Assortment of Five AMD B550 Premium Motherboards Pictured

[Turmania]

I think what they try to say it, is perhaps there was no need for the fan on x570 chipsets afterall. if b550 can do it without it.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I think what they try to say it, is perhaps there was no need for the fan on x570 chipsets afterall. if b550 can do it without it.

B550 DOESN'T support PCIe 4.0. The PCIe 4.0 lanes on these boards are from the CPU.

 

[Turmania]

B550 DOESN'T support PCIe 4.0. The PCIe 4.0 lanes on these boards are from the CPU.

yes, but what does that mean to us? performance hit? because all we use 4.0 is for gpu and storage.

 

[TheLostSwede]

yes, but what does that mean to us? performance hit? because all we use 4.0 is for gpu and storage.

Hence the reason for the missing fan. The chipset is expected to be in the 5-7W range, not 12-14W.

 

[Assimilator]

Gawd these boards are so unnecessarily overbuilt and tacky. Is this the new normal, to try and doll up midrange chipsets as high-end? It makes me shudder to think what new snake oil they'll tack onto their next high-end chipset boards, to differentiate them as "high-end" and thus justify charging even more for features consumers don't need but are forced to purchase. Let's see, we've already got "supreme quality" audio supposedly achieved by PCB separation; overbuilt VRMs that can handle more current than any CPU can handle before bursting into flames; and of course, multiple unnecessary power inputs to supply said VRMs.

My suggestion is just to go all-out and cover every open section of the board with VRMs for the CPU. That way these garish shrouds can be used to dissipate the heat they produce.

 

[Aretak]

I think what they try to say it, is perhaps there was no need for the fan on x570 chipsets afterall. if b550 can do it without it.

The reason for the high power consumption (and so cooling requirement) of the X570 chipset is because it used a repurposed I/O die designed to be on the CPU itself. Presumably ones that failed validation for inclusion on Ryzen CPUs as a way to harvest partially faulty dies instead of having to toss them. The B550 chipset on the other hand is made by ASMedia and so is a more traditional chipset die. The fact that it's not dealing with PCIe 4.0 is obviously also a big factor, but I wouldn't be surprised if X670 doesn't require a fan either, since ASMedia are apparently making that too. Indeed, they were allegedly supposed to be making X570 too at one point, but had issues that meant AMD had to look for another solution (which is also why B550 has taken nearly a year to arrive).

 

[ensabrenoir]

...Dragons, owls, martial Arts and......RACING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .......why? Is it designed specifically to optimize racing games? # Marketing. Boards do look kinda nice though. @ assimilator you know its just a matter of time before Asus Tuff boards with "RGB Panel Armor" comes along.

 

[Minus Infinity]

Nah I’m not tempted, X670 + 4700X/4900X thanks, next gen all the way. If this B550 came out 6 months ago I would have definitely bought 3600X. I can wait as our dollar is sh!te right now, these boards will be double US prices in Australia.

 

[trparky]

B550 DOESN'T support PCIe 4.0. The PCIe 4.0 lanes on these boards are from the CPU.

And my question is... Who cares? As @Turmania said...

yes, but what does that mean to us? performance hit? because all we use 4.0 is for gpu and storage.

For 75% of the AMD buying community those B550 boards will be more than enough.

 

[Berfs1]

I took a good look at the Asus boards, and I appreciate that they are putting a cover over the CMOS battery. Little stuff like that goes a long way into making a computer look good.

 

[trparky]

I took a good look at the Asus boards, and I appreciate that they are putting a cover over the CMOS battery. Little stuff like that goes a long way into making a computer look good.

I don't know man, functionality always trumps appearance.

 

[aktpu]

I took a good look at the Asus boards, and I appreciate that they are putting a cover over the CMOS battery. Little stuff like that goes a long way into making a computer look good.

It's probably just a sticker you put on yourself, like on Z390 TUF (you get 3 different stickers with that board)

 

[Gmr_Chick]

Can I get decent mATX please?
- Two M.2, one with PCIe 4.0 x4 and another SATA.
- Two PEG, one with PCIe 4.0 x16 and the other PCIe 3.0 x16
- Realtek ALC 1220 sound chip.
- Six USB 3.0
- strong VRM at least 8 phase on doublers, and most important...
- no gay light!

Uh, instead of calling it the "gay" light...wouldn't it just be easier to turn it off instead? You CAN do that, you know.

And I believe there's already a board that fits most, but not all, of your criteria. It's called the Crosshair VIII Impact. I'm excited for mine

 

[TheLostSwede]

And my question is... Who cares? As @Turmania said...

Clearly everyone, as it means no fan on the chipset, but I guess you simply didn't bother reading properly and skipped my reply to his reply.

 

[logain]

I think what they try to say it, is perhaps there was no need for the fan on x570 chipsets afterall. if b550 can do it without it.

That is because x570 has PCI-E 4.0, and B550 doesn't. It uses 3.0. In B550, only the CPU will have 4.0 lanes, that most board partners are going to use for a graphics card slot, and the first M.2 Nvme slot. That is how some B450 boards initially supported 4.0, before AMD killed it with a microcode update.

https://www.techpowerup.com/img/HMRSMmd3jbU2CVX0.jpg

vs

https://www.techpowerup.com/img/y8HrNmAIR3VUtsjW.jpg

 

[trparky]

Clearly everyone, as it means no fan on the chipset, but I guess you simply didn't bother reading properly and skipped my reply to his reply.

