Question ASROCK B650 PG Lightning vs ASUS TUF GAMING B650-PLUS for entry level AM5?

[PrinceOfDarkness00]

So whats the feeling between these two?

CPU : Ryzen 7600X & CM ML240L V2

Ideally would be looking for one to last me a while.
Don't feel like I'd be changing the CPU any time soon but having the option to upgrade to something like a 7900X/7950X perhaps, but for the GPU might as well get a good one down the line in a year or two.

 

[Darkbreeze]

So, are you talking about the ASUS Prime B650-Plus or the ASUS TUF B650-Plus WiFi, because there is no TUF B650-Plus that I can see.

 

[PrinceOfDarkness00]

So, are you talking about the ASUS Prime B650-Plus or the ASUS TUF B650-Plus WiFi, because there is no TUF B650-Plus that I can see.

The Prime one is not TUF,there is a non WIFI ASUS TUF GAMING B650-PLUS,they are the same,but theres no Wifi.

 

[PrinceOfDarkness00]

Hey guys, this is a follow-up on my previous post where I originally wanted to go with Intel 12th Gen for my new PC build.
After careful consideration, I have decided that AM5 is the better option since I don't want to build a new PC on AM4.
My build so far looks like this ;

CPU : AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
Cooler : Cooler Master ML240L V2 RGB
MB : Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus DDR5
RAM : Kingston Hx Fury Beast 16GB DDR5 5200MHz X2
PSU : Adata XPG Core Reactor 750W Gold Full Modular
SSD : Kingston NV2 1TB
Case :MS Metropolis Pro RGB

The only thing in this build that I own is an RTX 3070 that I already bought, since Im buying all these components one by one I decided I want to make a final decision by the end of this week so I can start building it all together.

What I'm mainly looking for is opinions on the motherboard, and if you think an air cooler is a better option than this watercooling AiO ( One of my friends owns this CM AiO and it works wonderfully for him so I was impressed enough with it to add it to my build)


Does anyone have any experience similar to this?
The only motherboard in this price range I could find near me was the Asrock B650 PG Lightning.
I like the look of the ASUS TUF B650-Plus definitely but there's seldom reviews of it online, only 2 amazon reviews and a couple of german ones I found, all positive

Thanks in advance!

 

[Darkbreeze]

ASUS says there is not.

 

[PrinceOfDarkness00]

ASUS says there is not.

TUF GAMING B650-PLUS - https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/tuf-gaming/tuf-gaming-b650-plus/
TUF GAMING B650-PLUS WIFI - https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/tuf-gaming/tuf-gaming-b650-plus-wifi/

It does exist

 

[Darkbreeze]

Very strange that that model does not show up in a search on the ASUS website NOR is it listed as an existing model on PCPP, at least, it wasn't both times I looked for it. Clearly, it exists though so right on for linking to it. Google was not bringing up anything for me either. Sometimes this happens if the model is non-US region limited, but this doesn't seem to be the case in this case.

To start with the PG lightning has a better VRM power phase configuration, with a 41+2+1 power phase while the B650-Plus has only a 12+2 power phase, which might not matter depending on what CPU you plan to run in it and whether you intend to run PBO or manually overclock, or neither.

Both have 2.5GB LAN so no real winner there.

Both have 3x NVME M.2 slots.

The lightning board supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 for case front panel connections, which the TUF board does not. It only has 3.2 Gen 2 on the rear panel. Both have 3.2 Gen2x2 on the rear panel as well. In total the ASUS board supports 15 USB ports of various types while the ASRock board supports up to 19 ports. If you use a lot of USB ports, then the advantage is ASRock here.

ASUS does not specify what audio codec is onboard with this model, only that it is Realtek 7.1 custom codec, which I have little choice but to assume means they've gone with a less than premium codec here while the ASRock board has ALC 897 which really isn't top of the line either, and I'm going to assume this is the same as what is used on the ASUS board as both are Realtek 7.1 from the same Gen and when using a premium codec they will usually make sure you know it. A push here so to speak.

Both also have BIOS flashback.

So the only thing that really stands out between them is a seemingly better VRM on the Lightning, and an ASUS board that definitely is more attractive, in a rugged way, than this ASRock board, in my opinion. Different people different tastes though.

In truth, price and personal preference are probably the deciding factors here as both boards likely have similar features and performance with that CPU.

 

[PrinceOfDarkness00]

Very strange that that model does not show up in a search on the ASUS website NOR is it listed as an existing model on PCPP, at least, it wasn't both times I looked for it. Clearly, it exists though so right on for linking to it. Google was not bringing up anything for me either. Sometimes this happens if the model is non-US region limited, but this doesn't seem to be the case in this case.

To start with the PG lightning has a better VRM power phase configuration, with a 41+2+1 power phase while the B650-Plus has only a 12+2 power phase, which might not matter depending on what CPU you plan to run in it and whether you intend to run PBO or manually overclock, or neither.

Both have 2.5GB LAN so no real winner there.

Both have 3x NVME M.2 slots.

The lightning board supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 for case front panel connections, which the TUF board does not. It only has 3.2 Gen 2 on the rear panel. Both have 3.2 Gen2x2 on the rear panel as well. In total the ASUS board supports 15 USB ports of various types while the ASRock board supports up to 19 ports. If you use a lot of USB ports, then the advantage is ASRock here.

ASUS does not specify what audio codec is onboard with this model, only that it is Realtek 7.1 custom codec, which I have little choice but to assume means they've gone with a less than premium codec here while the ASRock board has ALC 897 which really isn't top of the line either, and I'm going to assume this is the same as what is used on the ASUS board as both are Realtek 7.1 from the same Gen and when using a premium codec they will usually make sure you know it. A push here so to speak.

Both also have BIOS flashback.

So the only thing that really stands out between them is a seemingly better VRM on the Lightning, and an ASUS board that definitely is more attractive, in a rugged way, than this ASRock board, in my opinion. Different people different tastes though.

In truth, price and personal preference are probably the deciding factors here as both boards likely have similar features and performance with that CPU.

They are practically the same in terms of price, being able to mount a better CPU on it in the future does make the ASrock one seem like a better board right?
I love the design of the Asus one though,if it can also handle a 7950X or something of that magnitude in the future would be awesome

 

[Darkbreeze]

Both brands are usually pretty good. I've had a few run ins with ASUS that I'm not too happy about still, and so have a few others around here, but honestly I don't have a problem buying or recommending almost anything from MSI, ASUS, ASRock or Gigabyte if we are just basing it on general quality. Everybody tries to make good stuff these days. But sometimes there are just stupid oversights that make you slap foreheads. Between these two boards I'm not sure you could begrudge anything if you bought one instead of the other to be honest.