The ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance

Darksaber · Dec 18, 2019

ASUS offers several sub-brands, like Republic of Gamers and the TUF Gaming Alliance. The latter is a partnership with Cooler Master and other supporting brands with the purpose of guiding gamers towards a solid mainstream system through individually branded components that result in a cohesive, cool-looking final design.

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Cheeseball · Dec 18, 2019

You've been building this review since June 10 this year? :wtf:

EzioAs · Dec 18, 2019

Cheeseball said:
You've been building this review since June 10 this year?

Sure sounds tuf...

Athlonite · Dec 18, 2019

The TUF X470 Plus Gaming should be called the sTUFfed X470 Puss Gaming as it's a piece of crap. TUF used to be a very reasonable sub brand of Asus's it's now unfortunately their bottom of the barrel bargain basement crapolla brand

Chomiq · Dec 18, 2019

Ballistix Sport LT are also meant to fit the TUF styling and they fit it better IMO.

Athlonite said:
The TUF X470 Plus Gaming should be called the sTUFfed X470 Puss Gaming as it's a piece of crap. TUF used to be a very reasonable sub brand of Asus's it's now unfortunately their bottom of the barrel bargain basement crapolla brand

According to buildzoid their x570 tuf line is ok.

macrobe · Dec 18, 2019

I like this one-brand build. I'm trying to collect AORUS configuration, but Gigabyte doesn't have ITX or SFF case.

INSTG8R · Dec 18, 2019

Athlonite said:
The TUF X470 Plus Gaming should be called the sTUFfed X470 Puss Gaming as it's a piece of crap. TUF used to be a very reasonable sub brand of Asus's it's now unfortunately their bottom of the barrel bargain basement crapolla brand

I believe my Z97 Sabertooth MK1 was probably the last real TUF board they made.

Hugis · Dec 18, 2019

This is now a give away here on TPU, alas im not in the US ,but if i entered could i gift it to norton or some one here to do a give away here on tpu?

Chloe Price · Dec 18, 2019

Too bad that TUF went from a premium series to a cheap entry level series, I remember having a Sabertooth Z87 and that was awesome. This TUF B450-Plus Gaming which I have now is crap, but I had to get a motherboard and this was available in the local PC shop.

3125b · Dec 18, 2019

Chomiq said:
their x570 tuf line is ok.

True, but many things in that line are just ... well, trash to be honest. Look at their AMD TUF GPUs or most of the boards.
Thats just bad and ruins the Asus brand name.

Dracius · Dec 18, 2019

Hmm I'm not sure I like the case so much.. I do think those LED fans should be yellow too, since that's the 'major' colour that relates to TUF.

But wow.. lots of TUF hate here!

(and justifiable from what I read?)

I just recently purchased the B450M TUF board, coming from a Z97 Ranger. It's really not bad. Buildzoid also said its 'ok', but recommends to avoid it for any heavy overclocking, and/or 3800X and 3950X (due to high VRM temps, though that can be remedied)

Currently running a 2200G at 3.8Ghz stable. 2x mixed sticks of 8GB 2133Mhz DDR4 memory that's running at 2400Mhz.

Quite happy with this board, especially considering I paid $110 for it, brand new.

Chomiq · Dec 18, 2019

Cheeseball said:
You've been building this review since June 10 this year?

It's no Boyhood that's for sure.

shk021051 · Dec 18, 2019

tuf brand is more like fucked

Dammeron · Dec 18, 2019

Chloe Price said:
Too bad that TUF went from a premium series to a cheap entry level series, I remember having a Sabertooth Z87 and that was awesome. This TUF B450-Plus Gaming which I have now is crap, but I had to get a motherboard and this was available in the local PC shop.

TUF B450 is crap because lost of manufacturers treat AMD boards like crap. Just check, how mATX boards on B450/X570 look compared to eg. Z97 - not even worth mentioning.

Dracius · Dec 18, 2019

Dammeron said:
TUF B450 is crap because lost of manufacturers treat AMD boards like crap. Just check, how mATX boards on B450/X570 look compared to eg. Z97 - not even worth mentioning.

I've got the TUF B450M.. a mATX B450 board.. I'm glad I went with Buildzoid's advice. (Especially considering my budget and availability of products)

What am I missing?

Chloe Price · Dec 18, 2019

Dammeron said:
TUF B450 is crap because lost of manufacturers treat AMD boards like crap. Just check, how mATX boards on B450/X570 look compared to eg. Z97 - not even worth mentioning.

Not just this but many other TUF boards too. Like I said, TUF went from premium to cheap entry-level crap.

