ASRock must have earned a lot of rings with its first Sonic the Hedgehog themed motherboard, because it's back with a second one. At CES 2023, we got to check out the ASRock B760M PG Sonic WiFi, designed for Intel's 13th Gen Core processors (though it also works with 12th Gen Core.)
In my opinion as a Sonic fan since childhood, these are delightfully tacky. They're clearly Sonic-inspired, but not so much that I wouldn't want it in my build. In fact, if I were building today...
The Special Edition B760M PG Sonic WiFi has a heatsink for the VRM, M.2 SSDs and PCH in a Sonic-themed design. ASRock claims that the board is built with six-layer PCB, features Dragon 2.5 Gbit Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6E. There are three M.2 NVMe 4x4 SSD slots and four SATA III ports, which should be plenty of room for storage. There's also room for four sticks of DDR5 RAM.
For lighting, there's Polychrome Sync ARGB. (I'd argue you should turn it red for an "& Knuckles" vibe, but you can make it whatever you want). Other features include Nahimic Audio, a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot and a front USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C header.
There are a few other fun Sonic details. The most obvious is the spinning ring on the heatsink. But on the back of the board, there's an image of Sonic running, which only you will ever see before you install it in a case.
Rear ports include a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. There's also an Ethernet port, HD audio jacks, HDMI, DisplayPort 1.4, PS/2 and an room for antennas.
Prior to this board's release, ASRock had released a full-ATX Z790 version. This one should make Sonic-themed motherboards available to more builders.
We've found the B760M Sonic Wi-Fi selling for $189.99 on Newegg. It's not budget, exactly (AsRock and other sellers have cheaper B760M boards), but it's cheaper than a more premium variant.
That being said, I have a wishlist. Obviously, a Knuckles-themed AMD version should come along. And perhaps a Tails SSD? An Amy Rose graphics card? Big the Cat RAM? I could go on. Somebody get me in the meetings!
