M-Plus WIFI mATX -
  ASUS TUF Gaming B560M-Plus mATX -
  Biostar B560GTQ mATX -
  GIGABYTE B560 Aorus Pro AX ATX -
  GIGABYTE B560M Aorus Elite mATX -
  GIGABYTE B560M Aorus Pro AX mATX -
  GIGABYTE B560M Aorus Pro mATX -
  MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk Wi-Fi ATX -
  MSI MAG B560 Torpedo ATX -
  MSI MAG B560M Mortar Wi-Fi mATX -
  MSI MAG B560M Mortar mATX -
  MSI MAG B560M Bazooka mATX -
  MSI B560M-A Pro mATX -
  MSI B560M Pro mATX -
 
3 or more M.2 Slots ASRock B560 Steel Legend ATX $130
  ASRock B560 Pro4/ac ATX -
  ASRock B560 Pro4 ATX $110
  GIGABYTE B560 Aorus Pro AX ATX -
 
Intel Wi-Fi 6E MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk Wi-Fi ATX -
  MSI MAG B560M Mortar Wi-Fi mATX -
 
Intel Wi-Fi 6 ASUS ROG Strix B560-F Gaming WIFI ATX -
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-A Gaming WIFI ATX $175
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-G Gaming WIFI mATX -
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-I Gaming WIFI ITX -
  ASUS TUF Gaming B560-Plus WIFI ATX -
  ASUS TUF Gaming B560M-Plus WIFI mATX -
  GIGABYTE B560 Aorus Pro AX ATX -
  GIGABYTE B560M Aorus Pro AX mATX -
 
USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C ASUS ROG Strix B560-F Gaming WIFI ATX -
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-G Gaming WIFI mATX -
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-I Gaming WIFI ITX -
  Biostar B560GTQ mATX -
  GIGABYTE B560 Aorus Pro AX ATX -
  GIGABYTE B560M Aorus Pro AX mATX -
  GIGABYTE B560M Aorus Pro mATX -
  MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk Wi-Fi ATX -
  MSI MAG B560 Torpedo ATX -
  MSI MAG B560M Mortar Wi-Fi mATX -
  MSI MAG B560M Mortar mATX -
 
USB 3.2 G2 Type-C ASRock B560 Steel Legend ATX $130
  ASUS Prime B560M-A AC mATX -
  ASUS Prime B560M-A mATX -
  ASUS TUF Gaming B560-Plus WIFI ATX -
  ASUS TUF Gaming B560M-Plus WIFI mATX -
  ASUS TUF Gaming B560M-Plus mATX -
  GIGABYTE B560M Aorus Elite mATX -
 
BIOS Flashback Button ASUS ROG Strix B560-F Gaming WIFI ATX -
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-G Gaming WIFI mATX -
 
ATX ASRock B560 Steel Legend ATX $130
  ASRock B560 Pro4/ac ATX -
  ASRock B560 Pro4 ATX $110
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-E Gaming WIFI ATX -
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-F Gaming WIFI ATX -
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-A Gaming WIFI ATX $175
  ASUS Prime B560-Plus ATX $120
  ASUS TUF Gaming B560-Pro WIFI ATX -
  Biostar Racing B560GTQ ATX -
  GIGABYTE B560 Aorus Pro AX ATX -
  MSI MAG B560 Tomahawk Wi-Fi ATX -
  MSI MAG B560 Torpedo ATX -
 
Mini-ITX ASRock B560M-ITX/ac ITX $95
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-I Gaming WIFI ITX -
  MSI MPG B560I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi ITX -

As the B560 chipset is considered budget, the vast majority include one of Realtek's budget-friendly HD audio codecs, such as the ALC897. Only one model so far includes one of Realtek's latest ALC4080 HD audio codec (GIGABYTE), with some of the ASUS ROG models, which is using a Realtek S1220A HD audio codec.

Only a minimal selection of modelscomes with anything better than the ALC897.

