AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4650G Renoir APU review - Product Showcase - ASUS ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING

ASUS ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING

Get to know one of the smallest and most undervalued motherboards on the B550 chipset. Its format is Mini-ITX, only 17 by 17cm. There are quite a few cardinal differences from the last generation. It is also the new Optimem technology that allows you to overclock the RAM to 5100 MHz, two M2, 2.5 GigE Ethernet slots, WiFi 6 (802.11 ax) and a redesigned VRM, which should easily cope with the 3900XT or 3950X.

The ROG Strix B550-I Gaming embodies the spirit of ROG with an attractive dark grey aesthetic including the distorted next-generation ROG logo and embedded cybertext engraved on the casing.

These new designs courageously take ROG Strix into the future, clearly reflecting the game roots of the series. The rear panel casing has mesh ventilation underneath which is a small fan designed to cool the VRM zone radiator. ASUS ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING features hidden M2 slots, one located next to the PCIx16, it has its own massive heat sink, and the second slot is on the back of the motherboard.

The board has an 8-pin power connector, which hints the user about the solid features of VRM (of course for its class).

As for the phases, we have 8 virtual phases (doubled number of throttles per real phase) for the CPU and 2 phases without doubts for SOC. The ASP 1106GGQW (Richtek RT8877C) in 4+2 mode is used as the PWM controller.

MOSFETs worthy of respect, the board has been fitted with 50 Amp Vishay VRPower DrMOS SiC639 on board. Internal MOSFETs use state-of-the-art Gen IV TrenchFET technology, which provides an industry benchmark for performance with significant reductions in switching losses and conductivity. The SiC639 features an advanced MOSFET IC gate driver with high current throughput, adaptive downtime control, built-in Schottky loading diode, and thermal warning (THWn). In simple language - no need to worry about overclocking and power stability.

SOC is powered by the same Vishay VRPower DrMOS SiC639. It may be noted that this is somewhat redundant and not typical for a budget solution. But in any case we have a serious reserve for the future. ASUS ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING has 6 layers of PCB, Daisy Chain topology and proprietary Optimem II technology. Built-in OptiMem II technology neatly distributes memory signal paths across PCB layers to reduce inter-layer crosstalk, as well as adding shielding zones that significantly reduce crosstalk. To further increase overclocking margin, individually calibrated Daisy Chain provides synchronized signalling. As a result, we can claim global results at home, which I will actually demonstrate to you in practice.

Networking capabilities of the board were also surprised, the board pre-installed WiFi 6 (802.11 ax) which connects to external 5 dBi antennas. This module supports Bluetooth 5.1 as well. For those who like smooth network gaming and fast file transfer, there is Intel 2.5 Gb Ethernet.