ASUS TUF GAMING B560-PLUS WIFI Motherboard Review

ASUS has released several new boards alongside the new Intel 11th Gen CPUs and today, we are taking a look at the TUF GAMING B560-PLUS WIFI. The TUF GAMING line of products has a unique colour scheme and even has its own little ecosystem as other manufacturers have made coolers, SSD, RAM, and more using the TUF GAMING branding. Designed for gaming without breaking the bank, the TUF GAMING range offers good quality products while remaining a more budget-friendly option.

ASUS TUF GAMING B560-PLUS WIFI

We have already reviewed the TUF GAMING Z590-PLUS WIFI, and it will be interesting to see what difference the B560 variant has to offer. The B560 is around £100 cheaper at the time of review, so while it may not have all the features found on the Z590, it will be nice to see how the performance stacks up from a users point of view. One of the main differences is going to be that the B560 comes with an 8+1 Power Phase design, whereas the Z590 came with a 14+2 design. One of the other things I have noticed is that the B560 model comes with eight USB ports on the rear IO when the Z590 only has seven. One thing is for sure, they definitely have a good few differences despite all the similarities they have.

Features

• Intel^® LGA 1200 socket: Ready for 10^th and 11^th gen Intel^® Core™ processors
• Enhanced power solution: 8+1 DrMOS power stages, 6-layer PCB , ProCool sockets, military-grade TUF components, and Digi+ VRM for maximum durability
• Comprehensive cooling: VRM heatsink, PCH fanless heatsink, Flexible M.2 heatsink, hybrid fan headers and Fan Xpert 4 utility
• Next-gen connectivity: PCIe 4.0 M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and Type-C, front USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C^®, Thunderbolt 4 support
• Made for online gaming: Intel Wi-Fi 6, Realtek 2.5Gb Ethernet, TUF LANGuard, and Turbo LAN technology
• Two-way AI Noise Cancelation: Reduces background noise from the microphone and audio output for crystal-clear communication in games or video conferences

For in-depth specifications, please visit the official Manufacturer Motherboard product page here.

Looking to purchase? Check the TUF GAMING B560-PLUS WIFI out on: SCAN.co.uk: ASUS TUF GAMING B560-PLUS WIFI
AMAZON UK: https://amzn.to/3uo5jvE

I must say, this has to be the least amount of extra’s I have ever seen in a motherboard box! We have the normal manuals, some stickers, a WiFi antenna and a pair of SATA cables and that is it!

A Closer Look

The TUF GAMING range has always been one of my favourite ranges when it comes to aesthetics. I am really just a big fan of the yellow accenting, not only is it different from everyone else, I have always liked the colour so find it quite pleasing to look at.

As we see on other B560 boards, ASUS has gone with a single 8-pin EPS connector. This is plenty enough to deliver reliable power to the CPU and gives us no need to worry.

Across to the right side of the board and we have a pair of fan headers and a set of 5v aRGB and 12v RGB connectors. This is going to allow us to connect both addressable and non-addressable LEDs to the B560-PLUS WIFI board. Also, to the right of the fan headers, we can see our boot LEDs. This will let us know if there are any issues during bootup and, if so, where we may need to start looking.

The four RAM slots found on the B560-PLUS WIFI offer support for DDR4 up to 5,000MHz in OC mode. So, not quite as good as Z590 but not far behind and let’s be honest, how many people even have RAM that can run 5,000MHz at this point? In saying that, this is still a great leap forward from the B460 boards that only allowed for RAM up to 2,933 MHz when in OC mode.

Quite a bit going on down on the bottom half of the board. We have two PCIe x16 slots, the top running at 4.0 and the bottom running at 3.0. We also have three PCIe x 1 slots. There are also two M.2 slots on the B560-PLUS WIFI of which, the bottom one does not come with a heat shield. Generally speaking, this is fine as the bottom port will be the PCIe 3.0 port, and we shouldn’t have to worry about thermal throttling here unless your airflow in your case is absolutely horrible; even then you should still be fine.

The B560 chipset has a decent sized heatsink on it featuring the newest TUF GAMING logo. I for one quite like the current TUF GAMING range as I like the subtle hints of yellow across all the products.

