The ASUS TUF Gaming B850I Wi-Fi Neo is a new Mini-ITX option for Socket AM5 CPU owners and a solid effort with good performance plus a great EFI and software package. It can handle PCIe Gen 5 SSDs and AMD's flagship 16-core CPUs, but does its price give the competition the last laugh?

ASUS has long been a strong supporter of the Mini-ITX form factor, and with this model, the company now has four options for AMD's 800-series chipset. While the ROG Strix B850-I Gaming Wi-Fi is excellent, its price has risen, leaving a gap that ASRock, Gigabyte, and MSI have filled.

The TUF Gaming B850I Wi-Fi Neo faces stiff competition, priced alongside the MSI MPG B850I Edge TI Wi-Fi and Gigabyte B850I Aorus Pro, while the ASRock Phantom Gaming B850I Lightning Wi-Fi costs $30 less. It features an 8-phase CPU power design, supports up to 128 GB DDR5-9600, and includes one PCIe Gen 5 x16 slot and two M.2 slots.

Networking includes Realtek 2.5 Gbps Ethernet and MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E. Rear ports offer HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C, and more. With a 256 Mbit BIOS and exclusive Q-Antenna, it's a feature-rich board, but the value question remains.