There’s often a lot of confusion regarding the differences between AMD die sets, but in a nutshell, the key differences are how many PCIe lanes there are, how fast they are, and what they can be used for. Manufacturers are really free to choose what to include and omit, but with the B650 die set, you’re guaranteed PCIe 5.0×4 for at least one of the NVMe drives. You can’t guarantee this is the case with your GPU, but since the PCIe 4.0×16 connection is enough to pull the RTX 4090, and the next generation isn’t expected to be PCIe 4.0 compliant (PCIe 3.0×16 isn’t really fully utilized until the latest generation of graphics cards), it actually is a very reasonable place to save.
Saving money actually becomes more necessary because while AMD’s Ryzen 7000-series motherboards were pretty expensive at launch, you’ll only get “Extreme” motherboards that don’t quite tell, things built for hardcore overclocking . However, some lucky ones try to sell it more expensive.
The price of the TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI is completely different, £220 is the cheapest I can find it, which is doing well since AMD has now switched to LGA – that is, the little pin that connects the processor to the motherboard The feet are now on the motherboard, which makes production more expensive.
The board is all black with orange accents and the TUF badge – looks good in my book, some might find it a bit 00 inspired, but that’s the aesthetic of the TUF line for years. And it’s subtle enough that I just don’t care. However, I recommend going with a black cooler to complete the look. Even many VRM coolers are all black, and there are a lot of them, and they’re relatively large, but you just don’t notice. It is nice to have a design with an obvious maximum surface. Even the NVMe heatsink is almost comically long, but at least you’re sure to keep it cool. It’s not 2×8 pin CPU, but 1×8 pin + 1×4 pin. But it’s there, and that’s enough.
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There’s USB-C on the back of the motherboard, which I might have thought was spared. There’s WIFI 6E and then there’s the 12+2, 60 amp power stage, which is enough to pull even a TDP of 230 watts, such as the Ryzen 9 7950X, which is specified at 170 watts – but might pull much more in our tests. There is also 2.5G LAN. Additionally, there’s room for a dedicated AIO fan header and three temperature sensors. If you look closely, there’s even a Thunderbolt USB-4 header hidden away. Not exactly what I’d expect from an inexpensive entry-level motherboard.
There’s HDMI and Displayport, then two USB-C ports, one Gen 1 and one Gen 2×2, two USB 3.2 and four USB 2.0. The audio port also has full output, the only thing I’m missing is an optical port, and a BIOS flashback button. Again, a CMOS button would be nice, but at least it’s out of the way. Unlike what we’re used to, DDR5 comes standard with not two, but four RAM slots.
Inside, there’s everything you need, two USB front headers + one USB-C front header, three ARGB headers, one dedicated RGB strip header, four SATA connections, four USB 2.0 to the front, then three PCIe to the NVMe drives, two of them are 4.0×4 and the last one is 5.0×4. Personally, I think it will take some time before we get games that can take full advantage of the interface, but it’s nice to have access to the latest technology. They then very judiciously chose to use a reinforced metal frame around the graphics port and use anti-static materials for most of the inputs.
It comes with some cables, M.2 mounts and screws, and a WIFI antenna and stickers. Everyone puts on these stickers, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone use them, but then once more, I’m probably 10-15 years older than my target audience.
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Asus has always made great BIOS menus that are easy to understand and use, and this time is no exception. Easy overclocking is crucial, with all the basic settings clearly laid out. There’s even a dedicated battery saving mode. You can also use the Asus armory box if you don’t want to use the BIOS. Its design might be a little more aesthetically pleasing, but it works, and you can access quite a few settings through it. In fact, I see no reason you need to go into the BIOS in 2023, you should be able to access everything through Windows apps, reboot, and fly. There are a few other features like AI noise cancellation in the audio section, a safety circuit for the individual fan headers, and other little extras in the package. Then there are all the other bits and pieces, like the solid state power pins in the motherboard and the metal reinforcement of all the PCIe connectors.
The bottom of the board is generally easy to work with, not that the fins are sharp, but they are solid and sharp. There’s enough space between the various connections that it feels like someone’s actually trying to build a computer, as the heatsink tapers down to the CPU, which makes installing the CPU and cooler nice and easy. The back is made of round solder points all at once, so you won’t be glued to yourself like many high-end motherboards.
For normal use, a couple of NVMe drives and a couple of SSDs, a new graphics card and a new AMD 7000 CPU, then it might be hard to see what you’re missing in terms of options and inputs. There’s certainly nothing missing for people who just want to play games. It’s also affordable, because together with a Ryzen 7600X CPU, you can get an extremely large and powerful package that can form the core of your system for many years for less than 4000 crowns.
