Today we will be reviewing MSI MAG B660M Mortar MAX WiFi DDR4 . That is, a motherboard from the MAG family (MSI Arsenal Gaming), which belongs to the simplest gaming series (all flagships are in the MEG family).

Form factor

MSI MAG B660M Mortar WiFi DDR4 motherboard is made in Micro-ATX form factor, has dimensions of 244×244mm, and it has 8 mounting holes for installation in the case.

On the rear IO itself, there are a total of eight USB ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 2×2  (Type-C ports). The other four Type-A are USB 2.0 and three Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports. Also located on the rear IO are the Wi-Fi antenna headers, the Realtek 2.5Gbe LAN port, as well as a Realtek ALC897  5-plug audio stack with SPDIF. When you’re using an Intel IGPU and need video outputs, HDMI and DisplayPort here have that covered.

Specifications

Supported Processors	Intel 12th & 13th Generation Processor
Processor socket	LGA1700
Chipset	Intel B660
Memory	4 × DDR4, up to 128 GB, up to DDR4-5333 (XMP)
Audio	1 × Realtek ALC897 (7.1)
Network Controllers	1 × Realtek RTL8125BG Ethernet 10Gbps 1 × Intel AX201 Dual Band Wireless  (Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax (2.4/6 GHz) + Bluetooth 5.2)
Expansion Slots	1 × PCI Express 5.0 x16 1 × PCI Express 3.0 x1 1 × PCI Express 3.0 x16 (x4 mode)
Drive Connectors	4× SATA 6 Gb/s (B660) 2× SATA 6 Gb/s (ASsMedia ASM1061) 1x M.2  (CPU PCIe 4.0 x4 for 2260/2280/22110 devices) 1x M.2  (B650 PCIe 4.0 x4 & SATA for 2260/2280/22110 devices)

Formally, the support for DDR4 memory up to 3200 MHz, but everyone is well aware, and motherboard manufacturers actively advertise this: through XMP profiles, you can now use frequencies up to 4000 MHz and higher. In particular, this board supports frequencies up to 5333 MHz.

12th & 13th generation Intel Core processors (compatible with socket LGA1700 and supported by B660/Z690) have 20 I/O lanes (16 PCIe 5.0, 4 PCIe 4.0), do not have USB and SATA ports. At the same time, interaction with the B660 goes through a special Digital Media Interface 4.0 channel (DMI 4.0). All PCIe lanes of the processor go to PCIe expansion slots and an M.2 port. Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) is used to communicate with the UEFI / BIOS system, and the Low Pin Count (LPC) bus is used to communicate with I/O devices that do not require high bandwidth (fan controllers, TPM, old peripherals).

In turn, the B660 chipset supports a total of 24 I/O lines, which can be distributed as follows:

• up to 12 USB ports (of which up to 2 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 ports, 4 USB 3.2 Gen2 ports, up to 6 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, up to 12 USB 2.0 ports, USB 2.0 lines are also used to support 3.2 ports, and each USB port 3.2 Gen2x2 requires support from two USB 3.2 Gen2);
• up to 4 SATA 6Gb/s ports;
• up to 14 PCIe lanes (8 version 3.0 and 6 version 4.0).

The MSI MAG B660M Mortar Max WiFi DDR4 supports 12th and 13th generation Intel Core processors made for the LGA1700 socket. The mounting system for CPU cooling systems is not compatible with the one for LGA1151/1200. You are required to update latest bios version to support the Intel 13th generation processor

 

There are four DIMM slots for installing memory modules on the MSI board (for Dual Channel memory operation, if using only 2 modules, they should be installed in A2 and B2. The board supports unbuffered DDR4 (non-ECC) memory, and the maximum memory capacity is 128 GB: XMP profiles are supported, of course. DIMM slots do not have metal edging to protect them from both physical damage and interference.

In total, the board has 3 slots: one full-fledged PCIe x16 (for video cards or other devices) and one PCIe x16 (but actually having 4 lanes), as well as a short PCIe x1.

The top PCIe x16 slot has stainless steel reinforcements that increase their durability (which can be important if you change graphics cards quite often, but more importantly, such a slot can more easily withstand bending loads if you install a very heavy top-level graphics card. In addition , this protection protects the slots from electromagnetic interference.

There are two ATX12V (8 pins ) powering the CPU.

In total, the board has 6 Serial ATA 6 Gb /s connectors + 2 slots for drives in the M.2 form factor.

4 Serial ATA 6GB/s from Intel B660 Chipset.

The remaining 2 Serial ATA A/B ports are implemented via ASM1061 from ASMedia.

Dismantle

The power supply unit is a 12+1-phase configuration with teamed up performance and 60-amp integrated MOSFETs. On this board, MSI used Renesas ISL99360 integrated MOSFETs, which have a maximum continuous current of 60 A, which means that the CPU can receive a maximum of 860 amps of current. The VRM controller is a Renesas RAA229132, and it is located on the bottom side of the board. Behind the integrated MOSFETs are MicroAlloy chokes and Black Metallic 10K capacitors.

