Asus ROG Strix B850-F Gaming Wifi Neo motherboard review: Pricey proposition for B850, but packed with features

The ROG Strix B850-F Gaming Wifi Neo offers users one of the best-equipped B850 refresh motherboards, but it is pricey at almost $320. If you value the improvements and Asus’ value-add features, it’s worth the price, though X870 boards come squarely into focus above $300 and could be a better alternative depending on your needs.

Pros

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  Improved over the non-Neo version

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  BCLK generator for overclocking

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  High-quality audio solution

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  Two PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2

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  Updated BIOS

Cons

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  Pricey for B850

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  "Slower" 160 MHz Wi-Fi 7

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  2 SATA ports could limit some users

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  Would like to see one USB4 port

Asus B850-F Gaming Wifi Neo is one of the best B850 refresh motherboards, but at a high price. At

, it’s one of the more expensive non-Mini ITX B850-based boards, eclipsed only by Gigabyte’s B850 AI Top for $350 and the B850-E Gaming Wifi (~$350 MSRP). For the money, it’s a top-of-the-line board for the mainstream platform, offering users a premium aesthetic, high-quality hardware, and a long feature list including AI Intelligence, a clock generator for overclocking, loads of USB ports, and a slew of EZ PC DIY functions to help make building easier. If we didn’t tell you, one might believe it was an X870 board by specifications alone (and maybe price), blurring the lines between enthusiast and mainstream platforms.

Hardware-wise, it has just about everything you want from an AM5 motherboard. You get four M.2 sockets (2 PCIe 5.0) and two SATA ports for storage, plenty of USB ports on the rear IO (and front panel, 23 total according to Asus), robust power delivery and a BCLK generator for overclocking, a quality audio solution with integrated amplifier, and a good-looking appearance, It uses multiple ‘AI’ features including AI Cache/Cooling II/Networking II, and several EZ PC DIY items like M.2 Q-Release, Q-Slide and M.2 Q-Latch, 5 GbE and Wi-Fi 7 networking, and finally, sports a unified all-black look that’s sure to look good with any black/dark themed build. That said, it’s not without some drawbacks. I would like to see at least one USB 4 port on a high-end B850 board, and the two SATA ports could be limiting for users who haven’t moved over to M.2 storage. But overall, those are minor dings.

On the performance front, the board did well and was average to above average for most tests. There were a couple of outliers that fell below average, but nothing to worry about. It performed well across a wide variety of tests from office productivity to rendering and gaming; the B850-F Gaming Wifi Neo showed its mettle through our testing suite.

Below, we’ll examine the B850-F Gaming Wifi Neo’s performance and other features and find out if it has a chance to make our list of the

. But before we share test results and discuss details, here are the specifications from the ASRock website:

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(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

Just to the right of that is the first (of three) 3-pin ARGB headers, also controlled through Asus Motherboard Manager. Below that is the Q-LED feature that lights up during the POST process. If there’s a problem during this critical startup time, the offending LED (red CPU, yellow DRAM, white VGA, green Boot) remains lit. This isn’t as detailed as the 2-character POST code display, but is still helpful.

Making our way down the right edge, we run into another 4-pin fan header (CPU_OPT) and below that a simple start button to turn the PC on without connecting to, or needing to jump, the front panel header. Continuing down the edge, we find the 24-pin EPS connector, your front panel USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) Type-C connector (the fastest on the board), and two 19-pin USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) headers - one more than the original B850-F Gaming Wifi.

On the bottom of the board, we’ll start on the left with the audio section. Hidden under the shiny SupremeFX shroud is the Realtek ALC4080 audio codec along with dedicated capacitors and a Savitech SV3H712 amplifier. While not the flagship codec (the ALC4082 is), it’s a solid audio solution, especially for a B850-class board.

In the middle are two full-length PCIe slots. The top slot, the primary slot for graphics, connects through the CPU and runs up to PCIe 5.0 x16 (no bifurcation). This slot uses Asus’ PCIe Slot Q-Release, where you press a button to release the locking mechanism. The second full-length slot connects through the chipset and runs up to PCIe 4.0 x4, offering plenty of bandwidth for expansion.

Mixed in among the PCI slots are four M.2 sockets. The top-most, above the primary PCIe slot and using the large, tool-free M.2 Q-Latch and Q-Release heatsink, supports up to PCIe 5.0 x4 speeds, while M.2_2 under the larger quick-release plate heatsink is the second 5.0-capable socket. Also hiding below their own quick-release plate heatsink (note: the Q-Release heatsinks on the Neo are an upgrade from the original B850-F Gaming Wifi) are two more M.2s, and these are PCIe 4.0 x4-capable. The primary M.2 heatsink made light contact with the controller on top and no contact on the bottom. If you plan to beat on these hot-running, fast PCIe 5.0 drives with sustained transfers, it’s best to use your own heatsink or get slightly thicker thermal pads to ensure it doesn’t throttle.

Moving right and past the chipset to the edge are your two SATA ports. Last, we've also included a few images of the active ICs for the board. Asus uses a combination of Realtek (audio, networking), ASMedia (USB), and Vishay (MOSFETs) bits for various functions.

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(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

Looking at the rear IO, we can plainly see it’s packed with ports. There’s a total of 12 USB ports: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (red), 5x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (blue, and two more than the previous B850-F Gaming), 2x USB 2.0 (black), and three Type-C ports (2x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1). An HDMI port on the left handles integrated video, while in the middle, among all the USB ports, are tiny Clear CMOS and BIOS Flashback buttons. The Realtek 5 GbE, up from 2.5 GbE, is on the right along with the 160 MHz (slower) Wi-Fi 7 Q-Antenna. Last, on the right is the audio stack consisting of two 3.5mm jacks and SPDIF output.

Nothing special here, and about the only thing missing is a 40 Gbps port or two (that are rare on this platform anyway).