Monday, July 9th 2018
ASUS Intros TUF B360M-Plus Gaming S Motherboard
ASUS expanded its mid-range TUF Gaming motherboard lineup with a new micro-ATX socket LGA1151 motherboard, the TUF B360M-Plus Gaming S. Built with the characteristic black+yellow color scheme and the polygonal shape, this board takes in 8th generation Core processors. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, conditioning it for the CPU with a 4+3 phase VRM. The CPU is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, and a reinforced PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. Two other PCI-Express 3.0 x1 slots, and three M.2 PCIe slots make for the rest of the expansion.
Storage connectivity includes two M.2-2280 slots with PCIe gen 3.0 x4 wiring, one of which also has SATA 6 Gbps wiring; and six SATA 6 Gbps ports. The third M.2 slot is 30 mm long, has PCIe 3.0 x1 wiring, and is meant for CNVi WLAN cards. Networking is handled by an Intel i219-V controller driving a GbE interface. The onboard audio solution combines an entry-level Realtek ALC887 codec with 6-channel output, audio-grade capacitors, and ground-layer isolation. USB connectivity includes two USB 3.1 gen 2 (both type-A), four USB 3.1 gen 1 (three type-A, one type-C), two USB 3.1 gen 1 front-panel ports by header; and a number of USB 2.0 ports. The board features an RGB LED ornament at the top-right corner, and a 4-pin RGB LED header, controlled by Aura Sync RGB software. The board is expected to be priced around USD $120.
Storage connectivity includes two M.2-2280 slots with PCIe gen 3.0 x4 wiring, one of which also has SATA 6 Gbps wiring; and six SATA 6 Gbps ports. The third M.2 slot is 30 mm long, has PCIe 3.0 x1 wiring, and is meant for CNVi WLAN cards. Networking is handled by an Intel i219-V controller driving a GbE interface. The onboard audio solution combines an entry-level Realtek ALC887 codec with 6-channel output, audio-grade capacitors, and ground-layer isolation. USB connectivity includes two USB 3.1 gen 2 (both type-A), four USB 3.1 gen 1 (three type-A, one type-C), two USB 3.1 gen 1 front-panel ports by header; and a number of USB 2.0 ports. The board features an RGB LED ornament at the top-right corner, and a 4-pin RGB LED header, controlled by Aura Sync RGB software. The board is expected to be priced around USD $120.
16 Comments on ASUS Intros TUF B360M-Plus Gaming S Motherboard
TUFs are basically painted budget boards.
BTW Even the ROG lineup has been watered down to an extent if getting a STRIX/ROG board because that's how the STRIX/ROG line was described - Watered down ROG.
If getting a "True" ROG as in the ROG name and nothing else like STRIX or Prime on it then it's up to the traditional ROG standard, if it has either label/name with it then it's just not the same.
With all the variants they seem to have now I don't know what's up with their lineup ATM and it does seem confusing, almost as if even they aren't sure which way they want to go themselves.
I guess that could work with some people, "I remember that my old TUF Sabertooth was good, I guess I'll take a TUF board again" etc.
Its like buying a torn up Levi's jeans and saying its more durable because it says Levi's.
Now, we have a new TUF class for a minimum quality, which is not worth $ 50, but only for $ 120. :kookoo:o_O
I've posted this before, my Maximus VI Hero have 2 DIMM dead because they place memory trace around the hole which places the cooler making them vulnerable to any 3rd party cooler if it fastened too tightly. Compared to AsRock Z87 Extreme4 I have no such issues even with bend pins on the socket.