I am always excited to test out new PC parts from brands I have known for years but never fully dove into. Enter Colorful, the top graphics card company in China but little known in the West, with their CVN B760I Frozen Wi-Fi D5 motherboard. I will be honest: I wasn’t sure what to think when I first saw the mostly white colour scheme with military branding. But after putting this Mini-ITX board through its paces, I came away impressed by its performance, features and competitive pricing. Even with a few odd design choices, I can’t help but recommend this board as a fantastic option for small form factor builds.
While I love the look of this board, the CVN B760I Frozen Wi-Fi D5’s looks won’t be for everyone. The semi-gloss white PCB stands out, especially with the black and silver accents of the PCIe slots, RAM slots and chipset heatsink. I have to admit that the white, black and silver colour combination has grown on me, evoking a chilly Arctic landscape. I am a fan of the trend to go beyond the typical ‘gamer black’ colours we normally see on PC parts, and Colorful has managed to bring something unique to the playing field here, and I am all for it.
Even though I love the white concept, the military theme feels oddly out of place, from the “CVN” branding (apparently a designation for US Navy aircraft carriers) to the camo-esque markings on the heatsinks. It’s an unusual concept for a consumer gaming product. I also raised an eyebrow at the “Love what you play” motto printed large on the rear I/O cover. While not bad, per se, it can be a bit strange and can take away from the clean white look the board otherwise offers.
But like it or hate it, beyond the look, CVN B760I Frozen Wi-Fi D5 brings a lot to the table. The VRM and chipset cooling is top-notch, with a nicely sized heatsink stretching over the rear I/O ports. A 30mm fan hidden beneath the angular shroud should help maximize performance gaming potential as well. And while they seem gimmicky, I did enjoy the holographic flourishes that shift colour depending on the viewing angle.
Once you look past the potentially divisive design choices, the B760I Frozen impresses with its robust feature set and solid performance. The Mini-ITX form factor means less PCB real estate for expansion, but Colorful makes the most of it. The CVN B760I Frozen Wi-Fi D5 boasts two M.2 slots, with the top one featuring a dedicated heatsink to keep your speedy SSDs running cool under load. There are also four SATA ports for traditional 2.5″ SSDs or HDDs, providing ample storage options. Networking is handled by a 2.5 GbE LAN port and Wi-Fi 6, both capable of keeping up with today’s high bandwidth demands.
The rear I/O panel sports a very respectable seven USB ports, including a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20Gbps) Type-C and six USB 3.2 Gen1 ports. Between those, the HDMI and DP outputs and the 5.1 channel audio connections, you have tons of peripheral expansion possibilities.
Even though it is small, the CVN B760I Frozen Wi-Fi D5 delivers speedy performance, supporting next-gen components like Intel 12th/13th/14th gen CPUs and blistering DDR5 RAM up to 8000 MHz when overclocked. The 7+1+1 power phase design, with DrMOS power stages rated for 90 amps, gives it plenty of stable power delivery for high-end configurations.
In testing with an i9-14900K and 32GB DDR5-6000 RAM, I saw the expected performance for a B760 board. Running Assassin’s Creed Valhalla at 1440p, I averaged around 90 FPS on the highest settings, with CPU/GPU temps staying reasonable thanks to the VRM fan and on par with other boards we have tested based on the B760 chipset. So, while hardcore overclockers may want a higher-end Z790 board, the Frozen delivers totally solid speeds for a high refresh rate of 1440p or 4K gaming, and depending on your needs, should be great for small builds, like our Xbox Series X style build we discussed a few years ago.
Looking at the BIOS, the Colorful has delivered a solid, if not minimalist, experience that gets the job done in all the ways that matter most. The UEFI BIOS interface is smooth and responsive, with all the key settings and monitoring tools you’d expect. There’s a nice quick overview page, and the Advanced section allows granular control over the many settings you could need to adjust to get your PC running perfectly.
The BIOS also offers RGB lighting control for the integrated accent lighting, along with usual niceties like XMP profiles, boot order priority, and onboard device toggling. For a mini-ITX board, Colorful packs this B760I full of options to satisfy enthusiasts. While there are limits on what the Intel B760 platform can do compared to the Z790, it is a relatively robust offering that makes the most of what is possible.
“I’d mainly recommend the Colorful CVN B760I Frozen Wi-Fi D5 to gamers and enthusiasts who want a fully loaded, one-of-a-kind looking Mini-ITX board for their small form factor build.”
When all is said and done, Colorful’s Mini-ITX motherboard is a capable performer that mostly overcomes some odd design choices. The ample connectivity, leading-edge features, and reasonable power delivery allow you to build a compact yet powerful rig. At $250 MSRP, it’s certainly on the pricier side for a B760 board. But considering most Mini-ITX options cost more and factoring in the robust specs, it’s not a terrible value.
I’d mainly recommend the Colorful CVN B760I Frozen Wi-Fi D5 to gamers and enthusiasts who want a fully loaded, one-of-a-kind looking Mini-ITX board for their small form factor build. Just be prepared for its polarizing aesthetics. The CVN B760I Frozen Wi-Fi D5 brings a unique offering to the table, and a great board for anyone looking to make a new Mini-ITX gaming rig.