TheinsanegamerN · Dec 18, 2019

Dracius said:
I've got the TUF B450M.. a mATX B450 board.. I'm glad I went with Buildzoid's advice. (Especially considering my budget and availability of products)

What am I missing?

Did you....you know....look at the intel versions like Dammeron suggested?

The intel versions of their TUF boards are built WAY better for the same $$$ as their intel boards are. They are an affront to the TUF brand (which used to mean overbuilt, long lasting hardware, now is a gimmicky gamerz brand). Even their intel boards today are a far cry from the z87-97 days.

You are happy with your board? That's great, doesnt mean it isnt a junk board with lots of cheap cost cutting that undermines the features and longevity that should be present at that price point.

Athlonite · Dec 18, 2019

Chomiq said:
According to buildzoid their x570 tuf line is ok.

I still wouldn't touch it I would have bought an Crosshair VII or VIII but I didn't have $795~$1000 for a mobo

sepheronx · Dec 18, 2019

Could you guys name the exact issues that the Tuf line has? Because I haven't heard of any to be specific.

Calmmo · Dec 18, 2019

You have to look at it on a per product basis. And every single Tuf product ive seen this year x570 aside has had issues, ones that stem from the "its a budget product- lets cut corners" (sometimes all the corners) approach

gamefoo21 · Dec 18, 2019

TUF = That Unfortunate F*cker

For the PG crowd...

TUF = The Untimely Failure

Would have been nice to see some actual benches, temps, and sound levels. This is like a forum build by a noob... Also where's the cost, and actual value sentiment? With so much blatant branding, you'd think the cost would be subsidized, or does branding come from the component budget?

Any way... The cat on the ram has a fist for a head. Is it supposed to represent fisting loose pu... timings? LoL

Cheeseball · Dec 18, 2019

TheinsanegamerN said:
Did you....you know....look at the intel versions like Dammeron suggested?

The intel versions of their TUF boards are built WAY better for the same $$$ as their intel boards are. They are an affront to the TUF brand (which used to mean overbuilt, long lasting hardware, now is a gimmicky gamerz brand). Even their intel boards today are a far cry from the z87-97 days.

You are happy with your board? That's great, doesnt mean it isnt a junk board with lots of cheap cost cutting that undermines the features and longevity that should be present at that price point.

I currently use the TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI) and it is built pretty well, tbh. I can push this pair of older G.SKILL (Hynix) 3200 DDR4 16-18-18-36 to 3600 at the same timings using the stock 1.35v. My newer Patriot Vipers do a nice 3733 MHz 15-16-16-34 for 1:1 IF, but these are Samsung B-dies (and are XMP 4400 MHz out of the box) so that's expected.

My previous board for an i5-8400 was the TUF B360-PLUS GAMING, which had two M.2 PCI-E/SATA slots. I liked it for the year I used it.

Not sure if they ASUS built the B450s well, but I did consider the TUF edition since I was looking for a mATX form factor board. I initially went with the ASRock B450M Steel Legend instead, but I ended up returning it because ASRock's UEFI options are severely lacking.

damric · Dec 18, 2019

Looks nice. I wish there was a price tag included for the components in this review. I'm not sure if all of them are even available anymore.

Dammeron · Dec 18, 2019

Cheeseball said:
I currently use the TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI) and it is built pretty well, tbh.

I wanted to build AMD mATX platform, however there's no B450/X570 mobo that has wi-fi, decent VRM/chipset cooling etc... On the other hand, there would be no problem, if I went for Intel CPU (but I prefer AMD, so that's a "no go").

Cheeseball · Dec 18, 2019

Dammeron said:
I wanted to build AMD mATX platform, however there's no B450/X570 mobo that has wi-fi, decent VRM/chipset cooling etc... On the other hand, there would be no problem, if I went for Intel CPU (but I prefer AMD, so that's a "no go").

Yeah, I was looking at ASRock's X570M Pro4, but knowing how their UEFI is, I just spent more for the TUF X570 WiFi even though its standard ATX.

