Comprehensive ASRock H670 Steel Legend Review, Cost Performance Motherboard with Combination 12th generation Core i5 / i7

Comprehensive ASRock H670 Steel Legend Review. Along with the mid-range 12th generation Intel Core processor models, a motherboard equipped with the mainstream & entry level “Intel H670/B660” chipset for LGA1700 has appeared. ASRock has produced familiar series such as “H670 PG Riptide” which is in the low price range of USD 175 and “B660M Pro RS” which is the cheapest class for an LGA1700 motherboard, priced at around USD 145. The goal is to combine it with Core i5, which has cost performance which is brilliant, and the Core i7, which has an interesting balance.

Along with this, ASRock’s standard “Steel Legend” series motherboards, the H670 chipset adoption model “H670 Steel Legend” already released by ASRock on January 28, 2022. The estimated selling price is around USD 235. This time I tried the H670 Steel Legend before it was released, so I will introduce its features and performance.

ASRock Motherboard “H670 Steel Legend” with good cost performance – ideal for 12th generation Core i5 / i7 combination

Before touching the H670 Steel Legend, let’s first review the differences between the Intel Z690, H670 and B660 chipsets. The main differences between the top Intel Z690, H670, and B660 are support for CPU overclocking, the number of DMI 4.0 lanes connecting the CPU and chipset, and the number of PCIe 4.0/3.0 lanes for chipset control.

Functionalities	Z690	H670	B660
CPU overclocking	Y	N	N
Memory overclocking	Y	Y	Y
DMI 4.0 Line	8	8	4
PCIe 4.0 Chipset Line	12	12	6
PCIe 3.0 Chipset Line	16	12	8
Maximum number of USB ports	14	14	12
USB 3.2 Gen2 × 2	4	2	2
USB 3.2 Gen2	10	4	4
USB 3.2 Gen1	10	8	6
USB 2.0	14	14	12

There’s not much difference between the Intel Z690 and H670, but the H670 doesn’t support CPU overclocking when coupled with the “K” model number, and the PCIe 3.0 lane count for chipset control has changed from 16 to 12 lanes. The number of USB ports such as USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2 and USB 3.2 Gen2 is decreasing.

As you can see from the specifications’ table for the “Z690 Steel Legend” and H670 Steel Legend, there is no big difference in the specifications of the expansion slot and the installable M.2 NVMe SSD. However, the “H670 Steel Legend”, which costs almost USD 90 less than the “Z690 Steel Legend” (actual price: around USD 295), is quite attractive.

Specifications	Z690 Steel Legend	H670 Steel Legend
Chipset	Chipset Intel Z670	Chipset Intel H670
Memory slots	DDR4×4	DDR4×4
Suitable memory clock	Maximum 5000MHz (DDR4-5000)	Maximum 5000MHz (DDR4-5000)
Expansion slots	PCI Express x16 Form x 3 (single: Gen 5.0 x16, Dual: Gen 5.0 x16 / Gen 4.0 x4, Triple: Gen 5.0 x16 / Gen 4.0 x4 / Gen 3.0 x4), PCI Express 3.0 x1 × 2	PCI Express x16 Form x 2 (single: Gen 5.0 x16, Dual: Gen 5.0 x16 / Gen 4.0 x4), PCI Express 3.0 x1 × 3
Storage	SATA 3.0 x 8, Hyper M.2 (M2_1) PCIe 4.0 x4, Ultra M.2 (M2_2) PCIe 3.0 x4 / SATA 3.0, Hyper M.2 (M2_3) PCIe 4.0 x4	SATA 3.0 x4, Hyper M.2 (M2_1) PCIe 4.0 x4, Hyper M.2 (M2_2) PCIe 4.0 x4, Hyper M.2 (M2_3) PCIe 4.0 x4 / SATA 3.0
LAN	2.5 Gigabit LAN (Dragon RTL8125BG)	2.5 Gigabit LAN (Dragon RTL8125BG)
Sound	7.1ch audio (Realtek ALC897)	7.1ch audio (Realtek ALC897)
Back interfaces	PS / 2, HDMI x 1, DisplayPort x 1, USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2 Type-A x 1 / Type-C x 1, USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A x 4, audio terminal x 6, SPDIF terminal x 1	PS / 2, HDMI x 1, DisplayPort x 1, USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2 Type-A x 1 / Type-C x 1, USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A x 2, USB 2.0 x 4, audio terminal x 3
M/B USB Pin header	USB 2.0 x 2, USB 3.2 Gen1 x 2, USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2 Front Type-C	USB 2.0 x 1, USB 3.2 Gen1 x 2, USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2 Front Type-C

Both use black durable 50A Dr.MOS and Nichicon 12K capacitors for the power supply circuit, but the H670 Steel Legend has been reduced to 9 phases from the 13 phases of the Z690 Steel Legend. The CPU auxiliary power connector has also been changed from 8 pin x 2 to 8 pin + 4 pins, but it can be said to be sufficient for use with 12th generation Core i5/i7.

