AMD B550 motherboards start at $115, now available for pre-order

[nanoguy]

In brief: AMD B550 motherboards are supposed to be a more budget-friendly option for gamers looking to get more value for their money, but it turns out they'll cost upwards of $114.99 - and some models even touch on X570 price territory. AMD and motherboard manufacturers like MSI are already trying to sweeten up the deal for people who will buy a motherboard and CPU combo by offering you up to $60 in Steam credit.

We already know from manufacturers like MSI that AMD X570 motherboards will cost a pretty penny, so naturally some people will want to gravitate towards the mid-range, B550 variants, which leave some more cash to put towards a beefier CPU, perhaps even a Zen 3 one if AMD can keep its promises.

Several B550 motherboards have started to show up on the horizon (spotted by Tom's Hardware), and the full lot of over 60 variants is expected to officially become available on June 16. Now we only have Newegg listings to look at, but this already offers a relatively clear picture of the kind of prices you can expect to pay for a shiny new B550 motherboard.

Depending on what you want in your motherboard and the specific system you're building/upgrading, there are several models ranging from mini-ITX to microATX and standard ATX sizes. Price-wise, you'll have to pay at least $114.99 for a basic ASRock variant with an 8-phase power delivery subsystem, two M.2 slots, and 2 PCIe slots (with PCIe 4.0 support on the top PCIe slot and M.2 slots). If you want onboard Wi-Fi capabilities, you're going to have to pay at least $10 more for the privilege.

With mini-ITX motherboards you get two RAM slots for up to 64 GB of RAM, and you can expect to pay upwards of $199 to get the more compact design. ATX and microATX variants offer four slots for a total of up to 128 GB of RAM. If you want a primer on how to decide between various configurations of RAM modules, you can read our guides here.

So far, the most expensive B550 motherboard is the $299 ASRock Taichi model, which offers a beefed-up power delivery subsystem with 16 phases, which is especially useful for those of you looking to do some overclocking. However, at this price point you might as well wait on a deal to snatch an X570 motherboard.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/85624-amd-b550-motherboards-start-115-now-available-pre.html

 

[ColdSoup]

If a good B550 is around $140-$160 I won't be disappointed. The X570 are still around $175-$200+.

 

[HofyPC]

I would gladly pay the $$$ for a Taichi in mini-ITX

 

[scavengerspc]

Is $115 for a full feature mobo "not cheap"?

 

[Irata]

On the plus side, there are some very nice B550 boards and components and features also appear to have gotten a nice upgrade over their B450 predecessors. I would assume that PCIe 4.0 support alone requires a higher quality PCB.

So yes, boards are more often expensive but you also have many very nice options.

 

[Uncle Al]

I'd say that price is pretty reasonable ...... no?

 

[loki1944]

I'd say that price is pretty reasonable ...... no?

Not for a cpu that's less than $100.

 

[loki1944]

So this means that intel is now the better buget option if you are using a dedicated gaming gpu.

 

[Irata]

So this means that intel is now the better buget option if you are using a dedicated gaming gpu.

Depends how much decent boards cost.....and the HSF.
Plus, if PCIe 4.0 does not matter, there will be B520 soon and B450 boards are still available for low prices.

 

[JimboJoneson]

Not for a cpu that's less than $100.

Get a B450 board for $70 then.

 

[scavengerspc]

Not for a cpu that's less than $100.

How about a Ryzen 9 3900X for $900?

 

[Lew Zealand]

So this means that intel is now the better buget option if you are using a dedicated gaming gpu.

How so? If you want to use RAM over 2666MHz, then you need a $160 minimum Intel Z490 board and you better do your homework to avoid all the crap ones at that price. And if you use an Intel B460 Mobo, you have no overclocking and slower memory, and Intel needs *both* of those to do better than AMD at gaming.

So there are actually no good Intel options for budget motherboards which offer more than AMD.

 

[Jerry in WA]

Get a B450 board for $70 then.

If a person can find one that's actually in stock. Finding a decent AM4 board right now is like finding a unicorn.

 

[Evernessince]

Is $115 for a full feature mobo "not cheap"?

Buildzoid did an overview of the B550 motherboards. In short, avoid the cheaper ASRock options. Otherwise yes there are some good cheap motherboards at that price.

 

[Dimitrios]

If a person can find one that's actually in stock. Finding a decent AM4 board right now is like finding a unicorn.

Thank god for a second I thought I was going crazy not finding a decent board the last few days.

 

[Lew Zealand]

Thank god for a second I thought I was going crazy not finding a decent board the last few days.

Yes, unfortunately this is true. A B450 Mobo that I bought for $85 a year ago is now $190! There are some available for under $100 but not many

 

[scavengerspc]

Buildzoid did an overview of the B550 motherboards. In short, avoid the cheaper ASRock options. Otherwise yes there are some good cheap motherboards at that price.

Then it's a good thing you mentioned that. I did hear good things about the Asrock B550 Phantom Gaming board ($122) but nothing else positive.

But really if I was to build a Ryzen system I would probably hold off a few months to see Samsungs PCIe 4.0 offerings.

 

[Dimitrios]

Yes, unfortunately this is true. A B450 Mobo that I bought for $85 a year ago is now $190! There are some available for under $100 but not many

That's crazy! for under $100 all I see are the crappy A320 boards. I'm pi$$ed off because I started my new job and wanted to spoil myself. I'm still stuck with my old Phenom X4 965BE with 8GB DDR2 Ram, ( yes that's DDR2) RX 560 4GB OC pretty high and a 1 TB old school hard drive. 1080p ULTRA settings I get around 30-56FPS on Far Cry New Dawn.

 

[Evernessince]

Then it's a good thing you mentioned that. I did hear good things about the Asrock B550 Phantom Gaming board ($122) but nothing else positive.

But really if I was to build a Ryzen system I would probably hold off a few months to see Samsungs PCIe 4.0 offerings.

Yeah, the existing options on the market are lackluster. They provide lots of sequential performance but that's about it. I too am looking forward to what samsung has coming up.

 

[Reehahs]

It would be good if some of them offered SLI.

 

[ColdSoup]

It would be good if some of them offered SLI.

On a B550? Who on earth would buy that? You are already into X570 territory if SLI is even a remote possibility.

 

[mrvco]

Isn't the B550 a mid-range chipset? $115 at launch seems surprisingly reasonable.

 

[Lew Zealand]

I got a good B450 a year ago for $85 and that was list price, not a sale or anything. $115 is 35% more and mine wasn't the cheapest board available. Probably a combination of PCIe 4.0 and the recent economic instability.

 

[treetops]

Lol after ytubers declared em hard to get, it looks like people bought em up like toilet paper, so sad everything was fine on newegg

 

[Jerry in WA]

It seems a lot of folks got bored during the pandemic and built a Ryzen rig.