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having now tested a grand total of 56

motherboards all using the b650 chipset

it's safe to say I've tested a lot of

b650 motherboards and now I suppose you

want me to tell you which ones you

should buy well fair enough then I

suppose but before I do could I please

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up front it's now time to give you my

top b650 motherboard picks and as usual

I'll start with the most affordable

options so let's get into

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it since the introduction of the am5

platform motherboard pricing has been a

big issue even for models that don't

support any PCI 5.0 granted ddr5 has

proven to be a bit more costly than ddr4

to support but even so the board costs

have gotten a bit out of hand I think

it's fair to say and for a while they're

the cheapest b650 options were about

$150 us some even more than that things

have improved though or at least they

had went azck released the b650 M hdv

m.2 for $120 us back in April of last

year and during the Christmas sales of

that year it dropped as low as $110

before sparking back up unfortunately

earlier this year to $140 us that said

by April this year it was once again

available at $120 us but unfortunately

for the last two months stock has dried

up completely and I'm not really even

sure if we'll ever see this board again

back at $120 us I have asked ASRock for

clarification on that Unfortunately they

never got back to me so my pick for the

best entry level b650 motherboard would

be the azrock b650 m hdv m.2 at $120 us

but in its apparent absence I'll have to

go with another ASRock motherboard the

b650 M Pro RS and the good news is you

can buy the b650 M Pro RS for just $10

us more at $130 us and stock levels

appear healthy there's also a Wi-Fi

version for an additional $10

now in terms of vrm thermal performance

the b650 M PR RS is very similar to the

hdv as they both pack 850 amp power

stages for the VOR which is enough to

comfortably power the ryzen 9 7950 X so

that means it'll easily handle any ryzen

processor that you throw at it now for

the extra $10 you do get an additional

m.2 slot and an extra USB 3.2 Port not a

significant deal there but it is only

$10 more and you know it also happens to

be in stock but yeah other than that

they are very similar feature wise short

of the azrock b650 and PRS The Other

Board worth looking at here is the MSI

Pro b650 m-a WiFi though it costs $140

us so it is starting to get up there a

bit but it is a significantly better

option than the Asus Prime b650 m-a WiFi

which you should avoid at all costs

along with the terrible gigabyte b650 m

gaming WiFi other budget boards such as

the azrock b650

m-h m.2 plus MSI pro b650 m-p gigabyte

b650 md3 HP and gigabyte b650 MK are all

garbage with terrible performing vrms

sure they might work fine with lower end

am5 processors but for similar money the

boards I'm recommending can handle all

am5 processes with ease and are over

overall Superior

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Products now if you're after an

affordable b650 motherboard but would

prefer an ATX model over Micro ATX there

are quite a few options for around $150

US now so that's good news and the

newest editions include the gigabyte

b650 Eagle ax at $140 us and the MSI Pro

b650 dsy at $145 us both are decent

boards with passable vrms again they

will work well with the ryzen 5 and

ryzen 7 processes but for the ryzen 9

models I'd recommend seeking alternative

options in short the eagle ax delivers

better vrm performance with a PCI 5.0

enabled m.2 but the pro S WiFi that

offers around twice as many USB 3.2

ports and 2.5 gbit Lan opposed to just

gigabit so my personal preference here

would be for the MSI model for its

stronger feature set that said ideally I

would skip both of those models in favor

of the azrock b650 PG lightning or the

crazy looking azrock b650 live mixer

both are $150 US right now so get

whichever one of those you prefer the

look of or whichever is cheaper in your

region both boards are vastly superior

to the MSI and gigabyte models while

costing just $5 to $10 more you get an

almost Overkill 1460 amp Vore so that is

to say the vrm is topnotch and will

handle anything you throw at it there's

also a PCI 5.0 m.2 slot loads of USB 3.2

ports and 2.5 gbit Lan though they do

miss out on Wi-Fi so that'll be an

additional cost if

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required okay so what if you're after a

