Our first review covering Intel’s budget B769 chipset is a unique-looking board from ASRock, called the B760M PG Sonic Wi-Fi. It’s a Micro-ATX motherboard and sports a Sonic the Hedgehog theme. The budget-class motherboard costs $189.99 at Newegg, which is on the high-end of B760. For the money, you get the distinctive Sonic design cues, three M.2 sockets and four SATA ports, a Realtek 2.5 GbE port and integrated Wi-Fi 6E, plus paltry but capable power delivery. In all, it’s a well-rounded option in the sub-$200 space, though you’d probably only purchase it if you’re a fan of the spinning blue hedgehog.
The most prominent feature is the collaboration with Sega, featuring the star of iconic 90s console games and an ongoing family movie franchise. All over the board and heatsinks are licensed features that Sonic lovers love to see. It has a spinning 16-bit ring on the left VRM bank, with blue and silver accents all around, including Sonic himself on the chipset heatsink. If you aren’t a Sonic fan, but the price point and features are right, you can find its twin (by specifications), the B760M Steel Legend Wi-Fi with a less polarizing appearance, for $20 less.
Hardware-wise, the B760M PG Sonic Wi-Fi compares well against the similarly priced competition. Some use DDR4 and offer a less expensive way into the platform, but are otherwise similar. They all have "good-enough" power delivery on paper, four SATA ports, at least two M.2 sockets (don’t expect PCIe 5.0 sockets at this price point), and an acceptable but undoubtedly budget audio codec. Those who need more than 8 USB ports on the rear of the motherboard should look to a competing alternative to the Sonic board.
