The Best Intel B560 Motherboard: VRM Thermal Benchmark
The Best Intel B560 Motherboard - Welcome back to harvard unboxed. Today i am finally going to go over our intel b560 motherboard varum thermal data. It has taken me weeks to get all this testing done and in total i've tested a dozen b560 motherboards price twin 80 and 150 us and i've done so using the core: i5 11, 400 core i7, 11, 700, core i5, 11 600 k and the core i9 11. 900.
This motherboard is limited to 65 watts, despite advertised support for 125 watt models. Nowhere does azrock make this clear or even indicate that there is a 65 watt power limit so with those d2s out of the way, it's now time to take a wider look at the b560 landscape.
There are a lot of results to go over here so, rather than individually take a look at all 12 motherboards, i'm just going to jump into the testing for this one, but before we get to the graphs, let's talk about the test conditions for testing, i'm again Using our dedicated test system using the corsair 5000d airflow case and powering it, we have the rm850x power supply and for cooling, the corsair iq h150i elite catholics, white all-in-one, liquid cooler has been used.
The 5000d has been configured with a single rear, 120 millimeter exhaust fan and a single 120 millimeter intake fan. Then in the top of the case, is the h150i 360 millimeter radiator with three 120 millimeter exhaust fans. This is a pretty standard configuration, airflow is good and in a 21 degree room. I'D say this is an optimal setup for recording temperatures, i'm using a digital thermometer with k-type, thermocouples and i'll be reporting the peak rear, pcb temperature. Finally, i'm not reporting delta t over ambient.
Instead, i maintain a room temperature of 21 degrees and to ensure a constant ambient temperature. A thermocouple is positioned next to the test system. Now for this testing, as i mentioned earlier, i've got four configurations. The first is a basic test using the core i5 11400 and note that boards that run with the 65 watt tdp limit out of the box will be tested using this default configuration as well as a manual configuration with the power alerts removed. So a non-limited configuration for maximum cpu performance.
The second test uses the core i7 11 700 and the same rules apply there. Then we have the 125 watt parts, the core i5 11600k and core i911 900k. Although the b560 boards don't support cpu overclocking, they can still remove the power limits so again i'll, be testing the stock out of the box configuration and then again with the power limits removed for boards that adhere to the tdp specification.
As for the stress test, i'm using the blender gooseberry workload, which will be run for an hour at which point are we reporting the maximum pcb temperature again recorded using k-type thermocouples, okay, so starting with the core i5 11400. The first thing you'll want to note here is that without any power limits, this cpu runs at an all core frequency of 4.2 gigahertz and that's in accordance with the default clock multiplier table.
With the 65 watt power limit, the all core frequency can vary quite significantly, depending on motherboard voltage, tuning and vrm quality. There'S a tremendous amount of data to go over here. So please bear with me we'll start from the top, with the msi b560m bazooka operating at its stock tdp configuration which saw the 11400 average a clock, speed of 3211 megahertz and draw 142 watts from the wall.
So that's entire system consumption here the rear side of the pc behind the vrm peaked at just 42 degrees, which is the best result i received from a tdp limited motherboard, though that doesn't make it the best board as higher end models such as the msi b560 Tomahawk gigabyte b560m or s pro or the asus, tough gaming, b560m plus wi-fi didn't run with any power limits at all.
Now, if we remove the tdp limits from the msi b560 and bazooka, the peak vrm temperature climbs to 56 degrees and the power jaw jumps to 224 watts, so a significant increase there, but the board has also increased the cpu frequency by 31. We saw a similar thing with the msi b560m pro vdh wi-fi, which operated at 46 degrees out of the box with a clock speed of 3225 megahertz, but with the limits removed, managed 4.2 gigahertz at 60 degrees.