microatx motherboard but you don't want

to settle for one of the entry level

models that I've already recommended so

let's assume that you've got a budget of

between $170 and $220 us because that

will open you up to quite a few good

options the cheapest of which is the new

MSI b650 M gaming plus Wi-Fi at $160 us

and this is one of the better value

options here though it's also yet to go

on sale so I am taking MSI entirely at

their word here not something I love to

do and they claim that it will at most

cost $160 so I guess we'll have to wait

and see if that's true and if true that

would make it $20 us less than the

gigabyte b650 M orus Elite ax and then

msi's owned mag B 650m motor WiFi which

is a reasonable saving in terms of

features the gaming plus Wi-Fi and motor

WiFi they're essentially the same board

the only real difference being the vrm

the gaming plus gets a cheap 10 phase

vehicle using discrete mosfets whereas

the mortar is armed with a high quality

vehicle using a dozen amp power stages

and frankly I think it's worth paying

the extra $20 for the better quality vrm

but I also like knowing that the bord

eyby will handle any CPU I install in

the future with

ease now competing with the morot is as

I said the gigabyte b650 M orus Elite ax

but for $10 more there's also the Asus

tough gaming b650 M plus Wi-Fi in terms

of vrm performance they're all much the

same using a dozen 60 to 80 amp power

stages and then in terms of board

features again they're all pretty

similar they all offer 2 m.2 slots but

the gigabyte board and Asus board

support PCI 5.0 for the primary slot

whereas the MSI board is limited to just

PCI 4.0 truth be told this is probably a

non-issue for most of you but it's also

worth mentioning all the same

they also all offer 2.5 GB Lan Wi-Fi

though the Asus sport only gets Wi-Fi 6

whereas the MSI and gigabyte boards

feature Wi-Fi 6E all boards include m.2

heat spreaders for both ports and large

heat sinks covering the entire vrm sadly

none of them feature a two-digit debug

code LED and instead all of them use

basic LED light debugging which is

better than nothing but it's still not

great so really it's going to come to

down to which of these models you prefer

the look of or I suppose is cheapest in

your region but really you can't go

wrong here they are all excellent

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motherboards now for the best mid-range

