AMD’s Ryzen 7000 (Raphael) processors and premium X670 motherboards are already on the market. However, his more budget-friendly B650 motherboards aren’t far behind either. Scheduled for an October launch, the US retailer has already started listing his B650 motherboards on its online stores.
B650 motherboards support PCIe 5.0 and DDR5, just like high-end X670 motherboards. The most substantial difference is that X670 motherboards offer more I/O options. Other than that, you get access to Zen 4’s more important features at a more affordable price. Similar to the X670 Extreme (X670E), AMD also offers an ‘extreme’ version of his B650 chipset (B650E) that offers at least one PCIe 5.0 expansion slot.
B&H Photo Video (via momomo_us (opens in new tab)) was one of the first retailers to list B650 motherboards in bulk. The seven products come from MSI and are available in various form factors from standard ATX to Micro ATX. MSI B650 motherboards starting at $199.99. Unfortunately for those looking to build a more affordable Ryzen 7000 system, these boards are not yet available for purchase. I always recommend salting any retailer’s listing, but I’m sure AMD won’t be able to afford these boards Given that we’re in a month that promised to launch the , I doubt these prices are placeholders.
| motherboard | price | form factor |
|---|---|---|
| MSI MPG B650 Carbon WiFi | $329.99 | ATX |
| MSI MPG B650 Edge WiFi | $289.99 | ATX |
| MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk | $259.00 | ATX |
| MSI MPG B650I Edge WiFi | $239.99 | Mini-ITX |
| MSI MAG B650M Mortar | $239.99 | MicroATX |
| MSI Pro B650-P WiFi | $219.99 | ATX |
| MSI Pro B650M-A Wi-Fi | $199.99 | MicroATX |
The MPG B650 Carbon WiFi is probably the most premium MSI B650 motherboard with a retail price of $329.99. It’s 31% ($150) cheaper than the MPG X670E Carbon WiFi. The Pro X670-P WiFi, on the other hand, appears to be the company’s cheapest X670 motherboard at $289.99. In defense, the Pro X670-P offers more connectivity and expansion options at a lower price. However, the MPG B650 Carbon WiFi is a more gaming-oriented motherboard.
MSI’s Tomahawk branded motherboards are always popular as they offer the best value for money in terms of performance and features. Not sure about the MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk though. It is listed here for $259. That’s 52% ($89) more than his previous MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk. The B650 chipset logically brings a lot of new features, but its high price may scare some consumers.
MSI has continued that tradition and created the MPG B650I Edge WiFi for Small Form Factor (SFF) enthusiasts. The Mini-ITX motherboard costs $239.99, so it’s only 20% ($40) more than the MPG B550I Gaming Edge WiFi it replaces.
At $199.99, the Pro B650M-A WiFi could be the cheapest ticket to ride the Zen 4 train, at least from MSI. The Micro ATX board doesn’t have the glamor of more expensive models, but it has all the features you’d expect from his entry-level B650 motherboard.
AMD’s B650 motherboards officially hit retail stores this month, so we can expect competition from other vendors like Asus, ASRock and Gigabyte to begin soon.
