AMD launches B550 motherboards

Marsman

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powlesY said:
Probably already been asked (and i'll read the entire thread when i've got time).

Are any of these worth buying over a B450 Tomahawk considering the price? I plan to build a new computer this week.
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I'm going to start building a budget PC for a friend in the next few weeks. Likely going for a Tomahawk or Mortar due to the increased cost of B550 boards.

Had AMD not done a U-turn on B450/X470 boards supporting 4000 series CPUs, then it would be a more considered decision to pay extra for a B550 allowing for Ryzen 4000 upgrade path; but since AMD have done a U-turn, then I don't really see the point in spending extra on a B550, when B450/X470 boards will have Ryzen 4000 support.

Ryzen 5000 will almost certainly be AM5, so people will be looking at buying a new CPU, motherboard and RAM then anyway.

It's a good decision for the consumer, but it will surely harm B550 sales.
 

powlesY

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Yeah i think i'll do the same (probably the Tomahawk MAX so i dont need to worry about it supporting 3000s out of the box).

Just need to find a reasonably priced 650-750w+ PSU now and i can go ahead and purchase the rest of my build. :)
 

Marsman

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Someone posted in another thread that he was getting slow CPU speed with a Tomahawk MAX and 3600 out of the box. Flashing to newer BIOS seemed to solve the problem.

After the MAX boards started to appear last year, I saw some other people say they had to flash to newer BIOS to get a stable system, but other people had no trouble with the system working fine out of the box. I don't really understand why out of the box was working fine for some and not for others.

I would have expected any new MAX boards bought today to have a newer BIOS version included, but the poster I mentioned above, seem to indicate his Tomahawk board had V30 BIOS, which was the first release. Old stock is certainly a possibility, but I would have thought that unlikely as it's been around 10 months since the MAX boards appeared.

I've got a Mortar MAX myself, which I got when they were first released, so that had first release BIOS. I've have a 3600 CPU and the system worked first time with no problems. Not updated the BIOS because I've not had to.

I don't think that will affect the decision to go with a Tomahawk or Mortar again, as they are still the best choices, short of paying more for a B550. I'm just surprised a board bought today possibly won't have newer BIOS.
 

powlesY

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I need to look into the difference between those two boards to be honest. I just see Tomahawk recommended all the time so picked it straight away and then focused on other parts.
 

Marsman

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Some difference are:-

Mortar is MATX and has 2x M.2, 4 SATA and 8 USB ports on the rear IO (one being type C) and optical SPDIF.

Tomahawk has 1x M.2, 6 SATA and 6 USB ports on the rear IO (one being type C).

More USB ports, optical were more useful to me, so went for the Mortar.
 

Joxeon

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Marsman said:
Some difference are:-

Mortar is MATX and has 2x M.2, 4 SATA and 8 USB ports on the rear IO (one being type C) and optical SPDIF.

Tomahawk has 1x M.2, 6 SATA and 6 USB ports on the rear IO (one being type C).

More USB ports, optical were more useful to me, so went for the Mortar.
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Either board is a good choice with the 3rd option being the pro carbon if you needed wifi.
 

C64

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Marsman said:
I'm going to start building a budget PC for a friend in the next few weeks. Likely going for a Tomahawk or Mortar due to the increased cost of B550 boards.

Had AMD not done a U-turn on B450/X470 boards supporting 4000 series CPUs, then it would be a more considered decision to pay extra for a B550 allowing for Ryzen 4000 upgrade path; but since AMD have done a U-turn, then I don't really see the point in spending extra on a B550, when B450/X470 boards will have Ryzen 4000 support.

Ryzen 5000 will almost certainly be AM5, so people will be looking at buying a new CPU, motherboard and RAM then anyway.

It's a good decision for the consumer, but it will surely harm B550 sales.
Click to expand...
the problem is b450 hasnt dropped i'd agree if i could get a tomahawk for £80 and b550 was £150 +
but b450 is still £120
 

ScottiB

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C64 said:
b450 at £120 + is the overpriced one it's old tech now i'd expect those to fall before b550
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OH if only I was allowed to take bets...I'd make a small fortune. I'm really sorry to break this to you but there's zero chance of B450 moving down on price for the foreseeable future.

I've said this a number of times before. The cost of the components and the logistics for motherboard manufacture have both increased dramatically over the last 12 months, and unless there's a big swing in exchange rate there's no sign that there will be any imminent improvement.

Since B550 is NOT direct a B450 replacement and there's no indication that anybody has any intention of winding down B450 production, there's no reason for manufacturers to do deals on it.
 
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Josu

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ScottiB said:
OH if only I was allowed to take bets...I'd make a small fortune. There's zero chance of B450 moving down on price for the foreseeable future.

I've said this a number of times now. The cost of the components and the logistics for motherboard manufacture have both increased dramatically over the last 12 months, and unless there's a big swing in exchange rate there's no sign that there will be any imminent improvement.

Since B550 is NOT direct a B450 replacement and there's no indication that anybody has any intention of winding down B450 production, there's no reason for manufacturers to do deals on it.
Click to expand...

Any news when you will list B550 for sale?) And if you will list, this boards will go as pre-order or you already received them?
 

ScottiB

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FYI there's no stock likely today. The main boards will start to filter through over the next week. (There's no Asrock because I've had no pricing yet.)

Some lines will be due later next week and I'd expect ITX to be next month.
 
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