Product Showcase

Product Showcase

On this page, you can observe the motherboard paired with the Ryzen 7 7700X. Socket LGA1718 with that number means the number of pins means many pin contact points right there. We paired this review with a G.Skill DDR5 kit rated 6000 MHz CL30 based on two DIMM modules, making this a great pick. 

The B650 Motherboard is the absolute minimum required to use the Ryzen 7000 series processors with the new AM5 socket. As the entry-level chipset, the B650E sacrifices many features, providing less functionality than other high-end chipsets such as the B650E, X670, and the top-of-the-line X670E. Before we get into our recommendations for B650E motherboards available in 2022, let us first look at the differences between the two entry-level chipsets.

Support for PCIe Gen 5.0 is one of the most important differences between these chipsets. Because the B650 chipset only has 18 PCIe 5.0 lanes, some manufacturers may opt to forego the full-sized PCIe Gen 5 x 16 slot in favour of faster Gen 5.0 M.2 slots. Furthermore, AMD has stated that manufacturers can choose to remove Gen 5.0 support entirely from their B650 motherboards. The B650E, on the other hand, is much more generous with the distribution of PCIe lanes, providing a total of 20 PCIe Gen 5.0 lanes, allowing you to benefit from faster speeds for both your graphic cards and M.2 slots.

The ASUS TUF Gaming B650-Plus WiFi motherboard comes in a cool box made of high-quality cardboard. The main colours are grey and orange, just like the packaging of all ASUS TUF devices. On the box, there are pictures of the mainboard and a lot of information about what it can do and how it works. Inside the box is the motherboard and a lot of extras, like SATA 6Gb/s cables, an ASUS Wi-Fi antenna kit, a few screws, stickers, drivers, the user guide, and the warranty manual.

The motherboard is an ATX motherboard in size, measuring 30.5 cm (12 inches) in length and 24.4 cm (9.6 inches) in width. It is a mid-range gaming motherboard because it is built on the standard AMD B650 chipset and has features geared for gamers. However, we will see what it is capable of in games later in our review.

The motherboard is intended to work with AMD's latest desktop processors from the Ryzen 7000 family, hence it has an AM5 socket and only supports DDR5 memory. The B650 WiFi has a robust appearance that instils trust in its capabilities. The components appear to be of great quality, and the big heatsinks appear to be durable and effective. This is especially true for the CPU VRM heatsink, which mixes in beautifully with the input/output panel. The covers for the chipset and M.2 slots have an interesting design that makes the overall picture look rough but delicate.

There are numerous expansion and storage slots on the motherboard, all of which are fast. The PCI Express lanes that connect to the processors are as follows:

• 1x PCIe 5.0 x16, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (x4), 2x PCIe 4.0 x1, 1x M.2/M key (PCIe 5.0 x4, 2280/2260/2242), 2x M.2/M key (PCIe 4.0 x4, 22110/2280/2260/2242)

The motherboard was outfitted with a 2.5Gbps Realtek Ethernet chip as well as a MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E card that supported 2x2 MIMO and 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax standards on the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands. Bluetooth is, of course, present: version 5.2. We get a Realtek 7.1 surround sound high-definition codec with 24-Bit/192kHz playback for audio. One USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port (Type-C), three USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (two Type-A and one Type-C), four USB 2.0 (Type-A), one DisplayPort, one HDMI port, one Wi-Fi module connection, the 2.5Gb Ethernet port, five audio jacks, and a BIOS FlashBack button are located on the rear I/O (input/output) panel.

The four DDR5 DIMM slots are located in the top-left corner of the mainboard, next to a standard 24-pin ATX main power connector. The motherboard can support up to 128 GB of memory and a wide range of memory frequencies, ranging from 4800 MT/s (mega transfers per second) to over 6400 MT/s in overclocking mode.

Other internal I/O connectors can also be found on the motherboard. You get a USB 3.2 Gen 1 connector that supports USB Type-C, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 header that supports two extra USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and two USB 2.0 headers that can handle four USB 2.0 ports for your PC case front panel. Fan controllers (CPU, CPU OPT, AIO Pump, four chassis fans), RGB headers (three addressable, one Aura RGB), front panel audio, and even a Thunderbolt header are available as internal connectors.

The astonishing amount of features packed into the reasonably priced ASUS ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming WiFI is what really sets it apart. Three M.2 slots are included, one of which is a Gen 5 x 16 slot for extremely fast data transfer. There are four PCIe slots total, including three Gen 4 slots and one Gen 5 slot.