B550 vs B450 vs X570 – Which One to Buy?
Are you stuck wondering whether you should be buying a B550 board, B450 or X570 for your next build? Well, it’s kind of complicated so in this article, I will cover the pros and cons of each and help you understand which board is right for you.
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Comparison
Chipset | B450 | B550 | X570 |
---|---|---|---|
Direct CPU PCIe Support for GPU | x16 PCIe 4.0 | x16 PCIe 4.0 | x16 PCIe 4.0 |
Direct CPU PCIe Configuration | 1 x16 or 2 x8 | 1 x16 or 2 x8 | 1 x16 or 2 x8 |
CPU to Chipset Downlink | x4 PCIe 3.0 | x4 PCIe 3.0 | x4 PCIe 4.0 |
General Purpose PCIe Lanes from Chipset | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 3.0 | PCIe 4.0 |
No. of PCIe 4.0 Lanes from Chipset | 0 | 0 | 16 |
No. of PCIe 3.0 Lanes from Chipset | 10 | 10 | 0 |
Chipset SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps Ports (USB 3.2 Gen 2×1) | 2 | 2 | 8 |
Chipset SuperSpeed USB 5Gbps Ports (USB 3.2 Gen 1×1) | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Chipset HiSpeed USB 480Mbps Ports (USB 2.0) | 6 | 6 | 4 |
Max Possible Chipset I/O | 10 PCIe 3.0, 6 SATA III (6Gbps), 10 USB (2x10Gbps, 2x5Gbps and 6x480Mbps) | 10 PCIe 3.0, 6 SATA III (6Gbps), 10 USB (2x10Gbps, 2x5Gbps and 6x480Mbps) | 16 PCIe 4.0, 12 SATA III (6Gbps), 12 USB (8x10Gbps and 4x480Mbps) |
Overclocking Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Dual Graphics Card Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
CPU Support | AMD Ryzen 3000 and 5000 | Zen 3 AMD Ryzen 5000, Zen 2 AMD Ryzen 3000 | Zen 3 AMD Ryzen 5000, Zen 2 AMD Ryzen 3000, Zen + AMD Ryzen 2000 |
B550 vs B450 vs X570
Since the B550 is the latest motherboard, I should start with it.
B550 Motherboard
B550 is AMD’s latest chipset and offers limited PCIe Gen 4 support, in theory PCIe bifurcation. However, I’m yet to see that on an actual motherboard and most of the boards that I’ve seen have incredibly beefy VRM setups.
It also promises easy BIOS upgrades to support any ZEN 3 architecture Ryzen CPU’s, but doesn’t currently support anything other than 3rd Gen Ryzen Cpu’s (at this point). It also costs almost double the price of its B450 counterparts.
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B450 Motherboard
B450 on the other hand doesn’t support PCIe Gen 4, has hit or miss VRM setups, depending on the board you’re looking at and only some boards might get an irreversible BIOS upgrade to support ZEN 3 architecture chips.
It’s also significantly cheaper than any B450 board and works with any Ryzen chip you want to drop in right now.
X570 Motherboard
X570 is a bit of a wild card here. It’s technically the most advanced and most premium chipset available, offering full PCIe Gen 4 support, actual PCIe bifurcation and generally pretty solid VRM setups. However, there are a few exceptions.
It is also about the same price if not slightly more than B450 versions. These should see BIOS updates pretty quickly and pretty easily for any Zen 3 chips. Although it doesn’t currently support any APU’s including the 3200G and 3400G chips.
However, it does support normal second gen chips out of the box.
Which of these motherboard to buy?
So, what does all of the above description mean?
Best for budget
Well, if you’re on a budget and looking for the best value for money, then you probably don’t care about PCIe Gen4 supports or PCIe bifurcation and honestly, you shouldn’t.
B450 is still the best place to head. There are some fantastic boards out there if you can still find them in stock like the MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX or in my experience the ASRock steel legend is also a great choice too.
Best with PCIe Gen 4 Support & Upgradability
If you do want PCIe Gen 4 supports and easy upgradability then, it’s a bit more difficult. Technically, B550 is the better option here since it’s a newer and slightly cheaper.
However it does depend on what board you’re looking at. For example, if you’re looking at the X570, which offers full PCIe Gen 4 support is only $7 more than MSI B550 gaming edge Wi-Fi.
Since most B450 or B550 boards come with 2.5 gig Ethernet and Wi-Fi 6, and if you can make better use of that over full PCIe Gen4 support, B550 is a better place to head.
Realistically, I’m hoping that B550 boards come down in price to make them a bit easier to justify since they are technically, the budget chipset. It’s kind of hard to differentiate between X570 and B550 right now. So, i understand if you’re kind of torn between the two.
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Conclusion
So, if you’re looking for the best value for money B450 is still the better option. But if you want PCIe Gen4 support and easy upgrades to Zen 3 chips then B550 is probably the better option to buy depending on whether you want full PCIe Gen4 support or the generally better Wi-Fi and Ethernet options.
But if you want a truly high-end board high speed 10 gigabit Ethernet then X570 is the way ahead. I hope this article has been useful to you in making a decision.