Aorus B660M Pro AX DDR4 Edition Micro ATX Motherboard Review

The B660M Aorus Pro AX DDR4 motherboard deviates from what you would normally expect when looking at a gaming ready motherboard which can be seen in the PCI Express layout.  At the top you will find a single PCI Express 16x slot with a metal surround, at the very bottom of the motherboard you will find a single full length slot.

And, if you are wondering, this is what a Micro ATX motherboard looks like.  It is basically a Full ATX with only half of the expansion slots.  This allows you to build a much smaller system which is more respective of how systems are being built these days.

Looking at the back of the motherboard can tell you a lot about how any particular board is constructed.  Typically, you’ll see things like how the PCI Express slots are wired up and where the major components are located.  With the advent of PCI Express 5.0 many board makers have started to use surface mount expansion slots in an attempt to reduce EMI.

Of course, here you see pins sticking through which indicate that this board is only rated to PCI Express 4.0.

When looking around the CPU socket you’ll find the extra tall LGA 1700 CPU socket and what appears to be a 14 Phase VRM.  According to the documentation that is 12+1+1 Phase design leaving 12 Phases for the CPU with the others likely for Memory and PCI Express. 

Unfortunately, You will be required to use an approved LGA 1700 CPU cooler for this motherboard as the mounting holes are following the new standard without provision for LGA 1200.

The 8+4 CPU power plugs are located behind the VRM heatsinks with easy access for installation and removal of the power cables.