System Name	Macbook Pro 13 - eGPU BootCamped
Processor	3.5 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7
Memory	16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3
Video Card(s)	Asus Strix Geforce RTX 2080 Super in Razer Core X eGPU Enclosure
Storage	512GB OS Storage, 1TB ADATA external NVMe (Games in Windows). 1TB Transcend 2.5" drive (Mac Backup)
Display(s)	Asus ProArt 27" 1440P, 75Hz
Keyboard	Microsoft Sidewinder X4 Keyboard
Software	Mac OS: Big Sur, Windows OS: Windows 10 Home

System Name	Custom AMD Rig
Processor	AMD Ryzen™ 7 3800X
Motherboard	ASUS TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI)
Cooling	EVGA CLC 280mm AIO Liquid Cooler
Memory	G.SKILL TridentZ 32GB (8GBx4) F4-3200C16-8GTZR
Video Card(s)	EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 FTW3 ULTRA GAMING 10GB
Storage	250GB Samsung 970 EVO NVMe, 2TB Inland Premium NVMe, 1TB Crucial MX500 SATA, 4TB WD Blue SATA
Display(s)	Acer Nitro XV340CK Pbmiipphzx 34" UWQHD 1440p, LG 27GN850-B UltraGear 27" 1440p 144 Hz
Case	NZXT H510i Matte White
Audio Device(s)	Kanto Audio YU2 and SUB8 Desktop Speakers and Subwoofer, Blue Yeti
Power Supply	Corsair RMx Series RM750x 750W
Mouse	Kingston HyperX Pulsefire Haste
Keyboard	Kingston HyperX Alloy Origins Core
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit 20H2

System Name	Cypher-C4
Processor	Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard	MSI B450 Tomahawk Max
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Memory	32GB Crucial Ballistix Elite 3800MHz
Video Card(s)	Palit GTX 1060 Jetstream 6GB
Storage	250GB Crucial MX500 + 320GB WD Blue + 1TB Samsung F3 + 2TB WD Black + 4TB Toshiba
Display(s)	Acer XV272UP
Case	Corsair Obsidian 750D
Audio Device(s)	Behringher UMC202HD Audio Interface + Mackie HM-4 + Sennheiser HD 280 Pro + Shure SM58
Power Supply	Corsair HX750i
Mouse	Steelseries Rival 310
Keyboard	Corsair Vengeance K70 (MX Blue)
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

System Name	Cumquat 2000
Processor	AMD RyZen R7 3700X
Motherboard	Asus Strix x570-F Gaming
Cooling	Cryorig R1 Universal
Memory	16GB GSkill TridentZ DR4-3200 16-18-18-38 1.35V
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Nitro+ OC RX6800 16GB DDR6 1980Cclk / 2000Mclk
Storage	1x Adata SX8200PRO NVMe gen3 x4 1X Samsung 860 EVO 500GB, 12TB of HDD Storage
Display(s)	ViewSonic VX2457 MHD 75Hz FreeSync 1920x1080p
Case	SilverStone Raven RV02B-W + 3x SS AP181 + USB3.0 upgrade
Audio Device(s)	RX6800 via HDMI + Pioneer VSX-531 amp Technics 100W 5.1 Speaker set
Power Supply	Enermax RevolutionXT II 750W 80+ Gold
Mouse	Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard	Logitech G105
Software	Windows 10 X64 PRO (build 2004)
Benchmark Scores	it sucks even more less now ;)

Processor	Ryzen 7 3700X
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite
Cooling	BeQuiet Dark Rock 4
Memory	2x8 GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 3200 CL16 @ 3600 CL16
Video Card(s)	EVGA 1060 6GB SSC
Storage	SX8200 Pro 1 TB, Plextor M6Pro 256 GB, WD Blue 2TB
Display(s)	Acer XB273GP
Case	SilverStone Primera PM01 RGB
Power Supply	SeaSonic Focus Plus Gold 750W
Mouse	SteelSeries Rival 300
Keyboard	MK Typist (Kailh Box White)

The ASUS TUF Gaming Alliance

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer

Cheeseball

Not a Potato

EzioAs

Athlonite

Chomiq

macrobe

INSTG8R

Vanguard Beta Tester

Hugis

Chloe Price

3125b

Dracius

Chomiq

shk021051

Dammeron

Dracius

Chloe Price

TheinsanegamerN

Athlonite

sepheronx

Calmmo

gamefoo21

Cheeseball

Not a Potato

damric

Dammeron

Cheeseball

Not a Potato

System Name	AMD AORUS
Processor	AMD RYZEN R7 2700X
Motherboard	GIGABYTE B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI
Cooling	AORUS ATC700
Memory	AORUS GP-AR32C16S8K2HU416R
Video Card(s)	GIGABYTE RX VEGA 64 SILVER 8G
Storage	AORUS GP-ASM2NE2512GTTDR
Display(s)	PHILIPS 276E9QJAB/00
Case	Open frame
Audio Device(s)	GIGABYTE GP-S7500
Power Supply	GIGABYTE G750H
Mouse	Sharkoon Shark Zone M50
Keyboard	Sharkoon Purewriter TKL RGB

