Best Budget b450 Motherboards – I think the launch of B450 chipset has made the gaming market more competitive and it is certainly not good news for Intel. Now mainstream gamers can easily build powerful mid-range or budget gaming PC using AMD 2000 series processors without shedding too much money. AMD B450 chipset motherboards are just as powerful and good as the X470 ones and they offer all the latest features such as StoreMI, Precision Boost Overdrive, XFR 2 that were mainly found in the higher end AMD motherboards only. If you still have any doubts or questions regarding B450 motherboards or gaming PC then do ask me by leaving a comment below.
ROUND UP
1.GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO
Features
- Supports AMD 1st & 2nd generation Ryzen/ Ryzen with Radeon Vega graphics processors
- Dual channel non-ECC unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs
- Intel Ethernet LAN plus Dual band 802.11AC Wi-Fi
- Dual PCIe Gen3 M.2 NVMe with dual thermal guards
- Alc1220 vb enhanced audio with WIMA capacitors. Support for 11AC 160MHz wireless standard and up to 1.73 Gaps data rate. Intel WI-FI driver only support for Win10 64bit
- RGB Fusion with digital LED & RGB LED headers
- Smart fan 5 with fan stop
- USB 3.1 Gen 2 with USB type C & type A
- Integrated I/O shield of ultra-durable design
- CEC 2019 ready
Enter the Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro WIFI. Gigabyte has traditionally kept its Aorus brand relegated to premium offerings, but for B450 they couldn’t resist unleashing the falcon that we have appreciate from previous reviews. Bringing a well-respected brand to a lower tier might appear to be a marketing gimmick, but it turns out this board is on-par with similar offerings from X470.
From an aesthetics perspective, the B450 Aorus Pro WIFI looks shockingly similar to the X470 Aorus 5, with the omission of LED lit DIMM and PCIe slots. Comparing the B450 board against the X470 Aorus Ultra, the inclusion of Wi-Fi in the B450 Pro might be enough for some to negate the X470’s improved connectivity elsewhere.
2.MSI Arsenal
Features
- Supports 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen/ Ryzen with Radeon Vega Graphics and 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen with Radeon graphics/ Athlon with Radeon Vega Graphics desktop processors for socket AM4
- Supports DDR4 memory, up to 4133(OC) MHz
- Extended heatsink design: MSI extended PWM heatsink and enhanced circuit design ensures even high-end processors to run in full speed.
- Lightning fast game experience: 1x turbo M.2, amd turbo USB 3.2 gen2, store mi technology
- Core boost: With premium layout and digital power design to support more cores and provide better performance.
This motherboard is presented in the Micro-ATX form factor, unfortunately there is no full support for Windows 7, the manufacturer guarantees support for Windows 10 64bit.
The MSI Aesenal motherboard is designed for AM4 socket processors, the practical one is the brother of PRO-VDH and MORTAR. At the same time, the B450 chipset supports the entire line of processor models up to the 3rd generation Ryzen, after BIOS flashing.
All black everything. The Stealth dazzles in ebony sandblasted aluminum and looks like it’d be a prominent tool in 007’s extensive arsenal. The lid has just enough shimmer to pull you in while the black dragon emblem glimmers gently in the light. The rear vents are subdued, a nice change from the supercar inspired design you see on other gaming rigs.
3.ASUS ROG Strix B450-F
Features
- AMD AM4 Socket: Compatible to Ryzen 5000, 3rd/2nd/1st Gen AMD Ryzen CPUs
- Robust Power Design: 8+2 DrMOS power stages with high-quality alloy chokes and durable capacitors provide reliable power for the last AMD high-count-core CPUs
- Optimized Thermal Solution: Extended VRM and PCH heatsinks, M.2 heatsinks, multiple hybrid fan headers and fan speed management with Fan Xpert utility
- Best Gaming Connectivity: Supports HDMI 2.0b(4K@60HZ) and DisplayPort 1.2 output, featuring dual M.2 slots (NVMe SSD), 2x PCIe 3.0x16 Slot, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port and USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A & Type-C ports
- Industry-leading Gaming Audio & AI Noise Canceling Microphone Technology: High fidelity audio from a SupremeFX S1220A codec with DTS Sound Unbound and Sonic Studio III draws you deeper into the action. Communicate clearly with ASUS AI Noise Cancelling Mic technology.
