This B550 board for me checked all the right boxes.
I paired this with an AMD 3600XT which allowed me to use PCIe 4.0 which I used for my storage solution. Blazing fast.
Other benefits that I was looking for in a board which other competitors didn't have:
-Rear I/O for 5.1+ surround speakers or optical input
-Mysticlight for RGB control
-PCI-E lanes not tied to SATA use.
-USB-C plug in for front case I/O
-Flash bios button
-Huge heatsinks for heat dissipation
-instant compatibility with the new 5000 series AMD processors for futureproofing
Some negatives that I can't really complain about since I was well aware prior to purchasing:
-I wish instead of the additional LAN port it had come with a WIFI/bluetooth option - remedied with PCI card
-NVME cards use PCI lanes so there is no way to fill up each PCI lanes and NVME at the same time. PCIe 4.0 is on separate lane.
-I wish there were one or two more rear USB options though this is nitpicking
All in all this is a great motherboard, performs great, and with great MSI options like the easy to navigate BIOS and utilities, backed with MSI reliability on boards this is a definite recommendation from me.
| RAM | 128 GB DDR4 |
|---|---|
| Memory Speed | 5100 MHz |
| Wireless Standard | 5 GHz Radio Frequency, 2.4 GHz Radio Frequency |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 6 |
| Brand | MSI |
| Series | MAG B550 TOMAHAWK |
| Item model number | MAG B550 TOMAHAWK |
| Product Dimensions | 30.48 x 24.38 x 3.81 cm; 1.36 kg |
| Item dimensions L x W x H | 30.5 x 24.4 x 3.8 Centimetres |
| Memory Type | DDR4 SDRAM |
| Batteries | 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. |
