A mid-level motherboard for assembling an excellent personal computer from one of the leading manufacturers - all this is fully true for such a product as ASUS B85-PLUS. This product is currently relevant in terms of hardware and allows you to assemble functional computing systems.
Product Options
The following is bundled with the ASUS B85-PLUS:
- User's manual.
- A set of interface wires.
- Blanking plate for the interface board of the system board.
- Warranty card.
- And, of course, the motherboard itself.
Design. Elemental base
The full-size ATX format is made by ASUS B85-PLUS. A review of its parameters indicates the dimensions of 208 mm x 305 mm. Strictly in the middle of the upper half of the system board is the LGA1150 connector for installing the CPU. To the left of it on the very edge of the motherboard is the interface panel, and to the right are the RAM installation slots and the power connector along with the ports for connecting stationary storage devices (i.e. hard drives).
Immediately below the socket, a set of slots for installing discrete video accelerators and, of course, external controllers is displayed. To their right is the only chip in the set of system logic, which in the language of computer professionals is also called the south bridge.
Separately, it is also necessary to note the elemental base of this product. First of all, these are solid-state capacitor elements with a very, very long service life. These are stabilizers with increased reliability. All of the above increases the life of a computer assembled on the basis of such a motherboard.
Chipset. Supported CPU models. CPU socket
It is not difficult to guess from the name, ASUS B85-PLUS is based on the B85 chipset. It is focused on the assembly of a mid-range PC. Its main drawback is the lack of the ability to overclock the CPU with the "K" index. But for middle-level solutions of this manufacturer, this feature is logical, and B85 is not distinguished by anything special in this respect from the rest of the products of this family. All fourth-generation Intel-based central processor devices from Intel can be installed in the ASUS B85-PLUS. Product features indicate support for Celeron, Pentium, Core I3, I5, and I7 processors. The socket in this case is LGA1150.
Expansion options
An impressive set of expansion slots for installing discrete graphics accelerators and external controllers is equipped with ASUS B85-PLUS. These include:
2 1X PCI-Express slots for new versions of external expansion controllers. They can be equipped with a sound card, TV tuner or an expansion card with USB ports.
2 slots for installing PCI-Express modification 16X. It is in them that discrete graphics accelerators can be installed, thereby increasing the overall performance of such a personal computer.
3 PCI slots. They can install the currently outdated version of expansion controllers.
The following connectors are displayed on the interface panel of the system board:
- 2 PS / 2 format ports.
- 6 USB ports.
- 3 typical audio jacks for switching an external speaker system.
- 1 LAN port for connecting to a computer network. Its speed can reach 1 Gbit / s.
- There are two video outputs in this case - an analog VGA connector and a digital DVI port. In this case, it is preferable to use the second of them: it provides improved image quality.
Integrated Graphics
There is no full-fledged integrated graphics subsystem in ASUS B85-PLUS. The reviews, in turn, indicate that the video chip is included in the central processor. That is, the model of the integrated accelerator depends on the modification of the CPU. It can be an HDGraphics 4400 or an HDGraphics 4600 or even an HDGraphics 5200.
All of these options are developed by Intel. They are perfect for solving undemanding tasks (for example, for working with office applications). In all other cases, it is best to equip the computer system with a discrete graphics card, which will maximize the capabilities of such a personal computer.
And what do we get as a result? Reviews
The balanced product, both in terms of hardware and cost, is the ASUS B85-PLUS. The latter, by the way, at the moment is 6000 rubles. Given the functionality and reliability of the product, this is quite a reasonable cost for such a product. Another advantage of this solution is the ability to build a PC with multiple video cards. Well, the amount of RAM in this case can reach 32 GB.
The memory controller in this case is dual-channel and improves the performance of the PC. The minus indicated by the reviews of the owners of this product is only one: the processor socket LGA1150 is currently at the very end of the life cycle. He is gradually being replaced by a more advanced LGA1151. But, on the other hand, the difference in performance between them is not so big, so the cost of the LGA1150 will be much lower and this makes the assembly of the PC more justified in the end.