ASUS’ Republic of Gamers (ROG) announced two new Intel mITX motherboards with some powerful features. The new ROG Strix H270I Gaming and ROG Strix B250I Gaming motherboards feature double-decker heatsink, Aura Sync RGB lighting, and great audio and network options. Everything a gamer wants.
The two new motherboards are nearly identical, but not completely. The chipsets are the H270 and B250 respectively and the ROG Strix H270I Gaming comes with a second network connection.
Processor and Memory
The socket is a standard LGA 1151 which is compatible with Intel’s latest Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, Pentium, and Celeron processors. The two onboard DIMM memory sockets allow you to install 32GB modules. That option allows for a total of up to 64GB DDR4 2400MHz memory in a very small system.
With support for Intel’s 7th generation processors comes support for Intel Optane. Both the ROG Strix H270l Gaming and ROG Strix B250l Gaming motherboards support this.
Expansion and Storage
The PCI-Express slot is there for your graphics cards, after all, these motherboards are designed for gamers. The size only allows for a single PCI-Express 3.0 x16 SafeSlot to be present, but that’s enough for m0st users.
There are plenty of storage options too, starting with four normal SATA3 connectors. Modern storage drives can be connected through the two M.2 slots. One M.2 slot supports Type-M 2242-2280 SATA and PCIe 3.0 x4 modules while the second only supports PCIe modules.
There’s no shortage of USB connectors either. The ROG Strix H270I Gaming comes with eight (8) USB 3.0 ports and the ROG Strix B250I Gaming comes with six (6) USB 3.0 ports.
ASUS also added the intelligent RAMCache II technology which caches an entire storage device to reduce the risk of data loss and ensure faster game loading, or so the description says.
Network and Audio
Both of these new motherboards are equipped with an Intel i219-V Gigabit Ethernet controller, but the H270l model also features a Realtek RTL8111H controller. There’s also a 2×2 MU-MIMO 802.11ac wireless network card added to the system.
The audio is handled by the exclusive SupremeFX S1220A codec. It can deliver an exceptional 113dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on the line-in connection for the best recording performance. The line-out features a 120gB SNR for crystal-clear sound. ROG also added Texas Instruments RC 4580 and OPA1688 op-amps for incredibly high-gain, low-distortion sound.
The Sonic Studio III software suite provides for audio control and Sonic Radar III for gamers to pinpoint enemy positions are supported too.
RGB and Double-Decker Heatsink
With one 4-pin header, users can sync their RGB LED strips to the motherboard and use the Aura Sync RGB LED lighting technology for the control.
The double-decker heatsink is a great idea for compact motherboards such as these. They allow a second M.2 card to be mounted atop of the PCH heatsink. That doesn’t just double your M.2 storage options, it also allows for an improved heat dissipation by up to 20°C.
Price and Availability
The new ASUS ROG Strix H270I Gaming and ROG Strix B250I Gaming motherboards will be available at the end of May. The suggested retail price will be £119.99 and £129.99 respectively.
