This is what is missing. Most people do not overclock. Most people don't need zXX chipset features. All that most people need is a solid basic motherboard, and i5 chip, and a good GPU. Throw in some things like nice automatic fan control, a decent onboard audio chip, and maybe WiFi, and you have yourself a perfect game rig more than capable of handling the toughest 1080p and 1440p demands.
Unless you are overclocking, need multiple GPUs, or some other exotic needs (multiple LAN ports) then you can save some serious money with a solid basic system. There is just so little need for the average gamer to shell out $130+ on a motherboard.
I think it was Ian or could be another Anandtech employee, but they said they recommended zXX platform for a system build just because of the zXX feature set and not because of the overclocking ability. Though b and z both have 6gbps sata, z has "Lake Tiny" or SSD caching. and even if you don't need that or more usb3 ports, the z's ability to have mpcie ssd for a cleaner build seems worth the difference alone. It all depends on the budget so i'm not disagreeing with you CaedenV, but overclocking isn't the only reason people get z.
^ ...and that's exactly why I buy more expensive MBs - I never overclock, but the extra features -seem- like worthwhile insurance to extend the useful life of the purchase. (I say "seem" because the extra features have rarely come in handy...)
I've always purchased H87/H97's and overclock successfully on them. The only thing really missing on the H-series is memory overclocking and high-clocking RAM has little benefit and an incredibly high price premium; 1600MHz is fine imho.
I'm happy to see the B-series chipset make it to a board like this with good audio and network options.I'd consider an inexpensive Xeon like a E3-1230v3 (they're under $200) for a powerful, inexpensive gaming PC.
Shhh you don't talk about that elephant in the room. We can't have well-informed enthusiasts learn obvious facts about mobos that we have known for years.
Most people don't overclock, but what about gamers building their own computer? (the ones buying these boards) I think they're far more likely to overclock, especially when you can easily bump up the clock a few hundred megahertz without any fuss.
it's a marketing trick, you don't cannibalize the high end sector by selling cheap chipsets with just the features that 99% of people need.
Of course most gamers and non-overclockers do not need anything more than the cheaper motherboards. I usually strike in the middle by buying the mainstream chipset standard motherboard, but not the low cost chipset (out of fear of it having some limitation, I'm a victim of marketing too).
Historically even asus's low budget motherboards, are typically $30-$40 more than everyone else. We shall see when a price is announced. I'd like for them to make a compelling board at AsRock Prices.
I think that this board can make a lot of sense at the right price, except for the one glaring problem. In 2015, four back panel USB connectors is not OK. You can add another six (two of which are 3.0) via headers, but this USB situation is just not acceptable even for a budget board.
@4 USB connections in the back: Keyboard, mouse, printer, DAC/speakers/headset/wifi dongle/external hard drive etc
there's countless possibilities really. I use 6 out of my 8 or so USB ports in the back (i actually don't know how many i have, but about 50% free): Mouse, Keyboard, BT dongle, 2-360 controllers, printer, and spare room to plug whatever else in.
That doesn't mean that "most" need that many. I use 2... Keyboard and mouse. Occasionally plugging in a game controller which will bring it to 3. . Printer? Ethernet or wifi, speakers/headphones? Speaker or headphone jack..
4 is more than enough for a stripped down cheap board, especially if it has headers for front ports.
printer is easy to hook up via network, and plenty of headphones use the dedicated audio ports. not very many people use wifi on a desktop, considering it usually doesn't move, Ethernet is much preferred. even if you DID need wifi, there are two pcie x1 ports available, you can easily get a nice internal wifi card, no need to use usb. controllers could be plugged into the front, so they could easily be stored away or moved, rather than be permanent fixtures. why do you NEED two 360 controllers? 99% of pc games are NOT splitscreen, and unless you have someone there ALL the time to play, you could, again, plug the second one into the front, and put it away when not in use. so now you are down to four usb connectors: KB, mouse, BT, 1 360 controller.
A gamer is most likely going to use a gaming keyboard, which means its going to use two USB just for it (In order to have anti-ghosting). Then you have a mouse, possibly USB audio, an external backup drive perhaps, maybe they also have a camera they import data from. USB ports are easy to use up.
Anti-ghosting does not require two USB ports (a single device function spread across two USB ports? Silly). The second USB plug is usually for hubs where the keyboard's lower latency requirements make it not a member of that hub.
