Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W VS Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice

Both the Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W and the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice feature an AM5 CPU socket, B850 chipset, and an ATX form factor, so they offer similar foundational specs. Both also support Wi-Fi, covering a wide range of Wi-Fi versions including Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), and Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be). They also both include Bluetooth 5.4 and HDMI 2.1 support.

In terms of overclocking, both motherboards are designed to make overclocking easy, though the Asus product additionally offers an easy BIOS reset feature, while the Gigabyte board does not. Both motherboards also come with dual BIOS, a feature that enhances reliability by offering a backup BIOS, and neither includes aptX support.

For physical dimensions, both motherboards have the same height of 244 mm and width of 305 mm. Additionally, both have a 3-year warranty period, with no integrated CPU in either. The Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W stands out with its RGB lighting feature, which is not mentioned for the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice.

Both the Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W and the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice support a maximum memory amount of 256GB, providing ample room for high-capacity RAM configurations. Both motherboards also offer 4 memory slots and support DDR5 memory, with dual memory channels for improved performance.

In terms of overclocked RAM speed, the two boards differ slightly. The Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W supports overclocked RAM speeds up to 8000 MHz, while the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice supports a slightly higher overclocked RAM speed of 8200 MHz. This provides a small difference in potential memory performance under overclocked conditions.

Neither motherboard supports ECC (Error-Correcting Code) memory, which is something to consider for users looking for systems designed for error-free operations in critical workloads.

The Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W and the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice offer similar port selections with a few key differences. Both motherboards feature 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 USB-A ports and a single RJ45 port for Ethernet connectivity. They also both have HDMI output, but the Asus board offers a DisplayPort output while the Gigabyte board does not.

When it comes to USB ports, the Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W has 3 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-A ports, while the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice only has 2. The Gigabyte board, however, offers 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C port, which the Asus board lacks entirely. Additionally, the Asus board has 2 USB 2.0 ports, while the Gigabyte board has 4.

Neither motherboard features USB 4, Thunderbolt ports, eSATA, or DVI outputs. Both lack a VGA connector and PS/2 ports. Both also have USB Type-C support, with the Asus board offering it via the USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-A ports and the Gigabyte board providing a USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C port.

The Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W and the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice are quite similar in terms of connectors, though there are a few key differences. Both boards provide 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, 4 USB 2.0 ports, and 2 USB 3.0 ports through expansion. Additionally, both support 4 SATA 3 connectors, though the Gigabyte board only offers 2 SATA 3 connectors, so the Asus board has a slight advantage in this regard.

In terms of M.2 sockets, the Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W has 3, while the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice offers 4, providing slightly more flexibility for high-speed storage expansions. The Asus board has 6 fan headers, compared to 8 on the Gigabyte board, which may offer more cooling options for users with complex systems.

One notable difference is that the Gigabyte board has a TPM (Trusted Platform Module) connector, which the Asus board lacks. Neither motherboard supports U.2 or mSATA connectors, and neither has any SATA 2 connectors.

The Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W and the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice have a few key differences in their expansion slots. The Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W includes both a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot and a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, offering flexibility for modern GPUs. In contrast, the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice does not have a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot but does feature a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, meaning both boards support the latest PCIe 5.0 standard, but the Asus board provides more options for previous-generation GPUs.

Both motherboards lack PCI slots and PCIe 2.0 x16 slots. The Asus board includes one PCIe x1 slot, whereas the Gigabyte board has a PCIe x4 slot, which offers slightly different expansion options. The Gigabyte board does not have any PCIe x1 slots, while the Asus board includes this as a potential option for smaller expansion cards.

Overall, the two motherboards have a similar focus on PCIe 5.0 but differ in the availability of PCIe x1 versus PCIe x4 expansion slots and the presence of additional PCIe 4.0 support on the Asus board.

Both the Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W and the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice provide a Signal-to-Noise ratio (DAC) of 120 dB, ensuring high-quality audio output. They also both support 7.1 audio channels, which offers immersive surround sound.

The key difference lies in the number of audio connectors. The Asus board features 5 audio connectors, providing more options for audio setups compared to the Gigabyte board, which has only 2 audio connectors.

Both motherboards are equipped with an S/PDIF Out port, allowing for digital audio output, so there is no difference between the two in that regard.

Both the Asus TUF Gaming B850-BTF Wi-Fi W and the Gigabyte B850 Aorus Stealth Ice support RAID 1, RAID 10 (1+0), and RAID 5, allowing for a variety of storage configurations aimed at redundancy and performance. Neither motherboard supports RAID 0+1.

These two products are identical in terms of RAID support, as both offer the same RAID capabilities. This means users looking to implement a reliable storage setup with any of these RAID levels will find equivalent support on either board.

Overall, the storage capabilities of the two motherboards are very similar, with no significant differences in RAID configuration support.