Asus ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II AMD AM4 (3rd Gen Ryzen) ATX Gaming Motherboard (PCIe 4.0,WiFi 6E, 2.5Gb LAN, BIOS Flashback, HDMI 2.1,

Pros: -Vrms have no trouble with an enhanced 3900x
-Silent vrm fan (I’ve never heard it turn on)
-Easy to use bios
-Troubleshooting leds were a LIFESAVER (I’ll never buy a board without them)
-No memory issues (32GB at 3200MHz cl16) Cons: -Onboard audio driver conflicts with userbenchmark, so you cant use that for troubleshooting (until realtek works out the issue anyway)
-Chonky non-magnetic wifi antenna (works fine, just looks and feels cheap)
-TIGHT m.2 screws (only an issue if you try to install m.2 inside the case)
-Most included software utilities are pretty useless, but that’s news to nobody
IMPORTANT WARNING
-used the gen3 pcie riser that came with my case (Phanteks shift air) and a 5600xt. The board does not post in this configuration. Needed to use an rx580 to get into bios and change the main pcie slot to gen 3 speed from “auto”. Updating the bios brought the no post issue back so I had to grab the rx580 again.
This isn’t really an issue with the board, but it would be really helpful if future motherboards would try connecting to the gpu at gen3 speed after failing to do so at gen4 speed. Overall Review: I recommend this board only if you are using a non-sandwich style case (without any PCIe riser cables.) Not everyone has an old gpu lying around, and PCIe4 does not have the same signal integrity that gen3 had. Only use certified gen4 riser cables with this board.

Pros: Micro ATX is the perfect size for most builds and this board sure packs a lot into a small package. Latest AMD chipset, check. WiFi, check. Bluetooth, check. Fast LAN, check. RGB, check. There’s many more about this board, but you get the idea.
Physical installation of the motherboard in the case was painless. Everything fit like it should. It’s a nice example of ASUS quality that many have come to expect of the brand’s high end offerings. I did have a few hiccups during Windows installation I will discuss below. Cons: The board initially would not show any display while using a GTX 1070 video card which made it impossible to do initial setup and Windows install. The VGA LED on the motherboard was illuminated indicating a problem. I swapped out to a different video card (RTX 3070) just to get Windows installed then reinstalled the GTX 1070 afterwards. Still, no display during boot, but video would come up when Windows loads to the login screen. A BIOS update did not fix the problem.
After a bit of searching online, the problem is that the graphics card firmware for Nvidia 1XXX series cards needs to be updated to work with the UEFI of this motherboard. I had no previous problems using the same card on other UEFI boards. To fix, search for “Nvidia UEFI Update Tool” and it should be your first hit. No problems with display after using the tool and the VGA LED is no longer lit. To the other reviewer with the GTX 1080 doing the same thing: it’s the card not the motherboard.
I did have a read-the-manual moment with this board. No eggs off but it’s worth noting for prospect buyers: I initially installed my NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD using the M.2 slot which has a heatsink. It made sense to me that a high performance slot would have the better cooling option, but I was wrong. That slot only operates as PCIe 3.0 speed. I switched to the naked M.2 slot which is PCIe 4.0 after I realized my error and now have full SSD speed. If you have a PCIe 4.0 SSD and want to maximize the speed, you have to use the M.2 slot without the heatsink. Overall Review: You may need to have a USB flash drive or an optical drive handy when you install this motherboard. When I installed Windows, ethernet hardware did not have a default driver installed for the Realtek RTL8125B chip and no other generic LAN drivers would work.
I used a USB optical drive to pull the LAN driver off the included ASUS motherboard disc and I was up and running in no time. Of course, after you have working internet all other missing drivers can be downloaded. It’s been a very long time since I’ve installed Windows and not had working LAN from the get go. I don’t recall if the wireless was working by default as my set up is wired only and I only use the wireless chip for bluetooth functionality.

Pros: – Mine came with an updated BIOS for my 5800X. Check your little sticker by the CPU socket before trying to update BIOS for Ryzen 5000 and possibly save yourself the trouble. If the last 4 digits are over 1004, you SHOULD be good to go with Zen 3.- Shmexy look and easy to use BIOS. – PCIe Gen 4 M.2 and GPU slot.- Dark Rock Pro 4 fits. I read a review here saying that it wouldn’t and I started to panic as I spent all my money on the CPU and MOBO and already had a DRP4 from a previous build. I’m using my new B550-F Gaming (Wi-Fi) with the DRP4 at the moment to type this review, and might I add, I’ve not gone over 69C (while gaming) and am currently at 39C. RAM clearance may be an issue for some, but the G.Skill Trident Z sticks I already had fit just fine (thankfully). Cons: – I wish it had a USB 3.2 Type C connector on it, but for the price this isn’t REALLY a con.- doesn’t have a full length PCIe slot in PCIe 5, but again for the price. – After working with this board for 2 weeks, I can confirm that the NIC has some issues. I had to manually install drivers from the site. If you are doing this, you need to search for B550-F GAMING (WI-FI) specifically. The drivers for B550-F GAMING are, in fact different and it seems ASUS likes to only show what you SPECIFICALLY typed in, not a drop-down list. Overall Review: As far as my experience goes, you really can’t go wrong with an ASUS board. I’ve been using them for years now and have had no issues at all. The build quality is solid, the UI is intuitive and the aesthetic is on point. What’s not to love?

Pros: – A decent board with a lot of features.
– Built in Wireless
– Good after sales support Cons: – Expensive Overall Review: Bought this for a brand new build. When you buy a motherboard, for a new build or replacing an old one there is always a few steps you NEED to do:
– Download drivers for all the MBs devices
– Download latest BIOS
Not saying anyone else didn’t have issues, but initially the wireless did not work without the drivers from ASUS website. The latest BIOS stabilized it all. That to me is normal. After installing all needed drivers, I have not had any issues at all. It’s rock solid.