The Intel B560 Motherboard Overview: 30+ Budget Models Starting from $75
by Gavin Bonshor on March 29, 2021 7:00 AM ESTChoosing 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.
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FriendlySeaCow - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
The MSI MPG B560I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi has been announced and its features fully released, so you can update that page. Incidentally, there's also a typo in the MSI table, where you have "ATX" instead of "ITX" under the Size Column for the B560I.Looks like a really nice board: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-B560I-GAMING-E...
Jorgp2 - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
Why didn't they enable the full 8 sata ports for this chipset, X299 is dead anyway.Linustechtips12#6900xt - Thursday, April 8, 2021 - link
because who uses 8 freaking sata ports at a time, i think the MAX I've ever used is 4Mr Perfect - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
Nice round up. Any chance you'll do something similar for H570? They don't seem to cost much more, but have some additional chipset features.Scour - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
B560 also with 6x SATA, PCIe 4.0 and also on ATX-boards, sound good for me.sheltem - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
According to this Reddit post, the Asrock B560 ITX has pretty good VRM's:https://www.reddit.com/r/intel/comments/lao3ym/z59...
BrokenCrayons - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
Finally some decently priced motherboards are getting attention they deserve! I'm really happy to see and read about hardware in a price segment I would actually buy and use.evilpaul666 - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
The 10/11 series would be so much more interesting if it had ECC support.jrbales@outlook.com - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
I'm in the process of building a new system for my sister. Bought the ASUS Prime B560M-A at a price competitive with the B460 boards. A very nice mATX board that was nice to work with. One observation and one question. I bought the optional Intel WIFI card & antenna kit to use with the WIFI bracket. On the plus side, it works great and I didn't have to run ethernet cable across the room I was building it in. The negative is that the WIFI bracket has to be attached to the motherboard, using really tiny screws from the rear of the board. That probably took the longest thing in the build as I'd have to try to balance the MB, keep the bracket in place over the holes and the card inserted in the slot, while keeping the tiny screws on the screwdriver long enough to screw in. Now for the question. It involves the first M.2 slot, above the GPU. It's PCIE 4.0. According to everything printed by ASUS, if you use a 10th generation CPU, the slot is disabled, leaving only the second M.2 beneath the GPU. I understand the part about needing an 11th gen CPU to get PCIE 4, but shouldn't the first slot support a PCIE 3.0 M.2 SSD? I'm used to these slots being backward compatible and on my AMD X570 board, you can use either PCIE 3 or 4 SSDs in both slots. Does anyone knows if the B56s0 slot 1 is backward compatible?mobilefrenzy - Tuesday, March 30, 2021 - link
M.2 Slot 1 on B560 and Z590 mobos don't work with 10th gen CPUs, as they don't have the additional PCIe lanes to enable them.