Sunday, October 2nd 2022

First B650 Motherboard Pricing Detailed by B&H

US retailer B&H has kindly provided the first B650 motherboard pricing and it's something of a mixed bag. The company has listed no less than seven different models from MSI, ranging in price from US$199.99 to US$329.99. It doesn't appear as if any of these boards are based on the B650E chipset, but based on information TPU were given at Computex, we know that some higher-end B650 boards will cost around the same as some lower-end B650E boards.

As B&H has only listed key features of the boards, it's hard to tell what features some of the boards offer, but the base model is the mATX Pro B650M-A WiFi, which at the very least has one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, one PCIe 4.0 x4 slot, one PCIe 3.0 x1 slot and two M.2 slots. The board obviously also has WiFi 6E and somewhat surprisingly has 2.5 Gbps Ethernet. On the other hand, it only has a front header for a USB-C port and none around the back. This type of board was supposed to start at or below the US$150 mark and we'll hopefully see a transition to there in due time.
A step up is the Pro B650-P WiFi which removes the PCIe 3.0 x1 slot, but adds a pair of unspecified full-length slots—most likely PCIe 3.0 based—as this is a full size ATX board. Here MSI has also added a rear mounted USB-C port that could be of the 20 Gbps variety. For an extra $20 over the mATX version, this seems like a more reasonable product offering overall in the now rather expensive budget segment.
At the $239.99 price point, MSI has two boards, the mATX MAG B650M Mortar WiFi and the Mini-ITX MPG B650I Edge WiFi. The boards have a pre-installed I/O shield, which helps identify the rear port configuration. As such, we know that both boards come with a 20 Gbps rear mounted USB-C port and 2.5 Gbps Ethernet. The Mortar has two full-length x16 PCIe slots, with the primary being a x16 slot. There's also a x1 PCIe slot, that is most likely PCIe 3.0, as well as two M.2 slots. The Edge only has a single PCIe 4.0 x16 slot due to form factor limitations, plus at least one M.2 slot and a small fan on the heatsink that appears to cover the chipset and the M.2 slot.
The next full-size board is the $259.99 MAG B650 Tomahawk WiFi, which is pretty much an ATX version of the Mortar, with an additional M.2 slot for a total of three. At $289.99 sits the MPG B650 Edge WiFi, which alongside the MPG B650I Edge gets white/silver heatsinks. The overall board layout is almost identical to the Tomahawk, but here we know for sure that the top-most M.2 slot supports a PCIe 5.0 drive.
Finally MSI's top of the range B650 board in the line-up listed by B&H is the MPG B650 Carbon WiFi, which is a souped up version of the previous two boards, which gains a third M.2 slot and a bit fancier heatsinks. It also gains "proper" buttons around the back for the BIOS flash and clear CMOS buttons, but there's very little extra you get for the $329.99 asking price. All of the boards are listed as coming soon, so we don't have an actual retail date for B650 motherboards as yet.
Sources: B&H, via @momomo_us
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72 Comments on First B650 Motherboard Pricing Detailed by B&H

#51
Pumper
wheresmycarIf they continue under-cutting AMD, AMD will surrender to lowering prices.
They already did. The 3950X had MSRP of $749 and 5950X launched at $799 MSRP, while 7950X is 'only' $699, because AMD knew from the get go that 13900K will mach their performance at a lower price.
Posted on Reply
#52
Taraquin
Very dissapointing! 199usd for the simplest B650 is a huge price hike from the sub 70usd B450 or sub 90usd for B550. Intels B660 lineup offers boards from 120usd. Seems 13400F+B660 will be a much better valueoption than 7600X+B650 and it will probably iffer similar performance.

5800X3D+B450 offers generally same gamingperformance as 7700X+B650 for less money. AMD outperformed by themselves...
Posted on Reply
#53
AlwaysHope
Considering that AUD $370 is the cheapest Z790 board over here in Australia atm but that's for mATX with DDR4, MSI have Z790 ATX boards with DDR5 for only about $10 more! . Comparing this to the USD prices for B650 from the site mention in this article makes me ever more curious what B760 will bring to the table, at least with what online retailers here will do anyway. I patiently await...
Posted on Reply
#54
Bwaze
It really looks like we'll have to have a real crysis and PC market collapse before this improves. Because frankly this isn't sustainable.

I'm an enthusiast since early 1990, I've thrown tons of money into my PC builds, but I've never felt like now the prices just went up 50 - 100% for almost no improvement.

