In today’s comparison review, we will be reading about two exceptional budget gaming motherboards. They are the Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro vs Asus Strix B450-F gaming products. Thanks to the Ryzen 2000 CPU, the B450 chipset has been produced into the AMD AM4 platform.
In one of our earlier reviews, we did test the X470 Aorus Gaming 7 WIFI, and we were quite impressed with it. We are sure that the budget B450 Aorus Pro board will provide fireworks to make it seem breathtaking.
For $120 and above, we feel that this B450 unit is suitable for coders and gamers who are not keen on using the X470’s added feature set. However, our tester was very confident that Gigabyte has produced an exceptional board.
The Asus Rog Strix B450-F gaming motherboard is a stunning model infused with some of the latest specifications in. Though it comes under the budget model, it emphasizes gaming and related premium features.
The unit comes with the Intel I211-AT Gigabit networking controller, SupremeFX S1220A audio codec, and HDMI 2.0b output. All of these can be found on the rear panel. We also noticed that the Strix DisplayPort 1.2 output is present there for operating on Ryzen 2000 models.
It also comes with the essential feature of RGB LED light. This feature is behind the ROG eye on the rear panel, and you can expand it because of the two AURA Sync RGB headers. Sadly, we also noticed that it does not come with NVIDIA SLI multi-graphics.
Now, this is an under $200 motherboard, and most of them in the market today don’t have it. So, that aspect is alright. We felt that it would have been suitable for this kind of product. The PCB is quite interesting to note.
You can find it once you have installed it on the chassis of your choice. The unit comes using the SupremeFX S1220A audio supporting the Ryzen 7 2700X processor. It has got you covered. You can also find M.2 Key E slot, RGB LEDs, USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, and 2 M.2 slots for storage.
Without wasting any more time, let us read the review and find out who the winner is.
 |  |
|---|---|
| GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO | ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING |
| PROS | PROS |
| The unit is sleekly designed for optimum layout. The model’s performance is commendable. It comes infused with outstanding firmware. It has exceptional connectivity options. This board is a brand for a value product. | The design of the board is opulent. The board comes with an integrated rear IO panel. It comes with debug panel LEDs. The unit provides magnificent overclocking on the 2700X without hassle. It is priced cheap and affordable. |
| CONS | CONS |
| The unit has OC limits due to hardware and software implementation. | It has no M.2 heatsinks & Wi-Fi. |
Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro vs Asus Rog Strix B450-F Gaming: Features & Layout
The Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro is usually found in the top-end models of the brand. They decided to jump the bandwagon. Let us see if they have hit the jackpot. The features & layout of the board are pretty decent, actually.
The unit is quite similar to the X470 Aorus 5. Unfortunately, we did not see LED-lit DIMM and PCIe slots. It comes infused with RGB power switches, an addressable LED interface, and RGB lights.
Unlike the Asus, Gigabyte is not generous with the accessories. You can find a couple of SATA cables, a badge sticker, a Wi-Fi antenna, and the documentation. On the I/O panel, you can see the unit’s decreased IO.
It comes with only 2 USB3.1 Gen2, 4 USB3.1 Gen1, DVI-D, HDMI 2.0, and close to 5 analog audio. You can note 2 Wi-Fi antenna ports and 1 digital audio jack. The back panel design impressed our tester, who felt that it was on par with top-end models.
The audio coverage on the board was the excellent Realtek ALC1220-VB codec. You will be delighted to use it as the audio comes with signal-to-noise ratios and impedance detection. This is highly useful for low-end headsets.
If you are not pleased with that, you can use the Intel I211AT controller for the cFosSpeed Internet Accelerator. It also comes with the 802.11ac controller. Similarly, the Asus Rog Strix B450-F gaming motherboard concentrates on the AM4 socket.
Here you can see the VRMs, DRAM slots, and fan headers. You can notice the shroud that can cover the 2 VRM heatsinks. Please note that the VRM comes in 6 total phases with the 4+2 channel controller.
