Question Help me choose a B550 motherboard (Amazon)?

[Deepsea111]

Need a B550 motherboard for around $110 or under from Amazon (US). Don't care about wi-fi, bluetooth, or extra M.2 slots and can be ATX or MATX. Current Gigabyte A520 board is driving me insane so preferably nothing from them please. I don't plan on doing any overclocking, just need it to work. Used for gaming and light productivity.

Here's what I'm looking at (Amazon prices):

• MSI B550-A Pro - $110
• MSI B550 Gaming Gen 3 - $105
• MSI Pro-VDH Wifi - $90
• ASUS Prime B550-Plus - $90
• ASROCK B550 Phantom Gaming 4 - $90

The MSI B550-A Pro seems to be the most popular out of the bunch, but I'm open to any other recommendations. I'd even get a B450 if it's reliable and a good deal, which is really what I'm looking for.


My PC:

Mobo: Gigabyte A520M S2H [redacted]
CPU: Ryzen 5 5600x
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE
GPU: Gigabyte Windforce OC Geforce GTX 1060 6gb (6650xt on the way)
RAM: 16gb (2x8) 3200mhz Teamgroup T-force Vulcan Z
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600W
Storage: Samsung 850 evo 250gb SSD
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 230T ATX Mid Tower Case

Thanks!

 

[Lutfij]

I would've provided suggestions on Gigabyte boards since they happen to have a Q-Flash button. Apart from the MSI boards, the rest don't have it which is something that is handy when trying to diagnose a motherboard related issue.

If I were you, I'd get this board from MSI;
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Mf...tx-am4-motherboard-mag-b550-tomahawk-max-wifi
or this one by Asus;
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pL...-am4-motherboard-tuf-gaming-b550-plus-wifi-ii
since they are of a higher quality than the one's in your list above, has wireless connectivity bundled and the BIOS flash button. Yes the Tomahawk's are ranked higher on the product stack for MSI's motherboards. Pro's are akin to the entry level.

If I'm confined to look at boards from your shortlist, then I'd get the MSI Pro-VDH Wifi or the MSI B550-A Pro.

 

[Deepsea111]

I would've provided suggestions on Gigabyte boards since they happen to have a Q-Flash button. Apart from the MSI boards, the rest don't have it which is something that is handy when trying to diagnose a motherboard related issue.

If I were you, I'd get this board from MSI;
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Mf...tx-am4-motherboard-mag-b550-tomahawk-max-wifi
or this one by Asus;
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pL...-am4-motherboard-tuf-gaming-b550-plus-wifi-ii
since they are of a higher quality than the one's in your list above, has wireless connectivity bundled and the BIOS flash button. Yes the Tomahawk's are ranked higher on the product stack for MSI's motherboards. Pro's are akin to the entry level.

If I'm confined to look at boards from your shortlist, then I'd get the MSI Pro-VDH Wifi or the MSI B550-A Pro.

I've heard people really like the Tomahawks, so I could maybe wait around for a sale. I could also stretch the budget to the Asus.

Any opinions on buying used motherboards? I'm looking around and seeing a lot of " amazon resale" listings for $10-$20 cheaper. Motherboards seem relatively "delicate" to me so maybe that's not a good idea.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Lutfij]

yeah, I've had nothing but a good experience with Tomahawk boards.

I avoid anything used since my luck happens to land me on listings/things that break soon after I buy them. I prefer to buy brand new, that helps me retain the warranty and well...if there's anything wrong out of the box, it's replaced.

If you really want to eek out the best out of your platform, you should pair a tight latencied, dual channel DDR4-3600MHz ram kit or tighten the latency on your existing ram kit.