Should I buy a B450? Or are we expecting a B550 release?

euskalzabe

euskalzabe

[H]ard|Gawd
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May 9, 2009
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Hey all,

I'm finally demoting my i5 build and making a new AMD one this summer. I know I'll be getting the $200 Ryzen 5 3600, and I'll be pairing that with 16GB 3000mhz and a $250-300 GPU and 650-750w PSU. Now, my only remaining part to decide is the motherboard. I haven't used and AMD CPU in 8 years, so I'm a bit rusty. Techspot reports that the new Ryzen cpus will perform the same on newer or 2nd gen boards, so it's a safe bet that I can get a B450 that is patched to work with the 3rd gen cpus. However, are we expecting a new B550 motherboard series to be announced? Since the current ones work, I have no idea if AMD would release new ones or just patch what they already have.

I get that we don't have a crystal ball, but your informed opinion will be much better than my 8 year old perspective.

Thanks in advance!
 
B550s will likely be released, but the X570s will come first, likely by a few months. The X470 also preceded the B450 by a few months too.

If you're building a machine IMMEDIATELY after the 3rd gen ryzens launch, you will need to:

A. Buy an X570
B. Buy an X470/B450 and remember to make sure that it comes with a BIOS/UEFI version that supports 3rd gen CPUs.
 
X570 boards should come out in July along with the Ryzen 3000-series CPUs...

My understanding is that the B550 boards will not be available until after the initial X570 release, anywhere from a few months to half a year...?

Half a year makes no sense, unless...

Imagine you got AMD fever in Q3 of 2019, bought yourself a shiny new X570 mobo, a crazy 12C/24T cpu, crazy fast RAM, a stupid fast SSD, & a shiny new Navi gpu...

But hey, Q2 2020 rolls around, Intel has something new for the desktop, finally...! 10C/20T for the desktop; 10nm yes, but power hungry & hot, and low yields means it is expensive...

So then AMD pops up, "hey kid, check out these 16C/32T cpus & this Big Navi (Arcturus?) gpu that kicks a RTX 2080 TI Super in the nads...!"

Oh yeah, we got these new 'budget' B550 boards...

And then the shiny new X570 system dudes gotta have the new 16C & Navi 20, so they buy a B550 board & swap all the now 'old' bits over...

Congrats, AMD has just sold you two completely new systems within a six month time span...!

But man are they fast...!

;^p
 
the b550 delay is probably more from motherboard manufactures not wanting to hurt x570 profits. but there was also a rumor a while back that amd may not use an inhouse chipset for b550 and instead use an asmedia chipset so you may get pcie 4.0 from the cpu direct connected slots but pcie 3.0 on anything connected to the chipset which could explain the delay.
 
I just upgraded a friends rig with the Ryzen 1600 / B450 combo from Microcenter. His thought - use the R5 1600 until a 3600 release, update BIOS right before, then sell the chip for others to do the same.
 
It's not clear to me what real benefit a B550 would have, for a build appropriate for a B450. PCIe 4.0 to the m.2 slots, maybe, but that's going to be a very marginal benefit for most users. PCIe 4.0 to the chipset, but that won't make your USB or SATA ports go faster, it just allows more of them to operate simultaneously -- and, that's not really the B450 build use case. Better VRM's for the hotter 8/12 core chips, maybe, but nothing is stopping any mobo maker from doing a B450 with better VRM's. All in all, I don't expect a B550 series any time soon simply because there's no burning need, and it would likely just cut into the X570 market prematurely.
 
benefit x50 has over x70 "often enough" (3 gens to back it for Ryzen here shortly)

the x50 can be or are better than many of the x70 as far as what is on the board, the VRM design etc etc, a prime example of that is MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC.

not as low cost as most x50 boards but the design etc makes it well worth the extra cost and saves in range of $30-$120 depending on which other board direct comparing to.

for a long time most of AMD based mobo the almost to top or top end are within spit distance of each other in every way, but cost, as well some of the "non" high end tend to be spaced out somewhat better for all the pci slot, sata and the like

in my experience that is.
 
If in a rush, at least get a X470. With sales due to the launch of the X570 there should be some sweet deals to be had.
 
My plan is to pick up a used B450 or X470 board unless things change.

An article I read said PCIe4 requires extra layers plus the new chipset needs a cooling fan. Both will increase the price on 500 series boards and some manufacturers will keep making 400 series boards as budget options. Reminds me of the 700 series chipsets on AM3 even after 800 and 900 series were released.
 
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