it is understandable for a
motherboard that costs $125.
With that said, we would
recommend readers of this
publication in particular
consider the ASUS Z170I PRO
GAMING instead. Even if it
means one has to sacrifice the
Core i3 6320/6300 for a 6100
instead, it is worth it If only for
the following reasons.
The Z170 chipset will allow
you an upgrade path that is
otherwise unavailable to you
with the B150 chipset. That is,
in future you’ll be able to take
advantage of more powerful
graphics cards (via the x16
PCI-Express support), higher
speed memory (anything up
to 3600MHz for instance),
overclock your present Core i3
CPU (unofficial support but it
is a worthwhile exercise – see
this issue’s feature) and finally
the ability to upgrade
to K SKUs and gain even more
performance going forward.
All this will set you back $40
more but you can make up
some of that difference by
opting for the Core i3 6100
instead. With that said, you’ll
end up with many of the same
features as on the B150 PRO
GAMING AURA, save for the
lighting options. Instead, you
gain significantly more
performance headroom.
Should this level of
performance be sufficient
enough for you and you’ve
little to no interest in anything
contained within the last
paragraph. You’ll find that
there aren’t any better B150
based boards on the market
than this one and its WiFi
alternative. As far as B150
is concerned, this is the best
money can buy.
Summary
The B150I Gaming Aura
is strictly for those on a
shoe string budget but
are wanting to get on
the latest Core i3/i5 CPU
powered platform. It
packs a number features
found on ASUS ROG
boards in a small miniITX form factor. Perfect
as a base for an HTPC
that doubles as a casual
gaming machine. At the
going price, you aren’t
likely to find a better
alternative anywhere.
Would you buy it?
Would save for the ASUS
Z170I PRO GAMING
instead. If that wasn’t
possible however, then
this board would have to
do.
[ TheOverclocker ]
Issue 38 | 2016 The OverClocker 27