Intel Z690 vs H670 vs B660 vs H610: chipset comparison

The Intel Core 12 requires a motherboard with an LGA1700 socket, this means that the user has to buy both elements together. However, Intel offers motherboard manufacturers up to 4 different chipsets to choose from, each targeting a different segment of the market. From the modest H610 designed for office computers to the Z690 for the most extreme gaming.

That is why we have decided to make a comparison of the four chipsets, so that before opting for one motherboard or another, you end up with the option that suits you best and do not fall short in terms of specifications or go too far paying more for specifications that are not necessary to you.

Which Intel 600 chipset to choose?

From the outset we cannot tell you, this will depend on your budget and the components that you have studied to connect to it throughout its life. After all, a chipset is nothing more than a hub that takes the signal from different interfaces for different peripherals and expansion cards and unifies them at a common point to communicate with the processor.

However, not everyone needs the same number of expansion bays and output ports, nor does every user require support for memory or CPU overclocking. That is why we have taken the four Intel 600 chipsets (Z690, H670, B660 and H610) for the Intel Core 12 with Alder Lake-S architecture and compared them according to the capabilities that each one provides.

Ability to overclock CPU and memory

Not all users need the ability to overclock their processors, but in the event that we need to do so, it is important that the motherboard has the necessary characteristics in terms of powering the CPU to be able to make increases in clock speed. corresponding.

For Intel 600 chipset motherboards, only Z690 motherboards support CPU overclocking. So if what you are looking for is to be able to rev up your Core 12 then the only option you have is the top of the range. On the other hand, in the face of XMP 3.0 support for DDR5 or DDR4 speed boosts, we can choose any of the chipsets except for the H610, which does not support memory overclock either.

Interfaces from the CPU

All the interfaces for peripherals that connect to the PC are concentrated and unified into one to communicate with the processor in order to reduce the circuitry and complexity of the motherboard. The DMI 4.0 in the 600 series with a bandwidth of 16 billion transfers per line per second. Direct Media Interface is Intel’s proprietary variation on PCI Express that is made to serve as the connection between the chipset and the CPU. To communicate the memory controller, known as the Northbridge, with the peripheral controller, known as the Southbridge. In the Intel 600 chipsets, version 4.0 has been reached, being 8 lines for the Z690 and H670 chipsets, although 4 lines in the case of the B660 and the H610 and, therefore, with less bandwidth.

Apart from the I/O interfaces provided by the different chipsets, there are others that are provided directly by the CPU, this means that the processor is in charge of managing them and not the chipset, however it is necessary that the motherboard has integrated the necessary connections to connect the peripherals.

PCI Express from CPU

The capacity for PCI Express 5.0 is provided by the CPU, however the communication interface in the form of bays is required to connect the graphics card. If we have a motherboard with a Z690 or H670 chipset, we can choose a 16-line or 8-line connection, but in the event that we choose a B660 or H610 motherboard, we will not be able to use the second option.

The second point related to the processor is the 4 PCI Express 4.0 lines that it provides to connect an NVMe SSD, in this case, all chipsets except the H610, which lacks the connection lines to said interface, give us the ability to connect a high speed solid state drive. If you opt for the more discreet option of the Intel 600 chipsets you will not be left without the option of connecting such a unit, however, it will use the lines provided by the chipset itself and not by the processor.

PCI Express lanes on Z690 H670 B660 and H610

Despite the existence of PCI Express 5.0, we still have a large number of peripherals that support the fourth generation interface. In the event that our choice is a board with a Z690 or H670 chipset, our options in this case will be the same. We can use the PCI Express 5.0 interface to connect two expansion cards with two M.2 drives inside that take advantage of the two sets of 8 PCI Express lines each.

This is ideal for building low-end workstations based on high-speed storage, however we are left without being able to make use of the 5th generation interface for the graphics card and both the Z690 and H670 only provide 12 Gen PCIe lanes. 4 on the chipset. Well, in that case these are combined with the 4 granted by the CPU to be able to connect a graphics card under the fourth generation interface.

The case of the B660 is different, it does not have support to split the PCIe Gen 5 interface from 16 to two 8 rails, which is why it is recommended to use it for the graphics card and leave the Gen 4 interfaces for NVMe SSDs. Where we have up to 10 in total, a figure to say the least, since if this chipset provided 8 lines then we could see plates with 3 bays for M.2 units, but that is why we will only see two. As for the H610, it’s surprisingly the only Intel 600 chipset that doesn’t have support for PCIe Gen 4.

PCI-Express 3.0

To finish we have the case of the third generation PCI Express lines. The Z690 chipset supports up to 16 of them, the H670 12, the B660 keeps 8 and in the last place the H610 with 4 lines, being in this last case the only way you can connect an NVMe SSD to the PC.

Although the chipset supports an interface, this does not mean that it is physically present, for most users the fourth and fifth generation interfaces are sufficient and we will not see PCI Express bays with third generation speed, mostly for space. It is an atavistic interface that outside of the support for PCI Express of fourth generation in the H610 really has little use for the bulk of users.

USB interfaces on Z690 H670 B660 and H610

The next point of this comparison is the USB or rather how many ports a motherboard can have as a maximum to connect peripherals and at what speeds. That is why we have prepared a table so that you know the speed of each of them and the maximum amount that you can find of each one.

The fact that, for example, a board with an Intel Z690 chipset supports up to 14 USB 2.0 ports does not mean that we will see them on the back of the board, this is just a maximum. Of course, when buying a motherboard, look at how many USB connections your peripherals require and which of them. Having too many universal serial bus ports is much better than falling short, especially when it comes to high-speed ones.

SATA

Although the days of the SATA interface are numbered, there are still people who use conventional hard drives that use this interface. If we opt for a board with a Z690 or H670 chipset we can connect up to 8 units to our PC, while with B660 or H610 the maximum number will be 4. Be that as it may, it is more than enough for most users who do not usually have more than 2 hard drives plus the increasingly absent drive for optical discs. So none of the Intel 600 chipset motherboards fall short in this regard.