So a good result there, the gigabyte, b560m rs pro is the winner of this testing peaking at just 49 degrees, with the core i5 11400 running at an uncapped 4.2 gigahertz. The next best results came from the bazooka and asus rog strix b560a gaming both ran the cpu at 4.2 gigahertz with a vrm temperature of 56 degrees. Then we have the msi b560 tomahawk running a degree hotter, while pushing the cpu to 42 gigahertz the rest of the b560 boards all ran with the power limits in place out of the box.
The azroc b560 pro 4 allowed the 11400 to average a clock frequency of 3380 megahertz when, following the tdp spec and the variant peaked at 49 degrees, so asrock's done a really good job here with voltage tuning, then, with the power limits removed, the board ran at 66 degrees, which is still a very solid result.
The base model msi b560m pro ran at 52 degrees out of the box, with a clock speed of just 3.1 gigahertz and with the limits removed, it ran very hot at 83 degrees, though it did manage the 4.2 Gigahertz all-core frequency, the gigabyte b560m ds3h ac, was pretty ordinary at 59 degrees. For the vrm, though, good voltage tuning did allow the 11400f to run at 3.5 gigahertz when, following the tdp spec, with those limits removed, though the vram temperature shot up to 78 degrees, which is a slightly better result than what we saw with the msi b560m pro.
The gigabyte b560m d2v was a bit of a disaster hitting 63 degrees with the tdp limits in place, and this meant removing them saw the board shoot up to 79 degrees, so another weak result there. With the locked six core part, we've discussed the asrock b560m hdv in a previous video. Basically, in my opinion, it's a terrible board that is really only fit for use with locked core i5 processors, though even that could be a bit of a stretch. As we see here with the palettes removed, it could only sustain a clock speed of 3990 megahertz, which is 210 megahertz below where it should be.
Finally, the asus prime b560m-k is also a piece of garbage, though, for some reason stock. This board forces a 125 watt limit and therefore treats the 11400 as if it were a 125 watt part. This meant the board ran extremely hot out of the box hitting 96 degrees and, with the limits removed, only averaged a clock frequency of 4155 megahertz with a vrm temperature of 107 degrees, which is dangerously high and unacceptable.
Moving on, we have an eight core 65 watt part in the core i7 11700, and please note that the maximum official intel specification for this cpu is an all-call frequency of 4.4 gigahertz. But this can only be achieved when the tdp-based spec isn't used. As seen previously. The only models to use the maximum official specification includes the msi b560 tomahawk gigabyte, b560m rs pro and asus tough gaming, b560m plus wi-fi the gigabyte b560m rs pro was very impressive as it allowed the 11700 to run at 4.4 gigahertz and picked it to 60 degrees, while doing so.
The msi b560 tomahawk was the next best board running at 67 degrees and then the asus tough gaming, b560m plus wi-fi at 70 degrees, though it is worth noting that the msi b560m bazooka and pro vdh wi-fi, were also very similar. Once the power limbs were manually removed, peaking at 69 and 73 degrees respectively of the tdp limited configurations, the bazooka was the best board peaking at just 42 degrees, though, due to less than optimal voltage tuning, the cpu only maintained a clock frequency of three gigahertz and That means the non-power limited configurations were clocked.
A staggering 47 percent higher the msi b560m pro vdh wi-fi allowed the 11700 to operate at 3 265 megahertz on average. Despite running four degrees hotter than the bazooka, then we have the asrock b560 pro 450 degrees. With a clock frequency of 3155 megahertz, which is a much better result than the msi b560m pro, which ran at 56 degrees, with a clock speed of just 2 890 megahertz and that's technically.
The worst result here, at least in terms of operating frequency boards, like the Gigabyte b560m d2v and asrock b560mhdv ran it much hotter at 67 degrees, though they did clock the 11700 a little higher, but still given they're only running the 11700 at 3 to 3.3 gigahertz 67 degrees is a worrying result. This is because, without the power limits in place, the b560m d2v peaked at 93 degrees and the b560mhdv at 98 degrees, though i should know that the results at these temperatures are very different.
