The B360 market should be a battleground for new PC builds: it offers almost all the features needed for everyone. There is a lot of scope for motherboard manufacturers to be creative in this space, and still offer a reasonably priced product: ASUS' take here is the Strix B360-G Gaming, a microATX offering that dives deep into the ROG Strix branding. For users looking to build a single-GPU gaming system, ASUS thinks they have a board you should be looking at.

ASUS ROG Strix B360G-Gaming Overview

In our continuing series of Coffee Lake motherboard reviews, we take another look at a B360 based offering, but this time from ASUS in the form of the B360-G Gaming. The board is one of the first MicroATX size boards we have reviewed on this platform and promises a number of competitive gaming features at a low overall price. In this case, we see additional slots for RAM taking capacity up to 64GB, as well as multiple PCIe slots for expansion, an integrated rearIO panel, upgraded audio, and gaming related styling. There are two M.2 slots, six SATA ports, and the first PCIe slot is fortified using ASUS' Safeslot. Between the full-length slots are two x1 slots for expansion purposes. Compared to the Z370-F Gaming, which was a mini-ITX motherboard, we get an increase in the size on the power delivery heatsinks, which should help dissipate the heat better than smaller implementations. The board also includes USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) ports as well. 

Hardware highlights out of the way, one of the more obvious design elements here is all of the writing motifs that slice their way onto the PCB. We can see ROG branded sayings in red and grey moving from the top left-hand corner of the board widening and reaching the bottom right corner of the board. Some users may like and want this branding, others however, may not. The design choice is pretty polarizing - either users will like this or stay away from it. Other design features include red (only) LEDs on the bottom side of the board which run along the audio separation line. The style/actions of the LEDs can be changed with software, but the color cannot be changed. Overall, the black and red color scheme can fit into a lot of build themes in a typical 'gaming' fashion, but a lack of flexibility on the LEDs and the writing on the board can be a turn-off. 

Performance overall for this motherboard was generally competitive. One standout performance was in Non-UEFI POST times with the Strix B360-G Gaming getting through POST at 16.7 seconds which is the second fastest  POST time we have seen. Outside of that, its other results floated around normal for the remaining tests and performed well without having to raise power limits to do so - something we have seen in a couple of other non-overclocking chipset boards we have tested. 

Since overclocking isn't really an option on this chipset, board choice really comes down to features and ports, appearance, and price. Key differences between this ASUS B360-G Gaming and others in its price range include the number of M.2 slots (GIGABYTE and SuperMicro boards have one, the rest two), the number of SATA ports (MSI only have four, the rest, 6), the audio codecs (this board is the only that is based off latest and greatest Realtek solution), the USB implementation, and the video outputs to name a few differences. Other boards may be a bit easier on the eyes without all the words/stenciling in the middle, but beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. 

The ASUS ROG Strix B360-G Gaming is currently priced around $100 at Amazon.com, behind the Supermicro C7B360-CB-M and its Wi-Fi variant, the C7B360-CB-MW, priced at $130 and $140 respectively. Other competitors include the Biostar B360GT3S at $93, the MSI B360M Mortar Titanium ($104), ASRock B360M Pro4 ($82), and a GIGABYTE B360M D3H priced notably lower at $77. 

*It should be noted that from this point on in our Intel motherboard reviews, we are using Windows 10 RS3 with the Spectre/Meltdown patches as well as other script adjustments.

ASUS' B360 Strategy

ASUS has a lot of options in varying sizes and types in their B360 motherboard lineup. There is a single Micro-ITX offering, six MicroATX boards, and six ATX size boards. We see boards from the TUF series and Prime series with many of the boards with the 'gaming' nomenclature in their titles. Prices range from $80-$140. 

