F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop Z690 Tomahawk or B660M Mortar Max are two options for your choice.

Z690 Tomahawk or B660M Mortar Max are two options for your choice.

Z690 Tomahawk or B660M Mortar Max are two options for your choice.

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ghostlydigger
Senior Member
500
10-25-2021, 01:23 PM
#1
Hello everyone, I'm planning to upgrade my PC after ten years. Right now I'm using an 1660 Ti with an i5 4670. I want to switch to an i5 12400 (non-F) model so I can keep running without a GPU later, as the GPU will be upgraded eventually. I'm torn between the MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 and the B660M MORTAR MAX WIFI DDR4. Since I only upgrade after some time, I need flexibility for better GPUs in the future. I'll stick with one GPU but have four 4TB mechanical HDDs, almost three of which are full. I plan to add more NVMe drives later. The main difference between the two is around 5K in India, which should make it easier to expand storage. I'm not looking to overclock, so that's not essential. A quick system is all I need because I spend a lot on photo editing. What do you think about these options?
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ghostlydigger
10-25-2021, 01:23 PM #1

Hello everyone, I'm planning to upgrade my PC after ten years. Right now I'm using an 1660 Ti with an i5 4670. I want to switch to an i5 12400 (non-F) model so I can keep running without a GPU later, as the GPU will be upgraded eventually. I'm torn between the MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4 and the B660M MORTAR MAX WIFI DDR4. Since I only upgrade after some time, I need flexibility for better GPUs in the future. I'll stick with one GPU but have four 4TB mechanical HDDs, almost three of which are full. I plan to add more NVMe drives later. The main difference between the two is around 5K in India, which should make it easier to expand storage. I'm not looking to overclock, so that's not essential. A quick system is all I need because I spend a lot on photo editing. What do you think about these options?

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ISaidImSorry
Junior Member
2
10-27-2021, 07:00 PM
#2
If you're avoiding an i7 or i9 and not planning to overclock, skip the Z-series board. You'll save now and invest in a GPU later.
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ISaidImSorry
10-27-2021, 07:00 PM #2

If you're avoiding an i7 or i9 and not planning to overclock, skip the Z-series board. You'll save now and invest in a GPU later.

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MadReaper02
Member
210
10-28-2021, 01:44 AM
#3
Yes, B660M offers only half the PCIe lanes compared to Z690, so adding several NVMe drives may affect performance.
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MadReaper02
10-28-2021, 01:44 AM #3

Yes, B660M offers only half the PCIe lanes compared to Z690, so adding several NVMe drives may affect performance.

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moecto1
Junior Member
2
10-28-2021, 11:20 PM
#4
This is actually the very obscure case where the B660 board actually supports overclocking and the Z690 board does not. The B660M Mortar Max has an external clock gen on it which allows for non-K overclocking, meaning that if you want to overclock the 12400 you actually need to get the B660 board instead as counterintuitive as it may seem. NVMe drives are already so fast that odds are you wouldn't even notice. I wouldn't worry about it.
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moecto1
10-28-2021, 11:20 PM #4

This is actually the very obscure case where the B660 board actually supports overclocking and the Z690 board does not. The B660M Mortar Max has an external clock gen on it which allows for non-K overclocking, meaning that if you want to overclock the 12400 you actually need to get the B660 board instead as counterintuitive as it may seem. NVMe drives are already so fast that odds are you wouldn't even notice. I wouldn't worry about it.

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BoHusky
Junior Member
6
10-29-2021, 07:56 AM
#5
It's even more surprising I didn't remember those external clock boards were there
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BoHusky
10-29-2021, 07:56 AM #5

It's even more surprising I didn't remember those external clock boards were there

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doglover4421
Member
112
10-29-2021, 04:50 PM
#6
Choose the most affordable option and it will cost 13,400. It’s 6K more than that price. You can also use 1660Ti with this setup to reach 13,400F, just 2K more. There are even cheaper boards available. For 13,400, the top match is a B760 model, see the link provided. There’s also a Wi-Fi variant that adds another 2K if you prefer.
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doglover4421
10-29-2021, 04:50 PM #6

Choose the most affordable option and it will cost 13,400. It’s 6K more than that price. You can also use 1660Ti with this setup to reach 13,400F, just 2K more. There are even cheaper boards available. For 13,400, the top match is a B760 model, see the link provided. There’s also a Wi-Fi variant that adds another 2K if you prefer.