In addition, RGB LED lighting is installed only in the chipset cooler, and is also characterized by the fact that it is equipped with one M.2 cooler.

Take a closer look at Motherboard “H670 Steel Legend”

Let’s check every part of “H670 Steel Legend” with photos.

Based on white and silver, the design with the digital camouflage pattern is the same as the previous generation Intel chipset, but on the Intel 600 series, there is a new large white stripe from top left to bottom right. The lines are drawn diagonally across the M.2 heat sink and chipset heat sink, giving an overall feeling of unity. It matches the white collar PC case inside.

This memory is DDR4 compatible and supports drives up to 5000MHz. Dual channel operation and up to 128GB can be installed with 4 memory slots. It is possible to combine it with “SNIPER X STEEL LEGEND Edition” of compatible memory with DDR4-3600 drives in collaboration with ASRock and G.SKILL.

This power supply circuit is a 9-phase design that uses 50A Dr.MOS, and is equipped with an 8-pin + 4-pin CPU auxiliary power connector. MTP (Maximum Turbo Power) reaching 241W Core i9 is a shame to maximize the motherboard’s highest level of performance, but Core i7 12th generation upper model which is the “Core i7-12700K” with a maximum MTP of 190W, should be enough to use in combination with Core i5/i3.

Up to 3 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 SSDs can be installed

In addition to the PCI Express 5.0 lanes that characterize the LGA1700 platform, the H670 Steel Legend has the first PCI Express 4.0 lanes controlled by an Intel chipset.

All three M.2 slots support today’s fastest PCIe 4.0 x4, and the standard heatsink can be used in any slot you like. It also has an ETYPE 2230 M.2 Key slot for the Wi-Fi module, so it’s nice to be able to use Wi-Fi 6.

Equipped with the necessary and sufficient interface

The Intel H670 chipset has a reduced maximum number of ports like USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2 and USB 3.2 Gen2, but the H670 Steel Legend comes with the necessary and sufficient ports. The rear interface is equipped with a maximum of 20 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2 Type-A / Type-C, two 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, and four USB 2.0.

In addition, the motherboard has a USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2 Type-C header for the PC case front panel, a USB 3.2 Gen1 x 2 header pin (4 ports), and a USB 2.0 x 1 header pin (2 ports). You will never run out of USB ports.

I tried the excellent 12-thread CPU “Core i5-12400”

From here, I decided to actually use the H670 Steel Legend to build a PC for testing.

For the CPU, we opted for the 6-core/12-thread “Core i5-12400” model, which only comes with P-cores. It doesn’t have the E (Efficient) core that emphasizes power efficiency, which is a feature of the 12th generation Intel Core processors, but close to rival AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and the previous generation Core i7 at around USD 230, it’s the perfect CPU for the job such as light photo/video editing and casual game engines.

Moreover, it combines 32GB x 2 with DDR4-3600 drive and SAMSUNG “980 PRO 2TB” which is the fastest class of PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD.

Peripherals	Specifications
CPU	Intel “Core i5-12400” (6 cores / 12 threads, maximum 4.4GHz)
CPU cooler	ID-COOLING “SE-226-XT-BLACK” (air cooler, 120mm fan, side flow type)
Mainboard	ASRock “H670 Steel Legend” (Intel H670, ATX)
Memory Card	G.Skill (F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC) (16GB×2, DDR4-3600)
Video card	Intel “Intel UHD Graphics 730” (GPU with built-in CPU)
Storage	SAMSUNG 980 PRO MZ-V8P2T0B/IT (2TB, PCIe4.0 NVMe SSD)
Power supply unit	SUPER FLOWER “LEAD EX VI PLATINUM PRO 1000W” (1000W, 80PLUS PLATINUM)
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64bit (21H2)

Demonstrate high performance at scalable settings

When I run “CINEBENCH R23” to measure CPU performance, I can get a high performance Core i5-12400 with a score of 11253 for multicore and 1661 score for single-core.

While the M.2 heatsink isn’t huge, it can cool a PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 SSD 980 PRO module when combined with an air-cooled CPU cooler like this. Even if “CrystalDiskMark 8.0.4” continues to run and a load is applied, the temperature is in the range of 60 degrees, which is a marginal temperature. Of course, the performance also shows without problems, and sequential access is in the range of 6300MB/s for reading and 4700MB/s for writing.

I tried Overclocking Core i5-12400 with H670 Steel Legend!

I overclocked a Core i5-12400 using ASRock’s “Base Frequency Boost” which allows you to easily set the CPU power limit.

When I ran CINEBENCH R23 in an overclocked state, the multicore score went up a bit. The maximum clock during the test run has been increased from 3790.7MHz to 3990MHz, and the multicore score has improved steadily.

As a prime candidate when assembling PCs with 12th generation Core at low cost

With the sleek design of the Steel Legend series and the necessary and sufficient specs, the H670 Steel Legend is one of the leading candidates to build with a 12th generation Intel Core processor while keeping costs down. This time I tried it with the Core i5-12400 which is an inferior model to the Core i5, but can be combined with the Core i5-12600K/KF and higher Core i7 series.

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