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Firmware
MSI’s BIOS for the B760M is the same as other Z790 boards we’ve seen before, except it doesn't allow you to overclock the processor. The menus reside on the sides and information up top, a unique look compared to others. For our B760M Mortar, it still has a black background with red highlights and is easy to read. It also has an informative Easy Mode that displays various information about the system and allows for some changes (boot order and XMP enable). Though different than other UEFIs, it is easy to get around; everything has a place, and many frequently used options are readily available, not buried within sub-menus.
Software
MSI has a single utility, MSI Center, that covers quite a bit of functionality. From hardware monitoring to RGB control with Mystic Light, there are many applets within the software and a one-stop shop to download all of their utilities. I wish there were some overclocking options for boards that support it, however. But for those looking to use the Gamebar feature, Super Charger, or any other utilities, you'll find them in the software.
Test System / Comparison Products
We’ve updated our test system to Windows 11 64-bit OS with all updates applied. We kept the same Asus TUF RTX 3070 video card from our previous testing platforms but updated the driver. We also updated our games to include F1 22 and kept Far Cry 6. We use the latest non-beta motherboard BIOS available to the public unless otherwise noted. The hardware we used is as follows:
CPU | Intel Core i9-13900K |
Memory | Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-6000 CL36 (KF560C36BBEAK2-32) |
GSkill Trident Z DDR5-5600 CL36 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) | |
GPU | Asus TUF RTX 3070 |
Cooling | Coolermaster MasterLiquid PL360 Flux |
PSU | EVGA Supernova 850W P6 |
Software | Windows 11 64-bit (22H2) |
Graphics Driver | Nvidia GeForce Driver 522.25 |
Sound | Integrated HD audio |
Network | Integrated Networking (GbE or 2.5 GbE) |
EVGA supplied our Supernova 850W P6 power supply (appropriately sized and more efficient than the 1.2KW monster we used previously) for our test systems, and G.Skill sent us a DDR5-5600 (F5-5600U3636C16GX2-TZ5RK) memory kit for testing.
Benchmark Settings
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
Procyon | Version 2.1.459 64 |
Office Suite (Office 365), Video Editing (Premiere Pro 22.6.2.2), Photo Editing (Photoshop 23.5.1, Lightroom Classic 11.5) | |
3DMark | Version 2.22.7359 64 |
Firestrike Extreme and Time Spy Default Presets | |
Cinebench R23 | Version RBBENCHMARK330542 |
Open GL Benchmark - Single and Multi-threaded | |
Blender | Version 3.3.0 |
Full benchmark (all 3 tests) | |
Application Tests and Settings | |
LAME MP3 | Version SSE2_2019 |
Mixed 271MB WAV to mp3: Command: -b 160 --nores (160Kb/s) | |
HandBrake CLI | Version: 1.2.2 |
Sintel Open Movie Project: 4.19GB 4K mkv to x264 (light AVX) and x265 (heavy AVX) | |
Corona 1.4 | Version 1.4 |
Custom benchmark | |
7-Zip | Version 21.03-beta |
Integrated benchmark (Command Line) | |
Game Tests and Settings | |
Far Cry 6 | Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080, HD Textures ON |
F1 2022 | Ultra Preset - 1920 x 1080, Ultra High (default) Bahrain (Clear/Dry), FPS Counter ON |
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Prev Page Features and Specifications Next Page Benchmarks and Final AnalysisJoe Shields is a Freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US. He reviews motherboards.
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HideOut The audio is several generations old. Trash audio from what, 8-10 years ago to save $2? Thats sad. But only 7 USB on the back? Thats actually pretty decent for most boards. People dont use 7+ on just the back that often. You still have the front USB as well. @ about $200 Id rather have 40GB/S usb than 5 more slow ones. But the Audio fail is an issue.Reply -
DataMeister There seems to be a big lack of stock in MicroATX boards using any of the 700 series chipsets this round. Our company is still using the 11th gen Asus Prime H570M-Plus/CSM boards from Asus because similar 13th gen boards seem to be rare.Reply
Doing a search in PCPartPicker returns a couple dozen models, with only a few having ever been in stock.
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#s=40&f=7&c=163,164,162&h=2,8&c0=1x2500&mt=ddr5 -
Avro Arrow I have a few issues with the title of this article:Reply
"MSI MAG B760M Mortar Review: Micro ATX Under $200
An inexpensive Micro ATX option with a PCIe 5.0 slot and 20 Gbps USB port"
In what universe is $190 considered inexpensive for an Intel B760M-based µATX motherboard?
This isn't a budget board, budget boards don't offer high-end features like a PCI-e5 x16 slot and an 20Gbps Ethernet Controller. I don't know where Joe gets the idea that $200USD is the price point that separates "expensive" from "inexpensive".
Budget motherboards with B760M chipsets can be had for:
GIGABYTE B760M DS3H - $100
The Gigabyte DS3H is an inexpensive B760M µATX motherboard. The MSi MAG in this article is not. -
Avro Arrow
This isn't a budget board. Budget B760M µATX motherboards cost well under $150.tennis2 said:Hate that $190 is considered "budget" these days. -
tennis2
Article terminology, not mine.Avro Arrow said:This isn't a budget board. Budget B760M µATX motherboards cost well under $150. -
Avro Arrow
I wasn't saying that it was your terminology. If you look at my first post in this thread, I'm critical of the author for the wording used.tennis2 said:Article terminology, not mine.
You said that you hated that $190 is budget nowadays (and who could blame you for that?) so I just pointed out that it wasn't in attempt to make you feel better, that's all.
I also gave your post a like to convey that I had no ill will. Your post was completely appropriate considering the article.