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Motherboard VRM Check
No throttleB860 · Arrow Lake

Intel Core Ultra 5 245K on the ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi

On the ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K runs at 17 % of the board's 918 W sustained power capacity, which puts the VRM at an estimated 49 °C and leaves clocks untouched.

By Farrukh Sufyan Sarwar · Published 4 November 2026 · Last verified 4 November 2026 · Model v1.0 · Build 2026-11-04

49°C at the VRMNONE
No throttling expected
Estimated VRM temperature
49 °C
38 °C case air plus 11 °C of rise
Stress ratio
0.17
155 W of 918 W capacity
Capacity score
90/100
100 minus the stress ratio times 60
Expected clock loss
0 %
Sustained all-core clocks, not gaming frame rate
Board capacity
918 W
12 × 80 A, teamed
Processor draw
155 W
159 W at peak boost

What happens when you build this

This pairing is not close to any limit. 155 W against 918 W of capacity leaves the ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi running its stages at 17 % load, and our model puts the VRM at 49 °C in a closed case. Nothing about the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K pushes this board into the region where clocks start dropping.

The ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi carries 12 Vcore power stages rated 80 A each, teamed in pairs off a shared controller channel, with a solid block across both banks. That works out to about 918 W of sustained core power once the design and the cooling are accounted for, which is the number the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K's 155 W is measured against.

Buy it on the rest of the specification rather than on power delivery, because at 17 % of capacity the VRM has stopped being the interesting variable. Count the M.2 slots you need, check the rear ports against what you actually plug in, and let the ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi's 12 stages get on with it.

The measurement

The gauge shows the estimated VRM temperature under a sustained all-core load, with a thinner copper needle for the brief peak the processor reaches at full boost. The schematic beside it shows the same thing as current per power stage.

Estimated VRM temperature

Intel Core Ultra 5 245K on ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi: estimated 49 °C sustained, 49 °C at peak boost. Risk band: NONE.

Sustained
Sustained 49 °C
Peak boost
Peak boost 49 °C

Power delivery

155 W of 918 W · 12 × 80 A teamed
Each bar is one Vcore power stage, filled to the share of its capacity this processor asks for. The dashed line is the 85 % mark where our model starts predicting clock loss.

Where the PCIe lanes go

CPUPCIe 5.0Graphics slotx16M.2 from CPUx4Chipset2 more M.23 M.2 slots total

The ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi keeps its 3 M.2 slots clear of the graphics lanes, so the primary slot stays at x16 whatever you install. That is one fewer configuration trap than boards that route a second M.2 slot from the processor.

The ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi takes DDR5, which the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K supports, and validates memory up to DDR5-8400. Firmware is not an issue: the ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi ships with a BIOS that already knows Arrow Lake.

Boards that run the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K without throttling

Each of these keeps the processor under a third of the board's sustained power capacity, and each has a listing we can verify.

  • ASUS Prime B860-PLUS WiFi B860 LGA 1851 ATX Motherboard, Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 2 Ready, Advanced AI PC-Ready, 8+1+1+1 Stages, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, HDMI, USB 20Gbps Type-C®, 2 x M.2, WiFi 6E, 2.5Gb LAN
    BudgetB860ASUS

    ASUS Prime B860-Plus WiFi

    The cheapest board here that still leaves the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K real headroom.

    Capacity used33 % · 59 °C

    Intel Core Ultra 5 245K draws 155 W of 476 W

    Socket
    LGA1851
    Vcore
    8 × 80 A
    Memory
    DDR5

    ~$179

    no live listing yet

  • ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-PLUS WiFi, Intel mATX Motherboard, 12 + 1+2 + 180A Power Step DrMOS, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, 3 M.2 Slots, Wi-Fi 7, Realtek 2.5 Gb Ethernet, DisplayPort, HDMI, USB 20Gbps Type-C
    ValueB860ASUS

    ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi

    The most sustained current per dollar of any board that suits this processor.

    Capacity used17 % · 49 °C

    Intel Core Ultra 5 245K draws 155 W of 918 W

    Socket
    LGA1851
    Vcore
    12 × 80 A
    Memory
    DDR5

    $263.74

    as of 4 November 2026

  • ASUS ROG Strix Z890-E Gaming WiFi Intel® Z890 LGA 1851 ATX Motherboard, Advanced AI PC-Ready, 18+2+1+2 Stages, DDR5, WiFi 7, 7X M.2, Thunderbolt™ 4, USB Type-C®, AI Overclocking, Cooling & Networking
    EnthusiastZ890ASUS

    ASUS ROG Strix Z890-E Gaming WiFi

    The most headroom of any board in the database for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K.

    Capacity used7 % · 43 °C

    Intel Core Ultra 5 245K draws 155 W of 2104 W

    Socket
    LGA1851
    Vcore
    18 × 110 A
    Memory
    DDR5

    $328.95

    as of 4 November 2026

The ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi

Chipset
B860
Form factor
Micro-ATX
Vcore stages
12 × 80 A
Phase design
Teamed phases
VRM cooling
Medium heatsink
VRM tier
Tier B
Memory
DDR5-8400
BIOS Flashback
No

Questions people ask about this pairing

Will the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K throttle on the ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi?

No. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K draws 155 W in a sustained all-core load and the ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi holds about 918 W, so the VRM sits at an estimated 49 °C and clocks hold.

How many power phases does the ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi have?

12 Vcore power stages rated 80 A each, in a teamed design. Counting only the core rail matters here — vendor marketing often adds the SoC and auxiliary phases to reach a bigger number, and those carry none of the CPU's core load.

Does the ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi need a BIOS update for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K?

No. The ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi ships with a BIOS that already supports Arrow Lake, so the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K posts out of the box.

What memory does the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K take on the ASUS TUF Gaming B860M-Plus WiFi?

DDR5, in up to 4 slots, validated to DDR5-8400 on this board.

What VRM temperature should I expect with the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K on this board?

Our model estimates 49 °C, from 38 °C of interior case air plus the stress ratio of 0.17 scaled by 65 °C. Measured numbers move with case airflow and ambient temperature, so treat this as a band rather than a reading.