ASRock B860 Challenger WIFI White Motherboard Review – Budget-Friendly, & Intel 200S Plus Ready!

Gaming Performance Tests

The Intel LGA 1700 platform was launched three years ago in 2021, and it has since seen a total of 3 generations of CPUs: Alder Lake (12th Gen), Raptor Lake (13th Gen), and Raptor Lake Refresh (14th Gen). We have seen at least three generations of motherboards, first with the 600-series, which had Z690 as the top SKU, and then two generations of 700-series based on the top Z790 chipset, which included a soft refresh for the 14th Gen lineup.

In late 2024, Intel introduced its next-generation 800-series chipsets, and with the Core Ultra 200S CPU series, the company also launched a brand new socket called LGA 1851. Today, we will be taking a look at the latest motherboards based on the value-oriented B860 chipset.

We received a load of motherboards from various manufacturers, so let's start by taking a look at these updated designs. For this review, we will be testing out ASRock's newest B860 Challenger WIFI White, a stunning white motherboard designed for budget users with a retail price of $179 US.

The Intel LGA 1851 Platform

For its Arrow Lake lineup, Intel introduced a brand new socket, which ends the reign of the LGA 1700 series after a little over three years. The new socket was LGA 1851, and this was first featured on the 800-series motherboards.

The 800-series chipsets include several SKUs, but the one we are looking at today is the entry-tier B860. This platform offers a total of 34 PCIe lanes, of which 20 are PCIe Gen 5.0, and these come from both the CPU and the PCH. The B860 PCH features up to 14 PCIe 4.0 lanes, up to 6 USB 3.2 ports including 2 20G, 4 10G, and 6 5G options, up to 12 USB 2.0 links & up to 4 SATA III links.

In terms of memory support, the new B860 motherboards offer up to DDR5-6400 (native) capabilities and expanded speeds over 8000 MT/s with XMP. The platform supports up to 48 GB DIMMs in the dual-channel mode for up to 192 GB capacities in UDIMM, CUDIMM, SODIMM, and CSODIMM flavors.

Cooler Compatibility With LGA 1851 Socket

The Intel LGA 1851 socket is compatible with LGA 1700 socketed coolers, though some coolers might require an offset kit for proper thermal load balance. The socket also has a revised ILM called RL-ILM, which uses a spacer between the loading mechanism to ensure proper pressure for the new Arrow Lake CPUs.

The ASRock B860 Challenger WIFI White motherboard comes in a standard white-colored package. The front features a picture of the motherboard & this is a Challenger product, which offers great value along with a great set of features. The packaging also lists a few features, such as support for Intel's 200S CPUs, Wi-Fi 7, and HDMI.

The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard, such as the 10+1+1 phase power design, Wi-Fi 7, Blazing M.2 SSD slots, Toolless multi-layer M.2 heatsinks, Lightning Gaming ports, Nahimic Audio, a Pre-Installed I/O Shield, and a BIOS Flashback button.

Inside the package is another box that contains the accessories and is located right below the box holder for the board itself. These include:

• 2 x SATA Data Cables
• 2 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6 GHz Antennas
• 1 x Screw for M.2 Socket
• 1 x Standoff for M.2 Socket

With all the accessories done, it's time to put that box aside and take the motherboard out of its package. The ASRock B860 Challenger WIFI White motherboard is a standard ATX offering that measures 305x244 mm.

ASRock has opted for a white and silver color scheme for its Challenger series, making them a perfect option for those investing in white PC builds while staying on a budget.

The board uses the LGA 1851 socket to support Intel Core Ultra 200S "Arrow Lake" processors. So far, the LGA 1851 socket will only support the Arrow Lake CPUs and the Core Ultra 200S Plus lineup.

Next to the socket are four DDR5 DIMM slots that can support up to 256 GB of dual-channel memory.

These slots are rated to support EXPO/XMP profiles up to 8666 MT/s (OC Plus). Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation. DDR5 memory comes with a different latch position, so forcing a DDR4 module into a DDR5 slot will cause permanent damage. The full QVL list can be found here. The motherboard fully supports the CUDIMM memory technology.

The ASRock B860 Steel Legend WIFI motherboard features a 10+1+1+1+1 (VCore+GT+SA)  phase Dr.MOS power delivery that utilizes 80A Power Stages.

The VRMs and power delivery solution are scattered around the LGA 1851 socket. As for the cooling, you get bigger aluminum heatsinks.

The CPU is supplied power through an 8+8-pin power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 600 Watts of power. Intel's Arrow Lake "Core Ultra 200S" Desktop CPUs can sip up to 250W of power by default.

Expansion slots include two PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 5.0 x16/8 / 1x Gen 4.0 x2) and four M.2 slots.

