Gigabyte has launched its B850M Force and B850M Force WiFi6E motherboards, rocking a striking white and orange theme. Behind their eye-catching colours, these boards offer just what you need for a performant machine without unnecessary features.
B850M Force and B850M Force WiFi6E stray away from the monotony of monochromatic designs, mixing the bold and bright styles of yesteryears with the latest hardware support. Under the hood, both boards are identical, if not for the extra Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on B850M Force WiFi6E. This means that you can save a buck by going for B850M Force if you don’t care about wireless connectivity without missing anything else.
Both models support all AMD AM5 processors, including the Ryzen 9000X3D series and likely upcoming Zen 6-based chips. They are especially advertised for X3D CPUs, with which Gigabyte claims up to 18% gaming performance boost using the appropriately called X3D Turbo Mode. These CPUs would be powered by an 8+2+2 digital VRM design that should suffice even for high-end solutions, though a mid-range chip is more appropriate.
Due to their target segment, B850M Force and B850M Force WiFi6E offer only the necessary bits. Thus, you get only two memory slots supporting up to DDR5-9600, two PCIe slots, one of which is Gen 4 x4, and three M.2 slots. That said, the main PCIe and M.2 slots are boasting Gen 5 speeds, making them suitable for even the best hardware money can buy. Not bad for mid-range boards powered by the B850 chipset.
Connectivity-wise, we find one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, two USB 2.0, three 3.5mm audio jacks, HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, a PS2 port, and 2.5GbE LAN on both boards, plus Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 on B850M Force WiFi6E. Needless to say that the rear IO shield feels empty with so few ports. The good news is that these can be augmented using the front/case IO, which gets access to one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, plus two USB 2.0. The combination of both should suffice, but not satisfy, many users.
B850M Force and B850M Force WiFi6E seem to target a low-price bracket, putting the value just where needed. Instead of filling the rear with USB 4 connectivity, Gigabyte keeps it lean, focusing instead on what makes a gaming PC pop, i.e. fast graphics cards and storage support. If you like the style and don’t mind the slower connectivity, both boards are a good choice.