As always, we have quite a few headers across the bottom of the board. There is a front audio header, Thunderbolt 4 header, two fan headers, two USB 2.0 headers, another set of 5v aRGB and 12v RGB connectors, our front panel headers and four SATA ports. It is nice to see companies really thinking of the consumer and having both fan and RGB headers at the top and bottom of the board. It gives us easier access to them and should help make cable management much easier with the extra options available.

So, we have four SATA ports on the bottom of the board and then we also have this two on the side of the board, just to the right of the chipset. All of the SATA ports should be in a good location to help with cable management.

Taking a quite look at the back of the motherboard and as generally see with ATX boards, nothing goin on here.

On to the rear IO and nothing to fancy here, though we do still have a USB Type C port and plenty of other USB ports. When looking at all the ports, we have:

• HDMI
• DisplayPort
• 2x USB 3.2 Gen1
• 3x USB 2.0
• 2x USB 3.2Gen 2
• Realtek 2.5GB Ethernet
• Intel Wi-Fi 6
• 8-Channel Audio

How We Test

Here at eTeknix, we endeavour to disclose vital information regarding the benchmarking process so that readers can quantify the results and attempt to replicate them using their hardware. When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of motherboard, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Therefore, your experience may vary.

Testing Your Own System

We typically focus on commonly available benchmarks so that you too can run the same benchmarks on your own system. We hope this makes it easy for our readers to gauge the performance improvement available to them when they upgrade their own systems.

Gaming Tests

All games are run at their specified resolutions using the “high” settings or equivalent. We avoid using the Ultra settings as these often offer diminishing returns for performance vs visuals.

Test Benches

Synthetic Benchmarks

Online Benchmarks

Compression & Rendering

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider Performance

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Far Cry New Dawn Performance

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Metro Exodus Performance

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World of Tanks Performance

Memory & Storage

Power Consumption

How Much Does it Cost?

Currently, on preorder for £149.99 at Scan, the B560-PLUS WIFI is a great way to dive into Intel’s 11th Gen CPUs. Pair this with something like the 6-core Intel 11400F and you have yourself quite a worthy little upgrade or system. Being able to upgrade to some of the latest and greatest hardware at an affordable price is great to see, especially with the current state of things.

Overview

The ASUS TUF GAMING B560-PLUS WIFI offers users a chance to upgrade to the latest Intel 11th Gen CPUs without breaking the bank. Coming in much cheaper than Z590 alternatives, the B560-PLUS WIFI still offers most of the features we are looking for in newer motherboards. While it may not have WIFI 6e, it still has WIFI 6, PCIe 4.0, Thunderbolt 4, USB Type-C and more rear IO USB ports than most will need and much more.

Build Quality & Design

The quality and design is a direct reflection of the price and not in a bad way. B560 boards are designed to allow users to get most of the new features we can expect from motherboards and allow them to use the latest Intel CPUs. While we may not see as many power phases, M.2 slots, power connectors and the likes, it’s OK as these are not meant to be top of the line boards. However, the B560-PLUS WIFI is still a quality board and has been engineered with Military-Grade components and enough cooling to see you through those long gaming sessions.

Performance

Trading blows with its bigger brother, the TUF GAMING Z5590-PLUS WIFI; the B560 variant offers very similar performance. When running on Default BIOS with nothing but XMP set for our memory, we can see the B560 actually has a few better results. While the differences are minimal and wouldn’t be noticed in real-world performance, it still says a lot about this board. Those who are not looking to overclock or fine-tune their settings and want something that will run right out of the box will be happy with the performance the B560-PLUS WIFI has to offer.

Added Value

With more USB ports than you can shake a stick at, dual M.2 slots, PCIe 4.0 and more, the B560-PLUS WIFI’s added value is the fact that it offers good value for the money. For just shy of £150, you are getting a chance to upgrade to the latest Intel 11th Gen CPUs at a price that won’t make you cry. While the price is low, the board itself comprises high-quality parts and won’t leave you feeling like you’ve been cheated in terms of quality.

Should I Buy One?

Users looking to move up to the new generation of CPUs without spending loads of money may want to look into something like the B560-PLUS WIFI. While it is always hard for us to say, yes, you should buy one. I can say that there is no reason not to buy one. It has plenty to offer, and as long as it has the features that are important to you, it will be a great option to upgrade your system or start a complete new build.