AMD’s B550 chipset-based motherboards have surged onto the field. Even though the B550 is a lower-cost variant of the Asus X570 for the budget market, motherboard makers have gone a bit far by selling over 50 distinct models to consumers, ranging from $120 to $300 plus.
The typical battlefield for a decent sturdy motherboard is around the $200 area, which should allow you something with normal functions but a little quality added in. With a price of $210 with WiFi 6 or $190 without, the ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming sits in that well-liked price bracket. We’ll examine the B550-F Gaming’s features today.
Verdict
The ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi from Asus includes impressive features like SupremeFX Audio, Intel WiFi 6 AX200, robust power supply, and more. It’s an excellent option for roughly $200, while similarly spaced boards are for less.
Pros
- 2.5 GbE LAN and WiFi 6 AX200
- Capable 14-Phase Power Delivery
- Premium Audio
Cons
- Still seems expensive for B550
Design
The heatsinks, black PCB, and slots on this board are most noticeable at first sight. Accents on the chipset heatsink, as well as the ROG Name and ROG symbol (LEDs) on the IO cover, are the only non-black elements. Additionally, slogans such as “Game On” and others could be shown in black on the IO cover..
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The B550 chipset consumes less energy since it doesn’t need to support as many PCIe 4.0 lanes; hence the ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi, like the other B550 motherboards we’ve seen so far, does not include a fan on the chip heatsink. Given the general dark design, this board should be well with most built themes.
The big VRM heatsink on the left is partially hidden by the IO shroud, which extends downward from the top of the board. There are two EPS connections above it, one 8-pin (needed) and one 4-pin (optional). 2 of six 4-pin PWM/DC fan/pump connections are included at the top, while the first RGB header is located to the right (of three).
Two more fan headers can be found above the top M.2 slot and to the right of the IO shroud. The maximum output for all fan headers is 1A/12W, which is enough for most fans and AIOs.
There are 4 individual latching DIMM slots on the motherboard, each of which can accommodate up to 128GB of DDR4 memory.
Compared to the B550 Aorus Master and MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk, memory speeds are as high as DDR 4400(OC). AMD refers to the DDR4 3600-3733 range as the “sweet spot” for the ram, which preserves the infinity fabric’s (IF) ratio of 1:1 with the RAM frequency.
After that, the IF ratio is no longer 1:1, and latency skyrockets. As a result, most users should definitely stick to memory speeds lower than 4000.
A 24-pin ATX connection and a front-panel USB 3.2 Gen1 (5 Gbps) header are positioned on the far right portion of the board. Just over them are 4 LED lights (called Q-LEDs by Asus) illuminating throughout the motherboard’s starting process, verifying critical components such as VGA, CPU, DRAM, and Boot.
If a mistake is discovered, the crucial component’s LED remains illuminated until the issue is fixed. This is useful when debugging POST difficulties, especially if the board lacks a debug LED panel for displaying specific codes.
Performance and Overlocking
The B550-F Gaming WiFi worked admirably in our assessment, surpassing some other motherboards we’ve examined. Throughout our stock runs, we encountered nothing unusual. The B550-F Gaming WiFi had no trouble increasing to the factory-specified 4.6 GHz clock speed with optimum settings selected.
The Ryzen 9 3900X, which has 12 cores and 24 threads, was very easy to overclock. While using our 4×8 GB RAM KIT @ DDR4 3,600 along Infinity Fabric 1:1 to the memory speed, our sample was able to operate the CPU at 4.3 GHz on all cores and threads.
Connectivity
The rear IO region of our B550-F Gaming WiFi provides an adequate connection to satisfy most customers. Eight USB ports are included in the total, featuring four USB 3.2 Gen1 connectors, two USB 2.0 port facilities, and two USB 3.2 Gen2 (Type-A and Type-C) ports.
One of the USB 2.0 ports is allocated for BIOS FlashBack capability (flashing the BIOS without a CPU), which is especially useful for AM4 boards, given the variety of CPU variants. The HDMI and DisplayPort visual outputs are adjacent to the single Intel 2.5 GbE LAN connector. The audio stack includes standard 5-plug analog outputs as well as SPDIF. Finally, there are two antenna hookups for the bundled WiFi.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Asus ROG Strix B550-F compatible with the Ryzen 5600X processor?
A Potent Combination, an entire motherboard and CPU package comprising the ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming motherboard and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU, is being announced as a beautiful foundation for any system design.
Does the Asus B550-F feature inbuilt graphics?
It has an AMD AM4 socket that supports 3rd Generation Ryzen CPUs. It includes WiFi 6 (802.11ax) and Bluetooth connectivity. It supports up to 128GB of DDR4-4400 memory with four 288-pin slots. It has integrated graphics, although a GPU may be readily added through a PCIe slot.
Has ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi 6 been RECOMMENDED?
The ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming performs brilliantly in our system testing, with notable triumphs in our non-UEFI POST time and DPC latency tests straight out of the box. With comparable performance in CPU and game testing, its performance in our power tests is also excellent.
Conclusion
Discussions over price almost entirely obscured any possible talking points when AMD and motherboard suppliers eventually revealed the B550 chipset. What else is there to say when a new B series chipset, which previously operated in the $70-$200 range, is released and *starts* at $165 before rising over $300+?
When we dug deeper into the B550 product stack, as we did in our comprehensive B550 motherboard analysis, it became evident that the bulk of the models in the $200-300 price range is geared at consumers that want or require quality audio and networking controllers. This is what a sus has done with this Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi, which appears to be a fine example of a low-cost B550 motherboard.