Although the gigabyte b560md2v did technically pass, it ran excessively hot and failed to get the full 4.4 gigahertz out of the 11700 averaging just four gigahertz, but the azroc b560m hdv was even worse, much worse, in fact, averaging just 3670 megahertz at 98 degrees. That'S just a horrible result that said the asus prime b560m-k was really no better, and although it enforces a 125 watt limit out of the box, it still ran at 108 degrees, with the 11700 clocked at just 3.7 gigahertz.
The boards that failed, due to vrm throttling with the power limits removed, include the msi b560m pro and gigabyte b560mds3h, but you can also add the asus prime b560mk gigabyte, b560m d2v and in particular the azroc b560m hdv to that list. As all three boards failed to achieve 4.4 gigahertz, okay, now, while unlocked 125 watt parts, don't really make that much sense for these b560 boards.
It is something you could possibly upgrade into the future, depending on the options available to you. The 11600k seems unlikely unless you're coming from a core i3 model, but regardless i've tested it anyway. This is a much more difficult test for these boards that run at the tdp limits out of the box, except for, of course, the asus board, because they now have to sustain a package power of 125 watts, not 65 watts. The all-call target without power limits is now 46 gigahertz, as that is the official maximum specification.
The gigabyte b560m pro stands out as the best board here, with a peak variable temperature of 52 degrees, which is a degree cooler than the msi b560 and bazooka, which did run the 11 600k at 4.4. Gigahertz. Out of the box due to the 125 watt limit, but with that limit removed, the bazooka jumped up to 59 degrees, which is still an excellent result and a degree cooler than the tomahawk, which is really a surprise.
The asus rog strix b560a gaming ran well at 67 degrees, though the result was somewhat disappointing, given the cheaper boards, like the bazooka, ran cooler under these conditions. The same is also true for the asus tough gaming, b560n plus wi-fi as it picked at 74 degrees and while that's still a good enough result, it is much higher than the 59 degrees that the msi bazooka run at the msi b560m.
Pro vdh also produced a solid result with the power limits removed, peaking at 65 degrees. The asrock b560 pro 4 was a lot less impressive, hitting 81 degrees under the same conditions. The truly awful results came from the azrock b560m hdv, which throttled at 91 degrees and ran it massively out of spec. The gigabyte b560m d2v also throttled and therefore failed this test, as did the gigabyte b560m ds3h ac. Then we have the asus prime b560mk, which didn't throttle, but temps exceeded 100 degrees, so that in itself is a fail.
Finally, we have the core i9, 11900k and out of interest this time, i've tested the gigabyte b560m rs pro, both with and without the power limits. In place with the 125 watt tdp enforce the board still ran the 1100k at 4.4 gigahertz with a vrm temp of just 52 degrees. Then, with the power limits removed, it ran 12 degrees hotter for just a 300 megahertz frequency increase.
The msi bazooka doesn't fare nearly as well here with the 1100k, as it has previously out of the box. It limited the core i9 to 4.2 gigahertz and still ran at 60 degrees, but removing the power limits was just too much for this board as it throttled to avoid damage peaking at 68 degrees and throttling the 1100k to an average clock frequency of 4 gigahertz. So that is a fail. Of course.
This meant the msi b560m pro vdh wi-fi also failed with the power lens removed, though stock. It ran at 62 degrees and allowed for an operating frequency of 4.2 gigahertz which isn't terrible. Meanwhile, the msi b560m pro only ran at 4070 megahertz stock and removing the power limits basically broke. The board, as you'd probably expect vrm throttling wasn't detected, but it clearly throttled the cpu frequency and that result is a lot better than what i got with the gigabyte. B560M d2v, which throttled out of the box. It'S a shame.
Gigabyte didn't go with a slightly better vrm here, because manually tuning, the power target to 110 watts avoided throttling and kept temperatures below 90 degrees. It'S still a bad result, as the 1100k only clocked to 37 gigahertz, but it's worlds better than what we get out of the box. Obviously the asrock b560m hdv was a complete disaster, as it only runs.
