ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review

Looking for enthusiast features on a motherboard that won't punish your bank account? Check out ASRock's Fatal1ty B250M Performance.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: ASRock
8 minutes & 48 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 90%
TweakTown award

The Bottom Line

ASRock's Fatal1ty B250M Performance motherboard offers enthusiast grade features at a price point that won't hurt your wallet.

Introduction, Specifications, and Pricing

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 01

While I typically review high-end motherboards, lower-end models tend to be significantly more popular because of their affordability. If you don't need to overclock and just want a rock-solid system on the Intel side of things, the H, B, and Q series chipsets make a lot of sense over the Z or X series chipsets. Today I will look at ASRock's Fatal1ty B250M Performance, a fancy B250 chipset motherboard that supports Intel's 6th and 7th generation processors.

You lose the following features when going from the Z270 chipset to the B250 chipset; overclocking, multi-GPU support, 12 PCI-E 3.0 lanes from the PCH, two USB ports, two M.2 storage slots, vPro, SIPP, and Smart Response Technology. Even though you lose those features, ASRock ensured the motherboard has two M.2 32Gb/s slots (no RAID support), RGB LED support, and even a strong VRM.

Let's see how this budget board fairs against its more expensive counterparts.

Specifications

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 02

The Fatal1ty B250M Performance offers Intel LAN, two 32Gb/s Ultra M.2 slots, SATA6Gb/s, USB 3.0, and even four fan headers.

Pricing

The Fatal1ty B250M Performance costs $84.99.

Packaging and Fatal1ty B250M Performance Overview

Packaging and Overview

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 03ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 04

The box of the motherboard is similar to that of other ASRock Fatal1ty series motherboards and packaging is in line with what ASRock does with their mid to low-end Z170 motherboards.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 05

The accessory package includes two SATA6Gb/s cables, IO shield, M.2 screws, driver DVD, postcard, and manual.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 06ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 07

The Fatal1ty B250M Performance has four fan headers. There are two CPU fan headers rated for 1A; one is a 3-pin voltage/DC-mode header circled in yellow. One chassis fan header circled in blue is a PWM only header. The CPU fan header and other system fan header can change between PWM and DC mode; the system fan headers will detect the type of fan plugged into them.

The motherboard's aesthetics are surprisingly decent for such an inexpensive motherboard. The black PCB and red accents set the stage for a nice red and black build. The back of the motherboard is bare of components except for two drivers for the CPU VRM.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 08

The rear IO panel features PS/2 keyboard, PS/2 mouse, VGA, DVI, HDMI, three USB 3.0 type-A, USB 3.0 type-C, two USB 2.0 ports, 1Gbit LAN, headphone jack, microphone jack, and line-in jack.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 09ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 10

The x16 slot at the top is routed to the CPU, it has reinforced aluminum, and it is routed directly to the CPU. The last PCI-E 3.0 x4 slot shares its bandwidth with one of the M.2 slots. There are two extra x1 PCI-E slots that are flexible, meaning you can fit in a larger card in the smaller slot. Six SATA6Gb/s ports are also provided.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 11ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 12

There are two Ultra M.2 slots that operate at 32Gb/s; the bottom one shares its bandwidth with the x4 PCI-E 3.0 slot. You cannot use them in RAID.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 13ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 14

A USB 3.0 internal header is located below the 24-pin connector. There is an RGB LED header located at the top right-hand corner of the motherboard.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 15ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 16

The clear CMOS header is located in the bottom right corner of the motherboard near the case headers. Two USB 2.0 headers are located here as well as the TPM header. There is an LPT port header to the right of a COM header in case you want to hook up your retro printer.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Circuit Analysis

Circuit Analysis

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 17

The Fatal1ty B250M Performance shows us the goods under the CPU VRM heat sink.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 18ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 19

The VRM on this motherboard is a 4+2 phase configuration for the CPU core and iGPU phases. The core phases and the iGPU phases use a dual low-side single high-side configuration. Each phase uses two Sinopower SM4336 and one SM4337 PowerPAKs. The PWM controller is the Intersil ISL95824 4+2 phase PWM controller with two integrated drivers for the main four phases and one for the iGPU rail. Two ISL6625A are used for the CPU core and one for the iGPU to supplement the internal drivers.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 20

