ASUS ROG STRIX X570-F GAMING, AMD AM4, ATX, 128GB DDR4, 4DIMM, HDMI, DP, USB3.2

I was basing my new build around the Ryzen 5 3600X, and this board is the perfect companion.The ATX format is now so well established I'd be surprised if anyone is in doubt about what it means, but just to make sure - as long as you are pairing this with a modern PSU you cannot really go wrong. There are one or two quirks to do with powering your graphics card, and the number of power connectors pins needed for the CPU, but a moment's research will get you all the info you need.So, from that point of view my build using this board was pretty straightforward.The only issues I had were probably to do with the ATX format itself, or may have been a slight mismatch with my case.The front panel power and LED connectors were not laid out in a helpful manner, with some pins labelled "ground" and some labelled "positive" and "negative" (this information was obtained from the very helpful manual). Other boards are more considerate in this regard, but I wonder why these connections cannot be gathered into a single connector like everything else on the board.Also, the I/O cover did not sit in place correctly until the board was in place and then it clicked into place with a little fiddling. This might well have been a problem with the case, but it worked out OK in the end.One helpful feature that I didn't know I'd need (until I did!) was the inclusion of 4 tiny diagnostic LEDs which allow for trouble shooting. They light up in sequence during POST, and if one of them remains lit it can help you figure out why the PC isn't booting. In my case I had mistakenly followed the advice a famous YouTuber and altered the RAM speed in the BIOS, without activating he correct profile. This led to a RAM error, which the little yellow LED was able to indicate for me. I was then able to reset the BIOS by shorting two tiny pins on the board, and the day was saved!The BIOS was very user friendly, and even had an automated setting for the RAM speed, which I had previously ignored. My SSD drive showed up right away, along with the CPU and RAM.Windows installed quickly and booted first time no problem.The only remaining thing to do was download the latest AMD Ryzen chipset drivers, which installed with no issues.There are some decorative LEDs on this board, which I wasn't expecting. They glow through a rainbow sequence and seem to be of no practical use. But if you are planning a colour scheme you might want to investigate how these can be controlled. I have no idea!I've only been running this board for a week, but it seems pretty sturdy, pretty user friendly, and at the price (£200) it seems to represent good value for money.

If you are looking to buy a great motherboard (mobo) at a competitive price, then this one should be on top of your list. Bought it in combination with Ryzen 5 3600 and 16GB RAM, placed in a GameMax F15 Mesh case (highly recommended), and the result is a super smooth system.Pros:• Reasonable price (sub £200.00 at time of purchase) for a good quality X570 chipset mobo, with good heat dissipation from the chipset, out of the box support of Ryzen third generation processors, and guaranteed upgradability to Ryzen 4th generation.• Great VRM and easily upgradable into higher tier Ryzen 7 and 9 processors, as well as good support for overclocking.• Supports 2 CPU fans, up to 4 chassis fans (4 pins), and a dedicated AIO (liquid cooling). I am currently using a GameMax F15 Mesh case with 2 front 200mm fans / one 120mm back fan and the system runs cool and smooth, with processor temperature rarely exceeding 60ish degrees celsius and mobo usually below 40 degrees!• ATX form factor, providing good spacing between its elements such as PCIe slots, SATA M.2 (NVMe) ports, RAM slots and sound chip circuitry, with relatively easy access to all board connections.• The main PCIe port (x16) dedicated for the GPU is fortified with metal support, making it more shielded from electromagnetic interference of its surrounding as well as more resilient to the relatively hefty weight of modern days GPUs.• 2 colors coded DRAM lanes, up to 128GB.• Two NVMe SATA M.2 ports that both support PCIe 4 specification with cards lengths ranging from 42mm to 110mm.• One of the M.2 ports (the 'bottom' one) is supplied with a heat sink + a cooling thermal pad, which is great to keep your NVMe temperature under control, especially when writing lots of data on the NVMe drive.• QLED system to easily identify booting problems.• Support for ARGB (Asus Aura) if you like customising your case with lights.• Asus TUF superior quality.Cons:• Only supports 1.0 Gbit LAN out of the box. You have to use a PCIe expansion card if you want 2.5 Gbit speed.• Only one NMVe heat sink provided (a minor issue).• The Wraith Stealth cooler supplied with lower-mid Ryzen processors slightly overlaps with one of the DDR4 slots, making installing even a low-profile RAM module an issue. Many 3rd party fans should cause no such problem.• Only one USB 3 header for front panel is provided! 2 should be the minimum. Also, no USB type-C support for the front panel!• Another "minor" issue is that the Ports shield is not already installed, you have to place it first inside the case before placing the mobo itself. But as I said, it is minor.The mobo price should justify some of these drawbacks, as cuts had to be made in certain areas to keep the cost below £200. However, I think these drawbacks are not crippling for such a mobo if you have a tight budget. It provides the X570 chipset at a good price.

I've used ASUS MBoards for years apart from the last couple, due to availability, but so glad to come back. Instructions and suport are crystal clear, and just work. My previous board was MSI which was problamatic ti install and congigure, and lasted less than 2 years beofre a fatal failure. I am confidendt htat this ASUS board will last me for a number of years.Features? it has BLuetooth and WiFi build in, and again, just work well. A maximum RAM capacity of 128GB, which I have taken advantage of. On the rear panel, there are 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, and 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, all backwards compatible, plus internal USB Header options for additioanl connectivity if required.The board also come with both HDMI and DisplayPort connections.Software is intuitive and easy to install and configure, including the Armoury Crate, which allows configuration of RGB functions. There are 2 M.2 Sockets, one with a heatsink, AURA RGB and Addressable Gen 2 header sockets, which give you the flexibility and control over system LEDs.There is also a useful "Traffic light" QLED array, which gives visible identification of any issues that may occur during bootup.As far as reliability goes, I can't comment just yet as I have only had the board a couple of weeks, but so far, no issues. If previous experience is anyrthing to go by, the board will last until my next major upgrade, hopefully not for another 4-5 years.