Review on ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-Plus (Wi-Fi) Motherboard: Unleash your Gaming Potential by Adam Wiedemann ᠌

As I've already mentioned, at the time of my purchase none of the free sale boards satisfied my needs. Thus, in my opinion, there is no other choice. Of these, I only really care about the RAM overclocking issue. And even if it isn't, maybe this is just my situation. Apart from that, it's a fantastic mainboard. Benefits include: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built right in, and the two aluminum radiators guarantee a cool operation. Passive cooling on the chipset B550; PCIe 4.0; user-friendly onboard BIOS. In contrast, even in the mATX form factor, the average user won't need the advantages offered by the x570 chipset. Unfortunately, one would have to put up with the fan's whirring. - For me, it was crucial that the video card's PCIe connector be positioned second from the top. This allows me to fit two 120x25 mm thick fans for bottom intake (even with a 2.5 slot video card) and two extra 92x25 mm fans for top exhaust in my extremely small chassis (Metalfish S5) (on this board, the Dark Rock tf cooler does not interfere due to the offset down the processor socket). All things considered, the mATX format of the board was not a good fit for me. Contrast several: -I was unable to achieve a consistent frequency of more than 3200 MHz when overclocking the RAM in the black slots (A1 and B1). The RAM was overclocked to 3733 MHz after the same strips were installed in both gray slots (A2 and B2). A single-bar test also revealed that connecting it to either of the two black connectors did not result in the high frequencies being locked in. I don't sure whether this is a malfunction of my board or if it was done on purpose. - The PCIe slot of the video card has a plastic clasp that easily breaks when pressed with a screwdriver (or, in my case, a finger). - The Wi-Fi antenna is far away and unreliable. This is a drawback for a little computer. The previous configuration of two tiny antennas that could be attached via screw is preferable. The reason for this shift in practice is unclear to me. - The top m.2 connector does not have a heatsink. The existence of a suitable heatsink is quite desirable, as the board's aesthetic is created in the colors of TUF Gaming.