Now that everything has been covered, it is time to wrap up this review. For those who jumped around, that is alright, as this is the place to consolidate my thoughts and present my recommendations. As a tradition, I will start with things I believe ASRock needs to improve upon, which should weigh in on any final purchasing decision. Once done, I will finish this review on a positive note.

First, let me set the tone going forward. I want to make it clear that this is not an enthusiast-grade motherboard aimed at overclocking, nor does it include any I/O interfaces considered extras for a B550 chipset. Things like Thunderbolt 4, 20 Gb/s USB ports or additional PCIe slots with Gen4 support would fall under that category.

Having now reviewed both PG Riptide motherboards, a few comparisons can be made. ASRock uses the same heatsink and VRM design for both the B550 and X570 PG Riptide, which still comes with the same concerns I had previously. ASRock's choice not to place a heatsink over the SoC VRM section is a real issue for those using an APU or wanting to do any meaningful overclocking. Overall, manually overclocking an AMD Ryzen CPU is a waste of time considering Precision Boost does an excellent job, though. A counter argument can be made for adjusting these settings from the default BIOS Auto values. Lower power consumption and CPU temperatures could be accomplished with a voltage offset and set CPU frequency. The BIOS is not set up for easy navigation, however, undervolting and setting the CPU clock frequency to benefit from said offset is a chore.

Overclocking, or in many instances undervolting, really depends on the type of application the system is design around, and the needs of the user. Owing to how poorly VRM testing went, I cannot recommend using this board for any sort of precision overclocking—vdroop is tremendously high even when maxing out load-line calibration (LLC). On the X570, I failed to mention that using an APU instead comes with its own additional problems that need to be overcome. The lack of a heatsink on the SoC section can cause issues over long periods of heavy load as the APU relies on the SoC more. I highly recommend making sure direct airflow moves over that section in such a situation.

The last complaint is an ongoing issue I have with manufactures. It seems common practice to have multiple physical x16 PCIe slots, but only internally wire them for x1 or x4. For this B550 PG Riptide, the second slot is PCIe Gen3 x4, while the last slot is wired for PCIe Gen3 x1. Both the box and ASRock website list these as x16 slots. I believe a distinction has to be made, as it could be misleading otherwise. Manufacturers need to replace the slots with the correct corresponding PCIe slot size based on the provided bandwidth or clearly state how it is wired internally. ASRock loses points for doing neither.

With that out of the way, it is time to switch gears and focus on what ASRock has done to make this motherboard a smart buying decision for those on a budget. Contrary to my complaint above, some users are looking for the full x16 slot as support for add-on cards regardless of how they are wired, even if I do not think of this is an equally opposite use case. The ASRock B550 PG Riptide comes with many bandwidth restrictions, but still makes for a vital part of a well-rounded PC with a dedicated PCIe x16 Gen4 slot and an M.2 Socket connected directly to the CPU with Gen4 support.

Another notable feature is the well-executed on-board audio using the ALC897 codec. It isn't going to win any awards, but with the audio section traced off, unwanted electrical noise interference is avoided. Those looking to enjoy Hi-fi audio will either need to invest in an external DAC/amp or an add-on sound card. The ALC897 used on the B550 PG Riptide scored well in the 20 Hz to 20 kHz sweep, but I cannot suggest using on-board audio if you have an ear for this type of application.

ASRock has done its due diligence and included RGB lighting support with 12 V and 5 V headers. The motherboard also has minor RGB lighting on the chipset heatsink. All of this is more or less the standard for RGB support these days. Either you are looking for the RGB experience or don't care about it.

Lastly, I would like to mention the GPU support bracket included with this motherboard. I cannot say I have seen many good implementations in the past. Many of us have seen an over-sized GPU installed and wondered what kind of stress it puts on the PCIe slot and card's PCB. ASRock has a solution for that! While this bracket only partially supports the graphics card from the bottom, it is enough to warrant a closer look for those who want that extra support.

The ASRock B550 PG Riptide has a number of faults that put it into a category that is hard to recommend for every user type. It sits between being a great choice for an entry-level computer build and just having too many shortcomings hidden behind the all to common asterisk pinned at the end of every sentence. These asterisks of course also refer to a footnote describing limits of sorts.

That being said, the B550 PG Riptide does tick off all the boxes for someone on a tight budget, those budget builders who may start off with an APU to eventually purchase a different, better CPU or add a graphics card at a later date. This motherboard is best left for those who are all about the plug and play mentality—someone who doesn't want to play around with memory or CPU settings and rather just lets CPU boosting and all the auto-features do what they are designed for. I think this ASRock B550 PG Riptide will be a hard sell for many as any additional, optional add-on(s), like a Wi-Fi card, will bring the price ever so much closer to other brand's higher-tiered B550 products. This is not to say it does not have its place in the market. However, this product depends on a lower price point as its main selling point. Factor in the cost of everything that goes into a full system build, and it may significantly impact the final purchasing decision.