MSI MAG B660M Mortar DDR4 Intel Motherboard

The MSI MAG B660M Mortar DDR4 is a Micro-ATX motherboard built on the Intel B660 chipset for the LGA1700 socket, designed to pair with 12th Generation Intel Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron processors. Its compact 9.6 × 9.6-inch (24.4 × 24.4 cm) footprint makes it well suited for space-conscious mid-range builds without sacrificing connectivity or thermal performance. Memory capacity is substantial for an mATX platform: four DDR4 DIMM slots accommodate up to 128 GB of non-ECC unbuffered RAM. JEDEC-rated speeds of 2133, 2666, and 3200 MHz are supported natively, while Intel XMP profiles allow overclocking up to 4800+ MHz in a single-rank, single-DIMM-per-channel configuration. Dual-channel operation is supported across all four slots. Storage options are generous. Two M.2 Key-M slots both support PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe drives; the second slot also accepts SATA M.2 devices. Six SATA 6 Gb/s ports (four via the B660 chipset, two via ASMedia ASM1061) round out the storage array, and RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 are available for the chipset-connected SATA ports. Note that SATA port 8 becomes unavailable when an M.2 SATA drive is installed in the M2_2 slot. Connectivity is a clear strength. A Realtek 8125BG controller delivers 2.5 Gbps wired networking, and the rear I/O includes a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C port running at 20 Gbps — four times the throughput of USB 3.2 Gen 1. Three additional USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-A ports, four USB 2.0 ports on the back panel, and further internal headers for USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, USB 3.2 Gen 1, and USB 2.0 give the board an extensive peripheral ecosystem. For display output on processors with integrated graphics, the rear panel provides an HDMI 2.1 port (4K 60 Hz with HDR) and a DisplayPort 1.4 port with HBR3 (4K 60 Hz). Audio is handled by a Realtek ALC1200 codec delivering 7.1-channel HD audio with optical S/PDIF output. Thermal management includes an extended PWM heatsink over the VRM area and M.2 Shield Frozr covers on both M.2 slots to help prevent thermal throttling under sustained storage loads. Fan control spans one 4-pin CPU header, one water-pump header, and two system fan headers, all manageable via MSI’s Frozr AI Cooling. RGB lighting is supported through one 4-pin 12 V RGB header and two 3-pin addressable headers, with four EZ Debug LEDs for fast POST diagnostics. The board carries a 3-year manufacturer warranty. Verified Specifications: • Form Factor: Micro-ATX, 9.6 × 9.6 in (24.4 × 24.4 cm) • Socket: LGA1700 • Chipset: Intel B660 • CPU Support: 12th Gen Intel Core, Pentium Gold, Celeron • Memory: 4× DDR4, up to 128 GB; XMP OC up to 4800+ MHz (1DPC 1R) • PCIe: 1× PCIe 4.0 x16 (CPU), 1× PCIe 3.0 x4 (chipset), 1× PCIe 3.0 x1 • M.2: 2× Key-M (PCIe 4.0 x4; M2_2 also SATA) • SATA: 6× 6 Gb/s (RAID 0/1/5/10 on chipset ports) • LAN: Realtek 8125BG 2.5 Gbps • USB (rear): 1× USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20 Gbps Type-C, 3× USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps Type-A, 4× USB 2.0 • Display: 1× HDMI 2.1 (4K60 HDR), 1× DisplayPort 1.4 (4K60) • Audio: Realtek ALC1200, 7.1-CH HD, S/PDIF optical out • RGB: 1× 4-pin RGB, 2× 3-pin ARGB • Warranty: 3 Years