ASUS B360 Motherboard Lineup
	Size	Amazon	Newegg
B360-H Gaming/Optane	ATX	$142	$142
B360-F Gaming	ATX	$130	$129
B360-I Gaming	mITX	$128	$128
TUF B360-Pro Gaming	ATX	$123	$130
B360-H Gaming	ATX	$108	$111
B360-G Gaming	mATX	$100	$103
TUF B360-Plus Gaming	ATX	$110	$105
Prime B360-Plus	ATX	$102	$102
TUF B360M-Plus Gaming	mATX	$92	$90
Prime B360M-C/CSM	mATX	$85	$85
TUF B360M-E Gaming	mATX	$81	$80
Prime B360M-K	mATX	$78	$80
Prime B360M-A	mATX	$81	$92^

^ = 3rd Party Seller

Information on Intel's Coffee-Lake CPU Desktop Processors

One important piece of information to note: technically these processors use the LGA1151 socket, also used by 6th and 7th Generation processors using the Z170 and Z270 chipsets. But due to several (albeit minor) difference in the pin-layout of these two sets of processors, the 8th Generation Coffee Lake will only work in Z370 boards and are not cross-compatible. Back in October 2017, Ian Cutress reviewed a couple of processors (i7-8700K and i5-8400) in the Coffee Lake lineup - details on the rest of the product stack are listed below.

 

The ASUS ROG Strix B360-G Gaming Review

In this review, we have the following pages:

1. Overview
2. Visual Inspection
3. BIOS and Software
4. Board Features
5. System Performance
6. CPU Performance
7. Gaming Performance
8. Conclusions

Visual Inspection

Our first close look at the board shows the MicroATX offering has quite a bit going on visually. All the stenciling spread across the length of the board is pretty hard to miss. We can see two large heatsinks as well as an IO cover which is a bit different from the B360 boards we have reviewed so far - up to this point other boards have eschewed large heatsinks, and focused on cost savings. To ASUS' credit the rear IO plate is also integrated giving the board a premium look on that front.

The PCB is black with all connectors coming in black as well. The primary PCIe slot is fortified to assist with large and heavy graphics cards. The ASUS ROG symbol graces the chipset heatsink. The stenciling using words/phrases doesn't really do much for the look of the board. I cannot say how it will be received by the public, but I know I would have preferred the board without that design for sure. 

 

The ASUS B360-G Gaming also includes LEDs on the bottom part of the board and run along the left side close to the audio separation strip. The LEDs are RED in color and creates a nice theme matching glow from the bottom of the board. The colors are not able to be changed by the Aura software. That said, the board does include an RGB strip header which makes adding your own strip easy. 

On the cooling side of things, the mATX board gives users a total of four 4-pin fan connectors located around the board. The CPU fan header is located above and to the right of the CPU socket next to the first DRAM slot. A chassis fan header, as well as an AIO_Pump connector, are located mid-board behind the audio stack on the left side of the board and above the primary PCIe slot. The last chassis fan header is located on the bottom of the board below the chipset. ASUS does not mention the output capabilities of these headers. The fans are able to be controlled through the BIOS and the AI Suite software with the ports support both PWM and DC control. 

The power delivery section on the B360-G Gaming uses ASUS' Digi+ VRM which is likely based off of an International Rectifier part and controls the six phases we are able to see. The low and high side MOSFETs are On Semiconductor 4C06B and 4C10B ICs. This setup was plenty to keep a stock i7-8700K in check. 

Swing around to the right side of the board, we can see the four single-sided locking DRAM slots and a full set of six SATA ports are all visible. Two of the SATA ports are mounted horizontally while the four others are oriented vertically. We are also able to see a USB 3.0 header, as well as the 24-pin ATX power lead for the board. 

On the bottom half of the board, starting on the left side, we are able to see the Supreme FX audio chip which ASUS says has a better SNR than the Realtek ALC1220 codecs, is shielded and uses Nichicon audio caps. It also includes two onboard op amps for the front panel with a 32-600 Ohm range for headphones. It is nice to see premium audio used on a chipset designed to be more cost-effective than including higher-end features. 

