First sub $100 B550 board available in quite a while. Very basic feature set, no VRM heatsink though it does have two m.2 slots and 4 RAM slots which is nice. Good for anything up to and including Ryzen 7 5700X. Just be wary any GPU that takes more than 2 slots will block the other PCIe slots.
yep i got this same board for under $80 shortly after b550 came out
I got a MAG B550M Motor for $124 and a MAG B550 Tomahawk for $146 2 years ago on sale
Trash B550's like this were $60
Big time and likewise got b450 tomahawk for $99 delivered and b550 tomahawk for $125 delivered lol..regret not getting two of each
This board was this price 2 years ago.. so sad
I personally wouldn't use this board with anything higher than gaming load with no more than 8 core…. don't get this board if you'll do ANY compile/compress/encoding etc work.
you won't able to fit a WiFi adapter in, unless you have a 2 slot GPU, and even if your GPU is only 2 slot, fitting a WiFi card inside means it'll block half of the fan on the left hand side GPU fan.
basic audio, basic lan port, poor VRM, no internal expansion, this board only works for last generation CPU not current…… and this cost $99.
not everyone bought their own house, as well as for those who got their own house they might not able(or wanted) to hardwire a ethernet cable by drill holes on their wall…. NBN box is likely installed against garage which adds complexity too.
Plus WiFi6 with okay signal will actually reach Gigabit speed, stability is surprisingly decent.
Drill holes? Just trail the cables across the floor - leave doors open where necessary.
@Fappy Bunny: My wife understands what will happen when I start drilling holes in the wall - even more ugly.
If WiFi is important, either get a board with WiFi included, or an m.2 e-key slot.
WiFi6 with okay signal, frankly, that's also not the norm. Since you mentioned NBN box might be installed against the garage, unless the garage is in the middle of the house (not possible), the amount of money you need to spend on a mesh setup to get great WiFi 6 throughout the house most certainly will be greater than $99.
m.2 e-key slot is annoying because the card's antenna sockets are tiny. If you don't connect those antenna sockets to the antenna properly, the PC won't even detect or initiate the card.
Probs cheaper to go a powerline adaptor setup than Wifi6
@Diji: Intel AX200 Adapter from AliExpress cost $20~25, a magnetic antenna base with extension cable cost $5 ~$10.
Certain AX3000 Router cost less than $100. (for example Redmi AX3000)
As long as signal isn't tooooo bad you'll get at somewhere around 300~500mbps, and with decent signal you'll get Gigabit speed.
Powerline adapter cost like $80 itself, plus you'll need a router in the first place.
you can use pcie extenders, I have 2 GPUs on B550M-DS3H which I got for $85 back then, 2nd one is on an extender from Aliexpress.
I've used one of those before too, and the wifi card(Intel AX200) won't initialise properly half of the time… maybe it's also caused by the fact that ax200 is a m.2 E-Key, so it was on a PCIe to M.2 E-Key adapter board in the first place…
but I am not aware of a good WiFi6 card that's not a M.2 E-Key at this stage.
I use a 16x extender on 2nd 16x physical slot (4x electrical), are you using a 1x extender by any chance ?
@bazingaa: I was using a 1x extender, although it was PCIe 3.0 standard extender and the card should only be PCIe 2.0, it still fails to initialize.
Might because bad wiring on both motherboard(from PCIe 1x to south bridge) and PCIe to E-Key adapter.
Lesson learnt is never use extenders and just get a better mobo….
Don't listen to this guy. You can most certainly stress a CPU even with a board with shitty VRMs - the VRMs will just get hot is all.
Unless you're buying a dodgy AliExpress mobo, most reputable brand mobo are well tested and will handle any compatible CPU you throw at it just fine, you simply won't get very far overclocking.
To say "don't get this board if you do ANY compile/compress…" is nothing but fear mongering bullshit.
Your other points are valid though.
B550m with high core count CPUs (5950x, though that's just stupid, tbh) don't handle compiling workloads very well. Wasn't even overclocking, PBO off etc, and anything past 6 cores was unstable on a few b550 boards I tried.
It's a great option if you need something for gaming, which supports everything you need there.
Chipsets have nothing to do with power delivery, there are many B550M motherboards that can easily handle overclocked 5950X's. If you had instability then there's probably something wrong with your setup because under normal circumstances if the VRM or CPU overheats it just throttles and goes slower, it's not supposed to crash.
WTF?
