Motherboard ASUS B550I-Strix

[Valantar]

Is that VRM fan even remotely necessary though? Even a 3900X or 3950X tops out at 150 or so watts unless you're doing fixed clock OC at unsafe voltages, so 110-130A at most, I would assume a premium VRM with even a middling heatsink and some access to air would be able to cool that just fine.

 

[tinyitx]

The fan it's a 6.9mm 30x30mm. I couldn't find any replacement for it. The closer is a DELTA but is 5V, so it didn't work!

That is an odd size. I wonder if Asus uses this for the Z490-I Gaming too. Do you know?

BTW, I did a quick search and 30x30x7 12V fan does not seem to be rare.
Eg this one has 5V and 12V versions, but only 2-pin (ie no PWM)

security-X5

Then, this one says PWM is available too but min order is 500 units.

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I think, if one digs a little deeper, a replacement fan can be found.

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

Ended up on chinese internet to find all about its bigger sister, the X570-I Gaming.

It Indeed uses 2x ASB0312HP-00 30x30x6.9mm 12v fans to cool the VRM and the chipset. So chances are they reused the same one.

As mentioned, it might a modified version of the Delta ASB0305HP-00 (5V).

By the way, that chinese site as huge technical informations about the X570-I...

來裝 16 核心小鋼砲吧！Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming Mini-ITX 主機板評測

受惠於 AMD chiplet 設計以及 TSMC 7nm 製程，AM4 封裝面積能夠納入 2 個實體八核心 CCX 晶粒，推出實體十二核心、十六核心 Ryzen 9 3900X/3950X 處...

www.techbang.com

 

[fabio]

Ended up on chinese internet to find all about its bigger sister, the X570-I Gaming.

It Indeed uses 2x ASB0312HP-00 30x30x6.9mm 12v fans to cool the VRM and the chipset. So chances are they reused the same one.

As mentioned, it might a modified version of the Delta ASB0305HP-00 (5V).

By the way, that chinese site as huge technical informations about the X570-I...

來裝 16 核心小鋼砲吧！Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming Mini-ITX 主機板評測

受惠於 AMD chiplet 設計以及 TSMC 7nm 製程，AM4 封裝面積能夠納入 2 個實體八核心 CCX 晶粒，推出實體十二核心、十六核心 Ryzen 9 3900X/3950X 處...

www.techbang.com

Yes! I was only able to find the 5v on digikey, discovering too late that wasn’t working because 5V.
IF the VRM heatsink will be a bit different, you can mount the A4x10 from noctua actually. On the X570 wasn’t fitting for a few mm. But the VRM really doesn’t need a fan though, the temps with the 3950x were around 80C under load without the fan!

 

[tinyitx]

Found it in Taobao. There could be more sellers but this is just the one I found anyway.

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item.taobao.com

 

[claybot999]

I'm curious, I've seen on the Asus website that this board supports 2 x M.2. Is it possible, or does anyone know if they are both under the front M.2 heat-sink/ chip-set cover like the Z490-I? Or do you think the second M.2 placement is on the backside like the X570-I?

 

[thelaughingman]

I'm curious, I've seen on the Asus website that this board supports 2 x M.2. Is it possible, or does anyone know if they are both under the front M.2 heat-sink/ chip-set cover like the Z490-I? Or do you think the second M.2 placement is on the backside like the X570-I?

there's no picture of the back side but I bet the 2nd M.2 would be there, since the M.2 cover on the front doesn't look tall enough for a stack dual drive.

 

[bwjohnson0]

What you are describing is bluetooth. It is also quite astounding that you're accusing people here of not planning out their builds and of lacking knowledge when you demonstrably don't know the difference between bluetooth and proprietary wireless technologies. Not all wireless peripherals are bluetooth peripherals - far from it. Most use proprietary 2.4GHz RF signals with bespoke receivers. At least when it comes to gaming peripherals this is largely to improve response times, as bluetooth is a slow and high latency standard that was never designed for low-latency use. BT is extremely handy in a lot of situations (such as reducing the need for dongles) but in terms of responsiveness, stability and signal quality, the hierarchy is, has always been, and will likely always be wired>proprietary 2.4GHz>Bluetooth. A lot of mobile mice these days (such as some from Logitech) allow for either BT or 2.4GHz connections, and the difference in input latency (at least for my M720) is night and day. Playing games is tolerable with the dongle, but outright impossible using bluetooth. Even desktop usage feels laggy for anything that requires a modicum of speed if using BT - but it's entirely fine for web browsing, text editing and other general use.

Now can we stop this stupid argument and get back to the board? If you need more than four USB-A on your motherboard, this is clearly not for you (unless you buy a couple of cheap C-to-A dongles). If you don't, there's still no need to be an ass towards those who do.

