ASUS ROG Strix B860-G and B860-A Overview
Introduction and Technical Specifications
Introduction
As you may have noticed there has been a lot of releases to greet us in the New Year. It’s like companies don’t want us to enjoy the festive season. Either that or they don’t understand we’ve all just emptied our bank accounts for Christmas. Anyway, if you haven’t given the bank manager a fright and aren’t saving up for the things we all know are coming over the horizon from AMD and Nvidia, then perhaps you might be after a new motherboard?
Certainly if you’ve seen our review of the Intel Core Ultra 200S processors you might be tempted. After all, they might not blow the doors off, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t got a load of performance under the hood. Additionally, because some of the “cognoscenti” have dismissed it, prices are attractive.
What makes those CPU prices particularly desirable at the moment is the newest Intel chipset, the B860. ASUS have introduced a host of motherboards based around this particular chipset. Naturally, with a boss who loves white hardware, we’ve got the two Strix models in the office that are available in white. The B860-A and B860-G. The G being a mATX whilst the A is a full ATX size. We know you’re giving you a lot to read in recent days, so let’s get down to it.
Technical Specifications
We’re very lucky today in that we’ve got the specifications before the official launch. If you’re new to the preview world, we tend to write them before release. We’ve tried writing them live and found it too taxing. There isn’t an infinite number of monkeys here. Usually companies don’t want information leaking and so withhold it to the last moment. ASUS, for the two Strix B860s, are happy to reveal all. Thus, so shall we :
ASUS ROG Strix B860-A
ASUS ROG Strix B860-G
ROG Strix B860-A Up Close
ROG Strix B860-A Up Close
Just showing the boxes next to each other. We find it funny that the B860-G is shorter, and yet the box is narrower. Not massively noteworthy, but provoked a chuckle.
Next to each other you can really get a feel for the size comparison. If the one on the left has lit a fire in you, click on to the next page. If you want to see the ATX Strix-A then stay here for a moment.
Should you be the type who reads all of our output then you’ll know we’re wondering why all the 8pin power inputs are grey this year. Did Foxconn or Lotes accidentally produce a bajillion grey ones and so the manufacturers are getting a discount? Who knows.
Even at this end of the price spectrum ASUS supply the Strix-A with ROG Eye logo fan header covers. If you’ve especially keen eyesight you’ll be able to spot one of the Addressable RGB headers on the right too, stark white against a white PCB. You could probably put it in the Tate Modern and make a fortune.
Moving down and we find the front panel USB connectors that save our knees and back when wanting to plug something in. If you chop and change major peripherals a lot – a full HOTAS setup to a racing one for example – you’ll appreciate them. Hardly unique, always useful.
We are gradually moving wholesale from SATA drives to M.2 ones, but there is going to be a need for SATA drives for years to come yet. At least until we’ve all migrated. Whilst we rarely see motherboards with 8 SATA ports, or even 6, 2 is fast becoming the norm.
Shout out for whomever insisted on three fan headers at the bottom. We like all the cold air we can force into our rig. With Addressable RGB headers and even a USB 4 one, the Strix-A has more than it might initially appear.
The B860 chipset isn’t cutting out all the useful USB ports we know and love. Or, at the very least, ASUS aren’t. Heck you even get WiFi 7 and a 20G USB Type-C. The Strix-A has all you could realistically need.
