ASRock B860 Motherboards Review – RIPTIDE, LIGHTNING, STEEL LEGEND & LiveMixer All Great Value For Intel Builders

ASRock B860 Lightning WIFI - Unboxing & Close Up

The ASRock B860 LIGHTNING WIFI motherboard comes in a standard cardboard package. The front features a picture of the motherboard & this is a Phantom Gaming product, which is aimed at the gaming segment. The packaging also lists a few features such as Polychrome SYNC, Intel Core Ultra Series 2 support, Thunderbolt & HDMI.

The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard, such as the 14+1+1 phase power design, Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, Memory OC Shield, PCIe Gen5, Tool-less M.2 heatsinks and WIFI6E.

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 ARGB Splitter Cable
• - 1 x Thermistor Cable

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

The motherboard carries a black color scheme with a few blue and purple accents on the heatsinks. This is a very gaming-centric theme which looks nice.

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 though we can expect a brand new family in the coming years.

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 8933 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 memory signals also integrate a new PCB design feature called "Memory OC Shield" which reduces EMI and offers enhanced memory overclocking and stability, especially at higher frequencies.

The ASRock B850 PG RIPTIDE WIFI motherboard features a 14+2+1 (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX)  phase Dr.MOS power delivery that utilizes 80A Power Stages.

The VRMs and power delivery solution are scattered around the AM5 socket. The board uses a 6-layer server-grade PCB.

The VRMs receive ample cooling from the aluminum thermal solution.

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.

Underneath the VRM heatsink are 7W/mK Thermal pads which transfer heat from the VRMs to the heatsink.

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 x2 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 slot and ASRock also uses a new mechanism called Graphics Card Lite Release which has an enlarged latch for easy pressing that should help in removing the graphics card from the slot.

There are a total of four M.2 slots on the motherboard which include one PCIe Gen5 Blazing M.2 slot, two Hyper M.2 Gen4 x4 slots, and a single Gen4x2 slot. Three 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 LIGHTNING WIFI 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
  - 1 x M.2 Socket (M2_4, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen4x2 (32 Gb/s) mode
  - 4 x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors

Storage options include four SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support up to four different storage devices at once.

For USB, you get a total of 19 ports which include 1 Thunderbolt 4 Type-C, 1 USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C, 2 USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 8 USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, and 7 USB 2.0 ports.

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

• - 1 x Thermistor Cable Header
• - 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 Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
• - 5 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)
• - 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Headers (Support 4 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports)
• - 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Header (20 Gb/s)

ASRock is using a WIFI 6E Module to power wireless connectivity and Bluetooth 5.3. In terms of Ethernet, there is a single LAN port powered by the 2.5GbE Killer E3100G controller.

The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:

• - 2 x Antenna Ports
• - 1 x HDMI Port
• - 1 x DisplayPort 1.4
• - 1 x Optical SPDIF Out Port
• - 1 x Thunderbolt 4 Type-C Port (40 Gb/s for USB4 protocol; 40Gb/s for Thunderbolt protocol)
• - 2 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Ports (10 Gb/s)
• - 4 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Ports
• - 3 x USB 2.0 Ports
• - 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port
• - 1 x BIOS Flashback Button
• - 1 x Line Out Jack (Gold Audio Jack)
• - 1 x Microphone Input Jack (Gold Audio Jack)

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