ASUS Prime B350-Plus AMD Ryzen AM4 DDR4 HDMI DVI VGA M.2 USB 3.1 ATX B350 Motherboard

UPDATED: 12/21/2019After updating the BIOS I was able to install a Ryzen 7 3800x and it's working FLAWLESSLY. AIDA64 shows that it actually hit 4.6 GHz on two cores during a stress test, and it usually stays around 4.2 - 4.4 GHz under full load, and hits 100 watts when maxed out completely. The thermals are fantastic using the same NOCTUA cooler that I was using for my Ryzen 5 1600x.And thanks to BIOS updates, I am now running Team Group DDR4-3200 at 14-14-14-31 and all I had to do was select "DOCP Standard" in the updated BIOS and it was DONE. Because of this, I have now updated my review to 5 Stars. I highly recommend this board. I commend ASUS for continuing to support the board with BIOS updates.******** ******** ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW ******** ********Plugged in a Ryzen 1600X and 16GB of DDR4-3000 ram onto this motherboard and it booted up on the first attempt. It took about 20 seconds to get going on the first boot, no doubt having to configure itself for all the hardware I had plugged into it. But all subsequent boots are fast. I used my hard drive from my old computer and actually didn't nuke it, just plugged it in and Windows 10 fired right up, installed drivers on the fly and ran just fine right out of the gate. I was able to then remove all old drivers and install the newest AMD drivers without any issues. The RAM was automatically set to 2133 MHz (Read the next section for more info about ram compatibility). I updated the BIOS from version 0513 to 0613 directly in BIOS using a thumb drive. Again, no problems whatsoever. I've not had a single hang, freeze, crash, reboot, or BSOD. The Ryzen 1600X is a great gaming processor. I recently upgraded from an FX-8350 and can immediately see and feel the difference.6/15/2017 UPDATE: A new BETA BIOS that contains AGESA 1.0.0.6 has been installed but no change on the ram compatibility. Despite my ram kit being on the QVL of this motherboard it will not go past 2666 HMz speed, and the timings have to be set loose (16-18-18-35 @ 1.35v). For whatever reason my ram kit (CMK16GX4M2B3000C15) simply doesn't work right with this motherboard. I'm seeing on reddit that multiple people are having the same problem. I would suggest getting a different ram kit than mine if you want it to run at it's rated speeds.Surround-Sound Users Need To Read The Following !!!ON-BOARD-SOUND: Uses the ALC887-VD2 8-Channel High Definition Audio CODEC, but only one line-out on the back of the board. This motherboard has the ability to output to optical (S/PDIF) but you'll have to buy a separate bracket for it! If you are the type that likes to use 5.1 (or more) speaker surround-sound systems then you have 2 options. Option 1: Buy a SPDIF RCA/Optical Out Back Plate Cable Bracket (search for that exact term on Amazon and you'll find one for $10.99), plug it into the Digital Audio Connector (4-1 pin) on the motherboard, and then use the Optical Out if your speaker system accepts that type of connection. If your speakers don't accept Optical connections directly then you can also purchase the Panlong ® 5.1 Audio Gear Digital Sound Decoder Converter (also here on amazon for $39.99) that converts the optical signal and splits it perfectly for a 5.1 sound system like the Logitec Z506 (my speaker system). Option 2: Buy a dedicated sound card and skip the converters, but you'll pay more to go this route and tie up an additional PCI / PCI_E slot. ($50.98 for option 1 or around $100 for option 2).

Important to note about this board: The board is ATX in size but it may be a tad less wide than a normal ATX board. What this means is that when it’s installed in a case that has standoffs preinstalled, make sure every mounting hole on the board lines up with a standoff. In my case the right-hand edge of mounting holes did not quite line up with the standoffs. This means these standoffs should be removed from the case. You do not want standoffs touching the board that are not properly contacting the board. If you leave the standoffs in the case and they’re making contact with the motherboard without being properly mounted it is possible your system will not power on properly and you could short board.Overall a good value. I’ve been using this board for a couple weeks paired with a Ryzen 1700, 16GB of gskill ripjaw 3200 memory and a PNY GeForce 1070 ti overclocked by about 150 MHz. I have 1 SSD, 3 mechanical drives and a Blu-ray/DVD drive connected to the board using 5 of the 6 available sata ports on board. Keep in mind if you use a m.2 drive you lose the function of the two sata ports above arrangement of 4.Pros:I have the Ryzen cpu over clocked using its included cooler with no issues. I believe it’s set a 36.5 or 37.5 multiplier.Memory wasn’t clocked right initially but that was remedied in the bios to get correct timings.Everything has been rock solid stable in running benchmarks and stree tests.Cons:The directions to install the header cables could have been clearer. The diagram looks like it’s starting at the left hand most side but in actuality your plugging these in more of the center arrangment of pins. It’s hard to explain but just carefully look at the diagram, go right to left matching the diagram to what you see on the board and you’ll be fine. My build wouldn’t initially power up up but It just turned out I was putting the pins in the wrong place on the header.Asus website: I don’t know if it was just me but I found it very difficult to get updated drivers from Asus. Pages not loading and links not working properly. I can’t even remember how the heck I got the stuff downloaded but it was frustrating.All in all not a bad board for the money. I have everything in a Corsair silent case that’s around $60.