B550 matx recommendations

[ThaiTaffy]

So the sales here are shortly coming up and due to me buying without researching earlier in the year I need to replace my motherboard.
I've been eyeing up the msi b550m mortar +WiFi but want to check my options first my only requirements really are;
Matx
1 x pcie 4.0 m.2 slot
1 x pcie 3.0 m.2 slot
and the pcie x16 slot to be the uppermost part of the board directly below the IO
Onboard WiFi of some sort would be nice as I won't be able to fit any other cards other than the gpu
Any recommendations to look at would be greatly appreciated I know the matx market is small but I'm wondering if there anything I've overlooked.

 

[Ruru]

I can recommend my board, Gigabyte B550M Aorus Elite. Though it doesn't have onboard WiFi, I have an USB stick myself for WLAN.

 

[Muaadib]

The MSI B550M Mortar Wifi seems to tick all your boxes. It also has great VRMs in case you are planning on using (or upgrading to) a 5900/5950x. The USB BIOS Flash feature is a great addition as well.

An alternative is ASRock B550m Steel Legend, you get better IO in the back but higher VRM temps and no wifi.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

I can recommend my board, Gigabyte B550M Aorus Elite. Though it doesn't have onboard WiFi, I have an USB stick myself for WLAN.

Sorry but the top slot is occupied by a m.2 slot and it's kinda the most important requirement that the pcie x16 slot is there for me.

The MSI B550M Mortar Wifi seems to tick all your boxes. It also has great VRMs in case you are planning on using (or upgrading to) a 5900/5950x. The USB Flash BIOS feature is a great addition as well.

An alternative is ASRock B550m Steel Legend, you get better IO in the back but higher VRM temps and no wifi

I was torn between them tbh the steel legend has a e-key so onboard WiFi is possible and I know Asrock has better support for thunderbolt I was going for the msi purely on price and looks and I don't actually currently need thunderbolt.

Knowing about vrm temps is good though as I kinda have an ambient temperature issue.

 

[QuietBob]

+1 for the Mortar. With a stock CPU it shows almost the same temperatures as the full ATX Tomahawk, which has one of the best VRM cooling in the entire B550 range.
Hardware Unboxed did a huge roundup of the boards:

 

[Ibizadr]

I need a new motherboard too. I buy a msi b450 tomahawk max ii for my r5 3600 but I update my cpu to a r7 5800x and I think I can get more of this cpu with another mobo. I'm currently seeing msi x570 tomahawk. Any of you guys have some suggestions to my 5800x? I dont want to spend more Than 300e on a mobo and I think till this price I can get a good one.

 

[Udyr]

I need a new motherboard too. I buy a msi b450 tomahawk max ii for my r5 3600 but I update my cpu to a r7 5800x and I think I can get more of this cpu with another mobo

And where did you get this idea?

If you were using a crappy cheapo mobo with the 3600, then you'd probably get a beefier mobo for the 5800X, but the Tomahawk Max II is not a crappy cheapo by any means.

 

[Ibizadr]

And where did you get this idea?

If you were using a crappy cheapo mobo with the 3600, then you'd probably get a beefier mobo for the 5800X, but the Tomahawk Max II is not a crappy cheapo by any means.

Yeah I know this isn't a bad mobo I only want a new one to got some extra with the pcie 4.0 and some other features. I want suggestions to take a look in prices and do a nice buy on next black Friday. I see asus b550-f gaming and see some reviews of that mobo have nice vrms, so if price it's about the same what people choose msi x570 tomahawk or asus b550 f gaming? Or any other advice?

 

[Udyr]

Yeah I know this isn't a bad mobo I only want a new one to got some extra with the pcie 4.0 and some other features. I want suggestions to take a look in prices and do a nice buy on next black Friday. I see asus b550-f gaming and see some reviews of that mobo have nice vrms, so if price it's about the same what people choose msi x570 tomahawk or asus b550 f gaming? Or any other advice?

If you insist on getting a new mobo for negligible performance uplift, then you could stay on the MSI Tomahawk series, either B550 or X570.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

The only reason I'm moving from b450 to 550 is my pcie x16 slot really, I want to add a 240 rad to the bottom of my case and even when I swap my duel slot card for a single slot it's going to be super tight for space.

Moving it up one pcie slot should give just enough playroom

 

[Operandi]

I was torn between them tbh the steel legend has a e-key so onboard WiFi is possible and I know Asrock has better support for thunderbolt I was going for the msi purely on price and looks and I don't actually currently need thunderbolt.

Knowing about vrm temps is good though as I kinda have an ambient temperature issue.

I built a 1700X with Asrock B450M which has the same or weaker VRM in pretty airflow compromised Lian Li PC-M25M case and that system had no problems keeping cool even with CPU and GPU (GTX 1660) maxed out under synthetic loads so I think either any of these boards should be fine with CPUs at stock speeds though some care would probably need to be taken into consideration with 12 and 16 core parts.

 

[Solid State Soul ( SSS )]

MSi Mortar is a solid choice, all around great board for the price!

Only alternative that is as good, would be the Gigabyte B550m Aorus Pro AX

 

[ThaiTaffy]

I built a 1700X with Asrock B450M which has the same or weaker VRM in pretty airflow compromised Lian Li PC-M25M case and that system had no problems keeping cool even with CPU and GPU (GTX 1660) maxed out under synthetic loads so I think either any of these boards should be fine with CPUs at stock speeds though some care would probably need to be taken into consideration with 12 and 16 core parts.

