That’s sad, isn’t it?
The new B650 non-E version looks fairly similar, though it is based on a cooler-looking white PCB.
In terms of pricing, it’s just$20 cheaperthan the B650E version.
In fact, compared to the B650E version, you’re getting many of the same features.
The board still packs ample cooling, and there are some RGB effects, but honestly, who cares?
For $130 off, they can keep the RGB effects.
This is a seriously good board for the money.
There are 24 105A power stages powering the vcore, so that’s a rather impressive VRM.
So this is an incredibly well-equipped board and probably the best-featured board below $300.
Asus Prime B650M-A AX6-CSM WiFi
Now, it’s time for some new Asus boards.
They just couldn’t do it, too exclusive, it seems.
The truth is, it’s a heap of junk.
Without a doubt, it’s one of the worst B650 motherboards we’ve come across.
Spoiler alert: do not buy this motherboard.
The board uses XSemi discrete MOSFETs of the XP4064C and XP4062C variety, creating a very weak 4-phase vcore.
There’s also barely any cooling to speak of, just a small silver heatsink over the vcore MOSFETs.
That’s still really expensive.
Price aside, this was the worst B650 board we’ve come across in terms of reliability.
Feature-wise, it’s nothing special either.
Asus TUF Gaming B650M-E WiFi
It’s a similar story with the Micro ATX version.
You’d expect the smaller board to be a bit cheaper.
Again, this model packs eight 60A power stages for the vcore VRM.
Spend the extra money to get the better board; it’s a trivial price difference at that point.
It’s probably because it’s very affordable for a decent-looking ATX B650 motherboard.
Priced at around$145, it’s one of the cheaper models out there.
There are three PCIe slots in total, though just a pair of M.2 slots.
There are eleven USB 3.2 ports, which is a lot, and just four USB 2.0 ports.
You also get WiFi 6E and 2.5 Gbit LAN.
Unfortunately, there’s no pre-installed I/O shield.
MSI B650M Gaming WiFi
Another new board is theMSI B650M Gaming WiFi.
If you’re using a Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 processor, this sort of power delivery should suffice.
Here in Australia, it costs $20 AUD more.
So unless this board drops to less than $150, it comes off as dead on arrival.
Firstly, the vcore has been upgraded to a 10-phase design, which will help greatly with VRM performance.
You also get an extra PCIe slot and three more USB 3.2 ports.
We’ll have to see how that plays out.
MSI B650 Gaming Plus WiFi
TheMSI B650 Gaming Plus WiFiis an interesting board.
Priced at$170, it faces a lot of competition as a standard ATX model.
Most of those competing boards feature excellent VRMs using 60A or better power stages.
The B650 Gaming Plus WiFi, however, uses discrete MOSFETs.
But at least the vcore uses a 12-phase design, so it should be decent.
The MSI board does include Wi-Fi 6E, though it is $20 more expensive.
Frustratingly, there’s no pre-installed I/O shield here either.
This model is designed to compete withMSI’s Pro B650-S WiFi.
Instead, Gigabyte has focused on USB 2.0 ports, offering a dozen.
Overall, though, it’s a decent-looking board for $140.
Most of the connectors, though, are black, so it’s more of a black-and-white design.
It is a well-equipped board, packing 12 60A power stages for the vcore portion of the VRM.
You also get two PCIe x16 slots and two M.2 ports, one of which is PCIe 5.0 compatible.
The board is covered in heatsinks, with a massive heatsink over the VRM components.
You also get a pre-installed white I/O shield, and there are loads of USB ports.
On the surface, they appear to be the same motherboard, which makes sense.
However, even when you compare their specs, everything looks much the same.
So, still a very strong VRM, but also quite a big downgrade.
This board should still run very cool, as the original was overkill in that respect.
In terms of VRM performance, they should be very similar.
So in that sense, this new Gigabyte motherboard is a big deal for those wanting USB4 support.
That said, without knowing the cost, it’s difficult to say how excited you should be.
At that point, we’re reporting the maximum PCB temperature, again recorded using K-jot down thermocouples.
We’ll compare those shortly.
As expected, the Gigabyte Aorus boards perform exceptionally well, as did the Asrock Taichi Lite.
The standard MSI Gaming WiFi did struggle though, hitting 112C.
The same is true for the MSI Pro B650-S WiFi.
The only new model to fail our test due to throttling was the Asus Prime B650M-A AX6-CSM WiFi.
Thankfully, the vast majority of them work just fine with any AM5 processor.
hey note that you don’t need to buy a motherboard with the lowest VRM thermals.
As long as you see a blue bar in the graph, it’s a pass.
Beyond a pass, it comes down to features and price.
For $10 more, it’s a far better product.
It has outsold all other boards combined, we believe.
So, for those of you missing the ITX boards in this review, know that it’s coming.
We also havea complete B650 buying guide, looking at the best options at every price point.