The middle is where we see the two M.2 slots (just above each full-length PCIe slot) as well as four PCIe slots. The first/top PCIe slot is fortified with ASUS' Safeslot to prevent shearing from heavy video cards and is the primary slot for the GPU. We can also see two x1 slots and the second full-length PCIe slot (runs at x4). The top slot is fed from the CPU while the x1 slots and bottom slot are fed from the chipset. This configuration allows for the board to support Crossfire setups, but not NVIDIA SLI. 

ASUS ROG Strix B360-G Gaming CPU PCIe Layout
	16-Lane Single	16-Lane Dual
PCIe 1	@x16	@x16
PCIe 4 (Chipset)	-	@x4
SLI	-	No
Crossfire	-	Yes

Outside of that, we can see miscellaneous headers across the bottom. These range from front panel audio, USB 2.0 headers, as well as a chassis fan, and finally, the front panel header on the bottom right-hand corner. 

The rear IO panel is pretty full featured for a B360 motherboard including USB 2.0, 3.0, and 3.1 (10 Gbps) ports on the back along with a full audio stack including an optical jack. Video output is handled by an HDMI port and DVI-D port. The board also includes a PS/2 port for legacy keyboard/mice as well as a single LAN port which includes ASUS' anti-surge guard to protect from ESD. The only core thing missing from the rear from a pricier system is a Type-C port.

• 1x PS/2 keyboard/mouse combo port
• 1 x DVI-D
• 1 x HDMI
• 2 x USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) Type-A ports
• 1 x Optical S/PDIF out
• 5 x Gold-plated audio jacks
• 2 x USB 3.0 ports (blue)
• 2 x USB 2.0 ports (black)

In the Box

ASUS includes the following:

The package includes everything a user needs to set the board up and running. 

• User Manual
• Support DVD
• 2 x SATA cables
• 1 x M.2 screw
• 1 x Door hanger
• 1 x cable tie package
• 1 x ROG stickers

BIOS

ASUS' UEFI BIOS on this B360 based board shares the same styling and aesthetic as the current ASUS flagship ROG boards. About the only difference between them will be that most of the overclocking options on these boards will not be here since the B360 chipset does not allow for overclocking.

In familiar fashion, we have an EZ Mode as well as an Advanced mode for the BIOS. 

ASUS' EZ Mode, like on other ASUS boards, displays information about the hardware in use including the CPU and memory capacity/speed. Users are able to gather high-level information from this screen such as core voltage as well as motherboard and CPU temps. From this section, we are able to set XMP profiles on our memory, adjust CPU fan speeds through QFan Control, as well as adjust boot order. Most anything else will have to be changed from the advanced section of the BIOS. 

Our first glimpse of the Advanced BIOS shows a list of headings across the top. The first section is titled Main, and we see more detailed information about the system including BIOS build date, PCH stepping, CPU speed, memory capacity and speed, as well as the system date.

The next section is Ai Tweaker. On Z370 based boards, we are used to seeing many more options due to overclocking. In this case, options are minimized on the CPU and memory overclocking side though if adjusting memory timings is your thing, the B360-G Gaming has plenty of those to tweak.

Moving on to the Advanced section, users are able to see several different options which allow control over the board from CPU, System Agent, and chipset configuration along with other peripheral functionality. Option for the network, NVMe, USB, and HDD/SSD configurations are also located in this section. 

The Monitor area displays motherboard and CPU temperatures along with fan speeds for any that are attached. ASUS' Q-Fan can also be accessed here. Q-Fan sets up fan thresholds by running the fans through its fastest and lowest speeds and setting things accordingly. 

The Boot section is fairly self-explanatory with all boot options housed under this heading. 

The Tools section of the BIOS includes the EZ Flash 3 Utility as well as storing user profiles/settings. This section also contains a Secure Erase function to wipe out your SSD and start from a factory fresh state. 

Software

Like all motherboards we have tested so far, the ASUS ROG Strix B360-G Gaming includes software to get the system up and running as well as some value-add extras. The software comes on a DVD included in the box. 