No, what I mean is that who cares if you only have PCIe 4.0 to only the first PCIe slot and the m.2 slot? The rest can be out of the chipset and even if that wasn’t PCIe 4.0, I ask the question... Who cares?

The majority won’t care hence the reason why the B550 boards will exist. And it looks like to me that the majority of people buying AMD will be more than covered by B550.

Tell me again why X570 exists?

 

[Cranky5150]

I was looking at a B550, but after this I'll stick with my X470 or just try X570 again..

 

[Fukuro]

Disappointed that the MSI motherboard does not have a 2.5 GbE (or 5) internet port.

 

[TheLostSwede]

No, what I mean is that who cares if you only have PCIe 4.0 to only the first PCIe slot and the m.2 slot? The rest can be out of the chipset and even if that wasn’t PCIe 4.0, I ask the question... Who cares?

The majority won’t care hence the reason why the B550 boards will exist. And it looks like to me that the majority of people buying AMD will be more than covered by B550.

Tell me again why X570 exists?

I do, but not yet, as there are no PCIe 4.0 10Gbps Ethernet cards. I guess we'll see soon enough if it matters when "real" PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs arrive, but I guess it won't make a huge difference. It shouldn't affect most people to any degree. Then again, most people that use a computer have no idea what's inside it so...

X570 exists for the simple reason that ASMedia couldn't finish the B550 on time, so AMD did what they could and made a chipset out of its IOD. Hard to fault them for that, even though it might not have been the most efficient way of doing things. Then again, the X570 has a lot more PCIe lanes than B550, so it's not as if it's all bad.

 

[trparky]

I guess that my question really should have been... If these B550 boards look to be as great as they are, what is the point of the next X670 (or whatever it's going to be called)?

Then again, the X570 has a lot more PCIe lanes than B550, so it's not as if it's all bad.

Interesting.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I guess that my question really should have been... If these B550 boards look to be as great as they are, what is the point of the next X670 (or whatever it's going to be called)?

Interesting.

As far as I know, based on what people in the industry have told me, there is no X670. Most likely because it would be pointless, as X570 is more than good enough. I could see AMD saving some R&D costs here, but skipping a new chipset for what is most likely the last AM4 CPU family.

If you read my first post here, you would've noticed that the Gigabyte board has a lot of chopped up interfaces. The 16 lanes from the CPU, could end up being eight lanes for a GPU, four lanes for an add-in card and four lanes for an NVMe drive. This is due to the B550 chipset only having a total of six PCIe lanes, of which two are used for Ethernet and Wi-Fi. The last four are seemingly shared between the last PCIe x16 slot (at x4) and the third NVMe slot (x4 again). This means a lot of trade-offs for people. That said, in a real world scenario, unless you want to use a lot of NVMe drives, it'll most likely never be an issue.

You also get a few more high performance USB 3.x ports with the X570, if this matters to you.

Long story short, if you need "a lot" of PCIe lanes, as a power user, go X570. For everyone else, B550 is most likely going to be just fine.

 

[trparky]

I thought twenty PCIe lanes were coming from the CPU and then the four remaining lanes is fed to the chipset. Sixteen lanes from the CPU to the GPU, four lanes from the CPU to the m.2, and then the last four lanes to the chipset.

You also get a few more high performance USB 3.x ports with the X570, if this matters to you.

That's what USB hubs are for. Don't have enough ports? Connect a USB hub and get more.

 

[TheLostSwede]

I thought twenty PCIe lanes were coming from the CPU and then the four remaining lanes is fed to the chipset. Sixteen lanes from the CPU to the GPU, four lanes from the CPU to the m.2, and then the last four lanes to the chipset.


That's what USB hubs are for. Don't have enough ports? Connect a USB hub and get more.

Sure, but the B550 chipset then only has six lanes from those four, whereas, for example, the chipset on your board has something like 24 PCIe lanes coming out of it. So I guess Gigabyte got creative. Not sure how the other board makers have solved this, since all of the boards have a lot more slots than they have PCIe lanes.

Hubs aren't always a good thing, as they can add some tricky problems with certain devices. You also end up sharing bandwidth with whatever else is plugged into the hub, but this is normally not an issue.

 

[windwhirl]

Oh look, PCIE 4.0 without chipset fan.
X570 owners must be salty right now.

I don't even care, my computer has a bunch of fans spinning all the time thanks to WCG and F@H. And gods above know that just for the giggles I'd put a screaming jet engine of a Delta fan inside my case.

That aside, I don't care realistically because I just upgraded from a Core i3-4330 to a Ryzen 5 3600 and I have no intention of upgrading anything other than the processor and the RAM for the next three to four years. Why not get a X570 motherboard and settle with that?

 

[$ReaPeR$]

The b550 taichi makes me want to swap my x470 taichi for it... Looks better than the x570 taichi imo. Can't wait for the reviews. Although I doubt it would have any meaningful impact on performance.
Btw, the x570 fan, although I don't like it, it has been exaggerated. I have an x570 in my testing rig for the past year almost and there have been 0 problems with it, and the sound of it is so low that's a non issue.