Well I have 1) keyboard, 2) mouse, 3) webcam, 4) printer - which I think are reasonable things even for non-enthusiasts to have permanently connected to the back of the PC. Plus I have a Bluetooth dongle and a micro USB cable plugged into the back to sync my phone/camera. I usually use my two front USB ports for a gamepad, a portable HDD and my USB stick depending on what I need. I don't see four as being nearly enough. How much do you think they saved by having all of those front panel header vs. another two USB ports on the back? $1.50 at most (there are USB 2.0 back panel brackets on Amazon for $2.50)? USB isn't some rare technology. Also, I am not even asking for USB 3.0 ports - I think that USB 2.0 would be fine.
They could have added 2 more 2.0 ports but that's it (without additional controllers/hubs) - the B85 chipset supports 4 USB3 + 8 USB2. Still though, those 2 more ports could make all the difference.
I wonder what DRAM speed this board supports (since there's no overclocking), and 4 channels seems kind of over kill for a non-ZXX chipset. Too bad this wasn't made as an ITX board - mATX seems more relevant if it had 2 PCIe slots.
Nice looking little board. Curious what the price will be. Been using a Gigabyte H97 micro-atx board (somewhere between $85-99) and it's been 100% rock solid, super duper happy with it. This B85 board will have to be cheaper then this one for it to be relevant.
this is what sucks about enthusiasts motherboards. im an enthusiast I just dont need 4 way SLI and all the other crap. what I do need is digi VRM's 12 phase, gold contacts on cpu, ram, and pci/pci/e slots, high end audio, no overclocking, good fan control and a solid base chipset. so in other words. I want a seriously stable mobo with the highest quality stuff, and no over the top BS
That does not look like a good board. The PCI-E slot layout is bad if you have anything other than a graphics card. Only HDMI and VGA, and only four USB ports on the back? I have seen better regular boards, without some pointless "gamer" labels.
Lack of USB ports is an issue (I prefer wired keyboards) not so sure about PCI-E layout though - apart from usual problem with all M-atx boards, the first PCI-E slot is far, far too close to the bottom of the memory slots. Moving it down 5mm would make a big difference
The position of the PCIe slots isn't adjustable, since everything has to line up in standardized cases. What they could have done is move the x16 slot down to the 2nd slot, swapping it with the first x1 slot. This would make both more useful.
What I wish they would've done with DDR4 was to make the DIMMs slightly shorter. DIMMs and GPUs in the first slot has been a major pain point for years.
I have been impressed by the B85 chipset boards for everyday use. I don't need or use all the features of the higher-end chipsets, but I do miss some of the extras that do not have anything to do with the chipset.
What I really like about this board: B85 chipset - no fluff AC 1150 - high end audio Intel LAN
What I do not like about the board: Practically useless PCIe x1 slots limiting expandability.
So close to what I want in a motherboard, but not quite there.
What are you looking for instead? B85 won't let you split the CPU lanes into an 8/8 config; and there's no legacy PCI available without using a bridge chip. An x4 off the chipset might be possible (in that it looks like only 2 lanes are used, ethernet and audio); but aside from gaming that's even more of a niche option than 1x slots. For gaming an 8/8 split works much better; nVidia won't allow SLI with an x4 off the chipset, and IIRC 16/4 is lopsided enough to impact xFire a bit even if AMD doesn't ban the config.
It's all marketing, I've built a lot of systems for customers and majority of them never overclock. If they overclock they wouldn't need someone to build it for them. Then I tell customers that they can save some money and just got for a H or B chipset motherboard but people just want everything. So they have a Z chipset but they never overclock or change multipliers yet why do they want an unlocked CPU for $30-40 more?
You better off invest more money in a higher spec GPU for more value.
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CaedenV - Saturday, January 31, 2015 - link
This is what is missing. Most people do not overclock. Most people don't need zXX chipset features. All that most people need is a solid basic motherboard, and i5 chip, and a good GPU. Throw in some things like nice automatic fan control, a decent onboard audio chip, and maybe WiFi, and you have yourself a perfect game rig more than capable of handling the toughest 1080p and 1440p demands.Unless you are overclocking, need multiple GPUs, or some other exotic needs (multiple LAN ports) then you can save some serious money with a solid basic system. There is just so little need for the average gamer to shell out $130+ on a motherboard.
bebimbap - Saturday, January 31, 2015 - link
I think it was Ian or could be another Anandtech employee, but they said they recommended zXX platform for a system build just because of the zXX feature set and not because of the overclocking ability. Though b and z both have 6gbps sata, z has "Lake Tiny" or SSD caching. and even if you don't need that or more usb3 ports, the z's ability to have mpcie ssd for a cleaner build seems worth the difference alone.It all depends on the budget so i'm not disagreeing with you CaedenV, but overclocking isn't the only reason people get z.
