Some ASUS B660 and H610 mATX Motherboard Pricing Leaks

[TheLostSwede]

I don't understand why removing the WiFi also removes half of the VRM heatsink. Stupid product segmentation from ASUS as always, chances are good that MSI and Gigabyte's equivalent models have full VRM heatsinks.

Why does ASUS do this? Why do all of their sub-models in every lineup suck donkey balls for asinine reasons? Why do I need to pay for a useless WiFi module no desktop should ever need just to get a basic heatsink included on my VRMs?

Oh, good catch, I totally missed that. Very odd indeed.

Thought I remember hearing somewhere that they're handy for extreme overclockers running on LN2 where the sub-zero temps might cause issues with USB devices when booting. Don't quote me on that reasoning, but that would explain why you find PS2 ports on the super high-end OC boards like the Asus Maximus Z690 Apex, MSI MEG Z690 Unify-X, Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Tachyon, EVGA Z590 Dark (and likely the Z690 Dark), etc.

It's not related to temperatures, but rather some bus stability issues which makes USB unreliable at really high clock speeds.

 

[Crackong]

It's actually not bad. You don't need WiFi on a desktop*, so you can shave off $20-30 on that. Buy anything other than Asus and shave another $20-30. And you get a pretty good price. Not cheap overall, but great bang for what you're paying.

*most of the time. But even if you need it, chances are you already have a WiFi adapter, so you can still forego wireless on your new mobo.

Personally I treated WIFI module a MUST for every desktop machines I had, both work and gaming.
The WIFI part is a useful backup & diagnosis method when the LAN connection goes funcky.
The included Bluetooth is a necessary component for many gadgets , for example: Gamepads , multi device keyboard/mice.

Adaptors occupies additional USB ports /PCI-E slot, which is a huge waste
I would avoid any non-WIFI equipped motherboards unless I am building a server, which don't need any gadget connections, and has multiple LAN ports for monitoring /diagnosing.

 

[milewski1015]

It's not related to temperatures, but rather some bus stability issues which makes USB unreliable at really high clock speeds.

Good to know, thanks for clarifying

 

[TheLostSwede]

Good to know, thanks for clarifying

Nothing you'd experience unless you're doing LN2 overclocking anyhow, so unlikely most people would ever bump into those issues.

 

[bug]

Nothing you'd experience unless you're doing LN2 overclocking anyhow, so unlikely most people would ever bump into those issues.

Plus, if USB becomes unreliable, it's not like there's much you can do with the system anyway. Good to know, nonetheless.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Plus, if USB becomes unreliable, it's not like there's much you can do with the system anyway. Good to know, nonetheless.

Unless you got an old PS/2 keyboard and matching port, but then again, you can't exactly hot swap PS/2 peripherals...