Introduction

Last year, AMD released the Ryzen 5000 series desktop processors in one of the most monumental hardware launches of the modern era. This final step completed the Red brand's ascent back into the forefront of the desktop processor market that began with the launch of the first generation of Ryzen CPUs.

With the Ryzen 3000 launch came the AMD X570 chipset. Featuring PCIe 4.0 support, X570 was an impressive leap from generations past. It was also hot, which had motherboards often include chipset cooling fans. With Ryzen 5000 around the corner, as well as AMD's RDNA2 GPU launch, there is more interest than ever in Team Red.


The TUF Gaming Alliance is a collaboration spearheaded by ASUS to produce a family of hardware with a common visual theme and exceptional quality and durability. The TUF Gaming aesthetic is typified with neutral blacks and grays with yellow accents for flavor, offering peace of mind to those looking for compatibility and stability along with a perfectly matched theme. ASUS TUF Gaming motherboards focus on balancing a rich feature set with a reasonable price tag.

The ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (WiFi) has been outfitted with sixteen high-end power stages from Vishay Semiconductor, along with a formidable VRM heatsink to deliver cool and reliable performance even on the latest and greatest Ryzen 9 CPUs. Alongside the VRM, the ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (WiFi) features 2.5 Gb/s LAN and a solid compliment of storage options including eight SATA ports. With a storied reputation to live up to, let's see if the ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (WiFi) is tough enough!

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

The front of the ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (WiFi) box features a dark background with "ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (WiFi) Gaming Motherboard" in the bottom left and the TUF Gaming logo in the bottom right. "ASUS" is in the top left, and the brand badging has been put along the bottom edge.

The back of the box at least has variations of what I look for: a shot of the board that includes a good view of the rear I/O, a list of standout features, and the specifications list. Overall, the box design follows the premium minimalist approach, which works very well.


The accessories are typical, with a couple of extras, like a Certificate of Reliability and TUF Gaming sticker sheet.

The full list of accessories includes:

• Manual and support DVD
• 2x SATA 6 Gb/s cables
• Rear I/O shield
• 2x M.2 mounting screws
• Certificate of Reliability
• WiFi antenna
• TUF Gaming sticker sheet

Board Layout

The ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (WiFi) features a gloss black PCB with printed gray patterns. The heatsinks for the VRM and M.2 drives are black with gray and yellow accents.


The CPU socket is open enough to accommodate most coolers, and the VRM heatsink looks quite capable, though the two sections are not connected through a heatpipe.


There are only two M.2 slots on the ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (WiFi). The first sits just under the CPU socket, while the second is right under the chipset. The bottom slot includes a heatsink for improved thermal performance.


The ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (WiFi) offers two PCI Express 4.0 x16 slots, the first of which is encased in metal reinforcement, as well as two PCI Express 4.0 x1 slots. The board has a total of eight SATA 6 Gb/s ports, with four angled 90 degrees from the board and the other four facing out on the bottom-right corner.


The ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (WiFi) has a decent rear I/O offering that includes 2.5 Gb/s LAN and an optical S/PDIF out port. The full list consists of:

• PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port
• DisplayPort
• HDMI
• LAN (RJ45) port
• Optical S/PDIF out
• 5 x Audio jacks
• BIOS FlashBack™ button
• ASUS Wi-Fi module
• 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (up to 5 Gbps) ports
• 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps) ports

Networking on the ASUS TUF Gaming X570-Pro (WiFi) is handled by an Intel I225-V 2.5 Gb/s LAN, with an Intel 802.11 AX controller for wireless connectivity.