Asus TUF Gaming B760-PLUS WIFI D4 Mainboard Review – Z690/DDR5 or B760/DDR4?

The Asus TUF Gaming B760-PLUS WIFI D4 supports 12th and 13th-Gen Intel CPUs, allowing you to build a strong gaming system if you pair it with the appropriace CPU and GPU. 

With a price of 210 dollars, at the time of the review, the Asus TUF Gaming B760-PLUS WIFI D4 is not among the most affordable mainboards for the newer generations of Intel CPUs, 12th and 13th. The WiFi support increases the cost, but it is nice not to depend on cables. The mainboard is equipped with an LGA 1700 socket, and it supports DDR4 RAM, so you can keep your existing RAM kit in case of an upgrade. Even if you don’t have any DDR4 RAM, it is still more affordable than DDR5. Intel’s decision to support DDR4 and DDR5 in its new generation chipsets was wise, allowing for a lower system-build cost, whereas AMD only supports DDR5 in its newest generation chipsets.

Before I proceed with the main review, I have to devote some paragraphs to educating interested users about the differences between the B760 and Z790 chipsets. The primary difference is in the price tags. Z790 mainboards are more expensive, with B760 ones addressing budget-oriented buyers, while H770 mainboards are for mid-tier users.

But what is a chipset, and what does it do? A chipset is a set of electronic components that manages the data flow between a mainboard’s processor, memory, and peripherals. The chipset determines compatibility between all these other components. In other words, the chipset is the glue keeping together all parts on a mainboard, allowing them to coexist and cooperate.

Specifications

Technical Specifications Asus TUF Gaming B760-PLUS WIFI D4:

Chipset	Intel B760
CPU Support	Supports 13th Gen Intel Core & 12th Gen Intel Core, Pentium Gold, and Celeron Processors Socket LGA1700
Power Phases	12+1+2
Memory	4x DDR4, Maximum Memory Capacity 128GB Dual Channel Memory Architecture
Onboard Graphics Ports	1x HDMI 2.1 1x DP 1.4
Expansion Slots	Intel 13th & 12th Gen Processors 1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slot Intel B760 Chipset 1 x PCIe 3.0 x16 slot (supports x4 mode)* 2 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots* * PCIEX16(G3) shares bandwidth with PCIEX1(G3)_1 and PCIEX1(G3)_2. When PCIEX1(G3)_1 or PCIEX1(G3)_2 runs at PCIe x1 mode, PCIEX16(G3) will only run at PCIe x2 mode.
Storage	Total supports 3 x M.2 slots and 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports* Intel 13th & 12th Gen Processors M.2_1 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode) Intel B760 Chipset M.2_2 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280/22110 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode) M.2_3 slot (Key M), type 2242/2260/2280 (supports PCIe 4.0 x4 mode) 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports * Intel® Rapid Storage Technology supports SATA RAID 0/1/5/10.
USB	Rear USB (Total 6 ports) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port (1 x USB Type-C) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port (1 x Type-A) 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (3 x Type-A) 1 x USB 2.0 port (1 x Type-A) Front USB (Total 7 ports) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 connector (supports USB Type-C) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header supports 2 additional USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports 2 x USB 2.0 headers support 4 additional USB 2.0 ports
LAN	1 x Realtek 2.5Gb Ethernet
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6 2×2 Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Supports 2.4/5GHz frequency band
Bluetooth	v 5.2
Audio	Realtek 7.1 Surround Sound High Definition Audio CODEC Supports: Jack-detection, Multi-streaming, Front Panel Jack-retasking Supports up to 24-Bit/192 kHz playback
Internal I/O	Fan and Cooling related 1 x 4-pin CPU Fan header 1 x 4-pin CPU OPT Fan header 1 x 4-pin AIO Pump header 4 x 4-pin Chassis Fan headers Power related 1 x 24-pin Main Power connector 1 x 8-pin +12V Power connector 1 x 4-pin +12V Power connector Storage related 3 x M.2 slots (Key M) 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports USB 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 connector (supports USB Type-C ) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header supports 2 additional USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports 2 x USB 2.0 headers support 4 additional USB 2.0 ports Miscellaneous 3 x Addressable Gen 2 headers 1 x Aura RGB header 1 x Clear CMOS header 1 x COM Port header 1 x Front Panel Audio header (AAFP) 1 x 20-3 pin System Panel header with Chassis intrude function 1 x Thunderbolt™ (USB4) header
BIOS	128 Mb Flash ROM, UEFI AMI BIOS
Back Panel Ports	1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port (1 x USB Type-C) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port (1 x Type-A) 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports (3 x Type-A) 1 x USB 2.0 port (1 x Type-A) 1 x DisplayPort 1 x HDMI port 1 x Wi-Fi Module 1 x Realtek 2.5Gb Ethernet port 5 x Audio jacks 1 x Optical S/PDIF out port
Q-LED	(CPU [red], DRAM [yellow], VGA [white], Boot Device [yellow green])
Dimensions	ATX, 305mm x 244mm
Warranty	It depends on the region
Price (excl. VAT)	$240