Build quality and layout wise, ASUS nailed this one. Everything is just organized and with a craftmanship apt for brand’ Having taken a look at each board individually, it's time to get to testing. For testing all B650 boards, we're using the Gigabyte Aorus C500 Glass case with the Aorus WaterForce X 360mm AIO.

AMD Ryzen series APUs (Picasso) support DDR4 3600+(OC) / 3466(OC) / 3200(OC) / 2933 / 2667 / 2400 / 2133 non-ECC, un-buffered memory *Some high-end boards support USB Power Delivery (PD) and output up to 60W at 20V/3A. Not only can you fast charge your smartphone with these ports, but larger devices like tablets and some laptops, too. To support that much power, you’ll need to plug a spare 6-pin PCIe connector to plug into the board. Otherwise, you’ll be limited to the 20V/1.5A and 30W. For the midrange B650 chipset, just one of the PROM21 chips is used. On some boards, you’ll find USB 4 support via an ASMedia ASM4242 controller, which outputs two USB 4 ports from four PCIe 4.0 lanes via the CPU, while also supporting DisplayPort v1.4 (thus video) through the interface. Robust Power Solution:10 + 2 power stages with an 8-pin ProCool power connector, high-quality alloy chokes, and durable capacitors to support multi-core processors For the stress test, we're using the Ryzen 9 7950X and for the load, Cinebench R23, which was looped for an hour, at which point we're reporting the maximum PCB temperature, again recorded using K-Type thermocouples. The Best B550 motherboard for your next AMD build might not be a B550 board at all. AMD’s B550 chipset arrived with anticipation of PCIe 4.0 support at low prices, given the high cost of most X570 boards and the appealingly low price of many previous-generation B450 motherboards. But now that we’re well more than a year out from the launch of B550, we know that AMD’s more mainstream AM4 platform delivers on at least one of those promises--PCIe 4.0. While there’s less bandwidth for multiple next-generation high-speed storage and graphics card setups with B550 compared to X570, it does deliver enough PCIe 4.0 lanes for the typical setup of a single speedy boot drive and graphics card. And overall, B550 prices are lower than their X570 counterparts. But many B550 motherboards -- particularly the high-end models -- surpass the price of many lower-end X570 motherboards.

The VRM thermal design of GIGABYTE B650 motherboards is enhanced by full-coverage heatsinks and heat-pipe according to different features and configurations of various models. The mid-range AORUS ELITE and Micro-ATX AORUS models stand out from the competitors with up to 4X large surface and real one-piece build heatsinks, while the passive heat dissipation design of B650I AORUS ULTRA greatly improves thermal performance. Meanwhile, the enhanced SMD slot design purifies signals for PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots to reduce noise interference and processor’s high-speed Gen5 signals more easily. In addition, the adjustment of the M.2 slot surrounding area enables the support of the latest 25110 M.2 SSD form factor, while the strengthened metal shielding design increases the stability up to 50%. Furthermore, B650 select motherboards adopt exclusive M.2 Thermal Guard III with heightened SSD heatsink to keep temperatures under control and allow users to eliminate any throttling due to overheating. GIGABYTE will soon release next-gen AORUS PCIe 5.0 M.2 SSDs as well to unleash the utmost transfer speed. Further enhanced by PWM/DC fan support, multiple temperature detectors, 7-phase dual fan curve adjustment modes, Fan Stop technology, and GIGABYTE Smart Fan 6 Technology, users can manage the temperature variation accurately and obtain the supreme thermal performance on the processor, VRM, chipset or key components. Moving to networking, there isn’t too much of a change here, especially when compared to the updated B550 boards (or Intel Z690), which added 2.5 GbE port(s), with high-end boards using up to 10 GbE. The new chipset also includes integrated Wi-Fi 6E, akin to Intel’s CNVi implementation, which is included on most boards. AMD B550 Mini-ITX AORUS Motherboard with Direct 8 Phases Digital VRM, Advanced Thermal Design with Extended VRM Heatsink, Thermal Baseplate, Dual PCIe 4.0/3.0 M.2 with Thermal Guard, Intel ® WiFi 6 802.11ax, 2.5GbE LAN, RGB FUSION 2.0, Q-Flash Plus Unlike Intel, AMD chose to go all in with DDR5 and so does not support DDR4 on its new platform. Since DDR5 is available in greater volume and prices are coming down (though still a lot higher than DDR4), this was arguably a good choice on AMD’s part. The highest in-spec frequency for the existing AM5 SKUs is DDR5-5200. But AMD did share that DDR5-6000 will be the sweet spot for Zen 4. X670 (and rumored B650) Motherboards: The Full List (So Far)Configure the fan's operating speed manually or use pre-configured Standard, Silent, Turbo, or Full Speed modes. By default, system fans will automatically switch to full speed if the temperature reaches 75° C. Aura On/Off mode (Stealth) High-Performance Networking:On-board WiFi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth ® 5.2, and Intel ®2.5G Ethernet with ASUS LANGuard

