Thursday, February 2nd 2017
ASUS Intros the B150M Expedition Motherboard
ASUS' new line of PC hardware targeted at gaming iCafes under the Expedition brand grows, with its first motherboard, the B150M Expedition (model: EX-B150M-V5 D3). These products are designed to be durable enough for the rigors of gaming iCafes, at affordable prices, though not as apocalypse-survivalist as the company's coveted TUF series. The B150M Expedition is a socket LGA1151 motherboard with DDR3 memory support. It features two memory slots that support up to 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1866 memory. The memory slots have an anti-theft feature that lets you screw-in the modules to the slots.
The narrow micro-ATX board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it for the CPU with a 7-phase VRM. Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, and two PCI-Express 3.0 x1. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gbps ports. USB connectivity includes eight USB 3.0 ports (six on the rear panel, two via headers). Networking is care of a single gigabit Ethernet interface driven by a Realtek RTL8111GR controller. ASUS deployed the gaming-grade Crystal Audio 2 onboard audio solution, with a Realtek ALC887 6-channel HD audio CODEC, ground-layer isolation, audio-grade capacitors, and a headphones amp. The board also features a PS/2 port for legacy input devices. ASUS didn't disclose pricing.
The narrow micro-ATX board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it for the CPU with a 7-phase VRM. Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, and two PCI-Express 3.0 x1. Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gbps ports. USB connectivity includes eight USB 3.0 ports (six on the rear panel, two via headers). Networking is care of a single gigabit Ethernet interface driven by a Realtek RTL8111GR controller. ASUS deployed the gaming-grade Crystal Audio 2 onboard audio solution, with a Realtek ALC887 6-channel HD audio CODEC, ground-layer isolation, audio-grade capacitors, and a headphones amp. The board also features a PS/2 port for legacy input devices. ASUS didn't disclose pricing.
4 Comments on ASUS Intros the B150M Expedition Motherboard
The "anti-theft" feature seems pointless if you wanted the RAM, as you'd just snap the plastic RAM clips to get the modules out. Sure, it makes it harder, but not very hard...