ASUS ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming WiFi AMD Ryzen AM5 mini-ITX motherboard, 10 + 2 power stages, DDR5, two M.2 slots, PCIe 5.0, 2.5G LAN, WiFi 6E, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C port, and Aura Sync RGB lighting

The ROG STRIX B650E-I GAMING WiFi is a fantastic board to build a mini-ITX build. With only minor improvements to the feature-set that comes with B850 motherboards, the ROG STRIX B650E-I remains the best purchase for AM5 in this form-factor given the reduced price unless the new features of B850 or X870 are a requirement for you.The layout of the board is best-in-class, with fan headers in the right place at the top of the board, and other connectors where they are easily accessible. Where some manufacturers make assembling a small form factor PC frustrating, which difficult to reach connectors or awkward cable management, ASUS make life easy with assembly a breeze (or at least as much as it can be in this form factor.The rear i/o is good, although not perfect. AM5 motherboards, particularly in the mini-ITX form-factor are unfortunately lacking when it comes to the number and speed of ports, however ASUS' B650E-I is better than the alternatives in the same price range. The USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port is a nice addition on a B650I board.The m.2 heatsink is good and enough to cool a gen 5 NVMe drive if you decide to fit one into your system. The heatsink is however set up for dual-sided NVME drives by default and requires a plastic support to be installed manually to prevent flexing single-sided NVMe drives when installed. I experienced no issues with a single-sided NVMe drive by avoiding overtightening, but some users online still report flexing with the support installed. Overall, this is still the best offering of the B650/B850 mini-ITX board heatsinks with no noisy inbuilt fan, insufficient thermal mass, or excessive height causing compatibility issues.My example has no issues with coil whine, which was one of the commonly reported issues online with this device. It seems that newer boards don't have coil whine. My example was manufactured in late 2024, as I expect most being sold now will be. In addition to this, my board shipped with the Ryzen 9000 series ready BIOS version as identified on the serial number of the board and the sticker on the box, so there was no need to flash the BIOS or use another CPU to update prior to installing a 9800x3d.Overall, this board is still the best to get for those looking to build a mid/high end mini-ITX PC on the AM5 platform unless to have specific requirements that the typical person does not (e.g. Thunderbolt, 3 m.2 slots, etc.)

This is a great motherboard, the spec is well known so I'll just point out a few issues... and a special comment at the end... the caveat.* Led connectors are flakey.* Only one usb 2 header which usually is occupied by connecting to the case, you'll need a splitter adapter if accessories are needed (I installed the NZXT Kraken cooler which also needs a usb2 header)Caveat: Asus doesn't factory seal its boxes. They're delivered open. AND... it was delivered without an outer box, so travelled all the way to my door in an unsealed Asus box with a delivery sticker slapped on and a giant boot print on the inside of the lid. Naturally I sent it straight back - otherwise I'd spend a day assembling a computer that might never work, it's not worth the risk, no way. Poor performance by A.

Great board, loads of features for the size... Good looking too if you have a glass side on your case.But the capacitor leak on this board is obnoxious and it is louder than the frequency of the fans. (that's NOT an over exaggeration either)You can Google it and there is ways around it but effectively, the leak is when it's not using a lot of wattage. Once you're in a game, it's silent... Weird, anoyying but luckily I use a headset when gaming... Couldn't deal with it watching YouTube ect so I've now moved it further away to reduce the sound.Only one line out for audio, so if you're using a 2.1 or higher system with any kind of spacial surround, you have to use the front IO or get a USB out for your 5.1 setup.

Quick delivery, no quality issue (e.g. coil whine, missing parts)

Purchased this August 2024 from Amazon - everything okay until yesterday.PC wouldn’t boot, no bios screen, did various checks.The yellow motherboard was on permanent which indicated a possible memory problem ?Swapped the modules around, no changes.Took out one module then the PC booted, my immediate thought was a faulty memory module.Until I tried what I thought was the good memory module in the other slot, back to the static yellow light and no bios or boot.This confirms a bad memory slot on the motherboard, not very impressed after only 6 months of light use.

Excellent ITX Board for AM5, with everything you need for SFF(I am using a Ghost S1).PCIe 5 for GPU and storage is future proof.Wi-Fi 6E is still going to be relevant for most people.Video output via USB C is a bonus.ASUS BIOS is the best BIOS I have used and BIOS flashback will come in handy if you want to upgrade to a better AM5 CPU.USB A and C ports on the back are ample.The only real downside is Armoury Crate/My Asus, which you need to uninstall and disable in the BIOS.And while its usually locked away inside a case, the board have a great aesthetic!Last but defiantly not least, no coil whine!

I used this motherboard in a tiny 10 litre case, with a AMD Ryzen 5 9600X CPU and a 3070 Super GPU. Ram temperatures seem to be well within tolerances and I liked the external wifi arial. Seems well made with a good selection of USB-A 10gbps ports as well as two 20gbps USB-C ports, which is extremely good for a board of this size. Overall very happy, my PC is fast, works well and the board fits nicely in the small case I'm using.

This is the 2nd time I've bought this MOBO due to the first one also being broken. The first MOBO had a damaged CPU socket. And now this 2nd one I've bought came with the box unsealed and a broken NIC. I will give it that it's super easy to build. Maybe I'm just unlucky with the MOBOs I've bought, but it's frustrating.