AMD B350 vs. B450 vs. B550 Tomahawk Motherboards

[Julio Franco]

Over the past week we've been testing AMD B550 motherboard VRMs and today we'll look at MSI Tomahawk motherboards from the past few generations comparing B350, B450 and B550 models, as well as some new and worthwhile B550 budget variants.

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/review/2065-amd-b350-vs-b450-vs-b550-tomahawk/

 

[fps4ever]

That is why I prefer Gigabyte or Asus but its nice to see MSI come up with a better mid range board this time.

 

[Irata]

Great review, thanks! The results are very interesting.

One thing it shows is that prices did not really go up for B550 boards as you can still get the same thing, albeit under a different name, for the same price.

 

[MaxSmarties]

I’m thinking about an AMD PC based on the 3800XT (with a future upgrade to 4900X next year) but at this point I don’t know if it would be better to choose an X570 or a good B550 like the Tomahawk and spare some money to invest in a better cooler.

 

[Julio Franco]

I’m thinking about an AMD PC based on the 3800XT (with a future upgrade to 4900X next year) but at this point I don’t know if it would be better to choose an X570 or a good B550 like the Tomahawk and spare some money to invest in a better cooler.

Save on the CPU first by not paying for the XT version if that will net you some savings: https://www.techspot.com/review/2054-amd-ryzen-xt/

Other than that, it will depend on what you plan to do with your PC (e.g. spend more on the CPU, GPU, or other components).

 

[MaxSmarties]

Save on the CPU first by not paying for the XT version if that will net you some savings: https://www.techspot.com/review/2054-amd-ryzen-xt/

Other than that, it will depend on what you plan to do with your PC (e.g. spend more on the CPU, GPU, or other components).

Yep I know everything about the non-existent gain with XT , but it is mostly a question about availability. I need to buy a product sold and dispatched by Amazon (I have a special deal) and the 3800XT is available while the 3800X is not.

The PC will be use mostly for gaming, but also for general use (video and photo editing, browsing and so on...).

 

[Evernessince]

Yep I know everything about the non-existent gain with XT , but it is mostly a question about availability. I need to buy a product sold and dispatched by Amazon (I have a special deal) and the 3800XT is available while the 3800X is not.

The PC will be use mostly for gaming, but also for general use (video and photo editing, browsing and so on...).

It's hard to find things in stock right now including motherboards and PSUs. Might not be a good time to buy. Even the things you can find in stock have increased in price.

 

[Irata]

I’m thinking about an AMD PC based on the 3800XT (with a future upgrade to 4900X next year) but at this point I don’t know if it would be better to choose an X570 or a good B550 like the Tomahawk and spare some money to invest in a better cooler.

As for B550 vs X570, I‘d say it depends on your IO needs. Many of the new B550 boards look very nice, even vs X570, but if you need the IO (e.g. two x4 nVme), the latter would be the way to go.

As for the CPU, I‘d go for the 3700x for substantial savings or spend a little bit more to get a 3900x.

 

[NightAntilli]

Very nice comparison. I'd love a similar one for some Asrock boards. Maybe the X370/470/570 Taichi line.

 

[amandeepsaini11]

Thanks for this useful comparison, I have a question:-
B550 tomahawk vs MSI B550 gaming plus as per there vrm performance?

 

[Adi6293]

I’m thinking about an AMD PC based on the 3800XT (with a future upgrade to 4900X next year) but at this point I don’t know if it would be better to choose an X570 or a good B550 like the Tomahawk and spare some money to invest in a better cooler.

Get the 3700X + B550 Tomahawk and the saving will get you a 360mm aio

 

[MaxSmarties]

As for B550 vs X570, I‘d say it depends on your IO needs. Many of the new B550 boards look very nice, even vs X570, but if you need the IO (e.g. two x4 nVme), the latter would be the way to go.

As for the CPU, I‘d go for the 3700x for substantial savings or spend a little bit more to get a 3900x.

I’m coming from an 9600K, so the 3700X is not a great upgrade for me. The 3900X could be a better choice...

