Combine a Core i5-11400F, DDR4-3600, and a mid-range GPU with a B560 board and you have a very capable gaming system. Plus, a high-end B560 with PCIe 4.0 support and improved VRMs gives enthusiasts a reason to consider an Intel B-series board.
The MSI MPG B560i Gaming Edge Wi-Fi is a mini-ITX motherboard that shares the spectrum analyzer design aesthetic with the Gaming Carbon. This one looks simpler and more elegant. Small form factor systems have their own charms, and while you have to give up some features such as a third M.2 slot and the ability to add expansion cards, you can genuinely run an Nvidia RTX 3090, Core i9 11900K, and 64GB of fast memory on this little thing is possible. [However, the VRM on the B560i Gaming Edge is average: a 6+2+1 phase design, driven by a single 8-pin power connector; it can drive the 11900K, but if you're using this combination for a long-term mini build, you'll want to make sure the fairly small heatsink has enough air You want to make sure there is enough airflow.
In a short stress test, the stock 11900K's VRM temperature was 73°C, the highest of any 500 series motherboard we have tested. While still within specs, the VRMs would struggle with Adaptive Boost enabled. Nevertheless, the 11900K and B560 board is an unlikely combination, and since it handled without problems, it should easily handle more secular 11th generation processors as well.
Storage capabilities are often limited compared to ATX boards, but with 4x SATA and 2x M.2 on board, most gamers will not have a problem. The slot on the front of the board is the only PCIe 4.0 slot. It also has a dedicated and sturdy heatsink. The M.2 slot on the back is connected to the chipset and runs at PCIe 3.0 speeds. There is no heatsink and there is no airflow at the back of most systems, so one should be aware of drive temperatures, especially when using high-performance PCIe 4.0 SSDs.
Rear I/O is the board's weak point, and sadly a trend on many ITX boards. there are Type-A and Type-C USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and four USB 2.0 ports, but that's it for rear USB. there are no Gen 2x2 ports. there are no Gen 2x2 ports. there is no USB 2.0 ports. there are no USB 3.2 ports. There simply aren't enough. A keyboard and mouse, a USB headset, a printer, an external hard drive, and a cable for a cell phone would suffice, at least without a hub.
A few more ports are available via the built-in header, but would most likely be used by removable devices such as flash drives.
Other ports include HDMI 2.0b and DP1.4, no S/PDIF, but a cheap ALC897 controls three audio ports. Networking is provided by a Realtek 2.5G controller, and Wi-Fi 6E is also included.
System Performance
Gaming Performance
We tested the B560I Gaming Edge with a Core i9 11900K as well as other 500 series boards. Certainly, many users will not pair the 11900K with the B560 board, but if it can handle the most demanding CPUs, it definitely earns a point on our scale.
Performance-wise, this little MSI performed as expected. It did tend to lag a bit in multi-threaded benchmarks, but this is probably a function of power management rather than an inherent weakness. The Gaming Edge was competitive in our gaming tests.
CPU overclocking is not allowed on the B560 board, but Adaptive Boost for the Core i9 processor is present in the BIOS. Nevertheless, we chose not to use it, as the board is not designed to withstand a 300W AVX load. For our testing, we ran the team memory at DDR4-3600, which worked well at 4000 MHz, but this meant setting the board to gear 2.
The MSI B560i Gaming Edge falls between budget and premium boards. However, in Australia, its price of $309 seems relatively expensive compared to MSI's highly regarded Tomahawk (only $10 more).
However, it is not uncommon to see a relative price premium when it comes to ITX choices, as they are usually slimmer.
However, I feel this board does not offer enough for the price. Outside of the networking aspect, the I/O is weak, best suited for i3 or i5 CPUs due to the basic VRM; the VRM is still better than the heatsink-less garbage found on entry-level boards, but not at the level one would expect from a top-level ATX B560 board; if you must go the ITX route. If you must, it's certainly a solid choice, but this little MSI still leaves us wanting more.
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