Board Design, CPU, and Memory
The Maxsun iCraft B760M Wi-Fi motherboard features a multi-layer circuit board with black slots and sockets, along with silver heat sinks covering the voltage regulator module (VRM), M.2 socket, and chipset. The contrasting colors remain neutral, and with the help of integrated RGB lighting, it should match most build styles. Unlike the Terminator Z790M D5 motherboard, the VRM heat sinks on this board do not come with a fan, but since the platform is not overclockable, what is available cools the components well without issues. If you need more than four SATA ports, you will have to add an extra card in one of the PCI Express slots, but the iCraft board is as integrated as its competitors.
Audio, Expansion, Storage, and Rear I/O Ports
In the lower left corner of the board is the audio section, which consists of a Realtek ALC897 chip and four yellow capacitors. It’s a simple solution, lacking the audio separation line (to help reduce electromagnetic interference) that most modern boards have, but many users will find it adequate for daily use.
In the middle of the board are three PCI Express slots and three M.2 sockets. The top reinforced slot is a primary location for graphics cards; it has the highest bandwidth, reaching up to PCIe 5.0 x16. The middle small slot reaches PCIe 3.0 x1, while the bottom open-ended slot x4 reaches PCIe 3.0 x4. These designs provide enough slots for expansion if needed; just ensure not to add high-bandwidth cards as they are limited to PCI Express 3.0.
Above the primary graphics card slot are the first three M.2 sockets. All of these sockets support 80 mm PCIe modules – SATA-based M.2 storage will not work – with speeds up to PCIe 4.0 x4 (64 Gb/s). You won’t find the latest and greatest PCIe 5.0 M.2 sockets on this budget board (or many other boards, for that matter). Four SATA ports on the lower edge complement the storage options. If you prefer using RAID for storage, the board supports RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 only on SATA ports.
Along the lower edge of the board are a few sockets, with the integrated lights in the top half. From left to right, you’ll find the front audio header, a COM port, a 4-pin fan header, four vertically mounted SATA ports, a TPM header, a speaker header, and the headers for the integrated lights on the front panel.
The rear of the Maxsun motherboard features a pre-installed I/O shield with gray labels on a white background. Nine USB ports should be sufficient for most users; they include a high-speed USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20 Gb/s), four USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gb/s), and four USB 2.0 (480 Mb/s) ports. There are HDMI and DisplayPort outputs for integrated video output next to the clearly marked and convenient CMOS reset button for resetting the BIOS. For networking, there is a 2.5 Gb/s Realtek port and Intel Wi-Fi 6E antenna connectors. Finally, there’s the audio stack, with five analog jacks and an SPDIF port. The only thing I would like to see here is some 10 Gb/s USB ports.
UEFI BIOS and Tools
The Maxsun BIOS is useful enough, but it won’t win any awards in terms of appearance. First, it doesn’t have an easy mode as we’re used to from other board partners – just an advanced mode with headers listed at the top. The design combines a black background with a gate/door image; white text with yellow headers makes it easy to read. There are many options for adjustment (but again, there is no CPU overclocking on the B760 platform), but the lack of an easy mode and a less complete look puts it in a weak position compared to the four major motherboard manufacturers.
The section
The main interface is more informative than anything else, displaying information about the BIOS, processor, and memory in the left two-thirds with system details on the right. This includes CPU temperature, VRM, fan speeds, voltage, and more.
The so-called advanced section is where you can configure your hardware. From the processor to networking, graphics, and USB, you’ll find everything here. There’s also a power section that deals with sleep modes and how the system responds to shutdown and startup situations (not shown here).
The quick section is where you’ll find all the performance tuning options. Here, you can adjust memory XMP profiles and manually set memory speed and timings. Processor options include voltage, frequency adjustments, offsets, and more, although you are limited by the maximum Turbo multiplier.
Overall, the BIOS works well but lacks the maturity of other firmware, at least in terms of appearance. Motherboard partners offer more sophisticated UEFI user interfaces. But this shouldn’t be a barrier, as you will find all the functionalities you need (except an easy mode) to tweak this board to its maximum.
Maxsun doesn’t offer much in the way of tools; all I found on the site was the aforementioned MaxsunLED application, which wasn’t fully written in English, to control compatible RGB lights connected to the integrated sockets. I can select eight lighting modes and sliders to adjust speed and brightness, but that’s all there is to it. You can also enter a custom color in hexadecimal or RGB format.
Conclusion: High price but worth it
The Maxsun iCraft B760M Wi-Fi motherboard is a solid option in the B760 category, even though its standard price is $199.99, which is slightly higher than most of its competitors. For this amount, you get a neutral black and silver look and a specifications list that compares favorably to what we are used to from well-known brands; three M.2 slots and four SATA ports for storage; integrated Wi-Fi 6E and 2.5Gbps Ethernet; adequate power delivery; and performance exceeding Intel’s specifications.
The cheaper alternative, the MSI Pro B760M-A Wi-Fi, costs only $169.99 but has only M.2 slots, as does the Asus TUF Gaming B760M Plus Wi-Fi ($189.99) and the Gigabyte B760M Aorus Elite AX ($174.99). Finally, the ASRock B760M PG Sonic ($184.99) is the closest in price to Maxsun and is the only other board on this list that features three M.2 slots. The external design of the boards is a matter of personal taste; among the five, only Maxsun, ASRock, and Gigabyte have integrated RGB lighting. Among these boards, we might prefer Gigabyte more if you can do without two M.2 slots. If the iCraft were $20 cheaper, we would be singing a different tune.
Source: https://me.pcmag.com/en/motherboards/20866/maxsun-icraft-b760m-wi-fi
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