AMD · AM4 · launched 2020
B550 motherboards
B550 is the chipset most surviving AM4 builds use: PCIe 4.0 from the CPU to the graphics slot and the primary M.2, CPU overclocking allowed, and DDR4 only.
- Boards in database
- 3
- Capacity range
- 574–638 W
- Sustained core power, derated
- Graphics slot
- PCIe 4.0
- Price range
- $169–$189
- CPU overclocking
- Allowed
- Memory overclocking (XMP / EXPO)
- Allowed
- The thing people get wrong
- AM4 is a finished platform, so a B550 board is a sensible buy only for a 5700X3D or 5600-class processor, not as the start of an upgrade path.
The spread inside B550
Inside this one chipset, the Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2 holds about 574 W of sustained core power and the MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk holds about 638 W. That is a factor of 1.1 between two boards wearing the same badge, and it is the reason a chipset name is a poor proxy for whether your processor will keep its clocks.
The same processors on the best and worst B550 board
Sorted worst verdict first, so the pairings to avoid are at the top.
| Pairing | Verdict | VRM °C | Score | Clock loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 9 5900X on Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2140 W into 574 W | No throttle | 54 | 86 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 5950X on Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2140 W into 574 W | No throttle | 54 | 86 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3900X on Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2140 W into 574 W | No throttle | 54 | 86 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3950X on Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2140 W into 574 W | No throttle | 54 | 86 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT on Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2140 W into 574 W | No throttle | 54 | 86 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT on Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2140 W into 574 W | No throttle | 54 | 86 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X on Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2135 W into 574 W | No throttle | 54 | 86 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT on Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2135 W into 574 W | No throttle | 54 | 86 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 7 3800X on Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2135 W into 574 W | No throttle | 54 | 86 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT on Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2135 W into 574 W | No throttle | 54 | 86 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 5900X on MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk140 W into 638 W | No throttle | 52 | 87 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 5950X on MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk140 W into 638 W | No throttle | 52 | 87 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3900X on MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk140 W into 638 W | No throttle | 52 | 87 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3950X on MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk140 W into 638 W | No throttle | 52 | 87 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 5900XT on MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk140 W into 638 W | No throttle | 52 | 87 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3900XT on MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk140 W into 638 W | No throttle | 52 | 87 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800X on MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk135 W into 638 W | No throttle | 52 | 87 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT on MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk135 W into 638 W | No throttle | 52 | 87 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 7 3800X on MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk135 W into 638 W | No throttle | 52 | 87 | 0 % |
| AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT on MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk135 W into 638 W | No throttle | 52 | 87 | 0 % |