One of the best B550 motherboards are the best way to go, if you wish to lower your expenses but additionally get sturdy efficiency. These motherboards offer you sturdy efficiency for a less expensive worth than the X570 boards on the market. They may not have all the additional bells and whistles, however one of the best B550 motherboards are the place you have to be wanting for those who want a superb various.
Since many of the best gaming CPUs are coming from AMD this go-round, we have been attempting to get our fingers on as many AM4 appropriate motherboards as we are able to for testing. We have boards from all of the heavy hitters like ASRock, Asus, and MSI. We have narrowed the listing all the way down to these we predict have earned a spot inside your treasured gaming rig.
Most B550 motherboards can energy your AMD Ryzen 9 5900X with no problem; one of the best B550 motherboards may even comfortably help the beastly AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. Even PCIe 4.0 help has switched from the highest X570 chipset to B550. B550s are slightly extra restricted than X570 with only a few PCIe slots and area for an NVMe SSD however nonetheless present an ideal worth.
Greatest B550 motherboards
Certain, the Asus ROG Strix B550-E prices as a lot as some X570 motherboards; in reality, it just about matches our favourite of AMD’s top-end boards, the MSI MPG X570 Gaming Professional Carbon. Nevertheless it’s a premium motherboard, with all the trimmings you’d anticipate from Asus’ Republic of Players stables, akin to 14+2 energy stage, M.2 heatsinks, and pre-installed backplates. You additionally get Wi-Fi 6 wi-fi networking in addition to Intel 2.5Gb ethernet too. And RGB LEDs, after all.
Efficiency too is usually good for a high-end Asus board, matching X570 motherboards for gaming efficiency with out problem. That mentioned, of the B550 boards we have examined, it is the much more inexpensive MSI board that comes out prime in our straight efficiency testing. However the Asus can overclock much better, even when it does chew up extra uncooked energy from the plug on the entire.
The Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming is the entire bundle then, and proper now’s our all-around decide for one of the best B550 motherboard. Although that also looks like a tricky suggestion when X570 boards are the identical worth…
Learn our full Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming review.
One of the best premium B550 motherboard would possibly seem to be a little bit of an oxymoron, however the Razer Version of the ASRock B550 Taichi is simply that. It eschews the yin/yang, steampunk aesthetic of conventional Taichi boards favoring a extra trendy, extra RGB-lead, extra Razer design. And it appears to be like nice.
It additionally performs nicely, and packs in all of the high-end motherboard options you’d anticipate from a top-end B550 board. Hell, even a top-end X570 mobo too. With the heady VRM help ASRock has dropped into the Taichi Razer Version, you may fortunately run an overclocked Ryzen 9 5950X—and now we have—in addition to push your high-performance reminiscence as quick because it’ll go.
Sadly, while you’re providing X570-level efficiency and options, which means you are additionally going to be demanding a complete lot of money for the privilege. And actually, that is our solely actual problem with this board and the one cause it isn’t sitting there proper on the prime of the listing. For nigh-on $300, it is some huge cash for a mobo, not to mention a second-tier chipset.
However for those who’re a paid-up member of the Cult of Razer, you then’ve in all probability drunk all of the Chroma RGB Kool-Assist and will likely be champing on the bit to get that out of your motherboard too.
Learn our full ASRock B550 Taichi Razer Edition review.
In the case of gaming efficiency above all else, then MSI’s micro-ATX MAG B550M Mortar is your greatest wager for an inexpensive next-gen Ryzen machine. It is available in across the $140 mark, making it cheaper than an ideal many X570 and different B550 motherboards in the marketplace proper now.
The gaming body charges of the MSI B550 Mortar put it above the remainder of the B550 crew we have examined thus far, and certainly its straight CPU efficiency places it up there with a few of the greatest X570s. That bodes nicely for those who’re on the lookout for an inexpensive dwelling in your AMD Zen 3 CPU; this B550 has an ideal likelihood to make sure it performs to its fullest stock-clocked potential with out breaking the financial institution.
However you’ll be lacking out on further PCIe 4.0 M.2 and x16 graphics slots if these extras imply loads to you. You may as well decide to ditch wi-fi networking, relying on whether or not you decide the straight Mortar or the costlier Mortar Wi-Fi model. The 8+2+1 energy section design is arguably a extra unwelcome miss, nonetheless, as that ends in a board that is not going to spark any overclocking pleasure in your coronary heart. However, as an inexpensive gaming board with out OC pretensions, it is an ideal shout.
Learn our full MSI MAG B550M Mortar review.
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The geared aesthetic of ASRock’s premium Taichi motherboards makes this the best-looking of all of the B550 boards we have checked out, although that premium nature does make it additionally the costliest. Certainly it is priced greater than the ASRock X570 Taichi, making this a tough suggestion till the just about inevitable worth correction will definitely occur over time.
