Gigabyte has refreshed its mainstream motherboard segment with a new model that brings back DDR4 memory support without ditching modern interfaces such as PCIe 5.0 and Wi-Fi 6E. The board also features modern conveniences, such as EZ latches and plugs, meaning you can get all the latest mod cons without having to fork out for DDR5 RAM.
After giving AMD users a DDR4-ready AM4 motherboard, it’s now the turn of Intel’s LGA1700 platform to receive a DDR4 board. The newly-released Gigabyte B760M Gaming WiFi6E DDR4 Gen5 is a Micro-ATX motherboard based on Intel’s mid-range B760 chipset, supporting 12th, 13th, and 14th-Gen Core processors.
Given the current state of the memory market, this board’s main selling point is its pair of DDR4 UDIMM slots, which allow you to install up to 64GB of DDR4-3200 memory. Gigabyte claims that this board can handle speeds of 5,333MT/s and beyond via XMP on kits that can handle it.
The main benefit of this board, of course, is that you don’t need DDR5 memory for it. If you already own a system with DDR4 RAM, whether it’s an ageing AMD or Intel rig, that means you can use your old memory and still get access to a PCIe 5.0 graphics slot and an Intel 14th-gen CPU. That’s a boon in a time when the ongoing memory shortages are making DDR5 memory prohibitively expensive.
That PCIe 5.0 interface on the main PCIe x16 slot is a definite change over its older variant, the B760M Gaming DDR4. This gives it some room for future proofing, particularly when it comes to new budget GPUs that only use four or eight lanes.
There are also two M.2 slots, this time only at PCIe 4.0 speed, although this is more than enough for most users. A PCIe 3.0 x1 slot is available for any additional expansion cards. Meanwhile, Gigabyte has also equipped this board with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, complementing the existing 2.5Gb/s LAN.
The rest of the connections include one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, three USB 3.2 Gen 1 sockets, and two USB 2.0 connectors. There’s also a PS/2 port for legacy mice and keyboards, plus DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.1, and D-Sub outputs for integrated graphics, as well as three 3.5mm audio jacks. Lastly, a suite of DIY-friendly features is present, namely a PCIe EZ-Latch for quick graphics card removal, Q-Flash Plus for BIOS updates, and WiFi EZ-Plug for effortless Wi-Fi antenna installation.
While the design and feature set clearly indicate that this is a budget board, Gigabyte has yet to reveal its official pricing. That said, considering that slightly beefier DDR4 ATC models are available at £125, we don’t expect the B760M Gaming to be too expensive.
