ASRock B650M PG Lightning WiFi

A universal motherboard from the ASRock Phantom gaming series, equipped with the new generation AM5 processor socket, which AMD introduced at the end of 2022. The board runs the mid-level B650 system logic and is essentially one of the most affordable options for building a next-gen PC with a Ryzen 7000 series processor, overclocked DDR5 RAM and reactive M.2 SSD drives with linear read/write speeds of around 7000 MB/ c.

Considering the compact dimensions of the board (note: micro-ATX format) and not the most efficient power subsystem, the board is more suitable for those gamers who are aiming to build a compact and neat PC with a Full HD or 2K monitor. The components needed for smooth 4K gaming may be too much for her to handle. ASRock B650M PG Lightning WiFi supports installation of DDR5 RAM modules with a maximum frequency of 6400 MHz and a total capacity of up to 128 GB.

The layout of the connection slots includes three PCI-E x16 slots (one of them operates in PCI-E 4.0 mode), three M.2 connectors for high-speed NVMe SSD drives and four SATA3 ports with 6 Gbps bandwidth for standard HDDs and SSDs drives. Like most members of the Phantom Gaming series, this model is equipped with reinforced slots for connecting video cards and supports paired Crossfire video card operation.

Fans of manual overclocking should be pleased with the presence of XMP profiles with built-in settings for overclocking RAM, support for Precision Boost Overdrive and Blazing OC Tuner to optimize the interaction between processors and the SSD drive. Instant data exchange with minimal delays will help organize a network controller from Dragon with a bandwidth of 2.5 GB/s. There is also a built-in module on board that can work in Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless networks. Accessories include a TMP connector, a Thunderbolt 4 connector, an integrated RAID controller, numerous headers for LED strips and water cooling, as well as additional video outputs (HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4). The latter can be useful in cases where the monitor needs to be connected directly to the video card built into the processor.