Designed for customers of high-end inventive apps, the Asus ProArt B760-Creator D4 motherboard ($229.99) is good for 4K video enhancing, 3D work, or CGI rendering on smaller budgets. In comparison with many of the gaming motherboards we see, the ProArt has a way more skilled, sober look, with out RGB lighting. It additionally includes a plethora of connectivity: 4 SATA ports, three M.2 sockets, twin Ethernet ports, and sufficient energy supply for Intel’s flagship CPUs. Because it helps DDR4 rather than DDR5 reminiscence, your total price to get into the platform might be marginally decrease. It is a strong decide for creators trying to construct or improve a PC with a late-model Intel LGA1700 chip however not go into the overclocking wilderness with it.
Board Design, CPU, and Reminiscence
The B760 Creator-D4 sports activities a matte black PCB with black heatsinks cooling all the mandatory bits. Just like the chipset, the rear I/O cowl has a translucent smoke look with ProArt branding in gold. The voltage regulator module (VRM) heatsinks have sufficient mass and floor space to do their job and match aesthetically with the black and gold highlights. Although you may discover no built-in RGB lighting right here, one can find loads of headers to connect your individual, managed by way of the Armory Crate software program by Asus. Finally, the ProArt is a decent-looking board that does not name consideration to your construct out of the field.
The motherboard helps Intel’s twelfth and thirteenth Technology LGA 1700 processors as much as the flagship Core i9-13900K/KS. The 12 energy phases devoted to Vcore use 50-amp MOSFETs. Whereas the entire 600A accessible is not lots, it proved sufficient to deal with our check CPU simply working inside spec. (Keep in mind, overclocking is extraordinarily restricted on B760 boards with out a clock generator.) You will hit the restrict of ambient cooling earlier than energy supply turns into an issue.
As talked about, the board helps DDR4 reminiscence, which at the very least as of this writing stays cheaper than DDR5 (and brings some minor efficiency hit relying on the applying, however usually no quite a lot of %). Asus lists assist as much as DDR4-5333, which is across the chipset’s peak; I examined the motherboard with my DDR4-3600 equipment with roaring success. After putting in the equipment, I enabled XMP and was off with a steady system as anticipated.
Along with the “candy spot” DDR-3600, I attempted the ProArt with the quickest DDR4 I had readily available, GSkill’s Trident Z Royale DDR4-4000. This, too, was completely steady utilizing the XMP settings. At the moment, kits quicker than DDR4-4000 are inclined to deliver diminishing returns when it comes to real-world efficiency versus expense. Your mileage might range, however sticking to the QVL listing works with out challenge.
Format and Inner Connectors
Beginning on the high left of the motherboard, we run into 8-pin (required) and 4-pin EPS connectors to energy the processor. Under them are the black heatsinks sporting a brushed aluminum end and ProArt branding. Once more, the B760-Creator D4 will not stand out in your chassis, but it surely is not one thing you may have to cover, both.
Above the socket space and the highest set of VRMs are the primary three of seven 4-pin fan headers. Every header helps PWM and DC-controlled gadgets and outputs as much as 1A/12W, which ought to be sufficient for many conditions, although I would not piggyback a number of followers on every header and would have favored to see the next worth (similar to 2A/24W) for the pump header. Extra 4-pin headers are discovered on the underside of the board and yet another beneath the socket. Management over connected followers and pumps is out there by way of the BIOS or the Armoury Crate software program.
Persevering with our journey to the appropriate, we run into 4 unreinforced DRAM slots with the locking mechanism on the high. When you crave RGB lighting, you may discover a number of headers accessible; you may discover one 3-pin ARGB and one 4-pin RGB header within the higher proper nook. (Two extra 3-pin headers reside on the underside edge.) You possibly can management lighting by means of the Armoury Crate and Aura RGB apps.
Additionally on this space is a four-LED Q-Code, a helpful troubleshooting function that lights up through the POST course of and allows you to know what stage you are at. When you hit a snag in these crucial occasions, the offending half’s LED (CPU, boot, DRAM, VGA) stays lit. Transferring downward, we run into the 24-pin ATX energy connector for the board, a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-A (5Gbps) header, and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C (10Gbps) header. Sadly, this board does not embody a PCIe EZ-Latch, however few will probably miss it.
On the backside left of the board, hidden underneath the Crystal Sound-labeled Faraday cage, is a price range Realtek ALC897 codec and a few audio capacitors. Whereas the ProArt does not include its personal amplifier or DAC, its audio ought to be satisfactory for many customers. If a part of your inventive workflow requires audio manufacturing, you might have considered trying a higher-quality add-on sound card.
Two full-length and two x1-size PCI Categorical slots are in the course of the board. The complete-length slots are typically used for graphics playing cards, whereas the small slots are for growth playing cards that don’t require a lot bandwidth. Combined in round these are three M.2 sockets. Sliding previous the chipset heatsink to the appropriate edge, we discover the 4 SATA ports.
Enlargement, Storage, and Rear I/O
The highest full-length PCIe slot connects by means of the CPU and is the one PCIe 5.0 x16 slot. The second full-length slot and the x1 slots all supply their lanes by means of the chipset, with the previous working at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds and the latter at 3.0 x1. You will see some lane sharing with the PCIe x1 slot which I will element beneath.