The circuit is covered with  12 + 1 + 1: 12 phases – the processor core, 1 phases – SoC (IGPU) and 1 phases – VCCIO.

Each phase channel has a super ferrite choke and Renesas ISL99360 MOSFET at 60A for VCore and integrated graphics core and MP87670 from Monolithic Power Systems for VCCIO at 80A.

So we see that the power supply is fully direct without doublers or parallel flows. And for one phase of VCCIO, there is a PWM controller from Monolithic Power System

The RAA229132 PWM controller from the same Renesas, designed for a maximum of 20 phases, manages the power supply circuit of the VCore and iGPU.

 

The VCCSA power supply, like the RAM modules, has a single-phase circuit.

All the heat hardware will have their own heatsinks.

Benchmark

 

How We Test MSI MAG B660M MORTAR MAX WIFI DDR4?

Intel B660M Mortar Max WIFI DDR4 is a midrange motherboard from MSI. As such, our workstation, based on a MAG B660M Mortar Max WIFI motherboard and Intel Core i9 13900K 24 cores 32 threads processor.  The ram we will be using G.Skill NEO DDR4 3600Mhz memory kit. Intel UHD 770 and ADATA PCIe 4.0 1TB SSD is used as well to run with benchmark. On the Comparison, we will be testing 5 systems to run side by side to see perform better.

	SYSTEM 1	SYSTEM 2	SYSTEM 3	SYSTEM 4	SYSTEM 5
Motherboard	ASUS TUF X670E PLUS WIFI	AsRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4	ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-I Gaming WIFI	ASUS TUF B650 PLUS WIFI	MSI MAG B660M MORTAR MAX WIFI DDR4
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X	Intel Core i9 13900K	Intel Core i9 13900K	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X	Intel Core i9 13900K
Ram	TeamGroup DDR5 5200Mhz	TeamGroup DDR5 4800Mhz	TeamGroup DDR5 5200Mhz	TeamGroup DDR5 5200Mhz	G.Skill DDR 4 – 360Mhz
GPU	AMD RDNA2 -2CU	Intel UHD 770 -32EUs	Intel UHD 770 -32EUs	AMD RDNA2 -2CU	Intel UHD 770 -32EUs
SSD	ADATA PCIe 4.0 1TB	ADATA PCIe 4.0 1TB	ADATA PCIe 4.0 1TB	ADATA PCIe 4.0 1TB	ADATA PCIe 4.0 1TB
OS	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 22H2	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 22H2	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 22H2	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 22H2	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 22H2
Bios	0809 – 23/10/22	2.03 – 6/10/22	0703 – 8/11/22	0809 – 23/10/22	7D97v12 – 9/11/22

Cinebench R23

Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D‘s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user

CineBench R23
	Single Core	Multi Core
ASUS TUF X670E PLUS WIFI	2003	28176
AsRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4	2226	35939
ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-I Gaming WIFI	2221	36064
ASUS TUF B650 PLUS WIFI	1993	28012
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR MAX WIFI	2242	37450

PCMark 10

PCMark 10 features a comprehensive set of tests that cover the wide variety of tasks performed in the modern workplace. With a range of performance tests, custom run options, Battery Life Profile, and new Storage benchmarks, PCMark 10 is the complete PC benchmark for the modern office.

PCMark 10
	Essentials	Productivity	Digital Content	Score
ASUS TUF X670E PLUS WIFI	12512	11849	6867	7212
AsRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4	12079	8537	7648	6624
ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-I Gaming WIFI	12091	8712	7807	6716
ASUS TUF B660 PLUS WIFI	12615	11916	6979	7285
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR MAX WIFI	12541	8841	7750	6816

3Dmark Advanced Edition

3DMark includes everything you need to benchmark your PC and mobile devices in one app. Whether you’re gaming on a smartphone, tablet, notebook, or a desktop gaming PC, 3DMark includes a benchmark designed specifically for your hardware.

3DMark Advanced Edition
	Fire Strike	Night Raid	Port Royal	Storage	Time Spy	Wild Life Extreme
ASUS TUF X670E PLUS WIFI	2150	10492	303	2598	818	1367
AsRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4	2801	13617	Fail	2264	965	1981
ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-I Gaming WIFI	2840	13749	Fail	2945	975	1954
ASUS TUF B660 PLUS WIFI	2138	106325	302	2662	828	1353
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR MAX WIFI	2783	13399	Fail	3029	960	1997

 

Passmark Benchmark

PassMark runs heavy mathematical calculations that stress the CPU’s performance at compression, encryption, and physics-related tasks.

PassMark
	CPU	2D	3D	Memory	Disk	Score
ASUS TUF X670E PLUS WIFI	52337.9	610.3	1587.3	3578.5	26947.8	5027.9
AsRock Z790 PG-ITX/TB4	58647	493	1983.1	3393.3	2167.8	3773.3
ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-I Gaming WIFI	62159.2	444.4	2013.3	3686.9	29809.8	4466
ASUS TUF B660 PLUS WIFI	52053.5	614.8	1597.3	3599.2	26712.7	5057.4
MSI MAG B660M MORTAR MAX WIFI	53789	506.2	2040.7	3883.6	28880.4	4855.6