The fan headers are nicely located where they should be, enabling optimum heat displacement. We were quite happy to see that the headers support both DC and PWM fans. Gamers can efficiently control them using the Fan Expert 4 in AISuite and the QFan in the BIOS.
Users will know when there is an issue as the LED will be lit up in that particular area. We liked this feature because the unit does not come with the beep speaker or the POST code LED debugger. The RGB headers are integrated and connected through the Asus Aura software.
You can find four DRAM slots on the right side of the unit. Sadly, they do not come with any sort of protection. That is not really a botheration when you are going to decide on the sticks. Coming to the audio, this comes with the SupremeFX or the Realtek ALC1220.
We would like to mention the contents of the packaging for your convenience. They include 4x SATA cables, M.2 screws, Alternative chipset cover, RGB LED extension, 7x zip ties, Installation manual, and the Driver disk.
You can also find the ROG door hanger and the ROG stickers for your convenience. As we always say, the manufacturer has packed the motherboard itself speaks volumes about their professionalism towards their customers.
This is one aspect that users cannot deny. All in all, the features & layout of the Gigabyte and the Asus units are good. We really could not decide on which one was better. You can make out the specifications by looking at the units.
Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro vs Asus Rog Strix B450-F Gaming: Software and Firmware
The software and firmware of the Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro are quite powerful for the specifications offered. Our tester was delighted with what he saw. There is the Gigabyte accessible mode that you may consider using.
It comes in the classic default mode and is able to fill the monitor with details about the motherboard. You can use the classic menu to access the CPU clock ratio. Using the menu, you can easily reach the 4GHz overclock and DDR4-3200MHz.
Would you please do note that the B450 board maybe not be suitable for higher level of tuning in X470? You can derive a stunning performance with the 2700X. Our tester was more than impressed with the specifications and felt that it could be named as a top-end unit.
The inclusion of Wi-Fi and the excellent features infused in it make the board suitable for designing a gaming CPU. Of course, you will want to forget about using the drives, second graphics card, and USB devices.
You can, however, consider a speedy boot SSD and graphics card upgrade. Likewise, the software & firmware infused on the Asus Rog Strix B450-F motherboard comes with the application called as the Ai Suite 3.
This is a one-stop-shop for fan control, monitoring the system, overclocking, and doing others. There is also the Dual Intelligent Processors 5 (DIP5) that lists some things within the application. You can find the monitoring data at the bottom of the application.
You can see that the monitoring comes with voltage, temperature, CPU speed, and fan speeds. If you are clicking into the settings, you can also use the adjustment in the voltage, temperature setting, and fan speed alarms.
You will adore the Fan Xpert 4. The BIOS includes the advanced mode coming with most of the similar menu on it. You can find a list of keyboard shortcuts for other areas of the BIOS. You can find Ai Tweaker, My Favorites, Main, Advanced, Monitor, Tool, and Boot on the main headers.
You can also find the Monitoring and Q-Fan section. Here you can effortlessly adjust the pump that is connected. The headers nicely support the PWM and DC control. As you know, this is the Ai Suite 3’s Fan Xpert 4 that can dial your fans to check the speed.
It comes with the EZ Mode that comes with intense information on the system. Some of them include populated slots, CPU and memory, fan speeds, SATA and M.2 data, and the CPU temperatures.
Overall, the software & firmware of both the Aorus Pro and the Rog Strix B450-F motherboards come with exceptional capabilities. You can do an abundance of work using them. With these kinds of specifications, they are not justified if they are called budget models.
Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro vs Asus Rog Strix B450-F Gaming: Overclocking
Overclocking is an essential aspect of any motherboard. Can these two motherboards categorized in the budget level come with proper overclocking? Let us find out. We tested the Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro was induced to 40.0 for initial testing.
It gave good results, and the multiplier increased to 0.25 steps up to 4100MHz. When the voltage is enhanced, it comes with 6.25mV step sizes. The motherboard does not support load line calibration changes.
When the voltage was increased slightly higher, it became unstable. That is reasonably expected from the budget model. You can reduce the clock multiplier for getting stable and got the effective maximum rate of 4125 MHz.
