Asus Launches ROG Strix B365-G Gaming Motherboard
The ROG STRIX B365-G is aimed at gamers on a budget using non-K Intel CPUs
ASUS recently revealed its ROG STRIX B365-G Gaming motherboard for Intel’s latest 9th and 8th Generation Coffee Lake processors. Based around the 22nm B365 chipset, this ASUS board is estimated to retail for around $100.
Powered by 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS connectors, the B365-G utilizes a 7+2 phase Digi+ power phase design that feeds the LGA 1151 socket, four DDR4 DIMM slots, and other board components. Locked to a maximum of 64 GB DDR4 2666 MHz, the B365-G motherboard does not support overclocking (though XMP memory profiles are supported).
Internal expansion options and external rear I/O are listed below.
Motherboard Internal Expansion
- 1 x PCI-E 3.0 x16
- 1 x PCI-E 3.0 x16 (wired as x4)
- 1 x PCI-E 3.0 x1
- 1 x M.2 E Key (for Wi-Fi module)
- 2 x M.2 2280 (for SSDs)
- 1 x SATA / PCI-E
- 1 x PCI-E
- 6 x SATA III
- 1 x Aura RGB strip header
Motherboard Rear I/O
- 1 x PS/2
- 2 x USB 2.0
- 1 x DVI-D
- 1 x HDMI
- 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2
- 4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
- 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (Intel i219V)
- 5 x Analog audio + S/PDIF optical (Realtek-based SupremeFX S1220A)
ASUS ROG STRIX B365-G mATX
ASUS ROG STRIX B365-G Rear IO
ASUS ROG STRIX B365-G Motharboard Layout
ASUS ROG STRIX B365-G Accessories
The expansion is fairly basic, but should be enough to get the job done for most enthusiasts (this is on the budget side of the ROG lineup after all). ASUS appears to have put some effort into building up the Realtek ALC1220 audio codec by pairing it with high quality Japanese capacitors, dual op-amps, EMI shielding, and ground layer isolation to reduce interference and noise from other motherboard components. Curiously, ASUS lists the Intel B365 chipset as the source for the two USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports, but I am guessing they merely mean that the USB 3.1 Gen 2 is routed through the chipset and is using some of those HSIO lanes as B365 does not have it’s own built in USB 3.1g2 or WLAN so they are likely using an ASMedia chip for the 10Gbps USB.
The Intel wired networking, ALC1220 codec, and 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports put the ASUS board a bit above the other B365 chipset-based motherboard competition, but specific pricing is still unknown. TechPowerUp estimates that the board will sit somewhere around the $100 mark, and with the ASRock motherboards priced from $80 to $100+ right now, I would guess that their estimate is not far off for sale pricing with MSRP being a bit more around $129. With only a handful of B365 motherboards available right now, more competition is welcome.
I’ve always been a complete nub when it comes to memory overclocking. Does the 2666 limit only apply to manual settings? Will it be able to go higher with XMP?
Hi, I will update if i can get an official answer but I looked into it for you and, unfortunately, I think even with XMP any profiles higher than 2666 MHx would be limited and still run at 2666 MHz though you may be able to take advantage of tighter timings on a higher xmp profile.
That’s a shame, but I guess this type of thing happens a lot to push ‘enthusiasts’ towards higher-priced stuff.