ATX motherboard priced between $170 and

$200 us so pretty tight price range

there but boy are there like a gazillion

options to pick from and the good news

being that really no bad boards here

some of them might be a little bit

poorly priced compared to others but

again that'll probably differ a bit

depending on region but yeah the truth

is you can't really go wrong here but

you're watching this video because you

want to know what the best options

available right now are so let's get

into it despite there being almost too

many motherboards to mention though I

have personally tested all of them the

new ack b650 steel Legend Wi-Fi at $180

us is hands down the best that said

availability is sketchy right now and

while it has been listed and possible to

purchase for $180 us as of putting this

video together it was out of stock ever

I checked but that could have changed by

the time you watch hopefully it has but

assuming that by the time you do watch

this video you can once again buy it for

$180 us then this would be my number one

pick the reason being it offers the best

features with an exceptionally strong

vehicle vrm using 1480 amp power stages

you also somehow get PCI 5.0 support on

the primary PCI time 16 slot along with

the primary m.2 slot and that's despite

the fact that this isn't a b650

motherboard there's also 11 USB 3.2

ports 8 USB 2.0 ports Wi-Fi 60 and 2.5

gbit landan it really is the best of the

best at this price point it costs just

$10 more than the MSI b650 gaming plus

Wi-Fi and it completely destroys that

board and for the same price It

embarrasses the Asus tough gaming b650 e

WiFi it's also better equipped for the

same price when compared to the gigabyte

b650 gaming xax that said depending on

pricing your region the gigabyte xax is

a good substitute should the steel

Legend be unavailable now stepping up to

$190 us you'll find the azck B 650e PG

Rip Tide WiFi ASRock b650 PR RS and MSI

mag b650 Tomahawk WiFi the pr RS looks

as though it could be in the process of

being phased out as it doesn't really

make sense at this price the b650 PG

Riptide Wi-Fi though it's a great option

and it's one of the cheapest b650 e

motherboards available that said somehow

the b650 steel Legend Wi-Fi is still

better equipped and slightly cheaper so

I just go with that the MSI mag b650

Tomahawk WiFi also puts up a good fight

but it does lack PCI 5.0 support

entirely so that may or may not concern

you but again the steel Legend is just

better equipped and it is slightly

cheaper so you might as well just get

that if available there's also gigabytes

b650 orus Elite ax V2 which again offers

similar features to the steel Legend but

right now cost $20 us more and the list

of $200 us b650 ATX motherboards it just

goes on and on and unfortunately it's

the same story just over and over again

for example the MSI Pro b650 DP WiFi it

also isn't as well equipped as the steel

Legend it has one less m.2 slot there's

no PCI 5.0 support at all and there are

fewer USB options overall the Asus tough

gaming b650 D plus WiFi it's just poorly

priced there's also the Asus Rog stricks

b650 dagaming Wi-Fi that cost $20 more

doesn't have pciu 5.0 for the primary

PCI time 16 slot fewer USB 3.2 ports and

fewer USB 2.0 ports then there's the

gigabyte b650 orus Elite ax which is

almost the same bought as the steel

legend for $20 more and also the

gigabyte b650 oros Elite ax ice again a

similar board for $20 more has weaker

vrms but you know the vrm performance is

still ample and then finally there is

the azck b650 steel Legend Wi-Fi so an

actual b650 version of the other steel

Legend board which appears to be a b650

e board it's a bit confusing I'm not

exactly sure what's going on there but

the official b650 version does cost $20

more but it features a weaker vrm though

similar features otherwise but still I'm

not really sure why you would spend $20

more on the official b650 version as

I've said from the start just get the

b650 steel Legend Wi-Fi and pray that it

comes back into stock

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shortly okay so you don't really have a