The 11 900k at 65 watts out of the box and with the maximum power limit of 100 watts, enabled it heavily throttled the azroc b560 pro 4. Wasn'T that much better and with the power lens removed would crash forcing a hard system reset. So there you have it the conclusion of our intel b560 motherboard testing. I can't imagine i'll do any more b560 motherboard testing beyond this point, and although there are a few boards that i haven't yet checked out, i think we've managed to work out a few good options covering a few different price points.
Also, keep in mind that we did have to purchase the bulk of the boards featured in this video, as board makers. Aren'T that keen on us testing out their cheaper budget offerings. So a huge shout out to our floatplane and petro members for supporting our work and making content like this possible. The ultimate b560 motherboard has to be the gigabyte, b560m auris pro and, of course, being that it is the best value option. It'S not available in the us for reasons that are unclear. Bizarrely, here in australia, the b560m or s pro is one of the cheapest b560 boards.
You can get at least a pck skier, who has it on sale for 149 and has so for a few months. Now, though, i suspect it will be out of stock soon elsewhere, it's priced between 190 and 230 dollars australian, so i'm not sure how pc k ski has been selling it so cheap, but i highly recommend fellow aussies seeking a b560 motherboard snap that one up, while You can i've also heard that they will have the aorus pro ax in stock soon at a very competitive price.
It won't be much more than the regular model, so that's also worth keeping an eye out for, but even at 230 dollars, australian, the b560m rs pro is still a really good buy, given that the msi b560 tomahawk costs 290 dollars and the asus tough gaming, b560m Plus wi-fi costs around 240 dollars, then there's the asus rog strix b560a gaming that costs three hundred dollars australian, which makes about as much sense as the tomahawk.
Presumably the gigabyte, b560m rs pro will cost no more than 150 u.s. If and when it becomes available. In the us, the ax version is available and can be had for 180 u.s, and that would be the board to get for us-based shoppers. Given that the msi b 560 tomahawk costs 200 Alternatively, the asus tough gaming, b560m plus wi-fi, is reasonably good value over in the us at 150, and to my knowledge, is the cheapest b560 motherboard you can buy that doesn't run with power limits out of the box.
Having said that, though, the slightly cheaper, 140 dollar, msi, b560 and bazooka is just as good with a part like the core i711 700 at least once you manually, remove those power limits. But as we found when testing with the 1100k, it is an inferior board. In terms of vr and performance, when pushed to the max the msi, b560 and bazooka and msi b560m pro vdh, wi-fi both cost 140 us so it'll come down to which of these boards.
You prefer in terms of design and features and i'd recommend avoiding the 105 msi b560m pro, unless you simply can't spend any more money, at which point it is the best entry-level b560 offering. As for the rest of the entry-level range, the asus prime b560m-k is pretty trash, while the gigabyte, b560md2 and b560m ds3h ac are also pretty trash and the azroc b560m hdv is pure trash. In short, i feel the best value option is either the asus tough gaming.
B560M plus wi-fi or the gigabyte b560m auris pro actually scrap that they're just the best b560 options value aside, they're just the best boards. They make the most sense because really spending 200 or more on a b560 motherboard. It just makes little sense, as you can. Basically, just get a z590 motherboard at that point and there's some pretty good options available at those price points so boards, like the msi tomahawk and the asus rog strix b550a gaming.
You can ignore those boards and that's gon na, do it for this video. If you liked it, you know what to do. You can also subscribe for more content, as i said, probably don't expect any more intel, b560 motherboard varum temp testing. I think we're done with this one uh probably done with z590 for the most part as well. Maybe a bit of a roundup there, but yeah done for the 11th generation intel stuff. There may be some new amd motherboards coming out soon.
So if you're interested in that testing, then there's a good chance we'll do that. Otherwise, there's a heap of other content that we do on the harvard unboxed channel and, of course, tim's always busy a lot of fsr content coming up soon. So you definitely want to see that anyway enough offling from me.