An Anpec APW8720 is a single phase PWM with an integrated driver, and it's routed to two sets of power stage components to create a giant single/dual phase VRM which uses Sinopower SM4337 for both the high-side and low-side MOSFETs.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Circuit Analysis Continued

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 21

ASRock employs the Realtek ALC892 audio codec along with Nichicon Gold Series audio capacitors and a physical PCB divide to improve audio quality.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 22ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 23

The Intel i219v is used as the PHY to complement the integrated MAC in the PCH for the Gbit Intel LAN. The ASMedia ASM1543 type-C switch controller is used to provide a USB 3.0 type-C port on the rear IO panel.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 24ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 25

A Realtek RTD2168 provides the VGA/D-SUB port on the rear IO from the digital video signals the iGPu outputs. A nuvoTon N76E885AT20 provides the RGB header and controls the onboard RGB LEDs. There is also a Texas Instruments eFuse in case you reverse the polarity of the header.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 26ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 27

The nuvoTon NCT6683D is used as the main SuperIO and provides the PS/2 on the rear IO, LPT port, system monitoring, and fan control. A Texas Instruments GD75232 driver and receiver IC provides the COM header.

BIOS and Software

BIOS

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 28ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 29

The UEFI on the Fatal1ty B250M Performance is very similar to that found on ASRock's Z270 motherboards. There is even an OC Tweaker section even though the chipset doesn't support CPU overclocking or memory speeds above 2400MHz. You can change the voltage of the components though. The UEFI offers a GUI for fan control or manual input sections if you would like to type in points instead of using a graph.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 30ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 31
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 32ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 33
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 34ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 35
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 36ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 37
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 38ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 39
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 40ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 41
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 42ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 43
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 44ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 45
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 46ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 47
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 48ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 49
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 50ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 51

Software

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 52

ASRock's software suite includes AURA RGB LED, APP Charger, XFast LAN, APP Store, and Key Master.

Test System Setup

Steven's Motherboard Test System Specifications

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 53
ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 54ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 55

The Fatal1ty B250M Performance offers enthusiast-level aesthetics at a very reasonable price. The red and black color theme is one of the most popular, and the subtle RGB LEDs under the PCH offer a little extra.

CPU, Memory, and System Benchmarks

CINEBENCH 11.5

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 56

wPrime

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 57

AIDA64 AES and HASH

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 58

AIDA64 FPU

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 59

AIDA64 Memory

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 60

ScienceMark

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 61

HandBrake

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 62

3DMark: Fire Strike

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 63

3DMark: Cloud Gate

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 64

ResidentEvil 6

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 65

The Fatal1ty B250M Performance's performance is not as strong as some of the other motherboards, especially those that use multi-core enhancement, and that is because overclocking is not support on the B250 chipset and multi-core enhancement is basically overclocking. Performance against other motherboards that do not use it is quite good and comparable.

Some motherboard reviews put a lot of weight into motherboard CPU, memory, and GPU benchmarks, but for me, CPU, memory, and GPU benchmarks on motherboards should be more about finding anomalies, and I do that at standard settings (4.8G in graphs).

System IO Benchmarks

CrystalDiskMark SATA6G:

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 66

CrystalDiskMark M.2:

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 67

ixChariot Network Throughput:

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 68

The Fatal1ty B250M Performance's M.2 and SATA performance is solid, but that is to be expected because ASRock does a great job with storage performance. Network performance is also where it should be, and that is because of the Intel NIC.

Audio RMAA 5.5:

I disable all audio features, set the correct bitrates, and then test the audio with a loopback test.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 69

Sound Judgment by Ear: Acceptable. ASRock uses the ALC892, so performance isn't as great as the newer ALC1150 or ALC1220 codecs, but it's still good. There are five ratings for audio: 1. Problems, 2. Okay, 3. Acceptable, 4. Very good, 5. Excellent

Thermal Imaging and Power Consumption

System power is measured at the wall with an AC power meter.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 70

Note on Thermal Images: In the temperature section, we use our Seek thermal imaging camera to capture the surface temperatures of major components on the board. I look at the VRM and then all other things that light up the screen. If there is something to worry about, then I will state it. Otherwise, I will just show the hotter running parts of the board for fun. Unless some component is over 80-90C, then there isn't anything to worry about.