- Unmatched Personalization: ASUS-exclusive Aura Sync RGB lighting with Armoury Crate utility, including 2xRGB headers and a Gen 2 addressable RGB header for greater customization
- DIY Friendly: With BIOS Flashback and ASUS exclusive UEFI BIOS, 256Mb BIOS Flash ROM and Pre-mount I/O shroud
- Please ensure your BIOS is up to date if installing a compatible Ryzen 5000 series CPU. Visit ASUS site search by motherboard model name, click on “Support” tab, Drivers and Tools, then BIOS & Firmware to download the latest BIOS.
The Asus ROG Strix B350-F Gaming motherboard was a decent board for its day, but it had some room for improvement. Asus has tried to renovate that room with the ROG Strix B450-F Gaming board, which brings a few feature enhancements including support for AMD’s StoreMI software storage acceleration technology, which intelligently moves hard drive data to an SSD, and an enhanced layout.
In addition to the advantages inherent in the B450 chipset, the ROG Strix B450-F Gaming motherboard has a substantially improved layout compared to its predecessor. In the older board, Asus placed one of the PCI Express x1 slots directly below the primary PCIe x16 slot, which rendered it effectively useless for anyone using a graphics card.
4.MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX
Features
- Supports up to 64GB Dual Channel DDR4-SDRAM
- ATX form factor
- Ports: 2 x USB2.0, 2 x USB3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1 x USB3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 x USB3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1 x Ethernet LAN (RJ-45), 1 x PS/2, 1 x HDMI, 1 x DVI-D
- Chipset: AMD B450
- Supports Windows 7 or later operating systems supported
From the few second-generation AMD B450 and X470 motherboards we have tested, the majority have been refreshed models of pre-existing boards. Over time, the vendors have had the opportunity to make minor tweaks and upgrades to keep ahead of current technological advances and inevitable design choices.
MSI has tried to tick both boxes with the new B450 Tomahawk which comes with an extended CPU heatsink, USB 3.1 Gen2 support and RGB LEDs.
The MSI B450 Tomahawk is the successor to the popular B350 Tomahawk and offers users a slightly better feature set. This starts with including a pair USB 3.1 Gen2 ports, as well as customizable RGB LED lighting integrated into the board.
5.MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK
Features
- Support for 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen processors and future AMD Ryzen processors with BIOS update
- Supports dual channel DDR4 memory up to 128 GB (4866 MHz)
- On-board dual LAN: 2.5G LAN plus Gigabit LAN
- Mystic Light: RGB LED lighting and extendable pin headers – 16.8 million colors / 29 effects
- Audio Boost rewards your ears with studio grade sound quality for immersive gaming experiences
- Premium Thermal Solution: Aluminum Cover with additional choke thermal pad rated for 7W/mk and PCB with 2 ounce thickened copper
- Lightning Fast Game Experience: PCIe 4.0, Lightning Gen 4 M.2 with M.2 Shield Frozr, AMD Turbo USB 3.2 GEN 2
MSI opted to color the MAG B550 Tomahawk in a mixture of black and gray. Black is the more prominent color, but there’s a good amount of gray that adds contrast and keeps the board from looking too dull. MSI also put some RGB LEDs around the chipset heatsink that add some much-needed color to the board when it’s powered up.
MSI’s B550 product stack is similar to the X570 enthusiast lineup in that boards are divided into segments: In order from highest to lowest, B550 uses MPG and MAG for gamers and Pro boards for creators. MSI doesn’t offer its highest-end MEG class boards on the B550 chipset, leaving that segment with X570 on the AMD side.
WRAP UP
AMD motherboards based on the X470 chipset are expensive and it takes a toll on your budget if you try to build a budget to mid-range gaming PC with Ryzen 2nd generation processors. This will not be a problem anymore because B450 chipset is a mid-range chipset and motherboards based on B450 chipset are cheaper than the ones based on the X470 chipset.