Asus ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WiFi

It was the case that if you talked about Intel’s B motherboards, you had been speaking about one thing just about low-end with an affordable VRM, beneath par connectivity, or a poor USB complement. However most important of all, was the dearth of reminiscence overclocking. That is all modified because the launch of the B560, and for a lot of customers, a great high quality B760 board will fortunately run a Core i9 13900K and DDR5-6000+. Add to {that a} excessive finish GPU, you have bought a high-end system by any measure. 

So, B would not should imply price range, and within the case of the Asus ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WiFi, that is very true. Whereas it actually does appear to be a premium board, and at a look it is deserving of ROG branding, at $269 / £279 / AU$499, it seems to be the most costly B760 motherboard available on the market. That places it head-to-head with many Z790 boards that price much less, that means the Asus is up in opposition to some stiff competitors. The ROG Strix B760-F does have some options that elevate it above the cheaper Z790 boards although.

Firstly, let’s go over the B760 chipset. Other than disabled CPU overclocking, the foremost distinction between B760 and Z790 is the CPU to chipset DMI hyperlink velocity. Within the case of Z790, this hyperlink is an x8 hyperlink, whereas B760 has an x4 hyperlink. This implies B760 will typically have a lesser I/O with fewer SATA and USB ports or fewer M.2 slots. 

For those who’re conscious of those limitations, and also you’re one of many many players that follow a single GPU with an SSD or two and a typical suite of USB merchandise, then B760 is a superbly viable choice. Maybe B-series boards have not fairly shaken off their ‘low-cost’ status.

Again to the Asus ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WiFi, it seems to be prefer it’s bought what it takes to raise it above the extent of a lot of the cheaper Z790 boards. Onward we go.

Asus ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WiFi overview and specs

I have never thought of many latest ROG boards to be real beauties, however I do just like the retro touches of the B760-F. There are some little House Invader kind ships and arcade-y bits across the board that are a pleasant contact. The pattern of recent motherboards is to include primarily impartial black themes, that are simple to mix in together with your most well-liked RGB gentle show.

Talking of RGB, Asus features a small RGB lit ROG emblem atop the primary VRM heatsink subsequent to the rear I/O. The board consists of 4 extra RGB headers, three of that are addressable that means you’ll be able to management varied followers, AIO coolers or RGB strips through Asus’ stable Aura Sync software program.

One other key characteristic is help for DDR5-7800. That is elite tier right there. It takes some actual PCB engineering to qualify for these speeds. You additionally get a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Kind-C header (however no Gen 2×2), seven fan headers and a Thunderbolt (USB4) header. 

The board’s storage complement is not unhealthy, with three M.2 slots and 4 SATA ports. All M.2 slots help PCIe 4.0 x4 and are cooled by succesful heatsinks. Aside from overclocking, storage is probably the important thing differentiating issue between Z790 and B760. There are Z790 boards across the similar value that embrace 4 M.2 slots together with a major PCIe 5.0 slot and as much as eight SATA ports. Once more, for almost all of customers this would possibly not matter, however for file hoarders, Z790 does provide higher storage help.

The VRM of the Asus ROG Strix B760-F is excellent. Asus selected a well-balanced 16+1 part VRM with 60A levels. Although we’re largely previous the times of abysmal 4-phase heatsink-less designs, lots of the cheaper B760 or Z790 boards nonetheless include primary VRM implementations. They’re going to be positive with one of many many 65W i3 or i5 processors, however will battle to deal with a closely loaded 13900K. 

The Asus may have no such hassle. Be at liberty to run your 13900K beneath heavy masses, understanding the VRM and chunky heatsinks of the ROG Strix B760F will take the punishment.

The rear I/O is actually one of many higher B760 ones you may come throughout. A USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port is certainly welcome. A further Gen 2 port and 6 Gen 1 ports ought to deal with most players’ USB necessities. You get HDMI 2.1 and DP 1.4a ports, CMOS clear and BIOS flashback buttons together with a full set of audio ports with S/PDIF.

