27.02.2025 
Designed for gamers, the ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi features modern technologies such as PCIe 5.0, support for DDR5 memory, and Wi-Fi 7. At the same time, for a relatively small price, it offers a good-looking design with a splash of RGB and a straightforward, user-friendly layout. In this review, you’ll discover the strengths, weaknesses, and overall experience of using this motherboard in real-world situations. Whether you’re upgrading your current system or planning an entirely new build, keep reading to see if the ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi is a good fit for you.
ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi: Who is it good for?
The ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi is a great choice for:
- Gamers who want a high-performance board
- Users who are careful about their budget
- Fans of ASUS’ Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand
Pros and cons
These are the main positive aspects of this motherboard:
- Uses the B850 chipset, which delivers strong performance
- Has PCI Express 5.0 support for both graphics cards and NVMe SSDs
- Supports very high DDR5 memory speeds (up to 8000 MT/s)
- Comes with Wi-Fi 7, 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, and Bluetooth 5.4
- Has plenty of USB ports, including 20 Gbps and 10 Gbps ports
As for the downsides:
- The price could be more competitive
- No USB 4.0 ports
- Limited expansion options (just two PCIe slots and two SATA ports)
Verdict
The ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi motherboard is a great choice for both professionals and gamers who want good performance on a somewhat smaller budget. It offers a stable platform with features like PCIe 5.0 and Wi-Fi 7, which are things you should consider when building a computer that’s ready for the future. Plus, you get excellent connectivity and a beautiful design. The price might feel a bit high, considering that you can find budget-friendly X870 boards that cost about the same. However, if you can afford it or you find it at a discount, this motherboard is a great choice and could be a perfect match for your AMD Ryzen processor.
Unboxing the ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi
Although the ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi is considered a mid-range oard, its packaging looks like that of a more premium product. On the top of the box, you see the ROG logo, and a large picture of the motherboard, so that you have a good idea on how it looks, before opening the box.
The packaging gives you a preview of how the motherboard looks
Open the box, and you first see the motherboard. Underneath, there’s a generous assortment of accessories: two SATA 6Gb/s cables, an ASUS WiFi Q-Antenna, several cable ties, an M.2 Q-Latch and M.2 Q-Slide kit, a ROG key chain, some ROG Strix stickers, and four M.2 rubber spacers. You also find the usual documents, including a quick start guide and warranty information.
ASUS offers a generous bundle of accessories
Unboxing the ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi doesn’t feel like you’re opening a mid-range product. Instead, it feels like a premium board thanks to the wealth of accessories and high-quality packaging.
Hardware specifications and design
Once you take the motherboard out, you’ll notice it’s a more affordable version of ASUS’ pricier X870 boards, such as the ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WiFi. For example, the heatsinks for the VRMs and M.2 SSDs aren’t quite as large, and more electrical circuits and components on the board are visible. However, this isn’t a problematic aspect and the board should work just fine.
The ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi motherboard
In addition, the only lit RGB zone on this motherboard is the small Republic of Gamers logo on the I/O panel.
The board has a small, RGB-lit area in the top-left corner
One of the most critical aspects of a motherboard is stable and efficient power delivery. The ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi does well here, offering a 16+2+2 power design rated at up to 80A per stage. This means it can handle sudden power demands from high-end processors, like an AMD Ryzen 9 9900X or 9950X.
The power design is solid
There are three EPS power connectors: one 24-pin ATX and two 8-pin connectors. These ensure the CPU and other components get the power they need.
The main power connector is on the right side
The ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi is based on AMD’s B850 chipset, which is more budget-friendly, but still works with the AM5 socket. This socket supports the latest Ryzen processors built on Zen 4 and Zen 5. That makes it a future-proof pick if you want ongoing compatibility with newer AMD CPUs.
The board supports the latest AMD processors
The B850 chipset also adds PCIe 5.0 support, making this board ready for the fastest graphics cards and storage devices, now and down the road. It has a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for the GPU and two PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots for SSDs, meeting demanding gaming requirements.
It has PCIe 5 support for the GPU and SSDs
TIP: If you need a refresher, here’s an explanation on AMD’s current chipsets: AMD AM5 chipsets explained (X870E, X870, B850, B840 & all the others).
The ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi supports DDR5, the newest standard in RAM. You find four DIMM slots that can hold up to 256 GB of DDR5 memory, with speeds reaching 8000 MT/s.
There are four DDR5 slots on the motherboard
In terms of storage, the board includes four M.2 slots. Two of them support PCIe 5.0, providing compatibility with the latest NVMe SSDs. The other two handle PCIe 4.0, which is still quite fast. If you need them, there are also two SATA ports for regular hard drives or SATA SSDs.
