Who doesn’t love a good small form factor PC? The only big problem is that their miniature parts, such as Mini-ITX motherboards, cases, and power supplies often come at a premium cost, compared to their bigger ATX cousins.
However, Newegg has discounted Asus’s ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming Wi-Fi motherboard by $70, with an additional $20 off when using the promo code “SSESA976”, for a limited time. There is also an additional combo saving if you pair the motherboard with theAMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D. While it may not be on the newest AM5 chipset out there, it’s one of the most cost-effective AM5 ITX motherboards out there.
ASUS ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming Wi-Fi:now $229.99 at Newegg(was $299), plus $20 extra discount with code “SSESA976”
This ITX form-factor motherboard can run the latest AMD Ryzen 9000 processors via a BIOS update, and other AM5 CPUs. It also has Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, PCIe 5.0 x16, up to 6400 MT/s RAM support, and two NVMe slots, one of which is PCIe 5.0-capable.
The ROG Strix B650E-I Gaming Wi-Fi is a solid ITX motherboard for building the rest of your system around, thanks to its various quality-of-life features. One example is a dedicated BIOS flashback button, in addition to a 10 + 2 power stage design rated to 70A to deliver ample current for whatever AM5 CPU you choose to drop in, such as thebest gaming CPUout right now, theAMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
You also get a total of eight USB ports around the rear, with one USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (over Type-C), five USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (four USB-A, one Type-C), and two additional USB 2.0 ports. There’s also support for up to five additional front USB ports, including USB 3.2 Gen 2.
Asus also offers its “Q-Design” features across this motherboard, which includes LED status indicators, in case you run into any system issues later down the line, which is incredibly helpful to have on any motherboard, and can save you time while diagnosing potentially faulty parts.
Moreover, the fact that the price has come close to crashing down to $209.99 for a higher-end B650E board is fantastic. Unless you require the advanced features of newer, higher-end AM5 chipsets, this board is more than capable enough to build an entire ITX system around.
Additionally,AMD has committed to supporting the AM5 socket until at least 2027, so you won’t need to chuck this motherboard out any time soon. Later down the line, you could also potentially upgrade your CPU, which may be a wise move for those looking to build a small-form-factor system while on a budget.
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Sayem Ahmed is the Subscription Editor at Tom’s Hardware. He covers a broad range of deep dives into hardware both new and old, including the CPUs, GPUs, and everything else that uses a semiconductor.