Good luck to all, I predict much more "EVGA" rage quits from the markets in the coming months as products start to pile in stores and warehouses.
Posted on Reply
#55
Jimmy_
man these prices arent looking friendly at all :(
Posted on Reply
#56
Why_Me
AlwaysHopeConsidering that AUD $370 is the cheapest Z790 board over here in Australia atm but that's for mATX with DDR4, MSI have Z790 ATX boards with DDR5 for only about $10 more! . Comparing this to the USD prices for B650 from the site mention in this article makes me ever more curious what B760 will bring to the table, at least with what online retailers here will do anyway. I patiently await...
This board should sell well for those not wanting to wait for the B670 boards and locked cpu's. Decent board imo for an i7 / i5 build.

www.pccasegear.com/products/59573/msi-pro-z790-a-wi-fi-ddr5-motherboard
MSI Pro Z790-A Wi-Fi DDR5 $479.00 AUD

www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-Z790-A-WIFI/Overview
Posted on Reply
#57
Ruru
S.T.A.R.S.
No way I'm paying this much for a mainstream chipset board. I'll just wait for the selection to grow.
Posted on Reply
#58
MarsM4N
Guys, stop crying. It's a business and not a charity. :laugh: We're in a global recession, so they try to compensate lower sales with higher pricing (esp. for early adopters with deep pockets).

They're probably also sitting on a load of B550 boards which needs to get sold first. Kinda like the Nvidia situation. If I where running a business I would do the same.
If you don't want to throw cash out of the window, just wait. Prices will go down. That's how capitalism works. Be patient.

Also I wouldn't cheap out on the boards, otherwise you'll end up with turds like the Intel B660 boards with bad VRM cooling & thermal throttling. Who wants that? :rolleyes:

Posted on Reply
#59
Bwaze
MarsM4NGuys, stop crying. It's a business and not a charity. :laugh: We're in a global recession, so they try to compensate lower sales with higher pricing (esp. for early adopters with deep pockets).
I din't see any "crying". Just people stating what are their plans in the current situation. And what they think will happen to the market in this kind of big change.
Posted on Reply
#60
ModEl4
Why_MeBetter audio codec also.

www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-B660M-MORTAR
Realtek ALC1200
B650 has Realtek ALC4080.
Essentially very similar in spec with ALC1200.
The B650M motherboard has only Pci-express 4.0 for graphics and M.2 and even has similar number of fast USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C and Type-A so i really don't know where the $60 difference is from, it's the same Manufacturer, same series, extremely similar specs, same store (and B&H is an official MSI authorized distributor iinm).
It seems to me only $10 difference or so is justified between them.
AMD must be reminded (by exercising your consumer right to buy or not) not to have such high margins imo!
Posted on Reply
#61
Ruru
S.T.A.R.S.
ModEl4B650 has Realtek ALC4080.
Essentially very similar in spec with ALC1200.
The B650M motherboard has only Pci-express 4.0 for graphics and M.2 and even has similar number of fast USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C and Type-A so i really don't know where the $60 difference is from, it's the same Manufacturer, same series, extremely similar specs, same store (and B&H is an official MSI authorized distributor iinm).
It seems to me only $10 difference or so is justified between them.
AMD must be reminded (by exercising your consumer right to buy or not) not to have such high margins imo!
"only PCIe 4.0"

I'm pretty sure that it's more than enough for years for 99.99% of users.
Posted on Reply
#62
ModEl4
Lenne"only PCIe 4.0"

I'm pretty sure that it's more than enough for years for 99.99% of users.
It sure is!
"Only" refers to cost and how MSI/AMD can potentially attempt to justify the extra $60.
Posted on Reply
#63
Ruru
S.T.A.R.S.
ModEl4It sure is!
"Only" refers to cost and how MSI/AMD can potentially attempt to justify the extra $60.
Ah. Missed that point, my bad. :D
Posted on Reply
#64
trsttte
wheresmycarCan you expand on that? I'm not the most informed hence i'm all ears for past/present/forthcoming developments.
I might have missed something but I haven't seen any statement other than "it will also be a long lived platform/socket" which doesn't mean much.

