Asus ROG Strix B450-F ATX Gaming Motherboard for AMD Ryzen Processor with DDR4, HDMI, M.2, and USB 3.1 Slots

I took the risk and decided to go Ryzen for the first time and was glad I did. I went with the Asus B450-F mainly from the good reviews, affordability and my having settled on a Ryzen 2700x with 16GB of Corsair memory on board.For those who have either never built a gaming PC or are a bit rusty, don't worry, this is a great motherboard and I had only a few small snags in my install, mainly because I was new to the AMD way of doing things and also to the BIOs and a few things it wants when you test your POST for the first time. Just take your time and if you are not sure as to the answer for a question, Google or YouTube it or call the support line for help. I watched the YouTube videos on the Asus board and it all went well save for my little goof-up on POST.The two main takeaways: 1.) Make sure to plug the keyboard and mouse in during your first POST test. I was used to motherboards that didn't require it and that little mistake cost me an hour of scratching my head! And 2.) Put cardboard down in a couple of layers next to the mounting clips for the Ryzen fan/heat sink so you don't run the risk of damaging the motherboard when attempting to clip the heat sink to the motherboard. Make sure to use the motherboard cardboard box as a nice testing stand for your motherboard while you run the first POST test before installing it all into the case... This is experience talking.The Ryzen CPU came with the thermal compound applied and while I usually use my own brand, I opted to go with the pre-applied compound and it went great. I will, however, change the compound in six months or so to see how it is doing and replace it with Arctic Silver compound I normally use. As far as the installation of the CPU went, it was perfect. I handled the CPU by the edges and was super gentle in my install. Having had bent CPU pins in the past, I was in NO hurry here and triple-checked to insure all was as expected before I moved on to lock down the CPU and install the heat sink/fan.Power supply was a Corsair CX series 750 watt power supply that was specified in the Asus list of compatible power supplies. Really nice bit of kit there and I liked the ability to plug in ONLY the cords I needed to for my setup. Worked just great right off the bat.I opted for a Rosewill Cullinan RGB case with the fancy smoked glass sides and front panel and love how it all looks with the RGB fans with a fan hub/controller. I'm still figuring out if I can link the RGB hub up to the motherboard to take advantage of the Aura Sync system built into the motherboard. I rather do like the neat RGB lighting built into the motherboard and have yet to test the software that is freely available for Aura Sync. I did have to add 2 standoffs to the case where the motherboard attaches to get full coverage for the motherboard and other than that, it was all smooth sailing on the installation.As for a graphics card, I opted for the ZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 OC 4GB. It is performing well so far. All of my gaming systems have used Zotac cards and I have enjoyed how well they work in the prior two gaming systems I have built. We'll see how this new one works, but so far, in the 3 days of burn-in I've done, it has held up. I downloaded the drivers from Zotac's site and the drivers and support software installed with no troubles.I will likely add 2 more sticks of memory on-board to take the system to 32gb and see how it all goes.I'm a retired IT professional who did a LOT of server installs in my day. I would recommend a nice set of tools like a simple needle-nose plier set, some mid-sized screwdrivers (phillips and flat head) plus a magnetic base to hold all the screws you will inevitably be working with. It's best to have them all in one place and impossible to lose. Expect to budget 4 or 5 hours to the build and likely it'll spread over a couple of days. As I mentioned earlier, I do a one week burn-in for my systems and it is a good test of the hardware. You can get away with 24 hours, but I like to see the system truly get exercised for that full week to insure all is good.So... In conclusion: What did I think of the Asus B450-F? So far, it is running great! The normal learning curve for a new type of motherboard and brand. Not too many surprises other than the POST requirement for a mouse and keyboard attached. I am pleased with how it all integrated. I'll update this review over time, but with 3 days so far in the burn-in time, the system is working like a dream and the motherboard temps are running low and the system boots in 15 seconds flat to login screen. I'm giving this motherboard a BUY rating and a thumbs-up.

I'm using this with the Ryzen 3600 with 16gb 3200mhz ram and a GTX 1080Ti SC. Everything on stock speeds. TLDR: Awesome gaming set up. :)Playing triple A games at the highest visual settings at 1080p or even 1440p has been great.Some people have been hyperbolic about the whole voltage regulator modules (VRM) being toasty. Not a problem what so ever.I live in hot Arizona and the heat does not diminish performance by any visible means nor does it catch on fire or melt your board lol. Also, it is extremely easy to apply small aluminum passive heat sinks over them if you are worried about the heat. Which you shouldn't be in this case.It's capable of withstanding these temps and on my system, I do have an over head fan blowing down on the board which helps push out the heat through the back vent fan.As far as everything else goes, I find this to be a very affordable, beautiful and well made motherboard (provided you didn't get screwed at QC which is possible with any parts you buy).I've been playing lots of games with it and also editing some 1080p movies, which was also very nice. I honestly have no complaints. I did try overclocking my Ryzen and that ran well too, but I put it back to stock because I just didn't see any reason to bother with it. Everything ran beautifully at stock settings.The LED light symbol is neat and I like that I can change the colors to static or various color patterns via the Asus software you download online. The software seems to work well.The little label plate thing on what looks to be the north bridge area, is imho, pointless. They could have just left that blank. The GPU covers it almost entirely. I mean, I suppose if you buy a smaller gpu, then perhaps you'll be able to see it. I don't get to enjoy that view with my standard sized 1080ti.In conclusion, it's a budget board that feels like a 300.00 plus board. I don't even want to call it "budget" because I've had more expensive boards that weren't as impressive as this one. The bios settings are very nice and you can update your firmware directly from the bios screen with a jump drive.All inputs worked perfectly. Sata hard drives, etc, are all good.I definitely recommend it.PS before using a 1080ti gpu, I was using a GTX 960 and even then, gaming and editing performance was great.