Review on ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming (WiFi 6) AMD AM4 Zen 3 Ryzen 5000 & 3rd Gen Ryzen 🎮 ATX Gaming Motherboard | PCIe 4.0, 2.5Gb LAN, BIOS Flashback, HDMI 2.1, Addressable Gen 2 RGB Header, Aura Sync by Piyush Ventura

. When I read that ASUS had somehow integrated their Armory Crate utility into new W10 installs on ROG boards, I was a bit skeptical about the motherboard software bloat. I still don't understand how they did it. But it actually made my life incredibly easy when I launched this new box. On first launch I was prompted to press a key to install Armory Crate and the LAN driver directly from a repository on the mobo itself. On the second launch, I was presented with a list of all the other drivers and utilities that I would otherwise have to look for on the ASUS website or download in advance. I guess there's no need to dig through the horrible manufacturer web portals anymore. It just worked and it didn't take long to get the basic installs up and running. The pay itself is also reasonable. It has plenty of VRM heatsink power and enough USB options. I think the two m.2 slots match the B550 and the m.2 heatsinks are pretty good. The lack of a built-in chipset fan is a plus. Wi-Fi picked up a signal from my network even before I screwed on the antenna. The built-in back panel is very solid and has proven itself as a handle when installing the circuit board. I wish there was another case fan header (there are only 3 for the case, everything else for the pumps and processor) but I guess that's not a big deal since you're not buying a B550 board for 9- . fan cover. And if you'll likely come with a fan controller anyway. The software is fine. AI Suite is as always. I don't like the Realtek software or the included virtual mixer, but it sounds good enough for onboard audio. Armory Crate is the star of the show and that alone is worth the 5th star.