System Name	Hellbox 4.0(same case new guts)
Processor	Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard	Gigabyte Auros X570 Pro
Cooling	TT Kandalf L.C.S.(Water/Air)EK Velocity CPU Block/Noctua
Memory	2x8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3800CL18
Video Card(s)	Sapphire 5700XT Nitro+
Storage	970 Evo Plus 500GB WD Caviar Black SATA 3 1TB x2 RAID1 2xSamsung 850 Evo 500GB RAID 0 1TB WD Blue
Display(s)	Samsung CGH70 27” 1440 144hz Freesync 2 HDR
Case	TT Kandalf L.C.S.
Audio Device(s)	Soundblaster ZX/Logitech Z906 5.1
Power Supply	Seasonic X-1050W 80+ Gold
Mouse	G502 Proteus Spectrum
Keyboard	G19s
Software	Win 10 Pro x64

System Name	Office/Gamer Mk IITi
Processor	i7 4770K @ 4.4Ghz @1.23v
Motherboard	MSI Gaming 5 Z97
Cooling	AiO MSI Dragon(H55), MX-4
Memory	16GB(2x8) Corsair CM3X8GA2133C11Y4 @2400MHz
Video Card(s)	ASUS 1080 Ti FE
Storage	Samsung SM961 256Gb Nvme-Boot, Toshiba MK5075GSX-storage
Display(s)	LG W2261VP @ 1920 * 1080
Case	Corsair Carbide 200R
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC1150 (On Board)
Power Supply	Corsair TX750W
Mouse	Rii M01(3360Sensor)
Keyboard	Logitech S530
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64Bit

Processor	Intel Core i5-7600K @ 4GHz
Motherboard	Asrock H270 Pro4
Cooling	Copper-based Intel stock cooler
Memory	16GB DDR4-2400
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GTX 1080 Ti Gaming OC Black @ +100/+550
Storage	120GB SSD (OS), 3x 480GB SSD (games), 2TB HDD (crap)
Display(s)	2x 1080p
Case	Kolink Inspire K7
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Nexus RX-8500 rev2
Mouse	Logitech G400s
Keyboard	Dell Multimedia Pro keyboard
Software	Windows 10 Pro English

System Name	Cast Lead™
Processor	Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-7600 CPU @ 3.50GHz
Motherboard	Asus ROG STRIX H270F GAMING
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED
Memory	G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4 2400
Video Card(s)	MSI Radeon RX 480 GAMING X 8G
Storage	Seagate 1TB 7200 rpm
Display(s)	LG 24MP59G
Case	Green Z4
Audio Device(s)	Realtek High Definition Audio
Power Supply	Green 650 UK Gold
Software	Windows 10™ Pro 64 bit

System Name	PCGR
Processor	Intel 10500 ES
Motherboard	MSI Z490 Gaming Plus
Cooling	Snowman MT4 Dual Fan
Memory	2x8GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s)	ASUS GTX 1070 Turbo
Storage	1x 1tb ADATA XPG 8200 Pro NVME \| 1x 1TB WD Blue HDD
Display(s)	BenQ 24" 1080P
Case	Thermaltake S300
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Cooler Master 550W MWE 80+ Gold
Software	Windows 10 64bit Pro

System Name	Neon Master
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5900x
Motherboard	x570 Aorus Master F33c
Cooling	H115i RGB Platinum 280mm/Case Fans NF-A14 x4
Memory	G.Skill Neo 32GB @3800 MT/s C16
Video Card(s)	RTX 3080 Tuf OC
Storage	MP600 2TB
Display(s)	LG 27GL850-b
Case	Phanteks Evolv X
Audio Device(s)	DT 770 Pro
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime Ultra Titanium 1000w
Mouse	Scimitar Pro
Keyboard	K95 Platinum

System Name	R2V2 *In Progress
Processor	Ryzen 7 2700
Motherboard	Asrock X570 Taichi
Cooling	W2A... water to air
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z3466 B-die
Video Card(s)	Radeon VII repaired and resurrected
Storage	Adata and Samsung NVME
Display(s)	Samsung LCD
Case	Some ThermalTake
Audio Device(s)	Asus Strix RAID DLX upgraded op amps
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime something or other
Software	Windows 10 Pro x64

System Name	Borg Cube
Processor	R5 3600
Motherboard	X470 Taichi
Cooling	TCP-612
Memory	32GB @3800CL16
Video Card(s)	RX Vega 56
Storage	Silicon Power A80 1TB x2
Display(s)	Samsung UE590
Case	HAF XB
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z623
Power Supply	LEADEX II
Mouse	Cooler Master MM710
Keyboard	Logi G105
Software	10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	https://hwbot.org/user/damric/