All three M.2 sockets peak at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds, as you will not discover a PCIe 5.0-capable socket onboard. The highest socket helps as much as 80mm modules and connects by means of the CPU, whereas the underside two sockets join by means of the chipset. The M.2_2 socket helps as much as 110mm modules and runs at PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds, whereas the third socket additionally helps 110mm components. Be aware: That second M.2 slot does share bandwidth with PCIe x1 and Wi-Fi Key-E. If something is put in in these, the second M.2 runs at PCIe 3.0 x2 speeds. If that is the case, remember to set up your slowest M.2 drive on this socket.
The rear I/O resides on a preinstalled plate with a black background, gold port labeling, and ProArt branding. 9 USB ports take up many of the actual property, with a 10Gbps Sort-C and 4 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A ports being the quickest of the bunch. You’ll additionally discover 4 USB 2.0 (480Mbps) ports right here. DisplayPort and HDMI choices can be found on the left for those who plan to depend on your processor’s built-in graphics. The audio stack consists of 5 1/8-inch plugs, together with an optical S/PDIF port. On the community aspect are two Ethernet ports, one 2.5Gbps and the opposite 1Gbps.
UEFI BIOS and Utilities
The B760-Creator D4 BIOS makes use of Asus’ acquainted format however with a blue, black, and white background. The EZ-Mode is generally informative, although it helps you to change some settings; it reveals high-level system data together with the processor, RAM, BIOS model, fan management, and storage.
The superior portion of the BIOS supplies the same old configuration with main headings throughout the highest, together with My Favorites (customizable), Foremost, Ai Tweaker, Superior, Monitor, Boot, and Instruments. All of the superior performance is on this far more complete mode.
The Ai Tweaker part comprises all of the choices to tweak and overclock your system. Right here you possibly can alter voltages, RAM speeds and timings, and overclocking choices. Because the B760 platform does not overclock the processor, you are restricted to tweaking voltage and reminiscence, however you may see loads of choices accessible to take action.
Contained in the Superior part are a number of subheadings the place you possibly can alter platform energy and configure I/O ports plus PC Well being, which shows system data together with voltage and temperatures. Right here you may discover choices to show audio and built-in graphics on or off and configure USB, NVMe, SATA, audio, and community {hardware}, amongst a slew of different performance.
The monitoring part shows detailed details about temperatures, fan speeds, and voltage, and it additionally supplies Q-Fan configuration to regulate your fan profiles. Canned profiles are included, and you’ve got the flexibility to create and save your individual customized fan curves.
The BIOS is logically laid out, straightforward to learn, and easy to navigate. The B760 model has a full array of tweaks, together with these to overclock RAM. Asus’ BIOS is probably my favourite as all the pieces is simple to handle. It supplies all of the choices you want, and our 0812 model proved steady in our time with the board.
On the software program aspect, Asus has Armoury Crate, which supplies a raft of features together with system tweaking and monitoring and management of RGB lighting and followers. The applying matches the corporate’s ROG, somewhat than ProArt, theme and is simple to work with. The primary screenshot beneath reveals the touchdown web page, all of the {hardware} it may well management on our check system, and the fan and RGB features beneath.
Fan Professional 4 controls all of the followers and water pumps linked to the 4-pin headers. You possibly can cycle by means of 4 canned settings or customise every header with your individual curves.
The Aura Sync part controls the RGB lighting and consists of a number of preset modes (static, respiration, shade cycle, rainbow, comet, glowing yo-yo, starry evening, flash and sprint, and strobing). You possibly can fine-tune every mode individually.
Asus supplies full Home windows software program options to regulate absolutely anything within the BIOS. If you wish to overlock (on a board that permits it), I would suggest the AI Suite 3 software program, because it offers you essentially the most management over the processor. That is not an element right here for the CPU, although.
Verdict: A Price range Platform for Inventive Professionals
The Asus B760-Creator D4 is a full-featured motherboard at a budget-friendly value. Whereas it does not supply 40Gbps ports like high-end Creator boards, you get a 20Gbps front-panel USB-C port, twin LAN ports round again, a PCI Categorical 5.0 growth slot, three M.2 sockets, and energy supply worthy of flagship-class processors. The black-on-gold ProArt look is extra subdued than sensational, however you possibly can add your individual RGB bling for those who like. Efficiency was first rate even for gaming, although that is not a main operate.
You will not discover many creator-focused boards at this value level, although alternate options vary from about $170 (for the ASRock B760 Professional RS and Gigabyte B760 Aorus Elite) to a bit extra for the MSI B760 Tomahawk Wi-Fi. Your selection will come all the way down to the options you need, such because the Asus’ two LAN ports (the others have just one) or DDR5 assist for bandwidth-intensive apps (the Gigabyte and MSI). However total, we like what Asus has executed with the B760-Creator D4. Whereas it lacks luxuries like 40Gbps USB ports or PCIe 5.0 M.2 sockets, it has ample storage choices, succesful energy supply, and extra. Wi-Fi and USB-C video pass-through can be welcome, however would in all probability pull this board out of the price range class. It is a creators’ motherboard that will not name for inventive accounting.