The driver disk includes the basic drivers needed to get the system up and running from chipset drivers, to audio, LAN, and the Intel Mangement Interface. Also included here other utilities such as AI Suite 3, RAMCache, GameFirst VI, AURA lighting software, and more. 

ASUS also has a standalone update program aptly named EZ Update. This application runs in the tray and occasionally looks for the latest software versions available. It will notify the user of an update, then once approved it will download and install the selected updates. As we can see it also notices when a driver isn't there at all and will install a full version as well. 

ASUS' Ai Suite 3 software is a windows based application intended to control many aspects of the system while in your OS. Items from performance, and power saving, to setting up fan curves. With chipsets that are able to overclock, it can also adjust system multiplier and BCLK as well. 

ASUS' lighting control applicaiton AURA is also included with this motherboard, however, it is unable to change the red RGB LEDs on this board, but can change the pattern. 

ASUS' take on audio is the SupremeFX S1220A codec on board and ASUS includes its own ROG branded software over the Realtek implementation. Also included is their sound shaping software named Sonic Studio III. If the basic options were not enough, the Sonic Studio gives users options to tweak it more and even by source. Overall a pretty comprehensive audio package, especially for a B360 board. 

Board Features

Motherboards in this category are all about balancing cost and features. ASUS cements the B360-G Gaming as a high quality contender in the mATX space with its Intel network controller, a full set of DRAM slots, a custom Realtek audio codec, dual M.2 slots, and all six chipset-supported SATA ports. Bundle all the regular features on top, and some USB 3.1, and all that is missing is a Wi-Fi module.

ASUS B360-G Gaming
Warranty Period	3 Years
Product Page	LINK
Price	$100 (Amazon)
Size	MicroATX
CPU Interface	LGA1151
Chipset	Intel B360
Memory Slots (DDR4)	Four DDR4 Dual Channel Supporting 64GB Up to DDR4 2666
Network Connectivity / Wi-Fi	1 x Intel I219V GbE
Onboard Audio	SupremeFX S1220A 7.1ch surround
Video Outputs	1 x HDMI 1 x DVI-D
PCIe Slots for Graphics (from CPU)	1 x PCIe 3.0 (x16)
PCIe Slots for Other (from PCH)	1 x PCIe 3.0 (x4 max) 2 x PCIe 3.0/2.0 (x1)
Onboard SATA	6 x SATA 6 Gbps
Onboard SATA Express	None
Onboard M.2	2 x PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA modes
Onboard U.2	None
USB 3.1 (10 Gbps)	2 x Type-A back panel
USB 3.0 (5 Gbps - includes 3.1 Gen 1)	2 x back panel 2 x via internal header
USB 2.0	2 x back panel 4 x via internal header
Power Connectors	1 x 24-pin ATX 1 x 8-pin CPU
Fan Headers	1 x 4-pin CPU  2 x 4-pin Chassis 1 x 4-pin AIO_Pump
Back IO Panel	1 x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard port 1 x DVI-D 1 x HDMI 2 x USB 3.1 Type-A ports (10 Gbps) 2 x USB 3.0  2 x USB 2.0 1 x Optical S/PDIF 5 x Audio Jacks 1 x RJ-45

That being said, Wi-Fi is a really cost sensitive option in this market. Speaking with other vendors, they say that adding Wi-Fi can increase the base manufacturing and bundling cost by $15 to the user, which is essentially a price bracket difference in this market segment. ASUS are sticking with a gaming theme here, and most users should be covered with the B360-G Gaming on-paper features. It all comes down to the benchmarks.

Test Bed

As per our testing policy, we take a high-end CPU suitable for the motherboard that was released during the socket’s initial launch and equip the system with a suitable amount of memory running at the processor maximum supported frequency. This is also typically run at JEDEC sub timings where possible. It is noted that some users are not keen on this policy, stating that sometimes the maximum supported frequency is quite low, or faster memory is available at a similar price, or that the JEDEC speeds can be prohibitive for performance. While these comments make sense, ultimately very few users apply memory profiles (either XMP or other) as they require interaction with the BIOS, and most users will fall back on JEDEC supported speeds - this includes home users as well as industry who might want to shave off a cent or two from the cost or stay within the margins set by the manufacturer. Where possible, we will extend our testing to include faster memory modules either at the same time as the review or a later date.