firm budget here you just want the best

b650 board that you can get your hands

on without going stupid of course and

spending Oodles of money on on some

Godlike board that doesn't really

deliver too much and I I hate to say it

uh I'm not an azrock shill but well I

don't hate to say it I mean they've done

a good job so I suppose hats off to

azrock but you know I'm sure there'll be

some people thinking is this guy paid by

azrock because that's really all he's

recommending it's just the way it's

turned out guys they did Blacklist us

for two years so we've had a rocky

relationship with azrock but yeah when

they make the best boards they're

offering the best value that's just how

it uh seems to work so they've won most

to the category so again good job to

them uh I'm not really sure how they're

doing it for this category but they're

offering the B 650e taii light for just

$240 us which in my opinion that's a

Bonkers price uh and it really just

absolutely annihilates Every Other Board

in this range for $240 us you're getting

a b650 motherboard with 24 I repeat

2415 amp power St for just the VOR at

that point you could comfortably run not

one but two ryzen 9 750x processors but

sure I I'll take it anyway you also get

PCI 5.0 support for the primary PCI time

16 slot as well as an m.2 with

additional two PCI 4.0 M do2s there's an

incredible 14 USB 3.2 ports with a USB 4

Port that's right you're also getting

USB 4 here and then there's the typical

WiFi 6E and 2.5 GB Lan now even though

this is a No Frills version of the

standard b650 Tae so you get a lot less

RGB lighting and more standard looking

heat sinks azck has still included a

two-digit debug code LED at the bottom

of the board so I'd say all of the

essentials are still included so that's

it really the Tai Chi light is my best

high-end b650 motherboard board pick

hands down that said though if for some

unfortunate reason it's unavailable in

your region or pricing is wonky either

scenario would be unfortunate then

Alternatives include the gigabyte b650 e

orus Elite X ax ice which is a b650 e

board but unless you specifically want a

white motherboard the azck b650 E Tai

light is a better value product but

again I guess we're talking if it's not

available we also have the a Rog stricks

b650 e-f gaming WiFi that's in a similar

position it costs just $20 more also as

a bit of a side note I've added this as

a late edition NZXT also have their N7 B

650e for $250 it's not quite as well

equipped as the TA Chi light but it does

look very unique and it's available in

an all black design or a black white

design which is what we have it packs

1690 amp power stages for the the VOR so

plenty of power delivery there as you'd

expect at this price point though it did

run a little bit hotter than expected

now testing at 74° which is still a very

acceptable result it's just a bit hotter

than similar equipped products overall

though this is a surprisingly good

motherboard from

NZXT sadly though MSI they're a bit lost

at this price point for the same money

as the taiichi light the MSI MPG b650

Edge Wi-Fi it just looks silly and $290

us the MSI MPG b650 carbon Wi-Fi it's

also very poorly

positioned now another alternative would

be the Asus proart b650 Creator which

does support time 8/ time 8 operation

for its primary and secondary PCI time

16 slots whereas all other boards are

limited to time 16 Time 4 or worse so if

that PCI configuration is useful to you

then this board has value but short of

that it's pretty average in terms of

pricing and

features then jumping up to $320 is the

osus Rog stxs b650 e-e gaming Wi-Fi you

get PCI 5.0 for the primary and

secondary PCI slots though they only

operate at Time 8times 4 when both are

used so not particularly useful unless

you have PCI 5.0 cards which at this

point in time you probably don't have

there are also two m.2 slots with PCI

5.0 and another two using PCI 4.0

there's no usb4 though so it's hard to

say if this board's worth the $80 us

premium over the azrock b650 taii light

then we have the original azrock b650 TI

Chi at $370 and I can't really

understand why you'd pay $140 us more

for this

fancy yeah fancy version is probably the

best way to put it over the light

version pretty crazy stuff and then

finally we do have another sort of crazy

board the gigabyte b650 orus Master at

$470 us so yeah that's really a crazy

price for that board it is a good board

it looks good it has some good features

uh does support four 5.0 ports for the

m.2 so that's pretty good but really it

is objectively worse than the azrock B

650e type light

so sorry gigabyte so there you have it

as I said not an azrock shill uh but

yeah buy ASRock motherboard it seems of

course a lot of this does come down to

availability and pricing in your region

so hopefully the b650 steel Legend WiFi

is available at the price quoted in the

video in your region or you know Mak

sense in your region but if not we've

given some other boards and you'll be

able to go through those spec tables and

break down and work out what it is you

should and shouldn't buy but yeah good

to see azrock pushing hard to offer the

best value at each price point really

does remind me of the good old days with

ASRock I remember looking at a range of

I think it was Intel z7 no I was going

to say 770 but Intel z77 motherboards

back in uh must have been 2012 and

azrock delivered some of the best value

back then and that was really a pretty

common theme for for azrock back in the

day they seem to be able to undercut the

competing Brands quite well well

offering excellent feature sets and

pretty good quality boards there of

course have been some vrm hiccups over

the years but generally azrock has been

a pretty reliable uh brand for Value but

yeah been less so probably in recent

years so good to see them getting back

to their roots and undercut undercutting

the competition because yeah we love to

see that uh well that is going to do it

for this video U probably rambled on for

long enough about motherboards but

hopefully you know what to get now all

of these Boards of course support the

upcoming zen5 CPU so if you'll want to

get one of those on a really great value

board that will take you well you'll see

out am5 on one of these motherboards if

you pick wisely and if you've watched

this video that's exactly what you'll be

doing so give it a thumbs up if you

enjoyed it and it helped you subscribe

for more content because we have a lot

more stuff coming up float plane patreon

a lot of the tables and things you see I

post in our Discord so it's very

convenient easy to find that stuff yeah

otherwise I mean just thanks heaps for

watching that helps a lot appreciate you

and and hopefully I'll see you next time

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