Nevertheless it’s obtained the identical form of specs listing as the wonderful Asus ROG Strix B550-E, and it means you get all of the networking niceties and the gaming efficiency to place it across the prime of the listing. It is also obtained some overclocking chops too, permitting us to hit 4.2GHz on the Ryzen 3 3100 finances gaming chip.
It is also extremely well-built, with a metallic construction that makes it one of the crucial sturdy B550 motherboards round. However yeah, it is robust to take a look at that worth and really feel this second-tier chipset is the place you wish to put your Ryzen cash.
Learn our full ASRock B550 Taichi review.
Clocking in at round $70, the Asrock B550M-HDV sits much more comfortably with the B550 as a price proposition than most. It would not attempt to disguise that it is a finances board both, with its restricted characteristic set and its absence of warmth spreaders—it is a motherboard for anybody that wants the naked minimal, and we do not imply that in a nasty means. If you wish to construct a Ryzen system on a good finances, you would do loads worse.
Nevertheless, this is not a motherboard for overclockers, however given how tough it’s to overclock Zen 2 and Zen 3 chips, that is not an excessive amount of of a damaging both. You get a solitary four-pin supplementary CPU energy connector, and the VRMs are naked, too, whereas the ability supply is merely four-phase with simply two fan headers can be found.
That single M.2 slot has you lined for fast PCIe 4.0 storage, although, and the PCIe 4.0 x16 slot helps these graphics playing cards which are in such quick provide. For those who’re wanting to make use of your CPU’s built-in graphics, then you’ve gotten the selection of VGA, DVI, and HDMI outputs as nicely. It is a disgrace there aren’t any USB 3.2 Sort-C connectors current, and solely having one M.2 is a bit limiting, however total these seem to be cheap sacrifices to maintain that worth low.
Learn our full Asrock B550M-HDV review.
Greatest B550 motherboard FAQ
What is the distinction between a B550 and X570 motherboard?
There is not plenty of distinction between the highest two AMD 500-series motherboard chipsets in terms of straight efficiency. The principle distinction is AMD has changed the PCIe Gen 4 interface used on the X570—which connects the CPU socket to the platform controller hub (PCH) chip on the coronary heart of the chipset—with a PCIe Gen 3 model for the B550.
The Ryzen 3000 and 5000 CPUs can nonetheless provide PCIe 4.0 help itself, delivering 16 high-speed lanes for a GPU and an additional 4 for lightning-fast SSDs, however it means the B550 cannot help secondary PCIe 4.0 SSDs or graphics playing cards.
The tighter bandwidth does have an effect on different delicate areas, akin to USB connectivity, however on the entire, it would not have an effect on gaming efficiency. The CPU itself continues to be providing a PCIe 4.0 connection to the primary graphics slot and the first M.2 SSD connection, guaranteeing all of the bandwidth you would want for the standard AMD gaming PC.
And there are B550 motherboards, such because the Asus ROG and ASRock Taichi boards above, which supply the form of energy componentry to ship overclocking efficiency. AMD has additionally confirmed that each B550 and X570 will help the following technology of Ryzen CPUs.
The place they differ, nonetheless, is within the prolonged characteristic set. Whereas these two premium B550 boards have a formidable characteristic listing, the B550 chipset implies that bandwidth-sensitive connections on the motherboard will likely be behind the highest vary of boards. That is because of the connection between the PCH on the chipset and the CPU utilizing PCIe Gen3, as a substitute of the entire Gen 4 resolution throughout the X570s.
| B450 Chipset | B550 Chipset | X570 Chipset | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Graphics Help | x16 PCIe Gen 3 | x16 PCIe Gen 4 | x16 PCIe Gen 4 |
| CPU Storage Help | PCIe Gen 3 | PCIe Gen 4 | PCIe Gen 4 |
| CPU USB Ports | USB 3.1 Gen 1 | USB 3.2 Gen2 | USB 3.2 Gen2 |
| Twin Graphics Help | No | Sure | Sure |
| Normal Objective Lanes | PCIe Gen 2 | PCIe Gen 3 | PCIe Gen 4 |
| CPU Chipset Uplink | PCIe Gen 3 | PCIe Gen 3 | PCIe Gen 4 |
| Overclocking Help | Sure | Sure | Sure |
Normally, the B550 motherboards are a tad costlier than we would like, with the ASRock B550 Taichi being the obvious instance. It is across the similar worth because the ASRock X570 Taichi, arguably the higher board or the extra absolutely featured.
There are cheaper B550 boards on the market, such because the ASRock B550 HDV, however then you’re dropping out on luxuries like first rate energy section design and doubtlessly then total efficiency. That could be a minimize too far for those who’re aiming for an inexpensive dwelling in your subsequent AMD Ryzen CPU buy.
Your greatest wager is to remember what options imply probably the most to you. Do you want wi-fi networking, will you be overclocking, and what number of Gen 4 SSDs are you prone to drop into your new AMD PC? If the solutions aren’t any, no, and one, then a B550 will likely be a superb shout. Simply be sure the one you decide would not have a equally specced, equally priced X570 twin lurking round.
