ASUS TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI vs GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

all judged against motherboards at a similar price

The ASUS TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI scores 7.3/10 overall, ahead of the GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX at 6.2/10.

The ASUS TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI leads on platform and features, connectivity, power delivery and value.

The GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX leads on BIOS and support.

The biggest difference is power delivery, where the ASUS TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI scores 8/10 to the GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX's 5/10.

ASUS TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI

7.3/10verdict: good, not the best

The ASUS TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI is an ATX AM5 board for building a mainstream Ryzen 9000, 8000 or 7000 desktop. It suits buyers who want PCIe 5.0 graphics, Wi-Fi 7, 2.5GbE and a 20Gbps USB-C port on one board. It is less suited to extreme overclockers or anyone who needs several PCIe 5.0 drives.

Typically about £184.90 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK

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GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX

6.2/10verdict: good, not the best

The GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX is a micro ATX AM5 board for compact builds on Ryzen 7000, 8000 or 9000 processors. It suits buyers who want one PCIe 5.0 NVMe drive, 2.5GbE and built-in Wi-Fi. It fits a general-purpose desktop, a small workstation or a light homelab box that needs four SATA ports.

Typically about £144.99 in the UK when we researched itSearch Amazon UK

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Scores, criterion by criterion

Criterion	Weight	ASUS TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI	GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX
Platform and features	25%	7/10	6/10
Connectivity	25%	8/10	7/10
Power delivery	20%	8/10	5/10
BIOS and support	15%	6/10	7/10
Value	15%	7/10	6/10
Overall		7.3/10	6.2/10

Specifications

Spec	ASUS TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI	GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX
CPU socket (e.g. AM5, AM4, LGA1851, LGA1700)	AM5; supports AMD Ryzen 9000, 8000 and 7000 series	AM5 (Ryzen 7000, 8000 and 9000 series)
Chipset	AMD B850	AMD B650
Form factor (ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, E-ATX)	ATX, 30.5 x 24.4 cm	Micro ATX, 24.4 x 24.4 cm
Memory: type (DDR4 or DDR5), number of slots, maximum capacity and speed	DDR5, 4 DIMM slots, maximum 256GB, up to 8000+ MT/s overclocked, ECC and non-ECC unbuffered support	DDR5, 4 DIMM slots, up to 256 GB (64 GB per DIMM), dual channel; base speeds 5200/4800/4400 MT/s with OC profiles up to 8000 MT/s; EXPO and XMP supported
M.2 NVMe slots and their PCIe generation	Three Key M slots: M.2_1 is 2280 PCIe 5.0 x4 with Ryzen 9000 and 7000 CPUs; M.2_2 is PCIe 4.0 x4; M.2_3 is 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 sharing bandwidth with the second x16 slot	2 x M.2 slots, both CPU-connected: M2A_CPU PCIe 5.0 x4/x2 and M2B_CPU PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 (Ryzen 7000/9000)
PCIe slots	One PCIe 5.0 x16; one PCIe 4.0 x16 (x8/x4 on 8000 series CPUs, x4 on chipset); two PCIe 4.0 x1	1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 from CPU (PCIEX16); 1 x PCIe 4.0 x4 from chipset (PCIEX4)
Wired and wireless networking (e.g. 2.5GbE, Wi-Fi 7)	Realtek 2.5Gb Ethernet; Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be, 2x2) with Bluetooth 5.4	Realtek 2.5GbE LAN; Wi-Fi 6E (Realtek RTL8852CE on rev 1.2/1.3); Bluetooth 5.2 or 5.3; no Wi-Fi 7 listed
Rear USB ports, including USB-C and USB4	Rear (10 ports): one USB 20Gbps Type-C, three USB 10Gbps Type-A, four USB 5Gbps Type-A, two USB 2.0. Front: one USB 10Gbps Type-C, one USB 5Gbps header, two USB 2.0 headers. USB4 only via internal Thunderbolt header	Rear: 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gb/s, from CPU), 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 5 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 4 x USB 2.0; no rear USB4 or 20 Gb/s port listed

Strengths and weaknesses

ASUS TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI

+ Wi-Fi 7, 2.5GbE and a rear 20Gbps USB-C port
+ 14+2+1 80A DrMOS power stages with 8+8 pin power
+ BIOS FlashBack button plus EZ Flash 3 and CrashFree BIOS 3
− Only one M.2 slot runs at PCIe 5.0
− USB4 only through an internal Thunderbolt header
− Some owners report memory and boot problems

Skip it if:

Buyers who want more than one PCIe 5.0 M.2 drive
Buyers who need USB4 ports on the rear panel
Extreme overclockers pushing heavy voltage and power limits

Read the full ASUS TUF GAMING B850-PLUS WIFI review ›

GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX

+ PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot plus a second CPU-connected M.2
+ Q-Flash Plus updates BIOS with no CPU, RAM or GPU
+ Front 20Gb/s USB-C header and 2.5GbE onboard
− No Wi-Fi 7; Wi-Fi 6E only
− No rear USB4 or 20Gb/s port
− Graphics slot is PCIe 4.0 x16

Skip it if:

Buyers who want Wi-Fi 7 built into the board
Anyone needing rear USB4 or 20Gb/s ports for fast external storage
Builders planning several add-in cards, given the two expansion slots

Read the full GIGABYTE B650M AORUS ELITE AX review ›

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