Each manufacturer has at least one B550M mobo with a quality VRM package
Quick check of an old tier list shows:
ASUS TUF GAMING B550M-PLUS
ASRock B550M Steel Legend
GIGABYTE B550M AORUS PRO-P
MSI MAG B550M Mortar
If you are building a small form factor machine with a 105W Ryzen 7 or 9 CPU and cannot be bothered researching boards, that is on you
This ASUS will handle a 65W 5700X fine but will not hold max boost on all 8 cores / 16 threads for long
Agree. Lot of testing done by HUB and others on this. Can just direct a fan across from for some airflow. Even then the vrm will just throttle if it gets hot and add an extra minute to your video rendering. Though ,how many ppl actually do a lot of video editing and other heavy processing workloads? 5%?
The the Prime B550M-A is pretty much the worst board for the VRM temps tested by HUB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuPH9pCCK-E
At least had VRM heastsinks on it..
and the Prime B550M-K is a further cut down version..
the VRMs will just get hot is all.
short term:
hot -> VRM get less current handle capability -> throttle
(if throttle still wasn't enough to cool it down) -> power down/crash
long term:
Hot -> thermal cycle -> heat expansion and shrink -> more risk of a dead motherboard
$129 you can get this MSI B550M-P gen3 which won't suffer VRM issue what so ever.
if you didn't want PCIe3.0 slot,
$145 gets you an AsRock B550m Pro4 which have very decent Memory OC capability — my own testing shows it can even reach 6 layer PCB level.
why would I bother with absolute lowest end?
The best gaming cpu in amd's lineup is generally the 6/8 core anyways. Hardwareunboxed has this mobo (at least the A version whatever difference that is) which could handle a 12 core in a blender render while 16 core would struggle/crash and those are heavy all core workloads which gaming isn't.
Wifi is whatever, wired is superior for gaming. Gigabit is faster than 99% of Australians' internet speeds. Basic audio is every mobo out there. Current gen mobos are twice the price and their accompanying cpus+ram also cost more, completely different product segments.
Unless you're getting a 4070 tier card or above you'll be fine on am4. Down the line when you upgrade your gpu you can always buy into am5 when it's much cheaper.
I dont expect enthusiasts running 8+ core cpus are going to be running the lowest rung 550 asus boards anyway
the K model is a cut down A model and that one is already crap
surely this model is going to be matched up with budget low power consumption 4-6 core cpus anyway
to a power user $100-$150 more for a real board wouldnt be an issue
Hardwareunboxed has this mobo (at least the A version whatever difference that is)
I think that had VRM heatsinks
Not bad, although worth noting you can get a similarly no-frills AM5 board for around $130. Considering how DDR5 prices have fallen, you can be all in on mobo + ryzen 7600 + decent ram for under $600.
Puts paying almost $500 for the 5800x3D (or whatever it’s called) in perspective!
Yeah entry level AM5 is getting there, although with the price of GPUs it's not out of the question to stick with AM4 and chuck the extra couple hundred at a better video card.
For $600 might be looking at Intel 13 gen built, seems better price/performance than AMD 7 series.
They're at least competitive, but I'm not sure that they are outright better value anymore. You could make a system with the 13400F for a bit less money, but the 7600 is a bit faster, and you'd probably want to avoid H610 boards on the Intel platform given they have some real feature deficits. Something like a 13600k would be a step up from the 7600, but is a fair bit more expensive, especially when you consider that you probably want a motherboard with better VRMs to deal with their higher power draw.
AM5 used to be poor value at the low end due to a lack of affordable motherboards and high DDR5 pricing — but now neither of those are such big issues.
I was thinking 13500 that sit between those 2 you mention, better price than 13600 and more powerful than 13400, whereas $50 more expensive and much faster than 7600. For a new buy I would lean towards intel, yeah avoid H610 low quality VRMs, not seeing the cost saving different between a better VRMs vs those craps one, for saving a few dollars from material and lead to no one buy landfill product.
@dlovep: Depends on the usecase really. The 13500 is an interesting option for application loads with the 8 e-cores, but it's substantially slower than the 7600 for gaming, particularly on ddr4.
@snep: Yeah, it's a bit of mix bag for Intel at this price range, 13500 on price and wattage it's relatively close to AMD 7600 but with ability to reuse DDR4 is a bonus.
Just one important point. You will likely need a 3000 series cpu to update the bios to use a 5000 series cpu. As mentioned on the store page.
This one has ASUS EZ Flash, so you can update via a usb drive
i think you are thinking of bios flashback. this feature is not available on this board. you cant use EZ Flash since it wont boot an unsupported cpu.
some users having similar issue:
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/sxhu53/help_asus_…
oops, my bad!
Where does it mention that on the store page?
https://www.mwave.com.au/product/asus-prime-b550mk-am4-micro…
"A BIOS update may be required to support the latest AMD Ryzen processors. Please check the manufacturer's website for more details."
