The Intel B560 Motherboard Overview: 30+ Budget Models Starting from $75
by Gavin Bonshor on March 29, 2021 7:00 AM ESTASRock B560M Pro4/ac & B560M Pro4
Up next in our overview is a pair of modest micro-ATX models from ASRock, the B560M Pro4/ac, and the B560M Pro4. The only difference between the two models is the ac variant includes an 802.11ac Wi-Fi 5 CNVi. Everything else is built to the same specification and design, including a black and grey patterned PCB, silver heatsinks, as well as an advertised 8-phase power delivery with 50 A power chokes. ASRock does include a small section of RGB LEDs in the bottom-right hand corner of the board.
The ASRock B560M Pro4/ac pictured above
Both the ASRock B560M Pro4/ac and B560M Pro4 include a smaller micro-ATX sized PCB, with two full-length PCIe slots with the top slot operating at PCIe 4.0 x16, and the second slot locked down to PCIe 3.0 x4. ASRock also includes one PCIe 3.0 x1 slot, with the B560M Pro4/ac using an Intel-based Wi-Fi 5 CNVi. In regards to memory support, there are four slots with supported speeds of up to DDR4-4800 and a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB. Storage options consist of dual PCIe M.2 slots with one operating at PCIe 4.0 x4, and the other including support for both PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA drives. ASRock also includes six SATA ports with two of these featuring straight-angled connectors and four with right-angled connectors, with RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays supported.
The ASRock B560M Pro4/ac rear panel
On the rear panel, both models include four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A and two USB 2.0 ports, with a single HDMI video output and three 3.5 mm audio jacks controlled by a Realtek ALC897 HD audio codec. The B560M Pro4/ac includes a pair of antenna connectors for an unspecified Intel 802.11ac Wi-Fi 5 CNVi, with both models including a single Intel I219-V Gigabit Ethernet controller and a PS/2 combo port.
ASRock has set an MSRP of $105for the ASRock B560M Pro4/ac, although the ASRock B560M Pro4 (without Wi-Fi) is slightly cheaper with an MSRP of $100.
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Flunk - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
Still limiting overclocking on mid-range boards even though the competition doesn't? Shame Intel, shame.shabby - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
Do you really need to overclock though? Don't these cpus overclock themselves to 200w+ anyway?Linustechtips12#6900xt - Thursday, April 8, 2021 - link
just adjust the turbo limit time or enable MCE if you can, at least i think you can on b560 not sure and 2933/3000 mhz memory isnt the biggest deal eitherGreat_Scott - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
The most recent crop of Intel CPUs 1) overclock on their own, and 2) don't have any thermal headroom.Really, getting a Non-K with a B-series motherboard and saving the money for (any) GPU is the better idea...
Martin84a - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
Not that the work isn't appreciated, but I think you should just hire raisonjohn and call it a day. His work on a massive comparison spreadsheet for the AMD A, B and X motherboard is amazing, and light years ahead of anything I've seen.https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wmsTYK9Z3-...
Tomatotech - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
Decent stack range, but the vast majority have too many SATA and not enough m.2 and not enough USB type C ports. In the next few years there will be more and more type C equipment to plug in.Apart from that, most of them are good for final DDR4 boards as a final home for DDR4 RAM as DDR 5 starts coming in next year (or the year after).
With AMD’s reduction in CPU power the way seems open for some low power desktops to run entirely off USB-C with its power supply of up to 100w (delivered via DC so equal to a wall supply of maybe 130w AC as the transformer losses are in the wall wart not in the desktop PSU). That could mean smaller and cheaper desktops, powered straight from the monitor (if it has a USBC power supply) through the USBC video cable. Apple already has this setup though a few hoops need to be jumped through.
DanNeely - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
Limited m.2 is mostly down to being mATX and budget. The smaller board size combined with m.2 being attached to the board itself doesn't leave much room for a 2nd slot unless you go with some sort of riser setup. And using a riser crashes into being budget products.USB-C rollout has been strangled by the decision to implement reversibility by adding an extra chip between the physical port and controller whose job is to swap the IO around instead of offloading that to the controller. Adding an extra dollar or two to the BOM per port has resulted in all the board makers deciding that not having multiple C ports is a good way to cut costs.
Lastly, mATX is going to be the last place we see SATA numbers shrink as long as Intel keep offering them on their chipsets. The plugs are dirt cheap, and unless you're building a maxed out full ATX board the chipset has more IO lanes than you can use. If numbers ever start dropping below what's offered in the chipset it'll either be on mITX boards that are badly space constrained or full ATX ones where the designers decide a few more PCIe lanes or USB3 ports would be more valuable.
TheinsanegamerN - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
Plenty of AMD micro ATX boards have 2 slots, you just need some intelligent board design. Hell they can fit 2 on mini ITX without riser boards.Tomatotech - Tuesday, March 30, 2021 - link
Thanks Dan for the reply. I didn’t know that info about the USB-C extra chip causing issues. USB-IF strikes again!vailr - Monday, March 29, 2021 - link
Gigabyte also has the (full size ATX board) B460 HD3:https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B460-HD3-rev-...