ASUS ROG Strix B360 F Gaming and H370 Pro TUF Review

H370-Pro TUF

The ASUS TUF range has been a mainstay of their selection for those that want bulletproof reliability without necessarily committing to the occasionally gaudy stylings of a more gaming orientated board. Usually that also means that it is equipped with the TUF Armor, but the H370-Pro isn’t, so how does it look when naked and unadorned?

  

We think the answer to that would most definitely fall into the functional category. Whilst the Strix makes up for its slight performance and connectivity deficit by going all in on the gaming aesthetic, the TUF is utilitarian to the point of sparse.

  

We understand that not everybody wants something which lights up like Blackpool on a summers evening, but even in the areas where ASUS have complete control to commit to the rugged aesthetic, it’s harder to love the TUF when compared to the Strix. Four vertical SATA ports when the two horizontal ones are surrounded by acreage of empty PCB seems like a particularly curious choice. If ASUS are attempting to suggest there isn’t room for a three wide stack of six SATA ports then we don’t know what to think any more.

  

Whilst the power heatsink doesn’t stretch across the PCB as much as the Strix that isn’t to say that ASUS haven’t ensured the TUF has equally good VRM cooling. Big thick stacks of metal cover some high end components ensuring that you can extra maximum performance without compromising your heat

  
  

Despite looking fairly simple the H370 chipset has plenty of connection options including the all important M.2 drive slot, USB headers and RGB LED strip header.

  
  

We like the idea of the battery decals. Yes it’s a minor thing, but as the TUF needs all the help it can get to stand out from the crowd it is, at the very least, a better idea than the usual shiny battery that spoils our carefully plotted colour scheme.