emgarf - Sunday, February 1, 2015 - link
^ ...and that's exactly why I buy more expensive MBs - I never overclock, but the extra features -seem- like worthwhile insurance to extend the useful life of the purchase. (I say "seem" because the extra features have rarely come in handy...)Samus - Sunday, February 1, 2015 - link
I've always purchased H87/H97's and overclock successfully on them. The only thing really missing on the H-series is memory overclocking and high-clocking RAM has little benefit and an incredibly high price premium; 1600MHz is fine imho.I'm happy to see the B-series chipset make it to a board like this with good audio and network options.I'd consider an inexpensive Xeon like a E3-1230v3 (they're under $200) for a powerful, inexpensive gaming PC.
StrangerGuy - Saturday, January 31, 2015 - link
Shhh you don't talk about that elephant in the room. We can't have well-informed enthusiasts learn obvious facts about mobos that we have known for years.peterfares - Sunday, February 1, 2015 - link
Most people don't overclock, but what about gamers building their own computer? (the ones buying these boards) I think they're far more likely to overclock, especially when you can easily bump up the clock a few hundred megahertz without any fuss.Murloc - Sunday, February 1, 2015 - link
it's a marketing trick, you don't cannibalize the high end sector by selling cheap chipsets with just the features that 99% of people need.Of course most gamers and non-overclockers do not need anything more than the cheaper motherboards.
I usually strike in the middle by buying the mainstream chipset standard motherboard, but not the low cost chipset (out of fear of it having some limitation, I'm a victim of marketing too).
Morawka - Saturday, January 31, 2015 - link
Historically even asus's low budget motherboards, are typically $30-$40 more than everyone else. We shall see when a price is announced. I'd like for them to make a compelling board at AsRock Prices.Wall Street - Saturday, January 31, 2015 - link
I think that this board can make a lot of sense at the right price, except for the one glaring problem. In 2015, four back panel USB connectors is not OK. You can add another six (two of which are 3.0) via headers, but this USB situation is just not acceptable even for a budget board.phamhlam - Saturday, January 31, 2015 - link
Why? How many people use more than six usb connectors? Most people only need 3. Keyboard, mouse, and USB.Sushisamurai - Saturday, January 31, 2015 - link
@4 USB connections in the back: Keyboard, mouse, printer, DAC/speakers/headset/wifi dongle/external hard drive etcthere's countless possibilities really. I use 6 out of my 8 or so USB ports in the back (i actually don't know how many i have, but about 50% free): Mouse, Keyboard, BT dongle, 2-360 controllers, printer, and spare room to plug whatever else in.
Margalus - Saturday, January 31, 2015 - link
That doesn't mean that "most" need that many. I use 2... Keyboard and mouse. Occasionally plugging in a game controller which will bring it to 3. . Printer? Ethernet or wifi, speakers/headphones? Speaker or headphone jack..4 is more than enough for a stripped down cheap board, especially if it has headers for front ports.
TheinsanegamerN - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
printer is easy to hook up via network, and plenty of headphones use the dedicated audio ports. not very many people use wifi on a desktop, considering it usually doesn't move, Ethernet is much preferred. even if you DID need wifi, there are two pcie x1 ports available, you can easily get a nice internal wifi card, no need to use usb. controllers could be plugged into the front, so they could easily be stored away or moved, rather than be permanent fixtures.why do you NEED two 360 controllers? 99% of pc games are NOT splitscreen, and unless you have someone there ALL the time to play, you could, again, plug the second one into the front, and put it away when not in use.
so now you are down to four usb connectors: KB, mouse, BT, 1 360 controller.