However, the B650 Gaming X AX is a less attractive option since the Aorus Elite AX offers a superior product at the same price, boasting fourteen 70A power stages for the vcore VRM, PCIe 5.0 M.2 support, and eleven USB 3.2 ports.For WiFi 6E support out of the box, either the MSI Pro B650-P WiFi or Gigabyte B650 Aorus Elite AX will serve you well. AMD B550 AORUS Motherboard with 10+2 Phases Digital Twin Power Design, Enlarged Surface Heatsinks, PCIe 4.0 x16 Slot, Dual PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4 M.2 with One Thermal Guard, 2.5GbE LAN, RGB FUSION 2.0, Q-Flash Plus On the USB front, the chipset offers quite a bit of native USB connectivity. X670/X670E supports up to eight USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports and another four ports that can be configured as two USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) ports. If that isn’t enough, the chipset also supports up to 12 more USB 2.0 ports. Alternatively, you can put it into a tiny case with a 7600 CPU, undervolt it, and have a truly silent little system. ITX can be very flexible.

Next-Gen M.2 Support: PCIe ® 5.0 M.2 slot cooled by a large heatsink to maximize performance and an additional PCIe 4.0 M.2 slot for more storage In comparison, Gigabyte's B650 Aero G appears to be a superior creator-type motherboard. The VRM is significantly upgraded with sixteen 90A power stages for the vcore. It also includes WiFi 6E and more USB 3.2 ports, making it a better board overall. The rest of the board includes fairly typical ITX fare, though just two SATA ports might be an issue for some. Three fan headers is the absolute minimum too. More impressive is support for a front USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port and dual ARGB headers. Perhaps most curious feature of all is the inclusion of an embedded DP connector on the rear of the board.Mini-ITX boards are pretty much niche products. For most gamers, a regular ATX board will do the job, perhaps for cheaper and come with a better VRM or a few more USB or SATA ports. But small form factor fans are—to state the obvious, specifically looking for SFF boards, and they're prepared to live without four M2 slots or PCIe slots for expansion cards. AMD B550 Ultra Durable Motherboard with Pure Digital VRM Solution, PCIe 4.0 x16 Slot, Dual PCIe 4.0/3.0 M.2 Connectors, 802.11ac WIFI, Realtek GbE LAN, Smart Fan 6 with FAN STOP, RGB FUSION 2.0, Q-Flash Plus One of the more unique features of the X670E boards is their dual PCHs. The chipset (actually a chipset, defined as multiple chips) uses two Promontory 21 (PROM21) chips. Instead of exclusive access to the CPU for each, the two chips connect to each other through four PCIe 4.0 lanes, which then connect to the CPU directly, sporting the same PCIe 4.0 x4 bandwidth as X570 for DMI. Combined, the chipset provides three PCIe 4.0 x4 interfaces (12 lanes total) and eight PCIe 3.0, the latter reserved for slower connectivity like networking. Board partners have the flexibility to configure the PCIe 3.0 to SATA ports, which yields a mix and match of six SATA plus two PCIe (x4 + x4). The Aorus Master price doesn't make much sense at this time. The Taichi is a decent board but isn't spectacular at anything, though it does offer USB 4 support out of the box, which might be beneficial to you. That leaves Asus' E Gaming, which we think is the best high-end option here. As long as you have good case airflow it'll be ok but I did see it cross the 70°C mark, and that’s with an open case and airflow from the AIO cooler. It's well within limits, but If you plan to thrash a high core count CPU inside a cramped case, you must keep an eye on the VRM temperatures.