Difference between Regular B85, B85 Vanguard and B85 PRO GAMER.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 6, 2014

So 3 Motherboards have taken my fancy:

1.http://www.amazon.co.uk/B85M-E-Motherboard-Socket-Intel-S-ATA/dp/B00E5YVOYI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1404681968&sr=8-2&keywords=b85me

2.http://www.amazon.co.uk/B85-PRO-Gamer-Motherboard-Express-Socket/dp/B00J3KACCY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404679669&sr=8-1&keywords=b85+pro+gamer

3.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanguard-B85-Motherboard-Socket-Express/dp/B00F9RKUXG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404651324&sr=8-3&keywords=b85m+asus

I understand the vanguard has the TUF Technology, however i'm led to believe most motherboards have Temperature controlling stuffs. But how exactly does the TUF Technology differ this?

I understand the B85 PRO GAMER features better Audio and being a regular ATX it features more expansion slots and Storage sata's, but what else does it bring to the table? I notice it has 1 ROG Feature, the Gamefirst II, but what is that?

I know most of you will tell me to buy a H/Z97 Chipset for this sort of money (Aroudn the £60 - £70 mark)

But I want an Asus board and their 97 counterparts are significantly more than Gigabytes.

Cheers,

Primordial genesis.

TheMentalist · Jul 6, 2014

Between those motherboards the Vanguard is the one i would go for. It has more USB3, fan headers and longer waranty. The audio of the Pro Gamer isn't significantly better than the vanguard's. Also the vanguard is pretty decent priced.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 6, 2014

TheMentalist :

Yeah I was thinking that, How long is the warranty on the PRO GAMER? There's no way i would stay with 1150 for 5 years myself but I could easily hand this rig to one of my siblings so it's nice to have 5 years.

I have however read in a review the Audio of the PRO GAMER is very good.......in terms of location, ie knowing where things are coming from. Also what is Gamefirst II? (The PRO GAMER's ROG Feature)

So what does the TUF Technology actually do on the vanguard? I was led to believe with 4 pin fans it can automatically detect a rise in temperature and raise fan speeds itself without any human input, but I'm now led to believe all motherboards can do this?

TheMentalist · Jul 6, 2014

I think the warranty is 3 years for the pro gamer.
The audio is better yes, but not earth moving great. Supreme fx is a modified realtek audio chipset. If you want better audio then go for it.
The pro gamer is a good board , if you want to pay a bit extra.

Gamefirst organizes your network traffic for better game performance online, read here: http://rog.asus.com/technology/republic-of-gamers-motherboard-innovations/rog-gamefirst-2-intel-gigabit-ethernet/

TUF tech: http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/TUF/TUF_Tech_2.htm
Gives you allot of control over your cooling. Not every board comes with such control. And the vanguard got all 4-pin fan headers.

Both boards are great, it's up to you what you need and what you will pay.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 6, 2014

TheMentalist :

Do both of these work well? Or is it just Asus advertising for very little gain over a regular board?

Also does Gamefirst II need to be set up or is it an automatic thing where it detects online play? and how much of a difference does it make?

Also how hard is it to setup the TUF stuff?

TheMentalist · Jul 6, 2014

Asus has modified the realtek audio card, but again no major improvements, just some silly tweaking . The thing is, it's more about the quality of the headset/speakers than the motherboard's onboard sound. There is a limit that your onboard audio can go.

If you don't download when gaming, no need for that software. I have a ROG board myself and don't use it.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 6, 2014

TheMentalist :

If I was to download a game and play anotehr at the same time what difference would it make?

Also how hard is it to set the TUF Stuff up?

also why can't Asus make a mobo with BOTH of these features?

Just out of curiosity do Asus actually make a TUF + ROG series board All in one kinda thing?

Primordial Genesis · Jul 6, 2014

Also are you sure the B85 Vanguard has the automatic TUF Radar?

The specification says it only has TUF Radar Core: http://event.asus.com/2011/mb/TUF/TUF_Tech_ThermalRadarCore.htm

which it doesn't like it has the automatic detect system.

TheMentalist · Jul 6, 2014

It has the themal radar core not the thermal radar, yes. Gave a wrong link. Both of them are controlling softwares, but one is dynamic. You can also use fanxpert from asus: http://event.asus.com/2012/mb/p8z77_series_motherboards/page3_fan.htm
works with all asus motherboards.