We liked the regular design. However, the heatsinks need to be developed better. Our tester found them to be slightly below par than what should have been there. Though the maker claims to use 8 real phases, it comes with modest overclocking.
The AMD 2nd Generation Ryzen CPU cannot clock more higher than 4GHz anyway. But it showed exceptional memory overclocking. After 66MHz steps, the DDR4-3266 had to be dialed down before we let it run for a half-hour; the performance was good.
If you are a beginner, then the Asus Rog Strix B450-F motherboard has got you covered. You can make use of the Ai Suite 3. Our tester felt that it comes with all the data you require to run the stable system.
Besides, you can also make the settings for overclocking. That also includes the cooling system. Overclocking and cooling are both interrelated. If you look at the TPU section of Ai Suite 3, you can notice that it comes within 2 parts.
At the top, you can effortlessly adjust the CPU multiplier slider. In the bottom portion, you can adjust the voltage. It comes included with the VDDSOC used for the memory controller, DRAM, CPU VCore, and minor voltages.
When you want to use overclocking using the Windows PC, then the TPU section is best. It was designed for this purpose as you can find a list of keyboard shortcuts to various other areas. They also include the BIOS, My Favorites, Qfan Control to access the fans, a quick button to disable or enable onboard RGB LEDs, and EZ Tuning Wizard for automated overclocking.
On the whole, the overclocking of both the Gigabyte and Asus motherboards is stupendous. Their overclocking times were incredible and powerful for the price range. When you search for a cheap and robust unit, it has to be any of this.
Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro vs Asus Rog Strix B450-F Gaming: Price
The Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro gaming motherboard is priced under $140. Our tester was quite satisfied with the price and specifications infused in it. The board supports AMD 1st & 2nd generation Ryzen using Radeon Vega graphics processors.
It also provides adequate support for the dual-channel non-ECC unbuffered DDR4 and the 4 DIMMs. The Asus Rog Strix B450-F gaming motherboard is priced under $135. It can support optimum gaming connectivity with tons of options and audio features with AI noise-canceling microphone technology.
Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro vs Asus Rog Strix B450-F Gaming: Verdict
We have reached the end of our comparison review between the Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro vs Asus Rog Strix B450-F gaming motherboards. We hope that you enjoyed reading it and were able to decide on the budget motherboard.
The Aorus Pro motherboard is a nicely designed unit that comes with all the features embedded in it that put a smile on any gamer. You do not have to be a gamer because this unit is suitable for other users like programmers, designers, and video editors as well.
The software & firmware in the motherboard is quite good. They managed to do well in the testing. Its overclocking speed is also stunning and exceeded our expectations. Please note, budget boards cannot give you a spectacular performance.
The B450 Aorus Pro board could not entirely step up its game on the Ryzen CPU. We were slightly surprised noting that. However, this kind of functioning was quite the expected from priced $200 models.
Otherwise, the Gigabyte motherboard provided what it could perform, offering most gamers a remarkable pace. It is definitely worth of Aorus brand. Wrapping up, the Asus Rog Strix B450-F gaming motherboard comes with outstanding specifications for the $135 price.
It allowed decent overclocking as our tester could run up the 2700X to 4.2 GHz. It was able to handle these things splendidly, much better than the Aorus Pro. You will want to know that the unit has the standard SATA port allotment, several USB ports, dual M.2 slots, and the USB Type-C port.
We noted that the pre-mounted IO shield provides it good value giving it a premium look. Gamers can confidently design their Ryzen based PC without issues. This model does not come with Wi-Fi, so if it was not your part of your requirement, then this is a good choice.
Our winner in this comparison review would be the Asus Rog Strix B450-F gaming motherboard.
James Smith has always been intrigued by electronic products since his childhood. After his post graduation in electronics from a popular university, he decided to pursue a career in the electronics sector. But his calling for writing about these marvellous pieces of work got the better of him. That is how UBG was started. With a writing career spanning more than 12 years, James has worked on several hundred product reviews. During his free time, he like to spend time with his pet dog and relax in the swimming pool.