Biostar B660GTA review: a motherboard with a Racing style. Today we find out everything about the new B660 of the GTA range, for 12th Gen CPUs
Biostar needs no introduction, well known in the oriental market, less, but still appreciated, in the European market, it is a brand that has always made the quality / price ratio a rigid and constant philosophy over time, which fifth largest motherboard manufacturer in the world.
For this new one GTA Racing, has gone further, trying to break into the medium-high sector, and we will also see it from the price, always offering a design in line with the history of the brand, aiming at a respectable hardware sector. Let's get to the heart of the review and try to understand if Biostar has succeeded or not.
A first look | Biostar B660GTA review
Let's start by saying that it is a motherboard with a B660 chipset. Based on the LGA 1700 Socket, for 12Gen's Alder Lake processors, the B660 family sits at the midpoint of Intel's offering. Compound we remember from the Chipset; Z690 for the top range, H670 and B660 for the mid-range, and finally H610 for the low-end. The mid-range chipsets offer a fair compromise between essentialse, and "Enthusiast", for example support for up to 128GB of RAM, possibility of Overclocking, not complete, but only RAM and BaseClock multiplier, or maximum number of 12 USB ports, Wi-Fi 6E AX211 and much more that we will now see.
Biostar with the B660GTA has equipped its latest GTA Racing with everything the Chipset could offer. First of all, we find support for DDR4, we remind you that Intel has given manufacturers the possibility to continue support for this generation, for which also for reasons linked to production, the support still continues for a short time.
We continue the review talking about the structure. On board we have the PCIe 5.0, with metal reinforced slots, tracks that have been optimized at the PCB level to ensure a constant flow as per specification, or 32 GT / s, which means having a bandwidth of about 128 Gb / s. At the PCB level, Biostar used a double layer board, and inserted several PWM controllers. This has made it possible to increase the general energy efficiency of supply, guaranteeing and maintaining a stable power without abnormal fluctuations.
And in fact, in relation to this, in addition to the PWM chip, the VRM panorama has been completed with excellent Dr. MOS. allowing to guarantee very low frequency losses during switching, and also to guarantee sudden and higher switching frequencies. 10K models were used for inductors and capacitors. There are a total of 17 phases and they deliver 70A, a very respectable figure. For the CPU power supply we have an additional extra connector with reduced design. The PWM Chip is a Renessas RAA228228, it is not found on the net about this model, but it seems to be at least technically very good, which was also confirmed by the tests and tests carried out.
PCIe and I / O | Biostar B660GTA review
We come instead to the PCIe department, where we have a 4.0 protocol. To complete the picture, a large USB3.2 Gen2 equipment for 10Gbps transfers, for the connection we have 2.5Guard inputs. To be precise we have 8 SATA III connectors, 3 connectors 3 M.2 slots, 2 PCIe 4.0 × 4 slots, and 1 PCIe 3.0 × 4 connector. On the motherboard we have 5 connections for the fans, and one for a possible AIO pump. Internally we have 3.2 gen connectors. 2 type C available.
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As for the I / O connections, we have a modest equipment, consisting of 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C port, 5 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A ports, and 2 USB 2.0 ports. As for the video outputs we have 1 HDMI 2.0, 1 DisplayPort 1.4. For the network, Biostar relied on an RJ-45, guaranteed by a Realtek RTL8125B. Finally, for the audio we have an economical but functional solution, a Realtek ALC1220.
To continue the review of the Biostar B660GTA let's talk now about the RGB, very present in this motherboard, and which certainly does not go unnoticed, we have the software VIVID LED DJ. A made in house software, which allows you to manage the RGB of all the components installed on the card, but not only. It also allows you to overclock directly from Windows, and to check info on components, BIOS, and security. A really comfortable tool, with the retro design.
Conclusions and price
During our tests we had no problems of any kind, the motherboard managed to perfectly manage our test benches, without satisfying the demands for greater power required. Like some tests carried out only in order to test the energy supply, which allowed us to verify that it fully supported our i5-12600K, or ours GTX 2080 MSI Wind. Logically, we have limits given by the Chipset, but not even the small increases in voltage and frequencies of a slight overclock performed have put this motherboard in crisis.
So what about, at the end of this review, we have to say that she performed well on every occasion. The BIOS is functional, but it has a little intuitive aspect and not in step with the times, the design is similar to the VIVID LED DJ software, to give you an idea.
Its Design makes it unique, certainly gorgeous, but unique, if seeing the B660s on the market are very similar to each other, all of them, this GTA Racing stands out from the crowd. With important heatsinks for the VRM sector, and an imposing RGB lighting.
We have come to the end of this review of the Biostar B660GTA. It can be of interest to users who need many SATA ports for example, or for the particularity of a DVI-D port. Certainly the price is high, and it remains difficult to actually justify it when you come up against pieces like a TUF Gaming B660 Plus, or the B660 Aorus Master, which cost even less. The power supply phases are certainly very respectable, and in practice they also perform well, but they are not known components (which is why I would not combine it with CPUs such as i9 or i7 or i5 K series), so longevity is not known. Not to mention that at this price, the average user would hardly opt for Biostar, but it must be recognized in the overall that a good product has been created.
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8 A particular B660!Points in favor
- Performances
- Design
Points against
- Price
- Little known components
- Intuitive BIOS