My ambient temps can reach 120+°F in the summer as well as being in a 14litre case so anything rated for higher temps is better for my environment. It's winter now so I couldn't give you a figure on my current Asrock b450 but sadly I just cant fit a rad in so need to change motherboard and since I'm doing so I might as well go for something with pcie4.0

Only alternative that is as good, would be the Gigabyte B550m Aorus Pro AX

Sadly the gigabyte options all seem to have a m.2 in the top pcie lane so would not be viable.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

Going to bite the bullet and order the msi mortar today I was going to wait till the sales but with all the component shortages it might be safer to buy one asap and it's £113 for the mortar+WiFi which seems a pretty good price.

 

[tabascosauz]

Not much to add aside from concurring on the Mortar being a good board.

Do just keep in mind, it isn't the greatest choice if you like to do more than just a little bit of OC on the side. The clear CMOS header will be buried under any 2- or 3-slot GPU, it's right next to the battery, trend for quite a few recent MSIs (original ITX Edge, Mortar, Tomahawk, -A Pro). The case you're using is a little on the cramped side with a bigger GPU and looks like it's a bit of a pain to remove the GPU each time.

Just an inconvenience, but something to watch out for. Now that I've been around Asus, MSI, GB, and ASRock on B550, I can confidently say that all of them are about equally terrible when it comes to BIOS autorecovery from bad settings, so that CMOS header comes in handy once in a while.

If you have the space to squeeze it in, I'd wire up a button switch to CMOS and leave it in the case so when the time comes it's just that easy. It's what I do on my Lone L5. Certainly wouldn't be jumping ship to the Steel Legend though - no BIOS flashback can actually be a dealbreaker given AGESA perennial bullshit, VRM isn't really weaker but the heatsink design is hilarious and can't get airflow, and even if they've left you the provisions you'd still have to manually wire up the antennas for wifi M.2.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

Forget the gpu the CMOS reset will be behind a 240 rad and fans within a few months so thanks for the idea I'll run a switch. Can it be fitted on a jumper or will I have to solder directly to the board?

 

[tabascosauz]

Forget the gpu the CMOS reset will be behind a 240 rad and fans within a few months so thanks for the idea I'll run a switch. Can it be fitted on a jumper or will I have to solder directly to the board?

You can easily wire just about any power or reset button that goes to a standard 2 pin power or reset header on the board. No soldering. I use a spare 14mm(?) vandal switch. I'll take a photo tomorrow, I'll link the one I use on my NCASE for now:

Ghost S1/NCASE M1 12mm Anti-Vandal Switch Power Button

12mm Anti-Vandal switch power button replacement for Ghost S1 and NCASE M1. Button is illuminated with your choice of a white, blue, or red LED. Switches are made 380mm (~15 inches) long, good for reaching motherboards with headers in unconventional locations such as the Asus Strix Z390-I. Ghost...

www.pslatecustoms.com

I can see a 2-slot or waterblocked GPU working just fine, but a 3-slot GPU may be a bit too big for the pin connectors on the end.

 

[ThaiTaffy]

Sorry being lazy I just looked at it it's on jumpers so just a set of Dupont connectors to some sort of momentary switch will be fine.

 

[tabascosauz]

Sorry being lazy I just looked at it it's on jumpers so just a set of Dupont connectors to some sort of momentary switch will be fine.

I was a little apprehensive at first about vandal switches accidentally jumping the header of their own accord (not sure why I feared) but I basically ran a switch to the CMOS 24/7 when I was benching my 4650G in my NCASE, and all the times I ran anything on my testbench, before I got my Unify-X. No issues, worked flawlessly.

Can leave it in the case if you have room, or be ghetto like me and dangle it out the back through a PCIe slot lol

 

[ThaiTaffy]

My OCD won't allow it there's a panel that covers my PSU and cables on the right I might drill and countersink out one of the holes and mount it there or somewhere on the rear.
I need to do some other brazing to fill in some holes to mount the top rad and fabricate a mount for my pump/Res combo and possibly a small screen for HW monitorView attachment IMG_20210906_155149~4.jpg

Worried now just purchased it and immediately the seller has taken all other stock off their store. They are a reputable seller so maybe they saw the same news and me and decided to hoarde products for the future but still seems a tad weird

 

[Solid State Soul ( SSS )]

Going to bite the bullet and order the msi mortar today I was going to wait till the sales but with all the component shortages it might be safer to buy one asap and it's £113 for the mortar+WiFi which seems a pretty good price.

No need for concern, MSI mortar and Tomahack motherboards have always been a complete package for budget builds, good value for quality VRMs!

 

[ThaiTaffy]

It's not that I wanted budget tbh it's just no manufacturers offer decent matx and since this might get repurposed down the road I don't want an itx board as one PCI slot limits possibilities. If evga did a dark matx I would have gone for it but we are lucky they just released a ATX almost at the end of am4's life.

I ordered it anyway....twice as the 1st retailer lied about stock and then tried to get me to pay an extra chunk of money for an ATX board.. fingers crossed it gets shipped out tomorrow and I get it early next week.

 

[CabanaBanana]

I have the ASRock B550M Pro4 and it has been fantastic. No problems since purchase, I've updated the BIOS several times, no USB bugs, currently running R7 5800X and RTX 3070 and its been my work horse.