Published: January 6, 2025 | Source: ASUS | Author: Tom Logan

ASUS B850 and B850M TUF Gaming WIFI Preview

TUF Gaming B850M-Plus

We were only saying in the office the other day how mATX and ITX motherboards seem to have dropped of the face of the earth. AMD release the B850 chipset and suddenly 50% of today’s coverage is non-ATX sized motherboards. Madness. This is perfect if you want a slightly more compact form factor, but still want M.2 slots you just don’t get on ITX models.

Like the regular TUF on the previous page, you get three fan headers to make sure that you can keep your highly prized Ryzen cool. Those of you who prefer a compact cable arrangement will be pleased to note that all three addressable RGB headers are placed next to each other.

The mATX TUF also has the benefits of a Type-A and Type-C front panel USB setup. You can take a better look at the GPU release latch in this photo too, when compared to the one on the previous page.

We moan a lot about vertical SATA ports. They’re such a pain to cable manage, and always look cheap. How nice then to see that the ASUS TUF B850M boasts horizontal SATA ports for all four. Simply lovely.

Lastly one of the key reasons why you’d buy this mATX motherboard over, say, the Strix ITX is the extra M.2 slots. We’ve three in total available here, and whilst NVMe storage has become more affordable, most people won’t populate them all. Thankfully by saving money on the motherboard you’re more likely to if you buy the TUF than another option.