Readers of our motherboard review section will have noted the trend in modern motherboards to implement a form of MultiCore Enhancement / Acceleration / Turbo (read our report here) on their motherboards. This does several things, including better benchmark results at stock settings (not entirely needed if overclocking is an end-user goal) at the expense of heat and temperature. It also gives, in essence, an automatic overclock which may be against what the user wants. Our testing methodology is ‘out-of-the-box’, with the latest public BIOS installed and XMP enabled, and thus subject to the whims of this feature. It is ultimately up to the motherboard manufacturer to take this risk – and manufacturers taking risks in the setup is something they do on every product (think C-state settings, USB priority, DPC Latency/monitoring priority, overriding memory sub-timings at JEDEC). Processor speed change is part of that risk, and ultimately if no overclocking is planned, some motherboards will affect how fast that shiny new processor goes and can be an important factor in the system build.

Test Setup
Processor	Intel i7 8700K (6C/12T, 3.7G, 95W)
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Strix B360G-Gaming-ITX/ac (BIOS 0802)
Cooling	Corsair H115i
Power Supply	Corsair HX750
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 4x8GB DDR4 2666 CL16 Corsair Vengeance 4x4GB DDR4 3200 CL16 used in 2x 4/8GB capacity on dual Channel Platform
Memory Settings	DDR4 2666 CL16-18-18-35 2T
Video Cards	ASUS Strix GTX 980
Hard Drive	Crucial MX300 1TB
Optical Drive	TSST TS-H653G
Case	Open Test Bed
Operating System	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Many thanks to...

We must thank the following companies for kindly providing hardware for our multiple test beds. Some of this hardware is not in this testbed specifically but is used in other testing.

Thank you to ASUS for providing us with GTX 980 Strix GPUs. At the time of release, the STRIX brand from ASUS was aimed at silent running, or to use the marketing term: '0dB Silent Gaming'. This enables the card to disable the fans when the GPU is dealing with low loads well within temperature specifications. These cards equip the GTX 980 silicon with ASUS' Direct CU II cooler and 10-phase digital VRMs, aimed at high-efficiency conversion. Along with the card, ASUS bundles GPU Tweak software for overclocking and streaming assistance.

The GTX 980 uses NVIDIA's GM204 silicon die, built upon their Maxwell architecture. This die is 5.2 billion transistors for a die size of 298 mm², built on TMSC's 28nm process. A GTX 980 uses the full GM204 core, with 2048 CUDA Cores and 64 ROPs with a 256-bit memory bus to GDDR5. The official power rating for the GTX 980 is 165W.

The ASUS GTX 980 Strix 4GB (or the full name of STRIX-GTX980-DC2OC-4GD5) runs a reasonable overclock over a reference GTX 980 card, with frequencies in the range of 1178-1279 MHz. The memory runs at stock, in this case, 7010 MHz. Video outputs include three DisplayPort connectors, one HDMI 2.0 connector, and a DVI-I.

Further Reading: AnandTech's NVIDIA GTX 980 Review

 

Thank you to Crucial for providing us with MX300 SSDs. Crucial stepped up to the plate as our benchmark list grows larger with newer benchmarks and titles, and the 1TB MX300 units are strong performers. Based on Marvell's 88SS1074 controller and using Micron's 384Gbit 32-layer 3D TLC NAND, these are 7mm high, 2.5-inch drives rated for 92K random read IOPS and 530/510 MB/s sequential read and write speeds.

The 1TB models we are using here support TCG Opal 2.0 and IEEE-1667 (eDrive) encryption and have a 360TB rated endurance with a three-year warranty.