And about gamefirst, when doing multiple things, it priorities stuff. It may be handy sometimes. But when i download games from steam/origin, i use their bandwidth limiters. It's not the same, but it doesn't make a whole lot of a difference either.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 6, 2014

TheMentalist :

About the TUF Thermal Radar core on the B85 Vangaurd, can it not do everything automatically for you like Thermal Radar 1 does?

Also if I use fanxpert IMHO it defeats the whole point of buying a TUF board, I could just buy a crappy H81 Asus board for £30 and use it with that.....

TheMentalist · Jul 6, 2014

You mean the auto-adjustment when a certain temp is reached? That i'm not sure about thermal radar core. But fan xpert has a similar feature.
watch this: http://www.tweaktown.com/news/23902/asus_fan_xpert_2_video_hands_on_shows_how_to_do_pc_cooling_fan_control_right/index.html
(if that is what you mean)

And crappy motherboards won't come with allot of fan headers, and not all of them work with such software.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 6, 2014

TheMentalist :

So......Wouldn't it make more sense to buy the b85 PRO GAMER than use the fanxpert on it?

TheMentalist · Jul 6, 2014

In a certain way yes. But that is if you won't need the 5 year warranty and the extra usb 3.0 ports.
Other than that the pro gamer is good to go.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 6, 2014

What would the 3 pin and 4 pin fans have different? Since the PRO GAMER has 3 pin headers.

TheMentalist · Jul 6, 2014

3-pin fans are voltage controlled, 4-pin fans have a dedicated pin for control(pulse modulation width signal). Both can do the same.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 6, 2014

I should have asked this right at the start because it could have saved alot of questions. I'm looking at the NZXT Phantom case, now would the fan controller on it render the TUF technology useless ? Obviously I'd have to do it myself manually via the controller but is it one or the other kind of thing? Or could I use with together? Or would that be pointless?

TheMentalist · Jul 6, 2014

The fan controller of the case is a manual one. AI Suite supports automatic fan adjustment. I don't think there is a way to make them work together.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 6, 2014

What's AI Suite?

And if I'm going to use the fan controller on the case will this render the TUF TECHNOLOGY useless?

TheMentalist · Jul 6, 2014

Oh i meant fanxpert, its part of ai suite. My mistake.
Check this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNdmX0Cu5Lw
There are some features that are also in the Thermal Radar Core(for the vanguard).
This blows the NZXT's controller away(since it's just a manual controller).

Primordial Genesis · Jul 7, 2014

TheMentalist :

Here's the thing I'm buying the NZXT Phantom not for the controller but because IMHO in red it looks AMAZING. So regardless of my plans, the Phantom is on the list.

This means that using the onboard controller is an option.

So my question is, if I was to use the vanguard without the controller, OR if I was to buy a mobo without TUF, and just use the Fan controller myself manually, Would they yield similar results? Basically my point is, is using TUF and the controller at the same time pointless? Is it the sort of thing, where I should use one OR the other? Because using both together wouldn't make a difference realistically?

It's kind of hard to explain what I mean.....

Okay this will probably make more sense:

1. If I use TUF Will that render the fan controller useless?

2. If I use the fan controller would that render TUF useless unless I want more accurate results?

Primordial Genesis · Jul 7, 2014

Also is it true to keep the Gamefirst II updated you have to pay extra?

Andrew Buck · Jul 7, 2014

They are all different sizes. They are great motherboards, but you need to have a Micro ATX or ATX for the first, ATX for the second one, or Mini-ITX, Micro ATX or ATX for the third one. The second one is probably the best if you can afford it.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 7, 2014

Right cheers for all your help guys, probably gonna make a new thread about GameFirst II, when i find out exactly how to set it up, and the quirks of it, then I can decide which mobo to buy.

TheMentalist · Jul 7, 2014

Primordial Genesis :

I heard the same thing, which sucks.

Primordial Genesis · Jul 7, 2014

TheMentalist :

That's when people update it without the disk, If you used the disk to update it, would it recognize that you have the disk and not put you on the trial version? (which makes you pay after 30 days)

Difference between Regular B85, B85 Vanguard and B85 PRO GAMER.

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