Stuka87 - Monday, February 2, 2015 - link
A gamer is most likely going to use a gaming keyboard, which means its going to use two USB just for it (In order to have anti-ghosting). Then you have a mouse, possibly USB audio, an external backup drive perhaps, maybe they also have a camera they import data from. USB ports are easy to use up.Urizane - Monday, February 2, 2015 - link
Anti-ghosting does not require two USB ports (a single device function spread across two USB ports? Silly). The second USB plug is usually for hubs where the keyboard's lower latency requirements make it not a member of that hub.Wall Street - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
Well I have 1) keyboard, 2) mouse, 3) webcam, 4) printer - which I think are reasonable things even for non-enthusiasts to have permanently connected to the back of the PC. Plus I have a Bluetooth dongle and a micro USB cable plugged into the back to sync my phone/camera. I usually use my two front USB ports for a gamepad, a portable HDD and my USB stick depending on what I need. I don't see four as being nearly enough. How much do you think they saved by having all of those front panel header vs. another two USB ports on the back? $1.50 at most (there are USB 2.0 back panel brackets on Amazon for $2.50)? USB isn't some rare technology. Also, I am not even asking for USB 3.0 ports - I think that USB 2.0 would be fine.SirKnobsworth - Sunday, February 1, 2015 - link
They could have added 2 more 2.0 ports but that's it (without additional controllers/hubs) - the B85 chipset supports 4 USB3 + 8 USB2. Still though, those 2 more ports could make all the difference.Sushisamurai - Saturday, January 31, 2015 - link
I wonder what DRAM speed this board supports (since there's no overclocking), and 4 channels seems kind of over kill for a non-ZXX chipset. Too bad this wasn't made as an ITX board - mATX seems more relevant if it had 2 PCIe slots.Spoelie - Sunday, February 1, 2015 - link
DDR 1600colinstu - Saturday, January 31, 2015 - link
Nice looking little board. Curious what the price will be. Been using a Gigabyte H97 micro-atx board (somewhere between $85-99) and it's been 100% rock solid, super duper happy with it. This B85 board will have to be cheaper then this one for it to be relevant.Spoelie - Sunday, February 1, 2015 - link
What about dpc latency? IIRC the 8 series chipset had a bug resulting in abnormally high dpc latency. This was fixed in the 9 series.nunya112 - Monday, February 2, 2015 - link
this is what sucks about enthusiasts motherboards. im an enthusiast I just dont need 4 way SLI and all the other crap. what I do need isdigi VRM's 12 phase, gold contacts on cpu, ram, and pci/pci/e slots, high end audio, no overclocking, good fan control and a solid base chipset.
so in other words. I want a seriously stable mobo with the highest quality stuff, and no over the top BS
Harry Lloyd - Monday, February 2, 2015 - link
That does not look like a good board. The PCI-E slot layout is bad if you have anything other than a graphics card. Only HDMI and VGA, and only four USB ports on the back?I have seen better regular boards, without some pointless "gamer" labels.
cjs150 - Monday, February 2, 2015 - link
Lack of USB ports is an issue (I prefer wired keyboards) not so sure about PCI-E layout though - apart from usual problem with all M-atx boards, the first PCI-E slot is far, far too close to the bottom of the memory slots. Moving it down 5mm would make a big differenceSirKnobsworth - Monday, February 2, 2015 - link
The position of the PCIe slots isn't adjustable, since everything has to line up in standardized cases. What they could have done is move the x16 slot down to the 2nd slot, swapping it with the first x1 slot. This would make both more useful.DanNeely - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
What I wish they would've done with DDR4 was to make the DIMMs slightly shorter. DIMMs and GPUs in the first slot has been a major pain point for years.jardows2 - Monday, February 2, 2015 - link
I have been impressed by the B85 chipset boards for everyday use. I don't need or use all the features of the higher-end chipsets, but I do miss some of the extras that do not have anything to do with the chipset.What I really like about this board:
B85 chipset - no fluff
AC 1150 - high end audio
Intel LAN
What I do not like about the board:
Practically useless PCIe x1 slots limiting expandability.
So close to what I want in a motherboard, but not quite there.
DanNeely - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
What are you looking for instead? B85 won't let you split the CPU lanes into an 8/8 config; and there's no legacy PCI available without using a bridge chip. An x4 off the chipset might be possible (in that it looks like only 2 lanes are used, ethernet and audio); but aside from gaming that's even more of a niche option than 1x slots. For gaming an 8/8 split works much better; nVidia won't allow SLI with an x4 off the chipset, and IIRC 16/4 is lopsided enough to impact xFire a bit even if AMD doesn't ban the config.anolesoul - Thursday, February 5, 2015 - link
Only 4 slots...for RAM? Bummer....vision33r - Wednesday, February 11, 2015 - link
It's all marketing, I've built a lot of systems for customers and majority of them never overclock. If they overclock they wouldn't need someone to build it for them. Then I tell customers that they can save some money and just got for a H or B chipset motherboard but people just want everything. So they have a Z chipset but they never overclock or change multipliers yet why do they want an unlocked CPU for $30-40 more?You better off invest more money in a higher spec GPU for more value.