You get plenty of headers, mostly at the bottom of the board
As implied by the name, the ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi comes with wireless networking. It features Wi-Fi 7, which brings higher speeds, lower latency, and more reliable signal compared to older wireless standards. Plus, there’s a 2.5G Ethernet port for steady wired network connections.
Alongside the LAN port and Wi-Fi connectors, the rear I/O panel of the ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi offers plenty of other ports too. Though you won’t find USB 4, you do get a USB Type-C at 20 Gbps, three USB 10 Gbps ports (two Type-A and one Type-C), four USB Type-A ports at 5 Gbps, and four USB 2.0 Type-A ports. You also have a DisplayPort, an HDMI port, two audio jacks, an optical S/PDIF out port, a BIOS Flashback button, and a Clear CMOS button. On the motherboard itself, there are headers for one USB 10 Gbps port (supports Type-C), one USB 5 Gbps header (adding two more USB 5 Gbps ports), and two USB 2.0 headers (adding four more USB 2.0 ports for a case’s front panel).
The I/O panel has plenty of ports, but no USB4
TIP: The BIOS Flashback feature lets you update the motherboard’s UEFI firmware without starting the operating system, and the Clear CMOS button resets everything to default settings. Both can be useful if you run into boot problems.
Apart from the main heatsinks, the motherboard also provides multiple fan headers: one 4-pin CPU Fan header, one 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header, one 4-pin AIO Pump header, and five 4-pin Chassis Fan headers. You also get three addressable Gen 2 RGB headers for additional lighting or LED fans.
The processor fan and AIO pump headers are at the top
ASUS is known for good onboard audio, and the ROG Strix B850-F continues that trend. It uses the ROG SupremeFX audio codec (ALC4080), which offers 7.1-channel surround sound and supports audio playback up to 32-bit/384 kHz.
For more thorough details, check out the official ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi product page.
The ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi may be called a budget motherboard, but it includes all the essentials gamers need right now. With PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7, and support for AMD’s newest Ryzen processors, it’s a solid option for anyone looking to build a powerful and future-ready system.
Using the ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi motherboard
When I first got my hands on the ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi, I was eager to put together my new build. My setup included:
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
- Cooler: ASUS ROG Ryuo III 240 ARGB
- Memory: Kingston Fury Renegade RGB DDR5-8000
- Graphics Card: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
- Storage: Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD 2TB
- Monitor: ASUS ROG Strix XG32UQ (4K UHD)
- PSU: Seasonic Focus GX-1000
Details about the system I used
Installation was easy. I started by putting the processor into its socket and mounting the AIO cooler. The motherboard’s well-labeled headers helped me connect everything quickly, and the board’s robust power stages provided stable power delivery, even when I stressed the processor during the benchmarks whose results you can see in the next section of this review.
Installing the motherboard is pretty easy
Next, after placing my AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT in the PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, I installed a Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD (2TB) into the primary M.2 slot for my main storage. The mounting process was straightforward, as this slot on the motherboard is covered by a heatsink that you can take out and put back in without any tools. Then, I pushed the RAM sticks into their slots, and finally, I connected the Seasonic Focus GX-1000 power supply unit. Full speed ahead from now on!
What the inside of the system looks like
Day-to-day usage has been great. Whether I was gaming at 4K, running virtual machines, watching videos, or simply writing, the B850-F Gaming WiFi kept everything feeling fluid and responsive. The Wi-Fi 7 chip provided a reliable wireless connection to my router, and audio output from the ROG SupremeFX codec sounded very nice too.
Watching and listening to a music video
One of the most demanding tests in real life, especially for a gaming motherboard, is how it handles games. And the ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi didn’t disappoint at all. Besides benchmarking a whole series of games, I also actually played some, like Star Wars Outlaws and Cyberpunk 2077, for hours. I played them at 4K resolution with max settings, albeit with AMD FSR turned on, and the performance was amazing.
Playing Star Wars Outlaws on the computer I built
Overall, this motherboard offers a great balance between high performance, built-in features, and price. That makes it a good choice for anyone planning a new AMD-based PC build that doesn’t cost a fortune but can handle anything you throw at it.
On the next page, I’ll compare how an AMD Ryzen 9 9900X performs on this ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi motherboard versus three identical setups using the ASUS ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WiFi, the ASUS ProArt X870E-CREATOR WIFI, and the ASRock X870E Taichi. These motherboards have higher-end chipsets. Compared to them, the ASUS ROG Strix B850-F Gaming WiFi motherboard uses a more affordable chipset, but still one that should, in theory, offer similar levels of performance.
