Online vendors have begun listing the first Intel B660 and H610 motherboards, which start at just $85 US and should be even cheaper when they officially arrive next week at CES 2022.
The H670, B660, and H610 series will be added to the Intel 600-series, providing more mainstream and budget options. Several motherboards have previously leaked ahead of launch, and we are now seeing the first listings of these motherboards, along with their costs.
Because OEMs have accessed the first inventory of H670 motherboards, DIY board producers will have to wait a little longer, but in exchange, they will be able to introduce the B660 and H610 series for the DIY market.
Starting with the listings, a few Gigabyte and ASRock motherboards have been listed on Taobao, a Chinese online retailer. All of the goods offered are from individual merchants, implying that when the Intel set embargo lifts, official sellers will be able to list them at a lower price.
The H610M-HDV / M.2 is the most affordable variant, costing 549 RMB (about $86 USD). The motherboard has a 7+1 phase VRM powered by a single 8-pin connector, two DDR4 DIMM slots, one M.2 Ultra slot, one PCIe x16 slot, two PCIe x1 slots, and four SATA III ports.
The motherboard only has one heatsink, which is located on the H610 PCH. The most important ports and IO are located on the motherboard. Based on the seller’s image, it appears that there will be enough inventory to match user demand.
Next up is the ASRock B660M-HDV, which costs 639 RMB ($100) in China. The board resembles the H610 HDV in appearance, however, it includes an additional Hyper M.2 slot and a couple more USB ports on the IO. It also costs $15 more in the United States, which is to be anticipated given the additional features and chipset upgrade.
The B660M PRO RS & B660M-HDC, which will cost 699 RMB or $109 US, are also available, but the seller hasn’t released any images of these boards. In terms of IO and power delivery, they are believed to be slightly better than the HDV model.
Finally, we have two Gigabyte models, the B660M DS3H and D2H, both DDR4 variations that cost 755 RMB or $118 US. Due to its higher price, the Gigabyte B660M includes additional heatsinks for the VRMs, PCH, and a single M.2 slot. They also offer four DDR4 DIMM slots and a good selection of IO connectors for connection.
Except for the Intel H610 series, all motherboards will enable memory overclocking (XMP 3.0). In terms of IO, Intel’s H670 will include up to four PCIe Gen 5 slots (x16 or x8/x8 electrical), whereas the remainder will only have one. H610 motherboards are expected to contain a CPU-attached NVMe (Gen 4.0 x4).
The H670 boards will feature a 4.0 x8 DMI link, whereas the B660 and H610 boards will have a 4.0 x4 DMI link. H670 carries 12, B660 carries 6, and H610 carries none of the Gen 4 lanes. For Generation 3, the H670 has 12 lanes and the B660/H610 has 8 lanes.
The Intel H670, B660, and H610 motherboards will be cheaper than the Z690 series, with sub-$100 US alternatives based on the H610 chipset expected. It’s also helpful that most of these motherboards offer DDR4 because DDR5 is either too expensive or suffers from significant supply challenges to be a viable option for the cheap and mass consumer market at the moment.
Intel’s Non-K Alder Lake CPU selection for the 12th Generation is also looking fantastic, so expect some great bundles at launch.
Motherboard manufacturers including ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, ASRock, and Biostar will be unveiling their new 600-series designs based on the Intel H670, B660, & H610 chipsets at CES 2022.
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