I forgot that B550 dropped support for Ryzen 2000.
My B550 tomahawk runs my Ryzen 1600af all day.. yeah doesnt say on website that it's officially supported but still works . Other's discovered the same but check the model first see if others have confirmed
Same. Probs a hit or miss, but my B550 Aorus Pro AX ran a 1600 fine.
I had no issues with my 5900x. Wifi? I've used USB wifi.
I have this. I’d recommend a auros instead for more features but it works. Sadly I paid much more for this. Note there’s only two inputs for fans, I had to buy a fan controller to run 4 other fans in my case.
No led indicators for when things go wrong is insane, you have to buy a speaker for that 😂.
Link says $129.
Basic rule of thumb - if the IO panel doesn't have usb-c, but does have d-sub or vga or ps2 ports, it's junk.
USB-C isn't that sturdy. I know people with Apple Macbooks with faulty usb-c ports over time. Also, if the USB-C ports are at the back, they can be a bit annoying to plug in properly. Not to mention if dodgy cables are used, you still get random disconnections.
If it is just for an el cheapo Ryzen 5600 setup, is there any real need to pay premium for those B550 mid range boards? Some of them don't even have PCIe gen 3 x4 m.2 secondary slot. Some share that PCIe gen 3 x4 bandwidth. Majority of the boards don't bother providing latest BIOS with AGESA 1.2.0.A so all those needing great VRM to get the boost is somewhat pointless (given the glitch in the older AGESA which means it won't boost properly anyway).
hmm I haven't used USB-C all that much. My work laptop has it for my dock but I rarely unplug it, and my motorbike helmet has it but i haven't been riding much since I got that helmet either. Do you reckon USB-C is less reliable than lightning then for a phone? People seem to think it's great in terms of reliability for a connector.
USB-C is 24 pins, lightning is 16 pins. Less pins might be slightly more reliable, but both are tiny connectors so the difference is minor. The move to USB-C will eliminate the need to carry multiple cables.
Avoiding unplug and re-plug in USB-C cables to a USB-C port is a good idea. With B550 boards, due to limited PCIe gen 3 lanes from the chipset, a B550 board with front panel USB-C connector is likely to be limited to USB 3.2 gen 1. Then you have USB 3.2 gen 2 USB-C ports at the back. That is confusing. Furthermore, if the wrong cable is being used, then you won't get USB 3.2 gen 2 speed.
Totally agree. no need to get anything more than this for up to a 5600, and i'd dare say the 5700x or even 5800x3d will go fine. if worried, direct a fan over the VRM's and she'll be fine. worst it'll throttle the cpu a little in heavy production workloads, meaning in video rendering/editing you might gain 1 min on the job.. drop in the ocean in the big scheme of things, unless of course you can teleport back to 2021 during the m/b oversupply situation and pick up a b450 tomahawk for $99 delivered, or B550 aorus elite/b550 tomahawk for < $150 delivered… then you wouldn't need to worry ;)
It's not the sturdiness or otherwise that's important here. If it has a usb-c port at the back it probably also has a proper header on the motherboard too. VGA? In 2023? on an AM4 board?
B550, need to be realistic, if it has USB-C / USB 3.2 gen 2 port at the back, even if it has a header for USB-C, it will most likely be USB 3.2 gen 1. If so, is that really great? Doesn't that lead to a bit of confusion?
USB-C port at the back, honestly, isn't that great. Majority of boards would opt for USB-C + USB-A combo for USB 3.2 gen 2. USB-C port at the back isn't a port where you can easily plug in, I'm pretty sure you need to have a clear visibility of the location of that port in order to put it in firmly. USB-C port with no alt-mode support, come on, you and me both know it is essentially the same as USB-A equivalent except with USB-C connector.
The main thing is that using 2021's motherboard pricing to evaluate which B550 board to get in 2023 isn't objective.
VGA port
Is it really that wise to use a G series APU on B550? Doing that kills ALL PCIe gen 4 support on B550. Even the Bifurcation is more restricted. If you opt for discrete GPU, is it so "OZBargain great" to spend more on DisplayPort that you simply won't use?
AM4 cheapest setup is a viable solution. I wouldn't even bother with 5700. If you really want 8 cores, why bother with AM4 nowadays? What's so great with AM4 nowadays if motherboard makers could not give a f*** about ensuring people get the latest AGESA which fixes EDC bug? So get a good VRM with a buggy CPU microcode so you cannot boost the CPU properly anyway… that makes a lot of sense?
Damn I remember the days cheap Motherboards were $50-60. Good times.