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Technical information
Brand ASUS
CPU socket Socket AM4
RAM memory technology DDR4
Chipset type AMD B450
Memory clock speed 3200 MHz
Platform Windows 10
Series ROG Strix B450-F
Memory storage capacity 64 GB
Graphics card interface PCI-E
Memory slots available 2
About this item
AM4 socket: Ready for AMD Ryzen 3rd, 2nd and 1st generation processors
Fast memory and storage: Dual-channel DDR4 3200 MHz (OC) and NVM Express RAID supported
Aura Sync RGB: Synchronise LED lighting with a vast portfolio of compatible PC gear
Gaming connectivity: Dual M.2 and USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A connectors
Gaming networking: Intel Gigabit Ethernet, plus ASUS LANGuard and GameFirst technologies
Five-Way Optimisation: Automated system-wide tuning, providing overclocking and cooling profiles that are tailor-made for your rig
Gaming audio: SupremeFX S1220A teams with Sonic Studio III to create an aural landscape that draws you deeper into the action
Costumers Product Reviews
Pros
I recently sold my old Intel based 4790k system with the intention of upgrading to something a little more future proof, and importantly, faster. After doing a lot of research I decided to be daring and make a move over to the red team! This was for a few reasons. AMD at the moment just represents far better value for money, power for pound. The AM4 platform has also matured to a level where it is robust and reliable, so no longer an unknown quantity as was the case when it first launched. AMD are also promising that the AM4 platform will be around until at least 2020, whereas Intel are rumoured to be dropping socket 1151 after the 9th gen CPU’s are launched in the near future.
Red team decided, I quickly opted for a Ryzen 5 2600 processor. With Amazon’s pricing at the time of purchase it was amazing value for money. The question though, which motherboard to slot it into!
Again I donned my research cap and settled on the Asus ROG Strix B450-F gaming motherboard, and with good reason. The B450 platform offers almost all the advantages you would get from the new X470 platform, but with a significant cost saving. You lose some functionality such as less USB ports and SLI compatibility, but get access to precision overboost overdrive and Store MI. That’s not to mention guaranteed support for second gen Ryzen CPU’s. If you have the cash I would recommend getting an X470 board, but if you want value for money, or a good system on a budget, then B450 is the obvious choice.
The board was a pleasure to work with when building a new system. I have been self-building systems for 22 years and off the top of my head I cannot think of a board I’ve worked with that was more intuitive. Observations include:
Fan headers are just ‘in the right place’. There’s a selection close to the CPU, but also close to where rear mounted fans would go. Additional headers can be found at the top (perfect for AIO solutions), and also at the bottom which works well for both bottom and front mounted cooling solutions. Also, whilst I can’t speak for others, the RBG headers were perfectly located for my needs (top and bottom of the board).
All 6 SATA ports are mounted perpendicular to the motherboard, which places less stress on the SATA connections and is also better for good cable management.
The IO shield is already connected as part of the motherboard; this is a small but useful feature. You’re less likely to misplace it (it happens), and less likely to cut your fingers on the sharp edges (it happens).
Port selection is very good. There are more than enough connections on the motherboard, with a sufficient amount of headers for additional connectivity.
Two M.2 slots. On a board of this level and price I would expect to see a single M.2 slot, but to have two is a real treat. However note that when populating the second M.2 it drops the speed of the PCI-E lane for your GPU from 16x to 8x. This translates to a performance loss of under 1% (Source – Gamers Nexus), so it’s not really anything to worry about.
The Aura RGB looks absolutely lovely. The on-board RGB close to the IO shield can be set to light up all the time, or just when the system is on, which is a nice touch. My CoolerMaster AIO cooler also has RGB and synced to the motherboard automatically with no set-up required. The Asus Aura software is excellent too; it even lets me Sync with my Philips Hue lights!
Overall this board ticks all the boxes. It’s relatively cheap, I’d say it hits the premium budget category, but it’s still a step up from an Asus Prime motherboard. It’s comprehensively kitted out and features a chipset that won’t leave you regretting the purchase. Overclocking is impressive too. When running 3DMark the motherboard automatically boosted by CPU to 4.2GHz, which is the level most overclockers see with their 2600’s running more expensive X470 chipsets. One thing of note, for dual channel memory use slots 2 and 4, not 1 and 3.
The motherboard and CPU should see me all the way to 2020 without incident. Then unlike Intel I will be able to swap the CPU for the best one around in 2020 and continue to benefit for a few additional years.
Cons
Wanted to pair this board with a Ryzen 5 3600x. The board was initially getting stuck on the Orange Q-LED which means not recognised memory, meaning the board needed a BIOS update.
Went through AMD's boot-kit process to get an Athlon 200GE to boot and update the board. After getting it however, the board would get stuck at the White Q-LED which means no video card detected. The 200GE has onboard video so it should've worked, but i also tried it with different Ram as well as two discreet GPUs (950 & 2070 super) which was of no use. According to the Asus rep I emailed this means the board is probably therefore bad.
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