Asus has been one of the best manufacturers of motherboards recently. They have been manufacturing motherboards for a long time but only in recent times, they have become one of the leaders in this area due to their new innovative designs and flagship-level specifications.
Asus has launched many series of motherboards like Prime, TUF, ROG, and ProArt. These new 12th Gen based motherboards are based on the new LGA 1700 socket and all of them support new Alder Lake-S processors.
Today we have got our hands on the ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 which costs around Rs 25,000 in India. We will take a detailed look at the specifications, features, ports, connectivity and build quality.
Features of ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4
The ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 motherboard are built for creators, with PCIe 5.0, DDR4, 2.5 Gb and 1 Gb Ethernet, three PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, plus USB-C DisplayPort and a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 front-panel connector with Quick Charge 4+.
- Socket LGA 1700 for 12th Gen Intel® Core™, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® processors
- Comprehensive connectivity: 2.5 Gb & 1 Gb onboard Ethernet, three M.2 slots, ThunderboltTM header support, USB-C DisplayPortTM and a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 front panel connector with Quick Charge 4+
- Next-gen performance: 12+1 power stages rated for 50 amps, PCIe® 5.0 ready
- Optimized thermal design: A massive VRM and chipset heatsink, aluminum M.2 heatsinks, six 4-pin PWM fan headers and an AIO pump header
- ProArt gives you more: Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation for clear online communication and ProArt Creator Hub with CreationFirst for one-stop system control
- Advanced security management: USB port restriction, software blacklisting and Windows Registry protection via ASUS Control Center Express
Detailed Specifications of ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4
| CPU | Intel® Socket LGA1700 for 12th Gen Intel® Core™, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® Processors Supports Intel® 10 nm CPU Supports Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 and Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0** Refer to www.asus.com for CPU support list. ** Intel® Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0 support depends on the CPU types. |
| Chipset | Intel® B660 |
| Memory | 4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4 5333(OC)/5066(OC)/5000(OC)/4800(OC)/4600(OC)/4400(OC)/4266(OC)/4000(OC)/3866(OC)/3733(OC)/3600(OC)/3466(OC)/3400(OC)/3333(OC)/3200/3000/2933/2800/2666/2400/2133 Non-ECC, Un-buffered Memory* Dual Channel Memory Architecture Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) OptiMem II * Actual Memory frequency support depends on the CPU types and DRAM modules, for more information refer to www.asus.com for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors Lists). |
| Graphics | 1 x HDMI® port** 1 x USB Type-C port supports DisplayPort output*** 1 x DP IN that will have output through USB Type-C port * Graphics specifications may vary between CPU types. Please refer to www.intel.com for any updates. ** Support 4K@60Hz as specified in HDMI 2.1. *** Support max. 8K@60Hz as specified in DisplayPort 1.4. DisplayPort resolution support depends on graphic cards’ resolution. **** A DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable is required for the USB Type-C® port at the back panel to output DisplayPort signal. |
| Expansion Slots | Intel® 12th Gen Processors 1 x PCIe 5.0/4.0/3.0 x16 slot Intel® B660 Chipset* 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (supports x4 mode) 1 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slot** * Supports Intel® Optane Memory H Series on PCH-attached PCIE slot ** PCIe X1 shares bandwidth with M.2_2. PCIe X1 will be disable when M.2_2 runs at PCIe x4 mode by manually enabled. |
| Storage | Total supports 3 x M.2 slots and 4x SATA 6Gb/s ports* Intel® 12th Gen Processors M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 – Intel® 12th Gen processors support PCIe 4.0 x4 mode. Intel® B660 Chipset** M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 3.0 x4 mode)*** M.2_3 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode) 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports*** * Intel® Rapid Storage Technology supports SATA RAID 0/1/5/10. ** Intel® Rapid Storage Technology supports Intel® Optane Memory H Series on PCH attached M.2 slots. *** M.2_2 slot shares bandwidth with PCIe X1 and WiFi Key E. M.2_2 will run at PCI 3.0 x2 mode either a device is detected at PCIe x1 or WiFi Key E slot. |
