ASRock B460M Pro4
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Compact motherboard with LGA 1200 processor socket and 2020 Intel B460 chipset. Compatible with 10th Gen Intel Core i3/i5/i7, Pentium and Celeron processors with Comet Lake microarchitecture (14nm). It is positioned as a product of the middle price category, designed for the assembly of multifunctional home and performant gaming systems. Thanks to the PCI-E 16x connector, reinforced with a steel plate, it is suitable for installing large-sized and massive top-end video cards with multi-slot cooling systems.
The ASRock B460M Pro4 motherboard is equipped with four slots for installing DDR4 memory modules with a total capacity of up to 128 GB and Extreme Memory Profiles technology. It can use the capabilities of the Intel UHD Graphics video core built into the processor and display an image on the monitor via analogue (D-sub VGA) or any of the two digital ports (DisplayPort and HDMI), and the maximum resolution can be 4096x2304 at 60 Hz.
To organize a performant storage subsystem, two M.2 ports (PCI-E x4, up to 32 Gbps) and three SATA3 connectors (up to 6 Gbps) are provided at once. Performant work in Ethernet networks is provided by the Intel I219V network controller. The integrated Realtek ALC1200 audio codec guarantees high-quality 8-channel sound and has an optimized analogue path layout with ELNA capacitors.
If we draw parallels between manufacturers of motherboards and smartphones, then ASRock will be Xiaomi's twin. They have a similar approach - we pack the maximum amount of coolness in one product, set the price lower than that of competitors, and then think about what is not noticeable to save on. Frankly speaking, the approach is ambiguous, someone bought a motherboard from ASRock a long time ago and is still happy, someone, on the contrary, thinks that saving on a computer foundation is stupid, sooner or later you will have to pay.
The new board ASRock B460 Pro4 perfectly illustrates this thesis: it is a rather upgraded motherboard, which will cost 10-15% cheaper than its counterparts in the B460 chipset. It boasts a good elemental base (9 power phases, a VRM heatsink, high-quality chokes, an audio path with a Realtek ALC1200 codec and ELNA capacitors), a decent set of connectors (a pair of reinforced slots for video cards, M.2 with steel radiators, 6 SATA, etc.). and a couple of additional lures for buyers. The first attraction is the RGB lighting synchronization system, the second is the Base Frequency Boost feature. Its essence lies in increasing the limit on processor power, which, theoretically, allows you to increase the frequencies of a non-overclockable processor. Recall that Intel software cut this feature in the B460 chips.
During testing, we did not find any obvious flaws. We were ready for the fact that RAM is overclocked only in terms of voltage and timings. Intel has its own opinion on this matter, if you want to overclock components to the limit - be so kind as to fork out for a motherboard based on the Z490. Also, the network periodically complains that UEFI does not see some SSD models in the boot menu. We rechecked and the drive from the test stand started up without problems. Apparently, this is one of the annoying problems with the firmware, which periodically occur at the start of sales.