Further Reading: AnandTech's Crucial MX300 (750 GB) Review

 

Thank you to Corsair for providing us with Vengeance LPX DDR4 Memory, HX750 Power Supply, and H115i CPU Cooler. 

Corsair kindly sent a 4x8GB DDR4 2666 set of their Vengeance LPX low profile, high-performance memory for our stock testing. The heatsink is made of pure aluminum to help remove heat from the sticks and has an eight-layer PCB. The heatsink is a low profile design to help fit in spaces where there may not be room for a tall heat spreader; think a SFF case or using a large heatsink. Timings on this specific set come in at 16-18-18-35. The Vengeance LPX line supports XMP 2.0 profiles for easily setting the speed and timings. It also comes with a limited lifetime warranty. 

Powering the test system is Corsair's HX750 Power Supply. This HX750 is a dual mode unit able to switch from a single 12V rail (62.5A/750W) to a five rail CPU (40A max ea.) and is also fully modular. It has a typical selection of connectors, including dual EPS 4+4 pin four PCIe connectors and a whopping 16 SATA power leads, as well as four 4-pin Molex connectors.

The 135mm fluid dynamic bearing fan remains off until it is 40% loaded offering complete silence in light workloads. The HX750 comes with a ten-year warranty. 

In order to cool these CPUs, Corsair sent over its latest and largest AIO in the H115i. This closed-loop system uses a 280mm radiator with 2x140mm SP140L PWM controlled fans. The pump/block combination mounts to all modern CPU sockets. Users are also able to integrate this cooler into the Corsair link software via USB for more control and options. 

System Performance

Not all motherboards are created equal. On the face of it, they should all perform the same and differ only in the functionality they provide - however, this is not the case. The obvious pointers are power consumption, but also the ability for the manufacturer to optimize USB speed, audio quality (based on audio codec), POST time and latency. This can come down to the manufacturing process and prowess, so these are tested.

Power Consumption

Power consumption was tested on the system while in a single GPU configuration with a wall meter connected to the Corsair HX 750 power supply. This power supply is Platinum rated. As I am in the US on a 120 V supply, leads to ~87% efficiency > 75W, and 92%+ efficiency at 375W, suitable for both idle and multi-GPU loading. This method of power reading allows us to compare the power management of the UEFI and the board to supply components with power under load, and includes typical PSU losses due to efficiency. These are the real world values that consumers may expect from a typical system (minus the monitor) using this motherboard.

While this method for power measurement may not be ideal, and you feel these numbers are not representative due to the high wattage power supply being used (we use the same PSU to remain consistent over a series of reviews, and the fact that some boards on our test bed get tested with three or four high powered GPUs), the important point to take away is the relationship between the numbers. These boards are all under the same conditions, and thus the differences between them should be easy to spot.

Power consumption for the B360-G Gaming in our testing is par for the course - give or take a couple watts here and there and the load results were paired nicely with other similar boards.

Non-UEFI POST Time

Different motherboards have different POST sequences before an operating system is initialized. A lot of this is dependent on the board itself, and POST boot time is determined by the controllers on board (and the sequence of how those extras are organized). As part of our testing, we look at the POST Boot Time using a stopwatch. This is the time from pressing the ON button on the computer to when Windows 10 starts loading. (We discount Windows loading as it is highly variable given Windows specific features.

The POST times for this board are the second fastest we have recorded at 16.7 seconds behind only the ASRock B360M-ITX/ac. All is pretty normal here. 

DPC Latency

Deferred Procedure Call latency is a way in which Windows handles interrupt servicing. In order to wait for a processor to acknowledge the request, the system will queue all interrupt requests by priority. Critical interrupts will be handled as soon as possible, whereas lesser priority requests such as audio will be further down the line. If the audio device requires data, it will have to wait until the request is processed before the buffer is filled.

