ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming DDR4 AMD Motherboard

The ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming DDR4 is a full-size ATX motherboard built on AMD's B550 chipset for the AM4 socket, designed to support 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen processors. Measuring 12 × 9.6 inches (30.5 × 24.4 cm), it brings enthusiast-tier connectivity and power delivery to mid-range builds without stepping up to the X570 platform. At the heart of the board's storage offering are two M.2 slots, both supporting type 2242/2260/2280/22110 devices. The primary M.2_1 slot — fed directly by the CPU — runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 for maximum sequential throughput, while M.2_2 operates at PCIe 3.0 x4 via the B550 chipset. Six SATA 6 Gb/s ports round out storage options, with RAID 0, 1, and 10 support. Note that populating M.2_2 disables SATA ports 5 and 6. Networking is handled by an Intel I225-V controller delivering 2.5 Gb Ethernet, complemented by ASUS LANGuard surge protection and GameFirst VI software for application-level bandwidth prioritisation. An onboard Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac module with Bluetooth 5.0 is also included via the rear I/O. Audio is powered by the ROG SupremeFX S1220A codec — an 8-channel HD audio solution with 120 dB SNR on stereo playback output and 113 dB SNR on recording input. Dual op-amplifiers, impedance sensing for front and rear headphone outputs, premium Japanese capacitors, SupremeFX Shielding technology, and an optical S/PDIF output complete the audio stack. DTS Sound Unbound and Sonic Studio III (including Sonic Studio Virtual Mixer) are bundled for software audio processing. Memory support spans four DIMM slots accommodating up to 128 GB of DDR4 in dual-channel configuration (OptiMem II), with native speeds up to DDR4-3200 and overclocked profiles reaching DDR4-5000 (O.C.). Expansion slots include one PCIe 4.0 x16 (CPU-direct, x16 mode), one PCIe 3.0 x16 (B550 chipset, x4 mode), and three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots. AMD 2-Way CrossFireX multi-GPU is supported. Rear I/O provides 2 × USB 3.2 Gen 2 (1 × Type-A + 1 × Type-C), 4 × USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 2 × USB 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 2.1 (4K@60 Hz), and 5 × gold-plated audio jacks. DIY-friendly features include a pre-mounted I/O shield, BIOS FlashBack button (CPU- and RAM-free BIOS update), Q-LEDs for instant POST diagnosis, reinforced SafeSlot PCIe retention, and a 6-layer PCB. Aura Sync RGB is supported via two standard RGB headers and one Addressable Gen 2 header. Warranty: 3 years. Verifiable Specifications: - Socket: AM4 | Chipset: AMD B550 - Form Factor: ATX, 12 × 9.6 in (30.5 × 24.4 cm) - Memory: 4 × DIMM, max 128 GB DDR4, up to DDR4-5000 (O.C.) - Storage: 1 × M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4, 1 × M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4, 6 × SATA 6 Gb/s, RAID 0/1/10 - LAN: Intel I225-V 2.5 Gb Ethernet; Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac + Bluetooth 5.0 - Audio: SupremeFX S1220A, 120 dB SNR playback, 113 dB SNR recording - Rear USB: 2 × USB 3.2 Gen 2, 4 × USB 3.2 Gen 1, 2 × USB 2.0 - Video Out: 1 × DisplayPort 1.2, 1 × HDMI 2.1 - BIOS: 256 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI - Warranty: 3 Years