CES 2022: ASUS Unveils ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI Mini-ITX Motherboard
by Gavin Bonshor on January 7, 2022 6:30 PM EST
During CES 2022, ASUS announced its H670, B660, and H610 motherboards designed for Intel's 12th generation Alder Lake processors. Among the launch of five new ROG Strix models for Intel's more budget-friendly B660 chipset, perhaps the most interesting of these is the ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI. With its small mini-ITX sized frame, it boasts support for DDR5-6200 memory, 2.5 GbE, and Wi-Fi 6 networking, as well as support for two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drives.
Much of the motherboard announcements at CES 2022 have been around Intel's latest 600 series chipsets, the H670, B660, and H610. For the most part, these new motherboards have been focused on users looking for an affordable entry point onto Intel's 12th generation Alder Lake desktop platform. The vast majority of these either come with ATX or micro-ATX sized PCBs. One designed for the small form factor enthusiasts looking to build a cheaper mini-ITX system compared to Z690 is the ASUS ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI.
Some of the most notable features of the ASUS ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI include one full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, support for up to two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drives, and four SATA ports that can support RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 arrays. The board also supports the latest DDR5 memory, with speeds of DDR5-6200 and a total capacity of up to 64 GB supported across two memory slots.
Although we don't have an image of the rear panel, we know the ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI includes one USB 3.2 G2x2 Type-C, one USB 3.2 G1 Type-C, three USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and three USB 2.0 ports. For networking, there's one Ethernet port powered by an Intel I225-V 2.5 GbE controller, as well as an Intel Wi-Fi 6 CNVi. ASUS uses one of its Realtek-based SupremeFX S1220A HD audio codecs that control five 3.5 mm audio jacks. Finishing off the rear panel is a pair of video outputs, including one HDMI 2.1 and one DisplayPort 1.4.
ASUS hasn't provided us with any information on when the ROG Strix B660-I Gaming WIFI will be available or how much it might cost.
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Source: ASUS
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meacupla - Friday, January 7, 2022 - link
Now this looks like a promising DDR5 mITX board.The Z690 mITX lineup was a wash of bad choices, unless you were overclocking RAM.
skydiverian - Saturday, January 8, 2022 - link
I had this in mind for a new build but the early pricing, at least in the UK, is terrible vs previous gen. Pre-orders are at £245 vs £155 for the B560 version of this board.That's a big jump for PCI-E 5.0 and DDR5 support, especially with DDR5 modules being both very expensive and lacking in availability.
HideOut - Sunday, January 9, 2022 - link
PCIE 5 is useless for anything right now. Theres not even a single product available that uses it for consumers. The DDR5 issue is bad though.Spunjji - Monday, January 10, 2022 - link
DDR5 is functionally irrelevant right now. It will be fine once prices and supplies have a chance to catch up, but until then it's a hindrance.dodoei - Sunday, January 9, 2022 - link
Why nobody is making a cheaper board that supports quad 4k displays? Both Ryzen and Alder lake can drive that.HideOut - Sunday, January 9, 2022 - link
That would be a specialty board that almost no one needs. It might be available from industrial board suppliers though but would be non cost competitive for anyone else.dodoei - Sunday, January 9, 2022 - link
It only needs two thunderbolt 4 or usb4. Quite a few z690 can do that. ASUS Z690i mitx has two TB4 too. But none of these B660 and H670 MBs has it. Just a total waste of the CPUs.Spunjji - Monday, January 10, 2022 - link
The vast majority of expected users of these boards will be adding a GPUTomatotech - Monday, January 10, 2022 - link
Use almost any cheap board, add a cheap GPU maybe two. Boom, quad 4K support for office use.Half-height single slot GPUs are available cheaply for very small boxes e.g. 3-5 litres (typical PC size is around 40-50 litres).
PCI riser cables (around £$10) let you put the GPU flat against the back of the motherboard - not sticking out at right angles - for extra small boxes.