ASUS ROG Strix B550-XE Gaming WiFi Preview

Introduction

As we’re sure you are aware the next generation of the wildly successful AMD Ryzen CPUs is nearly upon us. To say that the Ryzen launch was a triumph is almost understating things, and whilst the original CPUs were good, the second excellent, the current models are tremendous both in terms of performance and affordability.

The Zen 3 Ryzen are only days away now, but as always you want a motherboard that will maximise your new purchase, and ASUS have long been as reliable as any manufacturer you could choose. We have their newest B550 in the office for review, but first let’s give you a quick preview to whet your appetite.

As regular readers will know there are always many bits we can’t officially reveal, so don’t expect this to be a deep dive. Instead think of this as a chance to see it in the flesh and get some of the interesting things pointed out. It’s cold and wet outside so grab your comfiest sweater and enjoy the ASUS ROG Strix B550-XE Gaming WiFi. It has an X in the name, so it must be good.

Up Close - Packaging

As always there are a few things that we're not allowed to talk about prior to launch. Therefore here is the packaging, which lives up to the famous ROG standards, particularly the Strix Republic of Gamers products, by combining the black and red that is so familiar with plenty of glitzy lighting in the form of the ROG Eye, as well as a demonstration of the RGB sections on the PCB.

Here is the back of the box, listing all the things we can't tell you. If you happen to embiggen this picture and stare intently at the listing that's not our fault, and we definitely don't recommend you do exactly that, if you're curious.

Now let's see what you get in the box.