The price of graphics cards is bleak, the new AMD/Intel processor products are/available soon, and the new NVIDIA 40 Series card may be released... Let the calm computer DIY market make another stir. But for players who like to toss, they can already get started directly without

graphics card price collapses, AMD/Intel processor new products have been/to be released, NVIDIA new 40 series new cards may be released... Let the calm computer DIY market make another stir. But for players who like to toss, they can already get started directly without spending too much overclocking of the 12th generation non-K Core processor, which may be more attractive.

In fact, overclocking of non-K i3 and even i5 was not limited to legends in the past, but the threshold was too high and it was not suitable for ordinary players to mess with. At present, the release of MSI MAG B660 MORTAR MAX WIFI mortar motherboard has brought the legend into reality, allowing ordinary players to use non-K 12th generation Core processors to easily overclock 5.0GHz (or even higher frequency) and run stably.

motherboard unboxing

No need for "magic modification", can you easily overload external frequency by buying MSI MAG B660 MORTAR MAX WIFI mortar motherboard? Is this motherboard so magical? The answer is yes, we will tell you one by one below.

overall outer packaging style is similar to the previous B660M mortar, but some adjustments have been made in terms of details. In addition, new support for GEN5 and OC Logo, these are the two major differences of this new mortar;

directly look at the main body of the motherboard, the appearance is basically the same as the old model, M-ATX specifications, black PCB board, there are large areas of silver metal heat dissipation armor on the key positions, the pile material is very solid, and some lines on the heat dissipation armor make the overall appearance of the motherboard better;

2+1+1 phase 60A intelligent power supply design, matching The CPU external power supply of dual 8Pin is a top-notch for an Intel B-level motherboard;

DDR4 memory slots, adopt a single-side snap-on design, supports XMP memory overclocking technology and ECCh memory error correction technology, supports up to 4800MHz memory frequency , and supports up to 128G memory capacity. The motherboard provides two PCIE x16 and one PCIE x1 specification slot part. Among them, the PCIe slot near the CPU side is reinforced with metal shell and supports PCIe 5.0 x16 transmission protocol. The other two PCIe slots are PCIe 3.0 x16 and PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. This configuration can not only ensure the performance of the motherboard, but also take into account the expansion capabilities of the motherboard.

is still two M.2 solid-state drive slot design, supporting PCIe 4.0 x4 transmission protocol, which can reach a transmission speed of 64Gbps. 6 SATA hard disk interfaces support SATA 3.0 transmission protocol, which can reach a transmission speed of up to 6Gbps/s.

pre-installed integrated I/O armor, equipped with 4 USB 2.0 Type-A interface, 3 USB 3.2 Gen2 10Gbps Type-A interface, 1 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 20Gbps Type-C, as well as a DP 1.4, an HDMI 2.1 video interface , a pair of wireless WIFI antenna interfaces, a 2.5G wired network interface and a set of audio interfaces.It should be pointed out that the new mortar MAX motherboard supports WIFI 6E. Compared with the previous WIFI 6 transmission standard, it can support more channel frequency and transmission bandwidth, effectively enhancing the data transmission capability of WIFI module ;

In addition to WiFi 6E, the most valuable change of this new motherboard is the Renesas RC26008 IDT clock signal generator next to the M.2 solid state of the CPU. It is also this newly added material that provides this motherboard with the super power of external frequency overclocking and supports PCIe 5.0 x16 transmission protocol;

test platform

complete configuration list: i5-12400 processor (original box), MSI MAG B660 MORTAR MAX WIFI mortar motherboard, Yingchi RTX3070Ti Xingyao OC graphics card, Yingchi HOF Pro D4-3600Mhz 8G*2RGB memory, Yingchi Xingyao X4 1T M.2 solid state drive, Bone Gaposeidon 240 integrated water cooling, Qiao Sibo MOD3 Mini case, Antik HCG 750 Gold Medal Full Module Power Supply...

Actually, I chose an ES version 12400 at the beginning, which was a bit unpleasant, so I replaced it with the original box 12400. In the end, I basically ran most of the tests at OC 5.2GHz;

yingchi Xingyao X4 1T M.2 solid state, positioned in the entry-level, but there is no pressure to complete today's test;

memory, the non-K 12th generation Core is very unfriendly to memory stable in G1 mode and high-frequency operation, so the two 2yingchi HOF Pro D4-3600MHz 8G memory is also a good choice; in terms of cooling, if you want to overclock, the air cooling of 100 yuan is a bit cold, so you chose the Poseidon 240 integrated water cooling for bone ga ; in terms of

chassis, you choose the open special-shaped chassis, Qiao Sibo MOD3 mini version, directly fill the lineup;

Antec HCG 750 gold medal full module power supply;

HCG series should be the series with the highest name rate in my installation career. There is no way, ten years of free after-sales replacement, it is really delicious; in addition, the luxurious stacking materials of all-Japanese capacitors are combined with active PFC+LLC+DC-DC structure makes this power supply more stable and efficient during operation. The built-in 12cm FDB liquid bearing silent fan can also be intelligently started and stopped according to different load conditions, ensuring that the entire host can be quieter during operation. The overclocking of the

processor is also to better play the performance of high-end graphics cards. There should be nothing wrong with this statement. So, isn’t this MovieChi RTX 3070Ti Xingyao OC graphics card chosen low? It's too late to regret it, let's just use it first;

ultra-external frequency tutorial

If you don't know how to enter the motherboard BIOS interface, today's matter may be a big deal... As shown in the figure, adjust the frequency by 12400, and directly pull it to 40

