Hardware leaker @g01d3nm4ng0 on Twitter has shared images of the yet-to-be-released MSI B760M Mortar Max motherboard featuring a Renesas RC26008 external clock generator for overclocking unlocked and locked Intel processors.
To demonstrate, the motherboard can be seen running a Core i5-12400, a locked chip which normally tops out at 4.4 GHz, at 5 GHz with a base clock frequency of 125 MHz. If the pictures are legitimate, this is our first confirmation that MSI will be adding BCLK overclocking capabilities to the B760 version of the Mortar Max.
MSI is one of the only motherboard manufacturers that is still putting external clock generators in Intel motherboards today, especially in lower-end boards like the B series. This can make them a great pick for building a budget system if you cannot afford a K series part. This way you can get away with a cheaper motherboard and cheaper CPU but still, retain the same overclocking capabilities.
BCLK overclocking is an alternate method of overclocking that relies on changing the entire system's base frequency to generate higher core clocks as opposed to just increasing the CPU core multiplier instead. The benefit with BCLK overclocking today is that you can bypass Intel's artificial overclocking locks, and overclock any Intel CPU. But again, you'll need that external clock generator, since Intel's default clock generator built into the chips is also locked on non-K CPUs.
Except for mentioning the RC26008 clock generator, the Tweet doesn't say anything else about the B760M tomahawk. But based on our previous coverage of B760 motherboards in general, we suspect the B760 version of the Mortar Max will differ very little from its B660 predecessor, but it will probably cost just a little bit more.
It's great though to see MSI continuing to implement base clock generators into its lower-end motherboards like the B760M Mortar Max, and giving users an alternate way to overclock Intel's CPUs. If true, this is MSI's second motherboard to date that features this exact same external clock generator, with the previous model being the B660M Mortar Max WiFi.
