Tug Enuff Upload a Picture for Review
Our Verdict
The Asus A520M TUF Gaming is a solid board merely information technology doesn't quite practice enough in the face up of stiff competition.
For
- Good build quality & looks
- USB three.2 Gen two port
Confronting
- Lacks WiFi
- small VRM heatsink
PC Gamer Verdict
The Asus A520M TUF Gaming is a solid board but it doesn't quite do enough in the face up of stiff competition.
Pros
- +
Good build quality & looks
- +
USB 3.2 Gen two port
Cons
- -
Lacks WiFi
- -
small VRM heatsink
The A520 motherboard chipset represents the budget end of the marketplace, perfectly placed to build inexpensive AMD Ryzen 5000 (opens in new tab) gaming PCs around. Post-obit on from the Gigabyte A520 Aorus Elite (opens in new tab) and ASRock A520M ITX/ac (opens in new tab) nosotros've already enjoyed, we have the Asus TUF Gaming A520M Plus. From its Sabertooth motherboard origins, the TUF sub-brand has expanded into other product lines, and not just from Asus. Multiple partners offering TUF products including cases, memory and peripherals.
The TUF brand adopts a reliability or military theme. Asus claims TUF products are engineered for stability and compatibility with other TUF components. While this is mostly a marketing exercise, the unique artful will be highly-seasoned to many, with the yellow highlights and discrete designs an interesting change from excessive RGB LEDs and snarling beast bling.
Many gamers actually practise want something that's simple, reliable and discrete—to be enjoyed but not seen or heard. TUF products are finding traction among users and gamers who take no interest in hyper-expensive, high-end motherboards. Asus buyers tend to be quite loyal and with more than TUF products than always, it seems it's a brand that's hither to stay.
Every bit we talked about in other A520 reviews, this budget AMD Ryzen chipset isn't for everyone. Information technology doesn't offer PCIe four.0 support and y'all tin't overclock, but the truth is a resolutely budget system buyer won't be overly concerned about these things. They'll be looking to put a system together, install windows and get into their game.
If you're on a strict budget, you lot can easily divert a few dollars or pounds to a better graphics carte or a better CPU. These are the things that make a real and tangible functioning difference.
The A520 chipset also offers some central benefits over Intel'south comparative budget chipset, B460. The biggest do good is support for speeds beyond the memory limitations of Intel's B460; namely a hard stop at DDR4-2666 or 2933 with an i9 CPU. The Asus TUF A520M, on the other manus, supports memory speeds up to DDR4-4800. Of form it'due south highly unlikely you'll pair this kind of combination together.
Asus TUF A520M specs
Socket - AM4
Chipset - A520
CPU Support - 3rd Gen Ryzen (not 3200G or 3400G)
Memory - 4x DDR4 slots upward to DDR4-4800(OC)
Storage - 1x M.2; 4x SATA
USB - 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2, up to 6x USB 3.2 Gen1, up to 5x USB two.0
Networking - Realtek L8200A Gigabit LAN
Display outputs - 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DVI-D, 1x VGA
Audio - Realtek ALC887 seven.one Aqueduct Hard disk Audio
Course Factor - Micro ATX
The other big A520 selling bespeak (though unconfirmed on this board at the fourth dimension of writing) is support for the upcoming Ryzen 5000 series CPUs, and but every bit chiefly, if/when they release, the Renoir or Cezanne APUs. If AMD'due south 5000 series CPUs are every bit fast as AMD claims they are you lot could accomplish flagship gaming functioning congenital around a motherboard costing under $100. A 65W Ryzen five 5600X CPU sounds like a nice option, though in reality, A520 volition likely exist seen as a more appropriate pairing for future Ryzen three CPUs and Zen 3 APUs.
But let's plough our attending towards the Asus TUF Gaming A520M Plus. That's quite a mouthful, so let's just stick with Asus TUF A520M. It's also quite pricey for an A520 board at $148. It's a micro-ATX board with what appears to be an 8-stage VRM. The heatsink is very minor, and though we didn't meet temperature issues when testing, it'south not the kind of setup nosotros'd be looking to run 12 or 16-core CPUs nether load for extended periods.
At that place are four RAM slots, a single PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slot (without a heatsink) and four SATA ports. You also get a single RGB header and a splash of RGB lighting at the bottom right of the board. Interestingly, Asus uses a Realtek L8200A LAN controller which, for at present, appears to be sectional to Asus.
The TUF A520M includes a single USB iii.2 Gen two port. Nearly A520 boards include Gen 1 ports only, so this is dainty to see. There's also an e-Primal 2242 Thousand.2 slot for adding a WiFi menu. Does it make sense to include this on a budget board when a non-enthusiast user would typically just add a USB dongle? Maybe, possibly not.
The rear I/O is includes the aforementioned L8200A LAN and USB 3.ii Gen 2 port forth with iv Gen 1 ports and a pair of USB 2.0 ports. This gives it a total of 7. The HDMI 2.1 ports means that 4K/60Hz with a Renoir APU volition be achievable. We don't mind seeing DVI-D on a budget board as plenty of users still use a 1080p 60Hz brandish, just VGA? Does anyone utilize that anymore? The ALC887 audio is generic. Cheap motherboards are non a great solution if audio quality is of import to yous, simply at least Asus has made some effort with PCB shielding and the apply of decent capacitors.
Arrangement benchmarks
Gaming benchmarks
Examination rig
CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Graphics - Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 TI Founders Edition Memory - G.Skill Flare 2x8GB DDR4-3200 C14
Power Supply - Antec HCP-1200W
Storage - 1TB Samsung 970 EVO & 1TB 970 Pro K.two SSD
Cooling - NZXT Kraken X73 360mm AIO
Operating system - Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
The AM4 socket is now well and truly mature and nosotros don't expect weird swings in benchmark operation that you might see with first generation platform releases. The TUF A520 was a tiny bit behind the other tested boards by and large, though a frame here or there is nothing to worry nigh.
Assessing budget motherboards and comparison them to one another tin be difficult. A lot of the time a characteristic or two or a $x price difference can be make or break. 1 area Asus does tend to do well with customers is brand loyalty and the TUF brand is a farther way to foster this with its emphasis on stability and reliability.
Nosotros judge a product on its claim though and the Asus TUF Gaming A520M doesn't quite do plenty at its price to win an outright recommendation. It'southward not bad by any means merely some of the other boards effectually this toll offer things like WiFi or a DisplayPort. Things like this could be make or break for your specific build.
The Asus TUF A520M is a generally unremarkable motherboard. Information technology's got a decent VRM, the USB 3.ii Gen 2 ports is a good value add together, and the e-Primal M.two slot adds a bit of flexibility. Its build quality is good simply then nosotros can't say if its accent on reliability stands up in the long term. We don't see whatever reason why it wouldn't.
Other than the USB three.2 Gen 2 port the lath just doesn't stand out enough compared to something like the MSI Vector WiFi at a similar price. Only, pricing is volatile. If it was $10 cheaper it would change the whole equation. If you're an Asus fan or you're invested in the TUF ecosystem, y'all will exist happy with your purchase but we think there are improve A520 options at this price.
Asus TUF Gaming A520M Plus
The Asus A520M TUF Gaming is a solid lath just it doesn't quite practise plenty in the face of stiff competition.
Source: https://www.pcgamer.com/asus-tuf-gaming-a520m-plus-review-amd-gaming-motherboard/
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