• CPU:
  - 1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 Slot (PCIE1), supports x16 mode
• Chipset:
  - 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 Slot (PCIE2), supports x4 mode
  - 1 x M.2 Socket (Key E), supports type 2230 WiFi/BT PCIe WiFi module and Intel CNVio/CNVio2 (Integrated WiFi/BT)

The motherboard utilizes a full metallic "Reinforced Steel" slot, which features extra anchor points, a strong latching mechanism, and ensures great signal stability when running the latest PCIe 5.0 graphics cards.

There are a total of three M.2 slots on the motherboard, which include one PCIe Gen5 Blazing M.2 slot, and two Hyper M.2 Gen4 x4 slots. Two of these slots are cooled by M.2 heatsinks, which include an XXL M.2 heatsink with an anti-drop screw design. The top design features a toolless design, too, which makes it easy to access the slot.

Following is the full list of M.2 ports and their details on the ASRock B860 Challenger WIFI White motherboard:

CPU:

• 1 x Blazing M.2 Socket (M2_1, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen5x4 (128 Gb/s) mode

Chipset:

• 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_2, Key M), supports type 2230/2242/2260/2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
• 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_3, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
• 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors

The motherboard doesn't feature any RGB lighting of its own, but comes with 3 ARGB and 1 RGB LED connectors for users to personalize their PCs using the ASRock Polychrome RGB software.

Storage options include four SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support 4 different storage devices at once. For the front IO, you get a total of 16 ports, which include 6 USB 2.0, 7 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, 2 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C, and a single rear USB 3.2 Gen1 port.

The full list of connectors on the motherboard is as follows.

• 1 x SPI TPM Header
• 1 x Power LED and Speaker Header
• 1 x RGB LED Header
• 3 x Addressable LED Headers
• 2 x CPU Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• 4 x Chassis Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• 1 x AIO Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• 1 x 24-pin ATX Power Connector
• 2 x 8-pin 12V Power Connectors (Hi-Density Power Connector)
• 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector
• 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports)
• 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen1 Header* Supports in total up to 12V/3A, 36W LED Strip Support in total up to 5V/3A, 15W LED Strip

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ASRock is using the latest WIFI 7 Module to power wireless connectivity and Bluetooth 5.4. In terms of Ethernet, there is a single LAN port powered by the 2.5GbE Dragon RTL8125BG controller. Audio is run by the ALC897 controller.

The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:

• 2 x Antenna Ports
• 1 x HDMI Port
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C Port
• 6 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Ports (USB32_56 are Lightning Gaming Ports.)
• 2 x USB 2.0 Ports
• 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port
• 1 x BIOS Flashback Button
• HD Audio Jacks: Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone

For testing, I used the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K CPU, which was sent to us by Intel, on a range of B860 motherboards while using a high-end Z890 motherboard as the baseline for performance.

Intel LGA 1851 "B860" Motherboard Test Platform:

Processors	Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
Motherboard	MSI MAG B860 Tomahawk WIFI (7E39v1B4) MSI MAG B860M Mortar WIFI (7E40v1A4) ASRock B860 Lightning WIFI (1.21) ASRock B860I Lightning WIFI (1.13) ASRock B860 Steel Legend (1.21) ASRock B860 LiveMixer WIFI (1.24)
Power Supply	FSP Hydro G 1200W PSU
Solid State Drive	Crucial T700 2 TB Gen5 SSD
Memory	T-Force Delta RGB DDR5-7200 (CL34 2 x 16 GB)
Video Cards	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition
Cooling Solutions	Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420mm AIO
OS	Windows 11 64-bit

Our test rig includes the Crucial T700 2 TB Gen5 SSD that boots up our main OS. In addition to these, we are running an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition graphics card and an FSP Hydro G 1200W PSU. For this specific review, we used the Kingston Fury Beast DDR5-8200 (48 GB) memory kit running at CL40 timings.

All B860 Motherboards Memory Support (Official Rating)

The Intel B860 motherboards are listed with some of the highest-listed DDR5 memory support out of the box. Following is how each of the motherboards we tested stacks up in terms of maximum frequency support:

3DMark CPU Profile Benchmark

Instead of producing a single number, the 3DMark CPU Profile shows you how your CPU's performance changes and scales with the number of cores and threads used. The 3DMark CPU Profile has six tests that help you benchmark and compare CPU performance for gaming and other activities.

Blender

Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, and motion tracking, and even video editing and game creation.

Cinebench 2024

Cinebench 2024 utilizes the power of Redshift, Cinema 4D's default rendering engine, to evaluate your computer's CPU and GPU capabilities. Cinebench 2024 is designed to accommodate a broad range of hardware configurations, while it seamlessly supports x86/64 architecture (Intel/AMD) on Windows and macOS.

Cinebench R23

Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.

CPU-Z

CPUz is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system, such as the Processor name and number, codename, process, package, cache levels, Mainboard, chipset, Memory type, size, timings, and module specifications (SPD), and Real-time measurement of each core's internal frequency, memory frequency.

