GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard Review

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Intel’s 12th generation CPU line-up has introduced a slew of new capabilities to the market. New motherboards have DDR5 support, PCI-E 5.0 compatibility, and ubiquitous Gen 4 SSD mounting. One disadvantage of all of these additional features is the inevitable price tag that comes with the number of options.

Since the launching of the Intel 12th generation, four chipsets have graced the market, each with a different set of capabilities. Today we’ll look at the GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard, which aims to maximize the feature set of the 12th generation while keeping the price reasonable.

The market for entry-level motherboards is always intriguing to see, especially when board makers compete to outperform one another with feature sets and pricing that may effectively differentiate them.

We’ll be examining the GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard in today’s post. This board supports the newest PCIe 4.0 standard, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, and WIFI 6 (or 6E – more on that later in this article). It also supports the most recent Intel 13th generation Raptor Lake processors and their predecessor, the 12th generation Alder Lake processors.

GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard Chipset

GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard 2

The GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard employs the B660 chipset, which is designed for builds with a lower price point. We compared the Z690 vs. B660 Motherboards in more detail, but here we’ll just quickly go over some of the main aspects of the chipset.

The majority of the capabilities available on other chipsets, like memory overclocking, PCI-E 5.0, and even support for DDR5 memory, are also available on the B660 chipset. However, the amount of functions offered is the only real distinction between the B660 and Z690 chipsets.

While B660 boards only enable you to utilize one or two Gen 4 SSDs at once, more costly Z690 boards let you use a number of them concurrently. It’s fantastic to see that you continue to support the most recent USB standards, WiFi, and PCI-E generations.

GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard Unboxing & Packaging

GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard 3
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As a cost-effective product, the GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard comes with few extras:

Wi-Fi antenna, one

SATA III cables, two

M.2 drive screws, two

I/O shield, one

one manual

Readers with keen eyes will notice that Gigabyte has opted to do without a DVD driver disc, which is an ecologically sound choice given that optical devices are quickly becoming obsolete with contemporary PCs.

Gigabyte chose a black and grey color design for the GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard, with angular grey accents scattered throughout the bottom half of the board. The board would normally appear quite plain, but this gives it some visual appeal. Again, being an entry-level motherboard, it is not equipped with an integrated I/O shield or RGB LEDs or attractive LEDs.

Given that this board is obviously not intended for overclockers, Gigabyte chose to use a 6+2+1 power supply system with just one VRM heatsink.

The passive heatsink used to cool the B660 chipset is also rather small.

The addition of an M.2 drive heatsink, which Gigabyte might have skipped to save money, is very much appreciated.

The GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard has four DDR4 slots that can accommodate up to 128GB of RAM and, when overclocked, the DDR4 5333 standard. Given that DDR5 pricing are still significantly higher than those of its DDR4 counterparts, having support for DDR4 memory rather than DDR5 memory is a definite method to keep the cost of a PC built using this motherboard low.

The board has two USB 2.0 front panel headers in addition to one USB 3.2 Gen 1 front panel header for front panel USB connection.

Two PCIe 3.0 x1 slots and one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot are provided on the B660M DS3H AX DDR4. Plastic is used to make all three slots.

Four SATA III ports have been provided by Gigabyte, two of which are arranged in a right-angled arrangement and the other two in a straight-angled one. Two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots are also provided, one of which has a heatsink.

GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard 4

This board’s audio is supported by Realtek’s ALC897 audio codec, which is often found on budget motherboards. 2,5 Gigabit Ethernet support is provided by the RTL8125BG chip, another Realtek component. The GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard from Gigabyte could have been made with a Gigabit Ethernet component instead, but they chose to incorporate 2.5 GbE instead, which enhances this board’s reputation among rival boards.

GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard Specifications

CPULGA1700 socket: Support for 13th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors and 12th Generation Intel® Core™, Pentium® Gold and Celeron® Processors*L3 cache varies with CPU
ChipsetIntel® B660 Express Chipset
MemorySupport for DDR4 5333(O.C.)/ DDR4 5133(O.C.)/DDR4 5000(O.C.)/4933(O.C.)/4800(O.C.)/ 4700(O.C.)/ 4600(O.C.)/ 4500(O.C.)/ 4400(O.C.)/ 4300(O.C.)/4266(O.C.) / 4133(O.C.) / 4000(O.C.) / 3866(O.C.) / 3800(O.C.) / 3733(O.C.) / 3666(O.C.) / 3600(O.C.) / 3466(O.C.) / 3400(O.C.) / 3333(O.C.) / 3300(O.C.) / 3200/3000/2933/2666/2400/2133 MT/s memory modules4 x DDR DIMM sockets supporting up to 128 GB (32 GB single DIMM capacity) of system memoryDual channel memory architectureSupport for ECC Un-buffered DIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8 memory modules (operate in non-ECC mode)Support for non-ECC Un-buffered DIMM 1Rx8/2Rx8/1Rx16 memory modulesSupport for Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) memory modules
Onboard Graphics1 x D-Sub port, supporting a maximum resolution of 1920×1200@60 Hz1 x HDMI port, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2160@60 Hz* Support for HDMI 2.1 version and HDCP 2.3.** Support native HDMI 2.1 TMDS compatible ports.1 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2304@60 Hz* Support for DisplayPort 1.2 version and HDCP 2.31 x DisplayPort, supporting a maximum resolution of 4096×2304@60 Hz* Support for DisplayPort 1.2 version.

GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard Conclusion

A motherboard called the GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard has a low price and expands the market for PC gaming. Unfortunately, a less expensive option results in less functionality overall, but building a superb PC is still possible. Although this motherboard might not have all the greatest features, it is still a great value for the price because you’re probably trying to save money by purchasing it.

GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard 5
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GIGABYTE B660M DS3H DDR4 Motherboard
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