Intel plans to launch its 13th Gen Raptor Lake non-K processors and B760 chipset in early 2023. These chips vie for our list of the best CPUs and offer consumers a more accessible entry point to Intel’s Raptor Lake family.
As usual, Intel has released the Z790 chipset with a trio of branded Raptor Lake K-series chips which includes the Core i9-13900K, Core i7-13700K, and Core i5-13600K. The B760 chipset, on the other hand, doesn’t have all the features, but it does offer essential features for consumers.chinese media preview (opens in new tab) managed to get hold of potential specs for the B760 chipset. Although the information appears accurate, we recommend that you treat it with caution.
Soon, only the Z790 chipset will officially support processor overclocking. AMD allows overclocking across its entire lineup of chipsets. At Alder Lake, some vendors had enabled his BCLK overclocks on non-K-series chips on certain of his B660 motherboards. This feature could bring him back to his B760 with the MAG B760M Mortar Max WiFi.
The B760 chipset is reportedly coming with a PCIe 4.0 x4 DMI link connecting the chipset to the Raptor Lake processors. This is the same interface as his previous B660 chipset. This is a significant downgrade from his Z790 or last generation his Z690 chipset with the x8 interface. The B760 chipset has four PCIe 4.0 lanes over the B660 chipset, which is a nice upgrade. However, Intel is said to have sacrificed some of his PCIe 3.0 lanes. According to Expreview’s chart, the B760 chipset only offers 4 PCIe 3.0 lanes while the B660 chipset offers 8.
Intel B760 Chipset Specifications*
| Header Cell – Column 0 | Z790 | H770 | Z690 | B760 | B660 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMI 4.0 channel | x8 | x8 | x8 | x4 | x4 |
| PCIe 4.0 | 20 | 16 | 12 | Ten | 6 |
| PCIe3.0 | 8 | 8 | 16 | Four | 8 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gbps) | Five | 2 | Four | 2 | 2 |
| USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) | Ten | Four | Ten | Four | Four |
| USB 3.2 Gen1 (5Gbps) | Ten | 8 | Ten | 6 | 6 |
| USB2.0 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 |
| SATA3.0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Four | Four |
*Specifications are unconfirmed.
The B760 chipset appears to come with the same connectivity options as the B660 chipset. So I’m looking at up to 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20 Gbps) ports, 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports, and 6 USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) ports. For USB 2.0 ports, the maximum is 12.
As for storage, the B760 chipset has up to four SATA 3.0 ports, half that of the Z790 chipset. However, many consumers will likely pair his B760 motherboard with his one of the best SSDs, so this is not a major drawback. Most are on the PCIe interface. Storage enthusiasts will probably turn to the Z790 or H770 chipsets, which offer up to eight SATA 3.0 ports.
MSI B760 motherboard price
| motherboard | price | B660 version | difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| MPG B760I Edge WiFi DDR4 | $209 | none | none |
| MAG B760 Tomahawk WiFi | $229 | $219 | Five% |
| MAG B760 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4 | $219 | $209 | Five% |
| MAG B760M Mortar Max WiFi | $229 | none | none |
| MAG B760M Mortar Max WiFi DDR4 | $219 | none | none |
| MAG B760M Mortar WiFi | $199 | $209 | Five% |
| MAG B760M Mortar WiFi DDR4 | $189 | $199 | Five% |
| MAG B760M Mortar | $189 | $199 | Five% |
| MAG B760M Mortar DDR4 | $179 | $189 | 6% |
| Pro B760-P WiFi DDR4 | $179 | none | none |
| Pro B760M-A WiFi DDR4 | $169 | $169 | 0% |
*The price is unconfirmed.
hardware leaker chi11eddog (opens in new tab) has shared the list of MSI B760 motherboards and their prices. It looks like MSI is readying a balanced mix of DDR4 and DDR5 motherboards so that consumers can opt for the former if they don’t want to invest in premium DDR5 memory kits.
MSI’s B760 motherboard may cost just $10 more than its B660 counterpart. Therefore, it translates to a more or less 5% price increase. The price starts at $179 and goes up to $229. The problem is that many Z690 motherboards in that price range offer better features and connectivity than B760 motherboards. Note that Raptor Lake is compatible with Intel 600 series motherboards with a simple firmware upgrade.
The MSI Pro B760-P WiFi DDR4 could hit the market at $179. For comparison, the MSI Pro Z690-P DDR4 currently $172.99 (opens in new tab)It’s cheap and feature-rich, even if you don’t plan on overclocking your processor. There are other examples where his Z690 motherboard from the previous generation offers better value, like the Pro B760-P WiFi DDR4. However, retailers have already started phasing out Intel 600-series motherboards, so they may become harder to come by in the future, making 700-series motherboards the only available option.