| Ethernet | 1 x Realtek 2.5Gb Ethernet 1 x Intel® 1Gb Ethernet ASUS LANGuard |
| Wireless & Bluetooth | M.2 slot only (Key E, PCIe)* *Wi-Fi module is sold separately. |
| USB | Rear USB (Total 9 ports) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C® port (shared with DisplayPort graphic output) 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (4 x Type-A) 4 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x Type-A) Front USB (Total 7 ports) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 connector (supports USB Type-C® with 60W PD/QC4+) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header supports additional 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 ports 2 x USB 2.0 headers support additional 4 USB 2.0 ports |
| Back Panel I/O Ports | 1 x USB Type-C® port supports USB 3.2 Gen2 and DisplayPort output 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (4 x Type-A) 4 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x Type-A) 1 x DisplayPort (Input only) 1 x HDMI® port 1 x Realtek 2.5Gb Ethernet port 1 x Intel® 1Gb Ethernet port 5 x Audio jacks 1 x Optical S/PDIF out port |
| Internal I/O Connectors | Fan and Cooling related 1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header 1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header 1 x 4-pin AIO Pump header 4 x 4-pin Chassis Fan headers Power related 1 x 24-pin Main Power connector 1 x 8-pin +12V Power connector 1 x 4-pin +12V Power connector Storage related 3 x M.2 slots (Key M) 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports USB 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 connector (supports USB Type-C® with 60W PD/QC4+) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header supports additional 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 ports 2 x USB 2.0 headers support additional 4 USB 2.0 ports Miscellaneous 3 x Addressable Gen 2 headers 1 x AURA RGB header 1 x Clear CMOS header 1 x COM Port header 1 x Front Panel Audio header (AAFP) 1 x M.2 slot (Key E) 1 x SPI TPM header (14-1pin) 1 x 20-5 pin System Panel header 1 x Thermal Sensor header 1 x Thunderbolt™ header |
| Special Features | ASUS 5X PROTECTION III – DIGI+ VRM (- Digital power design with DrMOS) – Enhanced DRAM Overcurrent Protection – ESD Guards – LANGuard – Overvoltage Protection – SafeSlot – Stainless-Steel Back I/O ASUS Q-Design – M.2 Q-Latch – Q-Connector – Q-DIMM – Q-LED (CPU [red], DRAM [yellow], VGA [white], Boot Device [yellow green]) – Q-Slot ASUS Thermal Solution – Flexible M.2 heatsink – VRM heatsink design ASUS EZ DIY – ProCool – Pre-mounted I/O shield AURA Sync – AURA RGB header – Addressable Gen 2 headers |
| Software Features | ASUS Exclusive Software Armoury Crate – AURA Creator – AURA Sync – Fan Xpert 4 – Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation AI Suite 3 – Performance And Power Saving Utility EPU DIGI+ VRM Turbo app ASUS CPU-Z IT Management software supported – ASUS Control Center Express(ACCE) ProArt Creator Hub CreationFirst Norton Anti-virus software (Free Trial version) WinRAR UEFI BIOS ASUS EZ DIY – ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 – ASUS EZ Flash 3 – ASUS UEFI BIOS EZ Mode |
| BIOS | 128 Mb |
| Manageability | WOL by PME, PXE |
| Accessories | Cables 1 x DisplayPort cable 2 x SATA 6Gb/s cables Miscellaneous 3 x M.2 Rubber Packages 1 x Q-connector Installation Media 1 x Support DVD Documentation 1 x ACC Express Activation Key Card 1 x User guide |
| Operating System | Windows® 11 64-bit, Windows® 10 64-bit |
| Form Factor | ATX Form Factor 12 inch x 9.6 inch ( 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm ) |
Build Quality
The ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 has a solid metal build of premium quality. It is an enhanced motherboard designed for intensive content-creation workloads like 3D rendering and 4K/8K video editing.
The motherboard has a very efficient thermal and cooling. There are two VRM heatsinks placed above the MOSFETs and chokes to increase the surface area for heat dissipation. A dedicated chipset heatsink is also present to draw heat away to help ensure that temperatures stay within an optimal range.
The ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 has 3 M.2 slots to give you enough options to connect your SSDs and ensure you never run out of storage. There are two M.2 heatsinks which cover three M.2 slots to keep M.2 SSDs at the optimal operating temperature for consistent performance and reliability.
The motherboard’s 4-pin PWM/DC fan and AIO pump pins are present with a dedicated integrated circuit which protects each fan header from excessive heat and voltages. The ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 also has premium alloy chokes and durable capacitors which are engineered to resist extreme temperatures and provide a higher level of performance than the industry standard.
Another standout feature of the ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 motherboard is the ASUS Digi+ voltage-regulator module (VRM) which is one of the finest in the industry and ensures ultra-smooth power delivery to the CPU.
Performance
The ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 motherboard fully unleashes the performance of 12th Gen Intel Core processors through robust power delivery and cooling design, and its comprehensive connectivity includes onboard 2.5 Gb and 1 Gb Ethernet, a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C front-panel connector with Quick Charge 4+, and DisplayPort via USB-C.
Asus ProArt B660-Creator D4 easily handles the demands of the latest 12th Gen Intel Core processors with tailored CPU power delivery and support for high-performance memory. It features an intelligent VRM design that’s rated for 50 amps, plus carefully selected components and memory layout optimizations for multithreaded tasks such as 3D animation and video editing.
It features 12+1 power stages rated for 50 amps and combines high-side and low-side MOSFETs and drivers into a single package, delivering the power and efficiency that the latest 12th Gen Intel Core processors demand.
For testing, I have extensively used the ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 motherboard paired with the 12th gen Intel core-i7 12700 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060ti GPU. I have also played numerous games for long hours but have never faced any issue with the motherboard. The ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 was able to handle all of it with ease. I also checked the thermals and found the maximum temperature was around 70-75 degrees Celsius after a few hours of non-stop gaming. So the power delivery, handling and efficient cooling give it an edge to provide superior performance.
Ports & Connectivity
There are ample ports and connectivity options on the ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 to get you covered at all ends. The only thing missing is a built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, for which you can definitely connect external devices to meet your needs. Another thing is that it doesn’t support DDR5 RAM and still has 4 DDR4 RAM slots.
Rear USB (Total 9 ports)
- 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C® port (shared with DisplayPort graphic output)
- 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (4 x Type-A)
- 4 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x Type-A)
Front USB (Total 7 ports)
- 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 connector (supports USB Type-C® with 60W PD/QC4+)
- 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header supports additional 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 ports
- 2 x USB 2.0 headers support additional 4 USB 2.0 ports
Back Panel I/O Ports
- 1 x USB Type-C® port supports USB 3.2 Gen2 and DisplayPort output
- 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (4 x Type-A)
- 4 x USB 2.0 ports (4 x Type-A)
- 1 x DisplayPort (Input only)
- 1 x HDMI® port
- 1 x Realtek 2.5Gb Ethernet port
- 1 x Intel® 1Gb Ethernet port
- 5 x Audio jacks
- 1 x Optical S/PDIF out port
Asus ProArt B660-Creator D4 motherboard features Thunderbolt 4 support via an onboard header. The ASUS ThunderboltEX 4 add-on card is certified by Intel and can enable bi-directional speeds of up to 40 Gbps on a single cable. Additionally, the card has a daisy-chain function for multiscreen connection and supports one display with up to 8K resolution. It can also provide up to 100 watts of power to fast-charge devices.
The motherboard also has 2 ethernet ports. One 2.5 Gb Ethernet port which provides faster data transfers and smooth high-res video streaming. The other Intel 1Gb Ethernet port has an Intel I219-V Ethernet chip which reduces CPU overhead and offers exceptionally high TCP and UDP throughput for faster, smoother data transfers.
Verdict
Overall, the Asus ProArt B660-Creator D4 motherboard is a great value for money. Coming at around Rs 25,000, the motherboard is one of the best options for content creators out there. If you don’t mind still using DDR4 RAM and don’t have a requirement for built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, then the Asus ProArt B660-Creator D4 is a perfect fit for your 12th gen Intel processors.
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