Click Microcode Selection and select Non K OC mode

CPU base frequency (external frequency) adjustment, the value 125 represents 5GHz, and 130 represents 5.2GHz (40 times the frequency * 130 external frequency = 5.2GHz main frequency);

After the external frequency is adjusted, the memory frequency needs to be manually adjusted. In the external frequency 125 state, we lock it in 3667MHz G1, and in the external frequency 130 state, we lock it in 3640 MHz G1 state; (regardless of the possibility that the power cannot be turned on, the two frequencies are selected only because of personal tests, this state is the most stable)

CPU Core voltage regulation is like the Core with K, which is a bit like a prize draw. In the 5G state, I reached a minimum of 1.21V, and in the 5.2G state, it basically reached around 1.3V;

performance test

Lu Master running score test, the difference between the scores of the processor after overclocking is quite obvious, and in the 5G and 5.2G state, the scores are relatively close.(In the three states of dummy frequency, OC5.0, and OC5.2, the processor scores are 57W/70W/72.5W respectively, with a maximum difference of 27%)! It seems more convincing to put the actual measurement picture?

CPU-Z test, in the three states of silent frequency, OC5.0 and OC5.2, the processor single-core scores are 658.3/801.7/842.2, respectively, with a maximum of 27.9% gap; the multi-core scores are 4944/6230.3/6481.7, respectively;

CineBench R20 test, in the three states of silent frequency, OC5.0 and OC5.2, the processor single-core score is 593/746/762, the maximum is 28.5% gap; the multi-core score is 4386/5903/5936, the maximum is 35% gap; the

CineBench R23 test, in the three states of silent frequency, OC5.0 and OC5.2, the processor single-core score is 1669/1928/2018, the maximum is 20.9% gap; the multi-core score is 12076/15342/15448, the maximum is 27.9% Gap;

CPU Profile test, in the three states of silent frequency, OC5.0, and OC5.2, the processor single-thread score is 935/1084/1125, the maximum gap is 20%; the maximum thread score is 6005/7524/7850, the maximum gap is 30%;

Time Spy test, in the three states of silent frequency, OC5.0, and OC5.2, the processor score is 9383/11013/11321, the maximum gap is 20% Gap;

Single baking FPU test, the silent frequency state, the power consumption of the CPU is stable below 80W, and the temperature of the CPU is stable at around 59°;

OC 5.0G, single baking FPU test, pulling down the voltage to 1.21V, the power consumption of the CPU is stable at around 130W, and the temperature of the CPU is stable at around 91°; (OC 5.2G state, the roaster test cannot pass)

while the external frequency is super-external, it seems that the performance of the memory is also better played. The three states of the silent frequency, OC5.0 and OC5.2 correspond to 3600MHz/3667MHz/3640MHz and G1 mode respectively. The same memory, read, write and copy performance, and delay have been improved in all aspects. (Default frequency: read speed 51030MB/s, write speed 48980MB/s, copy speed 48240MB/s, memory delay is 69.7ns; OC5.0: read speed is 63626MB/s, write speed is 62251MB/s, copy speed is 58847MB/s, memory delay is 53.6ns; OC5.2: read speed is 66269MB/s, write speed is 63719MB/s, copy speed is 62391MB/s, memory delay is 51.2ns...)

Game experience

"Tomb Raider Shadow" game benchmark test, ultra-high picture quality, DLSS super strong performance, highest ray tracing, the game frame count has been improved by several frames after overclocking, but it is not obvious;

"Rainbow Six·Siege" benchmark test, ultra-high picture quality, after overclocking, the game frame count is improved by more obvious at 1080P or 2K resolution; (OC 5.2G state, the game failed to open, I also want to know why)

" League of Legends " game test, the game frame number after overclocking is compared with the silent frequency state, and the improvement is also obvious;

"PUBG PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" game test, three extreme picture quality, overclocking state and non-overclocking state, the maximum difference in game frame number may reach twenty or thirty frames;

evaluation summary

can be clearly perceived through the above content, on MSI B660M MORTAR MAX With the support of WIFI motherboard, the potential of the non-K 12th generation Core i5-12400 has been maximized. Even if it may not be so stable in OC 5.2G state, there is basically no problem in OC 5.0G state (it is also recommended that ordinary players choose this OC frequency for daily use). Judging from actual tests, the performance of 12400 after overclocking is as great as turning on plug-ins; and the gaming experience is also good. Of course, I also admit that I am a technical dish, and the above is for reference only;

In general, it breaks the seal with K processor overclocking, is equipped with a brand new WiFi 6E module, and a brand new pcie5.0 that can fight the future, and a brand new mortar MAX motherboard. The cost performance is unquestionable.Perhaps, because of this, the configuration combination of small horses and big cars may have a bigger stage in the future; , then the question is, if you are also preparing to buy Intel B-shaped motherboard, would you choose a motherboard that can be super-external frequency?