Geekbench 6

Geekbench 6 is a cross-platform benchmark that measures your system's performance with the press of a button.

HandBrake

HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs.

PCMark 10

PCMark 10 is a complete PC benchmarking solution for Windows 10. It includes several tests that combine individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing, and gaming. Specifically designed for the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 10 offers complete Windows PC performance testing for home and business use.

POV-Ray

The POV-Ray package includes detailed instructions on using the ray tracer and creating scenes. Many stunning scenes are included with POV-Ray, so you can start creating images immediately when you get the package.

SuperPI

Super PI is used by many overclockers to test the performance and stability of their computers. In the overclocking community, the standard program provides a benchmark for enthusiasts to compare “world record” pi calculation times and demonstrate their overclocking abilities. The program can also be used to test the stability of a certain overclock speed.

WinRAR

WinRAR is a powerful archive manager. It can back up your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP, and other files downloaded from the Internet, and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file formats.

Battlefield V

Battlefield V brings back the action of the World War 2 shooter genre. Using the latest Frostbite tech, the game does a good job of looking gorgeous in all ways possible. From the open-world environments to the intense and gun-blazing action, this multiplayer and single-player FPS title is one of the best-looking Battlefields to date. The game was tested at max settings at 1440p.

DOOM Eternal

DOOM Eternal brings hell to earth with the Vulkan-powered idTech 7.  We test this game using the Ultra Nightmare Preset and follow our in-game benchmarking to stay consistent.

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2 is the latest addition to Valve's CS series with a complete visual overhaul, bringing the FPS to a new generation of gamers.

Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus continues the journey of Artyom through the nuclear wasteland of Russia and its surroundings. This time, you are set over the Metro, going through various regions and different environments. The game is one of the premier titles to feature NVIDIA’s RTX technology and does well in showcasing the ray-tracing effects in all corners. The game was tested at Ultra settings with RTX settings turned off at 1440p.

Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 is an action role-playing video game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. The story takes place in Night City, an open world set in the Cyberpunk universe. Players assume the first-person perspective of a customizable mercenary known as V, who can acquire skills in hacking and machinery with options for melee and ranged combat. The game uses CD Projekt Red's in-house Red Engine, which is one of the most visually breathtaking and also one of the most graphics-intensive engines designed to date.

Intel's Arrow Lake "K" SKUs come with a default TDP of 125W and a PL2 rating of 250W for the Ultra 9 285K and 159W for the 245K. The chips can be set to performance or extreme mode using the BIOS software from each respective motherboard vendor.

The Intel Core Ultra 200S "Arrow Lake" Desktop CPUs come with a slightly modified IHS that is equipped over the tiled CPU die. This IHS is soldered with gold plating underneath to ensure good heat dissipation and thermal conductivity. The socket also features a revised ILM mechanism called RL-ILM (Reduced-Load) to provide optimal pressure for the socket and the CPU.

The ASRock B860 Challenger WIFI White presents itself as a superb budget motherboard with a white design aimed at Core Ultra 200 builders. The white color of the motherboard is surely going to be a nice attraction, and the overall layout is very nice.

In terms of VRM, ASRock has equipped the B860 Challenger with a 10-Phase VRM, which is ample for the Core Ultra 200S Plus lineup. In our tests, the motherboard performed well against the rest of the options in our B860 test suite while running the flagship Core Ultra 9 285K. This means that if you are looking to get the board for a 250K Plus or a 270K Plus, it is more than capable of handling those chips, which are a fantastic value on their own.

The motherboard has a full Gen5 PCIe slot, a Gen5 M.2 slot, and two additional Gen4 M.2 slots. There are also 16 USB ports, and while a Thunderbolt port would've been nice, most budget users will be happy with the Type-C ports on the board. The board also ships with a 2.5GbE LAN and Wi-Fi 7+BT5.4 capability, which is great to see on these mainstream designs.

Our Pros/Cons of the ASRock B860 Challenger WIFI White include:

• +Great Mainstream Value
• +Great Performance
• +Good Memory Support (8666 MT/s)
• +Intel 200S Plus Support Out-of-the-box
• +16 USB Ports
• +Amazing White Design
• +Toolless Gen5 M.2 Installation
• +WIFI 7 + BT5.4 + 2.5GbE LAN
• +Pre-Installed LAN Drivers
• - Old Audio Codec
• -Just 3 M.2 Slots

Furthermore, the motherboard pre-installs the LAN driver, which makes it easy to access the internet, and then utilize the Auto Driver Installer utility to easily select the necessary drivers for installation. ASRock is running a well-tuned BIOS on the motherboard, which has all the nifty features that one should expect, & the motherboard also carries great memory support, with up to 8666 MT/s speeds and up to 256 GB of capacity. Overall, the Challenger WIFI White is a fine mainstream option from ASRock in the B860 chipset segment.

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