B560 Motherboard Audio
Codec Boards
Realtek ALC897 Almost Everything, Except The Following
 
Realtek ALC4080 GIGABYTE B560 Aorus Pro AX
 
Realtek S1220A ASUS ROG Strix B560-F Gaming WIFI
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-A Gaming WIFI
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-G Gaming WIFI
  ASUS ROG Strix B560-I Gaming WIFI
  ASUS TUF Gaming Z590-Plus
 
Realtek ALC1220 Biostar B560GTQ

As we receive updates from vendors with more information, we will endeavor to keep this B560 overview updated and as often as possible.

MSI B560M Pro-E
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  • Irata - Tuesday, March 30, 2021 - link

    Is that the other side though ? If they are in a „better at everything“ position, why should they charge bargain basement prices? And anti-consumer ? That would be paying / pressuring OEM and stores to not carry alternative products and that‘s not happening.

    And you actually have a choice - want the best ? There‘s Ryzen 5000 but it costs a bit more. Want budget ? There‘s Ryzen 3000 and 2000. They all fit the same motherboards with the exception of 2017 era 300 series boards.

    What you shouldn‘t do is compare EOL close out prices to current products prices. I bought my 2700x new for €150 including Borderlands 3 and the stock HSF but it was so cheap because they were clearing out stock. The same thing is happening with Comet Lake but compared to Ryzen 2000 EOL prices you could even argue that they are still overpriced.

    Either way, we‘ll see what RKL brings to the table, both as far as performance, features and price is concerned.
  • madseven7 - Friday, April 2, 2021 - link

    How do you figure that AMD is price gouging? Intel is late to the game, underperform, runs hot and you have to get a new motherboard for every new cpu that Intel releases. AMD has supported new processors on the same motherboard since 2017. AMD are faster and run cooler. Just because AMD decided to increase prices by $50 the first time in years they're gouging customers? Every new Intel CPU release increased the price from $10-$30
  • laduran - Tuesday, March 30, 2021 - link

    Real men own fabs. Jerry Sanders. AMD.
  • Samus - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link

    This is a huge problem for AMD. The last few PC’s I’ve built during the pandemic have all been Intel because the platform cost is so much cheaper, and Intel had still competitive chips in the $150 range that you can actually get for MSRP. Meanwhile there are no AMD boards for under $100 unless you want an old platform, and their ~$120 chips are selling for $200.

    Basically at the low end you can build an Intel system equivalent in performance to an AMD system for nearly $100 less. Obviously you are throwing future proofing out the window when it comes time to upgrade your CPU to something high end but I rarely see people replace CPU’s without replacing their motherboard anyway...which is kind of sad :(
  • siggidarius - Tuesday, March 30, 2021 - link

    Future proofing and cpu upgradeability is fiction IMO, save for some edge cases. Usually CPU we buy is enough for some time, and after that it makes more sense to buy new mb+cpu+ram combo, especially now, when we are at the end of DDR4 era.
    My current platform is based on x570 and Ryzen 3600, but I'm not planning on switching to ZEN3 or ZEN3+ if it ever comes out, and same is with Intel.

    Also with current market integrated GPU is a nice thing to have for a fresh build, and here AMD just doesn't provide anything meaningful - it's all either old or expensive (and still a little worse then GPU-less CPUs due to less cache).
  • eastcoast_pete - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link

    Hi Gavin, your last table (audio) has a legacy headline (Z490..).
    Question: which HDMI-out standard is supported by these MoBos? Are they all 2.0b? Thanks!
  • dullard - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link

    Multiple tables on the first page have the wrong headline (Z590 instead of B560).
  • yeeeeman - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link

    Frankly, the 100 bucks motherboards are quite nice if you pair them with a non K CPU. With 300 bucks you end up with a pretty powerful system. Similar IPC to zen 3 parts and cheaper. No matter how much you despise intel, these are quite attractive.
  • Samus - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link

    I agree. I just built an H310 system ($56 motherboard brand new) with a new old stock i5-8500T? Maybe 8600T? I forgot. But $130 new on eBay, and threw a $10 cooler on it good for 65w (it’s a 35w CPU)

    It’s for my torrent PC/HTPC that was still sandy bridge and running a GT430 for video, new system will use around 1/3rd the power at load and 1/8th the power at idle. Total cost for board cpu and 8GB DDR4: $200.
  • Linustechtips12#6900xt - Thursday, April 8, 2021 - link

    completely agree, was looking at a 10400 or 10600 and a b560 from asrock actually not bad

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