Introduction

Last year, Intel launched the Coffee Lake 8th Generation Core processors. At that time, there was only one chipset: the Z370. This is fairly unusual as most CPU launches offer at least two and sometimes as many as five supported chipsets. Now, Intel is launching their B360 chipset; a cheaper alternative for Coffee Lake processors to Z370.

The first B360 board I got my hands on is the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20. Colorful Group is a China-based manufacturer of all manner of consumer electronics, from ATX power supplies to hi-fi players. The company is best known for their graphics cards and, of course, their motherboards. To put the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 in context, I first need to briefly run through some of the changes to the B360 chipset from Z370.

B360 has support for only one PCI express 3.0 x16 slot and an M.2 slot, while the Z370 chipset offers up to three PCI Express slots (1x16, 2x8, or x8x4x4) and up to three M.2 slots. Also changed from Z370 is that native support of USB 3.1 Gen2 is included with the B360 chipset, which is a welcome addition. One major change from Z370 is the removal of overclocking support even on unlocked "K" processors. RAM overclocking is also not supported. Core i3 processors will support up to 2400 MHz and Core i5 and i7 processors will support up to 2666 MHz.

Overclocking aside, B360 boards should offer similar performance to Z370 boards at a much lower price point. Today, I am looking at the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 to find out.

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The front of the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 box is dominated by a riotous orange "Battle-Ax" over a circuit board graphic in the shape of axes, which has itself been put over a gray background made to look like broken concrete. The Colorful logo is in the top left and the board name and Intel brand tags are in the bottom right. The box art, and I do think that term is apt, feels a little old school. Box design these days is generally more subdued. I like both approaches and think that a subdued box graphic for a board called "Battle-Ax" would be a little silly. The bottom line is that I like it and think it fits the board.

The rear of the box has a continuation of the broken concrete background, though it is now shadowed almost black. The top left contains a view of the board, including the rear I/O, with features and connectivity conveniently labeled. Below that is a specifications chart, and along the right side are panels showcasing various features. Taken as a whole, the design of the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 box is very good. The detail and quality of the graphics is especially good. The chipset, CPU support, and form factor are all immediately apparent, and the rear I/O can be determined at a glance. Excellent work by Colorful all around.


Opening the box reveals the included accessories on top of a cardboard divider. Pulling the accessories and divider out exposes the board in a traditional antistatic bag. Like many small boards, the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 box is very compact. I understand and appreciate that this is a move made largely for efficiency and cost considerations, but I like that there is some symmetry with small boards having proportionally more compact packaging.


There is a theme of attention to detail with the packaging on the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20, and the "Battle-Ax" logo on the sticker that holds the anti-static bag closed is a very good distillation of that theme. Keeping with it, I still want to stress the impressive quality of the graphics throughout. The art for the manual and especially on the driver disc is just fantastically done. As for accessories, you get the usual assortment. The list includes:

• Manual and support DVD
• 1x Rear I/O cover
• 2x SATA 6 Gb/s cables

Board Layout

Pulling the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 out of the bag shows a nice matte black PCB with a white ax graphic centered around the CPU socket. The chipset has the Colorful logo and some red accenting, but the rest of the board is black. The Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 is a handsome board, and the graphic is subdued enough not to be garish. As with the packaging, the quality of the printing for the graphics and labels is top notch.

The back of the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 is almost uniformly black, but what labeling is present is equally well printed. The board as a whole feels very crisp and clean in a way I have trouble putting into words. Saying the board has excellent fit and finish is an understatement.


The socket on the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 is very open as there are no heatsinks for the VRM. The socket does sit much closer to the two DIMM slots than it would on a full-sized board; however, there should be plenty of room for most coolers.


There is just one M.2 slot on the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20, right under the CPU socket. As this is the maximum supported with the B360 chipset, this is no surprise.


The Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 has one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot and two PCI-Express 3.0 x1 slots. The SATA 6 Gb/s ports are actually split into two clusters; two are on the very bottom right of the board and the other two are just above that at a 90 degrees angle. I don't know Colorful's reasoning for the split, but I like that both orientations are offered.


The Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 has a fairly standard rear I/O offering, with the notable omission of a USB Type-C port. The full list includes:

• 1x PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo connector
• 2x USB 2.0 ports
• 1x HDMI port
• 1x DVI port
• 1x VGA port
• 2x USB 3.1 Gen2 ports
• 2x USB 3.1 Gen1 ports
• 1x RJ45 LAN port
• 3x 3.5 mm audio jacks

The LAN on the Colorful C.B360M-HD Deluxe V20 is powered by a Realtek 8111H chip.