A solid statement would be the next X generations of CPU will be supported in the same socked and chipset (socket longevity doesn't mean shit if they try do ditch old board like they tried to when zen3 launched)
Posted on Reply
#65
Why_Me
ModEl4B650 has Realtek ALC4080.
Essentially very similar in spec with ALC1200.
The B650M motherboard has only Pci-express 4.0 for graphics and M.2 and even has similar number of fast USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C and Type-A so i really don't know where the $60 difference is from, it's the same Manufacturer, same series, extremely similar specs, same store (and B&H is an official MSI authorized distributor iinm).
It seems to me only $10 difference or so is justified between them.
AMD must be reminded (by exercising your consumer right to buy or not) not to have such high margins imo!
The B650 such as the B660 / B760 is limited by the amount of PCIe lanes RE bandwidth.
Posted on Reply
#66
MxPhenom 216
ASIC Engineer
So B650 Non-E aren't even going to be under $200? None of these models are B650E boards.
Posted on Reply
#67
AlwaysHope
Why_MeThe B650 such as the B660 / B760 is limited by the amount of PCIe lanes RE bandwidth.
This is true of course, but how well do those motherboards OC compared to the higher end chipset boards? If all the end user is doing on the rig is gaming, then a couple of high speed storage devices is all they really need anyway - 1 for OS, the other for data (games).
Posted on Reply
#68
Why_Me
AlwaysHopeThis is true of course, but how well do those motherboards OC compared to the higher end chipset boards? If all the end user is doing on the rig is gaming, then a couple of high speed storage devices is all they really need anyway - 1 for OS, the other for data (games).
The B660 boards gimp the second M.2 SSD seeing how they only have 12 PCIe lanes so in most cases gamers that own those boards will run a single 2TB M.2 or a M.2 and a 2.5" SATA SSD.
Posted on Reply
#69
AlwaysHope
Why_MeThe B660 boards gimp the second M.2 SSD seeing how they only have 12 PCIe lanes so in most cases gamers that own those boards will run a single 2TB M.2 or a M.2 and a 2.5" SATA SSD.
Once one has experienced M.2 NVME @ PCIe 4 speeds for the OS, you'll never want to go back to anything slower. But it's a pity game loading times still bottleneck at PCIe 3 speeds so far.
Posted on Reply
#70
TheinsanegamerN
AusWolfYour other option is Intel's LGA-1700 which will definitely be ditched with 14th gen. It's a miracle that it even supports 13th gen. Which one is better?

Edit: I never recommend anyone to buy a platform based on potential future upgrades. A new CPU generation brings maybe 15-20% more performance to the table? It's not something you feel in real life. If you like the platform for what it offers right now, buy it. If you don't, don't.

Edit: typo
Neither, buy the one that fits your needs and budget, then keep it. CPU upgrading is a pointless waste of money when CPUs age like wine, it took 10 YEARS before sandy bridge couldnt maintain 60 FPS 1% lows. The 8700k has enough gas in the tank for another 3-4 years, outside of niche cases like sins of a solar empire or starcraft II that saw noticeable late game gains from ryzen CPUs. Bet you good money a 5800x3d or a 7000 series (or an intel 13 series) will be more then enough for gaming for another decade.
AlwaysHopeOnce one has experienced M.2 NVME @ PCIe 4 speeds for the OS, you'll never want to go back to anything slower. But it's a pity game loading times still bottleneck at PCIe 3 speeds so far.
I see literally no difference, boot time is maybe 1 second faster on my rocket 4 plus then it is on my Sata III MX 550. Software is just not written to take advantage of such speeds yet.
Posted on Reply
#71
Taraquin
MarsM4NGuys, stop crying. It's a business and not a charity. :laugh: We're in a global recession, so they try to compensate lower sales with higher pricing (esp. for early adopters with deep pockets).

They're probably also sitting on a load of B550 boards which needs to get sold first. Kinda like the Nvidia situation. If I where running a business I would do the same.
If you don't want to throw cash out of the window, just wait. Prices will go down. That's how capitalism works. Be patient.

Also I wouldn't cheap out on the boards, otherwise you'll end up with turds like the Intel B660 boards with bad VRM cooling & thermal throttling. Who wants that? :rolleyes:

A good point, but for budget gamers, even the worst performing boards handle 12100F and 12400F with ease. 12600K and upwards is a different story, but Z690 is generally prefered if you run a unlocked cpu.
Posted on Reply
#72
Eskimonster
mplayerMuPDFIf you get your money's worth, then sure. If it is all margin and no quality/durability and features, then no thanks.
i buy Ecco shoes
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