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Wouldn't it be better to just wait the 3-4 months before you can get a 4900 rather than buy a CPU now. If you have a 9600K why are you in a rush to switch. For me 4900 + X670 is on my Xmas shopping list and I'm still on a 3570K, but Zen 2 ship has sailed, I've waited this long I can wait for Zen 3.

 

[MzHellcat]

Wouldn't it be better to just wait the 3-4 months before you can get a 4900 rather than buy a CPU now. If you have a 9600K why are you in a rush to switch. For me 4900 + X670 is on my Xmas shopping list and I'm still on a 3570K, but Zen 2 ship has sailed, I've waited this long I can wait for Zen 3.

Zen3 would be the last AM4 CPU and 500-series chipset is the last AMD would release for AM4.

 

[MzHellcat]

I’m coming from an 9600K, so the 3700X is not a great upgrade for me. The 3900X could be a better choice...

3700X is substantially better than 3800X and 3800XT in term of value and performance. 3800XT only about 1-5% better than 3700X.

 

[MaxSmarties]

Wouldn't it be better to just wait the 3-4 months before you can get a 4900 rather than buy a CPU now. If you have a 9600K why are you in a rush to switch. For me 4900 + X670 is on my Xmas shopping list and I'm still on a 3570K, but Zen 2 ship has sailed, I've waited this long I can wait for Zen 3.

You are right, I’m quite debated about waiting a few months for a 4800X and X670.

 

[MaxSmarties]

3700X is substantially better than 3800X and 3800XT in term of value and performance. 3800XT only about 1-5% better than 3700X.

I know ... but 1/5% is what I’m expecting, so I won’t be disappointed. Money are not really a big issue since price difference is not so much

 

[elmkay3]

That is why I prefer Gigabyte or Asus but its nice to see MSI come up with a better mid range board this time.

For the B450/X470 lineups, the budget ASUS and Gigabyte offerings usually have significantly worse VRMs than MSI. You had to spend over $100 for decent ASUS/Gb offerings, whereas the MSI Gaming Plus (same quality as the Tomahawk) was frequently selling for $75. But it seems things have changed with the B550 boards, with the only sub-$100 offerings coming from ASRock and Gigabyte.

Props to ASRock as well, they've undercut the others with better quality VRMs on their budget boards at a better price for the most part.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

I read some of this article but I guess my attention span is a bit short lately. What is the TLDR version or summary? Was this a feature comparison across the different chipsets or was it all about the VRMs? I didn't see anything about which memory chips run better on one motherboard versus another.

 

[Nestea]

Again with the best reviews for customers

 

[Badelhas]

I still believe that getting a 110€ Msi B450 Tomahawk Max is a better value that going for the B550 boards since it can haldle up to the 3900 easily. And it has plenty of features.

 

[Adi6293]

I still believe that getting a 110€ Msi B450 Tomahawk Max is a better value that going for the B550 boards since it can haldle up to the 3900 easily. And it has plenty of features.

At this point I would rather pay the few extra € and get a B550 board

 

[bohdanbatsenko]

For now, no MSI B550-A Pro available in my country.
Do I understand correct: Ryzen 9 3900X is good to go with MSI b450 tomahawk MAX?
Need no overclocking, only stock mode, planning Gammax 400 CPU cooler, no gaming, just video editing / motion / graphic design.
Thanx

 

[Adi6293]

For now, no MSI B550-A Pro available in my country.
Do I understand correct: Ryzen 9 3900X is good to go with MSI b450 tomahawk MAX?
Need no overclocking, only stock mode, planning Gammax 400 CPU cooler, no gaming, just video editing / motion / graphic design.
Thanx

Yes it will work fine

 

[MosquitoSpleen]

I still believe that getting a 110€ Msi B450 Tomahawk Max is a better value that going for the B550 boards since it can haldle up to the 3900 easily. And it has plenty of features.

The B550 Pro VDH is only $4 more than the B450 Tomahawk in Australia, has basically the same VRM performance and has far better I/O’s including Wifi and Bluetooth. So I disagree with you completely.