If the device drivers of higher priority components in a system are poorly implemented, this can cause delays in request scheduling and process time. This can lead to an empty audio buffer and characteristic audible pauses, pops and clicks. The DPC latency checker measures how much time is taken processing DPCs from driver invocation. The lower the value will result in better audio transfer at smaller buffer sizes. Results are measured in microseconds. 

Our DPC latency results for the B360-G Gaming 122 µs which is about par for the course after our minor script adjustments. No sound issues were heard during the limited testing. 

CPU Performance, Short Form

For our motherboard reviews, we use our short form testing method. These tests usually focus on if a motherboard is using MultiCore Turbo (the feature used to have the maximum turbo on at all times, giving a frequency advantage), or if there are slight gains to be had from tweaking the firmware. We leave the BIOS settings at default and memory at JEDEC for the supported frequency of the processor for these tests, making it very easy to see which motherboards have MCT enabled by default.

Rendering - Blender 2.78: link

For a render that has been around for what seems like ages, Blender is still a highly popular tool. We managed to wrap up a standard workload into the February 5 nightly build of Blender and measure the time it takes to render the first frame of the scene. Being one of the bigger open source tools out there, it means both AMD and Intel work actively to help improve the codebase, for better or for worse on their own/each other's microarchitecture.

In our Blender tests, the ASUS ROG Strix B360-G Gaming's results were competitive with the majority of our results. This board ran the test without throttling we have seen on other B360 boards without changing power or current limits. Overall a solid showing here. 

Rendering – POV-Ray 3.7: link

The Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer, or POV-Ray, is a freeware package for as the name suggests, ray tracing. It is a pure renderer, rather than modeling software, but the latest beta version contains a handy benchmark for stressing all processing threads on a platform. We have been using this test in motherboard reviews to test memory stability at various CPU speeds to good effect – if it passes the test, the IMC in the CPU is stable for a given CPU speed. As a CPU test, it runs for approximately 1-2 minutes on high-end platforms.

Our POV-Ray results show the B360-G gaming again mixing in with the other results.

Compression – WinRAR 5.4: link

Our WinRAR test from 2013 is updated to the latest version of WinRAR at the start of 2014. We compress a set of 2867 files across 320 folders totaling 1.52 GB in size – 95% of these files are small typical website files, and the rest (90% of the size) are small 30-second 720p videos.

Moving on to WinRAR, here we see the board completing this benchmark in 37.6 seconds compared with the other boards in the graph.

Synthetic – 7-Zip 9.2: link

As an open source compression tool, 7-Zip is a popular tool for making sets of files easier to handle and transfer. The software offers up its own benchmark, to which we report the result.

Our 7-Zip results show this tiny ASUS B360 board landing towards the bottom of the pack of some tight results. This isn't a concern as all results (sans first and last place) fall within a couple percent of each other. 

Point Calculations – 3D Movement Algorithm Test: link

3DPM is a self-penned benchmark, taking basic 3D movement algorithms used in Brownian Motion simulations and testing them for speed. High floating point performance, MHz, and IPC win in the single thread version, whereas the multithread version has to handle the threads and loves more cores. For a brief explanation of the platform agnostic coding behind this benchmark, see my forum post here.

In 3D Particle Movement tests, the B360 towards the bottom of the results, but not by much. Removing the top result, an outlier, results are within 100 points from the 2nd place result and 50 points from a middling result.  No issues here. 

Neuron Simulation - DigiCortex v1.20: link

The newest benchmark in our suite is DigiCortex, a simulation of biologically plausible neural network circuits, and simulates the activity of neurons and synapses. DigiCortex relies heavily on a mix of DRAM speed and computational throughput, indicating that systems which apply memory profiles properly should benefit and those that play fast and loose with overclocking settings might get some extra speed up. Results are taken during the steady-state period in a 32k neuron simulation and represented as a function of the ability to simulate in real time (1.000x equals real-time).

Last but not least, the DigiCortex results have the B360-G Gaming scoring 1.15 fractions of real-time simulation. This result has it mixing in nicely with our other datasets after the latest changes to the testing script. All good here as well. 

