Introduction

ASUS has long been a strong supporter of the Mini-ITX form factor and with the ASUS TUF Gaming B850I Wi-Fi Neo, the company now has an impressive four models available for AMD's 800-series chipset Socket AM5 motherboards. While the ROG Strix B850-I Gaming WiFi7 W is apparently unlikely to make it to US shores, we have looked at the two remaining ROG Strix B850 and X870 models—the new TUF model sits just beneath them.

The reason for its introduction is clear. While the ROG Strix B850-I Gaming Wi-Fi is an excellent motherboard, its price is noticeably higher than when we reviewed it a year ago. This means there's a pricing hole in the company's product stack, one that ASRock, Gigabyte and MSI have successfully filled.



The TUF Gaming B850I Wi-Fi Neo has some very stiff competition, then, especially as its current pricing places it right amongst the MSI MPG B850I Edge TI Wi-Fi and Gigabyte B850I Aorus Pro, while the ASRock Phantom Gaming B850I Lightning Wi-Fi costs $30 less. Let's see if it's a decent sub-$300 Mini-ITX option or if the established options are a better choice.

Specifications

Packaging and Contents

Given ASUS is trying to hit a lower price point here, it's unsurprising to see a far less lavish accessory set than we get with its higher-end X870 sibling. There are two SATA cables, a TUF-themed sticker set, quick start guide and Wi-Fi aerial. Smaller components include a rubber support for single-sided SSDs—an essential component to be used on the heatsink-equipped M.2 port—and there are screws and a single nut for the M.2 ports as well as they're not tool-free.

The full list of accessories includes:

• 1× Quick start guide
• 1× Sticker set
• 1× Wi-Fi antenna
• 2× SATA cables
• 2× M.2 screws
• 1× M.2 nut
• 1× M.2 rubber support