All systems will act differently, so I will look for commonalities, such as how far from the VRM the heat spreads through the PCB and the difference in temperature between the front side and backside of the PCB. Keep in mind, the majority of the heat from the VRM goes into the PCB as it is a giant soldered on copper heat sink. A larger difference in temperature between the back and front of the PCB points towards a more effective heat sink.

Thermal Testing at Stock Speeds:

The image on the left is always at idle, and the image on the right is at load. During ALL TESTS, fans above the VRM that cool the CPU cooler's (Corsair H110i GT) radiator are turned on to high (12v).

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 71ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 72

Full frontal.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 73ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 74

Up-close of the front of the VRM.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 75ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 76

Up-close of the back of the VRM.

The Fatal1ty B250M Performance's thermal performance is actually decent for the price of the motherboard. Since you can't overclock, it doesn't matter if the temps go a bit high at stock. I would say the VRM is acceptable and won't make your CPU throttle due to overheating.

Anything under 60C is great, 60-80C is acceptable, and anything above 80C is a bit worrisome (if at stock).

What's Hot, What's Not & Final Thoughts

Here are key points about the ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance.

What's Hot

Intel NIC: I really didn't expect to find an Intel NIC on such a low-cost motherboard, but alas ASRock comes through with one of the most preferred NICs on the consumer market.

Two M.2: The platform officially only supports a single M.2 slot, but ASRock comes through with a second slot. The downside is that you can't RAID the slots, but still having two is better than one since both are rated 32Gb/s.

RGB LEDs and Header: The motherboard carries a single RGB LED header as well as some RGB LEDs under the PCH heat sinks. At this price point, I didn't expect this, since it requires a controller and eFuse, both of which ASRock incorporates.

Heatsinks and Aesthetics: The CPU VCore VRM has a heat sink as does the PCH. VRM cooling is quite crucial for cost-effective VRMs, and I am glad to see ASRock used one. The red heat sinks also match up with the red on the PCB and the IO/audio shield. The motherboard has enthusiasts aesthetics at a non-enthusiast price point.

What's Not

Low on Rear USB: The rear IO only offers five USB type-A ports, I would have liked to see more in lieu of the iGPU outputs, but I am just nitpicking.

Final Thoughts

The ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance is an excellent value product. It offers dual M.2 slots, enthusiast-grade aesthetics, and even an Intel NIC at one of the most affordable price points on the market. Most of these types of motherboards go into system integrator products that are used anywhere from arcade machines to computers that control large displays, and we see room for a lot of upgrading or downgrading if we look at the empty solder pads.

ASRock Fatal1ty B250M Performance Motherboard Review 77

However, instead of marketing to system integrators, ASRock has taken a different approach and marketed the motherboard towards gamers who just need a motherboard that supports the latest Core series processors, the fastest storage, and a single GPU. The enthusiast aesthetics are a nice touch, and at this price point, that could sway many gamers towards the motherboard. If you need a low-cost motherboard to build a decent gaming system, you should give the Fatal1ty B250M Performance a look.

TweakTown award
Performance 85%
Quality 89%
Features 89%
Value 97%
Overall 90%

The Bottom Line: ASRock's Fatal1ty B250M Performance motherboard offers enthusiast grade features at a price point that won't hurt your wallet.

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

USUnited States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com

UKUnited Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk

AUAustralia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au

CACanada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca

DEDeutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de

Steven went from a fledgling forum reader in 2003 to one of the internet's brightest tech stars by 2010. Armed with an information systems degree, a deep understanding of circuitry, and a passion for tech, Steven (handle Sin0822) enjoys sharing his deep knowledge with others. Steven details products down to the component level to highlight seldom explained, and often misunderstood architectures. Steven is also a highly decorated overclocker with several world records.

Newsletter Subscription
We openly invite the companies who provide us with review samples / who are mentioned or discussed to express their opinion. If any company representative wishes to respond, we will publish the response here. Please contact us if you wish to respond.