Gaming Performance

AoTS Escalation

Ashes of the Singularity is a Real Time Strategy game developed by Oxide Games and Stardock Entertainment. The original AoTS was released back in March of 2016 while the standalone expansion pack, Escalation, was released in November of 2016 adding more structures, maps, and units. We use this specific benchmark as it relies on both a good GPU as well as on the CPU in order to get the most frames per second. This balance is able to better display any system differences in gaming as opposed to a more GPU heavy title where the CPU and system don't matter quite as much. We use the default "Crazy" in-game settings using the DX11 rendering path in both 1080p and 4K UHD resolutions. The benchmark is run four times and the results averaged then plugged into the graph. 

In AOTSe, the FPS achieved here in both the 1080p and 4K UHD results fell right in line with the others with only a FPS separating the best from the worst results.  

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Rise of the Tomb Raider is a third-person action-adventure game that features similar gameplay found in 2013's Tomb Raider. Players control Lara Croft through various environments, battling enemies, and completing puzzle platforming sections while using improvised weapons and gadgets in order to progress through the story.

One of the unique aspects of this benchmark is that it’s actually the average of 3 sub-benchmarks that fly through different environments, which keeps the benchmark from being too weighted towards a GPU’s performance characteristics under any one scene.

Rise of the Tomb Raider results for the B360-G Gaming landed with the other results using the latest testing script. These results are a few percent above the other results that did not have the script changes. The results here look fine as well. 

Conclusion

The B360 chipset was designed to give users a more cost effective option for Coffee Lake based CPUs, in particularly processors which are locked and do not overclock. With this in mind, many B-series boards are cheaper but still include features like M.2 slots, USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) ports, and other features frequently found on most Z370 boards. 

The ASUS B360-G Gaming offers users features that will rival most Z370 boards - this includes USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) ports, four DRAM slots, two M.2 ports, a reinforced PCIe slot, gaming-focused software, six SATA ports, robust VRM heatsinks, and costing less than a comparable board using the Z series chipset. It does have aesthetics that you really have to love, which could be a crucial part of how well this board performs in the market.

We saw already performance was solid throughout all testing on this board. In a change from other B360 boards we have reviewed, the ASUS B360-G Gaming did not throttle for any reason during testing which was good to see and allows the CPU to stretch its legs in testing without user input. The large heatsinks were able to handle the flagship i7-8700K at stock speeds without issue merely getting warm to the touch after extended heavy use and testing. The use of the SupremeFX S1220A codecs take the high-end Realtek ALC1220 codecs and improves upon them (at least on paper) with better SnR values whereas many B360 class boards tend to use a lesser Realtek codecs such as the ALC892 or ALC887. I also like the implementation of the integrated rear IO shield which gives the board a more premium feel. 

As far as improvements needed from this board, there really isn't much needed or to complain about. Performance was spot on, and POST times were impressive. I suppose more USB ports couldn't hurt though. The biggest concern with the board is the look. That stenciling across the front with all the ROG sayings really doesn't tickle my fancy and can alienate some users looking for a fairly clean design aesthetic. As was mentioned earlier, the look can be pretty polarzing. 

Overall, the ASUS B360-G Gaming MicroATX motherboard is a solid base to use any of the Coffee Lake processor it is compatible with. Performance values are right with the other board along with power use while boot times were quite fast under 17 seconds. Features wise, it includes most everything users come to expect from this class and size board, with an Intel networking port and higher-class audio. With the board priced around the $100 mark and no others with the same features priced with it, the B360-G Gaming stands as a good option in this space. 

AnandTech 8th Gen CPU Coverage

• The Intel Core i7-8086K Review: Testing Intel's Anniversary 5.0 GHz Turbo CPU
• The Anandtech Coffee Lake Review: Initial Numbers on the Core i7-8700K and Core i5-8400
• Analyzing Z370 for Intel's 8th Generation Coffee Lake: A Quick Look at 50+ Motherboard