I think this looks like a nice enough board, and I'm glad it ditches the X570-I Strix' gigantic m.2+chipset heatsink (I guess they took the name AMD Promontory a bit too literally with that design?), but the VRM cooling fan is indeed annoying, as is the use of only two phases for the SoC. Hopefully they are high quality, at least. I also hope the HDMI port is 2.1 compatible (MSI claims that for their ITX board), though the lack of mention of it makes me think it's unlikely.

Also, 2.5GbE would be great if it weren't the hardware bugged Intel chip ... I mean, what's the point of using a 2.5GbE chip that has a bug that can bring speeds down to 10-100Mbps? A normal GbE controller would be better at that point. Or Realtek's ... actually working 2.5GbE controller, of course.

ROG STRIX B550-I GAMING | ROG Strix | Gaming Motherboards｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global

www.asus.com

It is HDMI 2.1 compatible.

 

[Valantar]

I just spotted that the second type-C port on the rear - the one beneath the audio jacks - is an "audio type C" port, limited to USB 2.0, and seemingly targeted at use with a bundled type-C-to-3.5mm adapter cable. Anyone familiar with what this is and how it works?

 

[NOKYARD]

I just spotted that the second type-C port on the rear - the one beneath the audio jacks - is an "audio type C" port, limited to USB 2.0, and seemingly targeted at use with a bundled type-C-to-3.5mm adapter cable. Anyone familiar with what this is and how it works?

Some newer headphones feature an included DAC and are designed to connect to phones without
a headphone jack using USB C.

 

[Valantar]

Some newer headphones feature an included DAC and are designed to connect to phones without
a headphone jack using USB C.

True, but those don't need a bespoke USB port, any type-C will do. I was mainly wondering whether the bundled Asus adapter cable has a built-in DAC (seems unlikely, both judging by how it looks and the fact that the output is right next to the audio ports), and if not, if the port uses some sort of analog audio alt mode similar to some phones?

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

True, but those don't need a bespoke USB port, any type-C will do. I was mainly wondering whether the bundled Asus adapter cable has a built-in DAC (seems unlikely, both judging by how it looks and the fact that the output is right next to the audio ports), and if not, if the port uses some sort of analog audio alt mode similar to some phones?

If my memory ain't too bad, Asus mentions that this particular USB-B has some filtering for a cleaner power supply.

 

[max31092]

And I believe there are also "passive" USB-C headphones without an included DAC, so that would be a second possible usage.

 

[Valantar]

And I believe there are also "passive" USB-C headphones without an included DAC, so that would be a second possible usage.

That is using the analog alt mode I mentioned - but it's also quite rare and not really standardized. That of course also requires some sort of analog audio source connected to the USB port on the motherboard side, which is precisely what I was wondering if they had done. I don't think that has ever been done outside of smartphones, so it's a bit odd, especially as it then serves no real purpose beyond duplicating functionality that the 3.5mm jacks already provide. And bundling a good 3.5mm extension would definitely be cheaper than some weird analog USB-C-to-3.5mm cable.

 

[thelaughingman]

Buildzoid just came down hard on the B550i Strix. Moral story - B550i at 230USD, don't, try and get X570i as close as possible to MSRP (250USD)

 

[AlexTSG]

Buildzoid just came down hard on the B550i Strix. Moral story - B550i at 230USD, don't, try and get X570i as close as possible to MSRP (250USD)

I just watched that and came here to post a link, but you beat me to it!

I do agree with Buildzoid, that given how close the B550 and X570 boards are in price, ASUS should have just replaced the chipset on the X570 board with the cheaper B550 one, and sold it like that.

It really doesn't seem good value at the current price, especially when you consider how nice the competing B550 boards from GIGABYTE and MSI are. Perhaps we'll see all these B550 prices drop in the next few months.

 

[thelaughingman]

I just watched that and came here to post a link, but you beat me to it!

I do agree with Buildzoid, that given how close the B550 and X570 boards are in price, ASUS should have just replaced the chipset on the X570 board with the cheaper B550 one, and sold it like that.

well it's business 101, why would Asus do that when they can do this and get higher margin per board. I'm not surprised, yet still dissappointed.

It really doesn't seem good value at the current price, especially when you consider how nice the competing B550 boards from GIGABYTE and MSI are. Perhaps we'll see all these B550 prices drop in the next few months.

the Gigabyte B550i Pro AX is listed at 230USD equivalent by e-tailers where I live. MSI will be more expensive than Gigabyte for sure. our only hope for a saviour is Asrock ?

 

[ignsvn]

the Gigabyte B550i Pro AX is listed at 230USD equivalent by e-tailers where I live. MSI will be more expensive than Gigabyte for sure.

I thought usually MSI is cheaper than Gigabyte?

 

[thelaughingman]

I thought usually MSI is cheaper than Gigabyte?

well here in Vietnam the MSI B450i is just 13USD cheaper than the Asus B450i

 

[kazuma86]

Range price is good for me, I'm happy already sold my B450i-Gaming for this one.. But dont know when will be available in here.

But with this design I'm thinking is look a like x570i strix