Page 4 - BIOS and Test System
Once I fired up my PC, I kept hitting "Delete" on my keyboard until I entered the BIOS. If you are an F2 kind of guy, that also works for this ASUS motherboard. The default screen is EZ Mode shown in my above screenshot. Here, you will find quick hardware monitoring data such as motherboard information, temperatures, CPU voltage, and fan speeds. The boot order can be modified on the side. You cannot adjust voltage and fan speed here; this is saved for users who wish to enter Advanced Mode only, which is a standard GUI version of the American Megatrends BIOS. We will go over that in just a moment.
Before we begin, I went ahead and fired up ASUS' EZ Flash 3. EZ Flash 3 is an integrated feature for the user to flash their BIOS safely and easily. You can update using an image from any USB flash drive. My motherboard sample came with the launch BIOS, and I have updated it to 1003 BIOS without any issues at all.
If you have used ASUS products in the past, you will be quite familiar with the Ai Tweaker, as shown in our series of screenshots above. There is quite a bit you can play with, even though the Intel B660 chipset does not support CPU overclocking. Memory overclocking is supported along with an extensive selection of voltage adjustments. Changing anything can be done by inputting the values directly from your keyboard, so you will not need to scroll through a long list of numbers to find what you need. Alternatively, you can also hit the "+" or "-" keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease the selected value. The allowed voltage range and increments are shown at the bottom of your screen as you highlight the option you want to modify, which I find very helpful.
The following voltage ranges and increments are allowed:
CPU Core/Cache 0.600V to 1.700V @ 0.005V increments
CPU L2 0.700V to 1.800V @ 0.001V increments
CPU System Agent 0.700 to 1.800V @ 0.001V increments
CPU Input 1.500V to 2.100V @ 0.010V increments
DRAM 1.000V to 1.800V @ 0.005V increments
IVR Transmitter VDDQ 0.700V to 2.200V @ 0.005V increments
PCH 1.8V Primary 1.800V to 1.900V @ 0.100V increments
I have included more screenshots from sections under Ai Tweaker, which is DIGI+ VRM, Tweaker's Paradise, and DRAM REF Voltage Control. From Tweaker's Paradise, the following voltage ranges and increments are allowed:
Core PLL 0.900V to 1.845V @ 0.015V increments
GT PLL 0.900V to 1.845V @ 0.015V increments
Ring PLL 0.900V to 1.845V @ 0.015V increments
System Agent PLL 0.900V to 1.845V @ 0.015V increments
Memory Controller PLL 0.900V to 1.845V @ 0.015V increments
CPU 1.8V Small Rail 1.800V to 1.900V @ 0.100V increments
PLL Termination 0.800V to 1.800V @ 0.010V increments
PCH 1.05V Primary 1.050V to 1.150V @ 0.100V increments
PCH Core 0.820V to 0.920V @ 0.100V increments
Overall, the usage experience of ASUS' UEFI BIOS is excellent. The control interface is smooth and screen transitions are flawless. I am surprised with the amount of voltage control the ProArt B660-Creator D4 provides -- it is no different than motherboards with full overclocking support -- considering you cannot overclock your CPU here due to chipset limitations. I really do not have any complaints.
Our test configuration using the ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 is as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K
CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black
RAM: Crucial Ballistix DDR4-3600 4x32GB
Graphics: ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1060 3GB
Chassis: NZXT H710i
Storage: Kingston KC3000 1TB, Western Digital WD_BLACK SN850 NVMe SSD 1TB
Power: Seasonic PRIME Ultra Titanium 850W
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
I did not include any other motherboards for results comparison, because any minor motherboard performance differences can usually be attributed to manufacturers giving slight overclocks to the CPU at default settings. Instead, I have included the results of all benchmarks, including testing of various subsystems, to verify the ASUS ProArt B660-Creator D4 is within the expected performance range.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Bundle and Chipset
3. Physical Look - Hardware, Board Layout
4. BIOS and Test System
5. Benchmark: AIDA64
6. Benchmark: Cinebench R23
7. Benchmark: PassMark PerformanceTest 10
8. Benchmark: PCMark 10
9. Benchmark: 3DMark
10. Onboard Sound Frequency Analysis
11. Thermal Measurements
12. Conclusion