For audio duties, Asus chosen the ALC4080 codec. It is a good step up from the ageing ALC897 one can find on cheaper boards. It is bought a Savitech headphone amplifier with a 110dBA sign to noise ratio. Not unhealthy in any respect.

2.5G networking is just about ubiquitous now, however WiFi 6E is a kind of options that is not but a high to backside characteristic, with some boards omitting WiFi all collectively. The great high quality audio, networking and I/O on the whole assist to justify the comparatively steep price of the ROG Strix B760-F.

Asus ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WiFi efficiency

System Efficiency

Gaming Efficiency

Asus ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WiFi evaluation

The outcomes don’t throw up any actual surprises, as ordinary. However the Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Grasp did have an edge in a few of the system checks. The Asus was robust within the storage check.

With regards to gaming, the Asus typically carried out nicely. Civilization VI isn’t a game that wants a whole bunch of FPS, however it’s a good check for each CPU and GPU scaling. The mighty RTX 4090 and a 13900K on a B sequence board? Not. A. Drawback. 

B760 doesn’t enable CPU overclocking, however you might be free to play with energy limits.  So long as you have bought high spec cooling to deal with the warmth output, the board can ship.

I did a really fast check with a set of G.Talent DDR5-7200 and was happy to see it boot up and cargo home windows with out concern. The Asus reminiscence QVL checklist reveals many kits at DDR5-7000+ are supported. Wonderful! I’m thrilled Intel lastly noticed the sunshine and allowed unlocked reminiscence for use from B560 onwards. It is actually elevated B sequence chipsets to a brand new stage now we don’t should cope with that foolish restriction.

The BIOS of the Asus will probably be acquainted to any consumer that is poked round in a ROG BIOS over the past a number of years. Once more, you can’t manually overclock, however there are many issues to play with, even when it is not on the stage of a Maximus board. Not that I might anticipate it to be. Tweakers will nonetheless be higher served by the totally enabled options of Z790.

Asus ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WiFi verdict

It is a recurring dilemma. Do you purchase a high-end B sequence board or a low-mid vary Z sequence one? It applies to AMD’s decrease high-end board and their greater low-end chipsets, too. All of it is dependent upon what you need to do together with your rig.

The Asus ROG Strix B760-F Gaming WiFi is ready to hold its head excessive alongside many Z790 boards, that is so long as you do not need to manually overclock. However with the superior turbo modes of recent chips – to not point out the extent of cooling required, overclocking is not what it as soon as was. 

The Asus is ready to run the quickest reminiscence kits which is implausible even when they’re overkill for many customers. You will not get the PCIe 5.0 SSD help, however does it matter right away? A PCIe 4.0 SSD is not going to develop into out of date in a single day. Heck, a great PCIe 3.0 SSD remains to be greater than capable of hold its personal in a contemporary 2023 gaming rig.

So, until you want a bazillion USB ports or one thing like 10G LAN, the Strix B760 is a board that delivers nearly the whole lot you’ll anticipate from a ROG board. The BIOS is characteristic wealthy, you’ll be able to run a 13900K up most energy limits, with as much as 128GB of DDR5 and an RX 7900XTX or RTX 4090. Do this and you will get all the efficiency of a board at greater than twice the worth.

OK, the Asus – from what I can collect, is the most costly B760 board of all however its nonetheless fairly enticing total when in comparison with the worth of many fanatic tier boards. Ask your self if shopping for a excessive finish Z790 board is price it at this time limit? 14th Gen CPUs will not be supported so there isn’t any improve path obtainable. However there’s another view on that. You may need a twelfth Gen CPU or purchase one thing like an Core i5 13400F now. What if in a 12 months or two you select to improve to a 13700K or 13900K? You will desire a board with a succesful VRM to energy it, and that is an space the cheaper boards can fall behind.

For those who do not need to cough up the massive bucks for a Maximus board, saving and going for the Strix B760-F is a superbly variable different, and one that may let you divert a couple of hundred in direction of a greater CPU or GPU or a much bigger SSD. This B sequence board is not low-cost and boring. Removed from it.