Motherboard ASRock B860M Steel Legend WiFi — Intel B860, LGA 1851, micro‑ATX, DDR5, 4 DIMM, Wi‑Fi 6E, 2.5GbE

Steel Legend is a motherboard series designed for durability and practical aesthetics, combining robust materials with mainstream features for daily users and enthusiasts. The board includes a 2oz copper PCB for improved thermal performance, support for DDR5 memory XMP and EXPO profiles, PCIe Gen5 Blazing M.2 for next-generation SSDs, an enlarged aluminium M.2 heatsink with anti-drop screw and a toolless M.2 installation mechanism, integrated Wi‑Fi 6E, Thunderbolt 4 Type‑C, 2.5 Gb/s LAN, and onboard RGB control compatible with Polychrome RGB and SignalRGB.

Advantages

The 2oz copper inner layers lower operating temperature and improve energy efficiency for overclocking. DDR5 XMP and AMD EXPO support make memory overclocking straightforward when using compatible modules. PCIe Gen5 Blazing M.2 doubles bandwidth compared to the previous generation to support ultrafast SSDs. Enlarged aluminium M.2 heatsinks, anti-drop screw and DIY-focused toolless design simplify installation and enhance thermal stability. Built‑in Wi‑Fi 6E, Thunderbolt 4 Type‑C and 2.5 Gb/s LAN provide modern connectivity options while onboard RGB headers and SignalRGB/Polychrome compatibility allow unified lighting control.

Key specifications

• CPU socket: Intel LGA 1851 (Intel® Core™ Ultra Processors, Series 2)
• Chipset: Intel B860 (micro ATX)
• Power delivery: 12+1+1+1+1 power phase with 80A SPS for VCore+GT+SA
• Memory: 4 × DDR5 DIMM slots, dual channel, up to 8666+ MHz (OC), maximum 256 GB
• M.2 slots: 1 × Blazing M.2 (PCIe Gen5 x4), 3 × Hyper M.2 (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• SATA: 4 × SATA3 ports
• PCIe: 1 × PCIe 5.0 x16 reinforced steel slot (PCIe 5.0 ready)
• Graphics outputs: 1 × HDMI, 1 × DisplayPort, 1 × Thunderbolt™ 4 Type‑C
• Rear I/O: 1 × Thunderbolt™ 4 Type‑C, 3 × USB 3.2 Gen2 (2 rear, 1 front Type‑C), 6 × USB 3.2 Gen1 (4 rear, 2 front), 6 × USB 2.0 (2 rear, 4 front)
• LAN: Realtek 2.5 Gb/s Ethernet
• Wireless: 802.11axe Wi‑Fi 6E + Bluetooth
• Audio: Realtek ALC1220 7.1 CH HD Audio Codec with Nahimic audio
• BIOS: UEFI AMI 256 Mbit, supports BIOS Flashback
• Storage support: SATA III RAID, HDD & SSD M.2 support, M.2 bottom heatsink included

How to use

Install the motherboard in a compatible micro ATX case and mount an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processor into the LGA1851 socket following standard CPU installation steps. Insert DDR5 memory modules into the DIMM slots and enable Intel® XMP or AMD EXPO profiles in BIOS if using supported modules to apply tested overclock settings. For NVMe storage, use the Blazing M.2 slot for PCIe Gen5 SSDs or the Hyper M.2 slots for Gen4 drives; the toolless M.2 heatsink and anti‑drop screw simplify M.2 installation. Connect storage devices to SATA ports as needed, attach power connectors from the PSU, and configure BIOS settings such as boot order, power management, and thermal monitoring. Use the onboard Wi‑Fi or Ethernet for network setup and connect displays via HDMI, DisplayPort or Thunderbolt 4 Type‑C. Control RGB lighting through Polychrome RGB or SignalRGB software after installing compatible LED devices to the onboard headers.