Question ASUS ROG STRIX B660-A vs. ASUS PRIME Z690-P

[1h4x4s3x]

Hello

I'm planning to build a new system. I've decided on everything but the mainboard.

CPU: 13600k
GPU: Rx 6800 (most likely, will wait AMDs next gen though)
RAM: DDR5

I will slap a SATA SSD and two NVMe SSDs on it. I won't do any overclocking.
Is there any reason to choose the Z690 over B660?

 

[Tech Junky]

Well, if you're not OC'ing the CPU then the B works just fine. There are some other perks though to going Z over B.



In general you get quite a bit more options with the Z. It all depends on what you're planning on using it for though. I went with a Steel Legend for the best mix of options and right now they're going for about $140. Probably a flash sale you want to jump onto fairly quickly as they tend to shoot back up to $200.

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/dQBG3C,RPYmP6,TVRYcf/

 

[Tech Junky]

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

 

[1h4x4s3x]

I don't think I'll need all those extra perks or at least I'm not aware of it. However, the B660 comes with WiFi and Bluetooth, which I probably don't need either. Also it is $15 cheaper.

I went with a Steel Legend for the best mix of options and right now they're going for about $140. Probably a flash sale you want to jump onto fairly quickly as they tend to shoot back up to $200.

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/compare/dQBG3C,RPYmP6,TVRYcf/

That's a pretty good price indeed. The cheapest DDR5 Z690 board you can find here is around $210.

 

[Tech Junky]

DDR5 Z690

Do you want to pay more for the same performance?

 

[coercitiv]

Is there any reason to choose the Z690 over B660?

B660 is quite viable.

The main drawback is the chipset connection which on the B660 is limited to 4x DMI 4.0 lanes. This means Z690 owners get more flexibility when connecting drives to a chipset with 8x DMI lanes. The extra speed isn't a requirement though, the B660 connection may even be enough for a good experience with DirectStorage games when those become available. On top of that, your faster drive connected to the CPU won't have any limitation, so you can just balance your game library if some game really likes all the speed you can throw at it. So you can think of Z690 as a convenience feature, less storage planning and optimization required.

I think your choice should center around value and features, in this order:

• Z690 if price is similar and everything bellow is covered to your liking
• better codec and sound output design ONLY IF you don't have a soundcard/external DAC
• NVME slot count and speed (you want as many as possible within the chosen form factor)
• USB port selection (more USB-C ports, enough ports and faster ports in general)
• Wifi / Bluetooth (wifi is a good backup, bluetooth enables using various wireless devices)

As for the RAM choice, I suggest you keep track of two shopping lists and compare in the end. With DDR4 you may lose 5-10% performance on a RTX 4090 and some of the fastest DDR5 kits (which you're not buying anyway), but my bet is you will always be more GPU than CPU limited with your setup. This means DDR4 won't impact performance much, but the cost savings may enable you to move 1 tier up with the GPU stack, like going for RX 6800XT instead. That's a 10% boost in performance that you can count on.

 

[1h4x4s3x]

Do you want to pay more for the same performance?

You mean DDR5 compared to DDR4?
Well, I guess. Though, DDR5 is slightly faster and more future proof.
Also, I am specifically looking for Corsair Dominators. The DDR5 version is $50 more expensive.

B660 is quite viable.

The main drawback is the chipset connection which on the B660 is limited to 4x DMI 4.0 lanes. This means Z690 owners get more flexibility when connecting drives to a chipset with 8x DMI lanes. The extra speed isn't a requirement though, the B660 connection may even be enough for a good experience with DirectStorage games when those become available. On top of that, your faster drive connected to the CPU won't have any limitation, so you can just balance your game library if some game really likes all the speed you can throw at it. So you can think of Z690 as a convenience feature, less storage planning and optimization required.

I think your choice should center around value and features, in this order:

• Z690 if price is similar and everything bellow is covered to your liking
• better codec and sound output design ONLY IF you don't have a soundcard/external DAC
• NVME slot count and speed (you want as many as possible within the chosen form factor)
• USB port selection (more USB-C ports, enough ports and faster ports in general)
• Wifi / Bluetooth (wifi is a good backup, bluetooth enables using various wireless devices)​

• ​

Yeah, I've been reading up a bit, I guess the Z690 is the way to go. The B660 could potentially bottleneck me.
Though, it has no flashback option which I'd need I reckon.

 

[Tech Junky]

DDR5 costs more for the RAM and board.

You only need flashback if you try hacked bios files.

 

[evident]

DDR5 costs more for the RAM and board.

You only need flashback if you try hacked bios files.

It seems like the ddr5 cost differential is overstated to me. It's about 100 bucks more for an equivalent

 

[Tech Junky]

@evident

It's still $100 you could put into something that makes a difference like cooling. You would get more performance with proper cooling than you will from DDR5. Maybe spend the $100 towards a 2nd drive? Tons of options you could add for under $100. I picked up a TB4 card for $60 on Amazon to open the door to 40gbps data transfers. Maybe some additional RAM if that's your thing.

 

[evident]

@evident

It's still $100 you could put into something that makes a difference like cooling. You would get more performance with proper cooling than you will from DDR5. Maybe spend the $100 towards a 2nd drive? Tons of options you could add for under $100. I picked up a TB4 card for $60 on Amazon to open the door to 40gbps data transfers. Maybe some additional RAM if that's your thing.

Is there any argument to be made that a DDR5 motherboard may have better resale value? I just remember when DDR4 came out and there was this same argument.

 

[Tech Junky]

Is there any argument to be made that a DDR5 motherboard may have better resale value? I just remember when DDR4 came out and there was this same argument.

There's probably some factors that play into that like anything else. Since it's new tech the tax for buying now probably wouldn't hold value as well as say a year from now.

 

[Tech Junky]

You can still put the $100 into something that matters, like cooling. Compared to DDR5, you'll get higher performance with proper cooling. Maybe buy another drive with $100? For under $100, you can add a ton of options. I paid $60 for a TB4 card on Amazon to enable 40gbps data transfer. Possibly some extra RAM, if that's your thing.

Is there a point of rephrasing my post?