AMD’s recent processor performance and pricing have suppressed its competitors, causing many people to have greater confidence in AMD products. There have been a lot of rumors recently about the new series of Ryzen 4000 processors. The most famous one is the news that this processor can still support the current 400 series chipsets such as B450. AMD obviously does not intend to continue selling these slightly older products of the 400 series. It is time to come up with better specifications. It has been a long time since the X570 motherboard debuted, and there has been no 500 series chipset to take over the mainstream market. Many players are still looking forward to AMD continuing to create a more “flavorful” assembly menu. Now there is news that AMD is preparing to launch the B550 motherboard in the next few months, which is exciting:
▲The new processor is exciting, but the new chipset is also very concerning (Image source）
Currently, AMD is targeting the high-end market with its X570 motherboard chipset, while the slightly outdated B450 is targeting the mainstream market. Although this kind of configuration is a good choice for players, it can’t help but give people the impression of using old products to continue to renovate. But AMD still takes care of users of old motherboards, because it is currently rumored that the new processor Ryzen 4000 series can also be installed on 400 series motherboards. However, according to convention, these old motherboards need to update the BIOS to recognize and drive the new processors before they can continue to be used. But for players who are already familiar with computers, this level is just a piece of cake.
Now that we have a new processor, we naturally need a new motherboard. At present, AMD’s 500 series chipset has X570 sitting in the top market. In the mainstream market, there is B450, which helps players obtain performance with a more precise budget. However, players still expect motherboards with PCI-E 4.0 specifications to be more affordable. After all, this is the transmission specification used by future graphics cards. At present, the chipsets in the AMD camp are still mainly based on PCI-E 3.0, and only the X570 has PCI-E 4.0 specifications. If cheaper 500 series chipsets come out, for AMD enthusiasts, there will be another cheap motherboard with PCI-E 4.0 specifications to choose from:
▲AMD B450 motherboard is still the mainstream chipset in this camp. You only need to update the BIOS to wait for the debut of new processors (Image source）
At present, AMD B550 or A520 chipsets are only effective. Once these chipsets come out, the old B450 motherboards will naturally be phased out. For players considering installing Ryzen 4000 processors in their computers, the launch of the B550 equals a more cost-effective way to build this platform. However, current rumors indicate that AMD and its cooperative motherboard manufacturers will not launch new motherboards until the end of May to mid-June at the earliest. China’s Meijie Technology has disclosed the company’s B550 MicroATX motherboard foreign trade to the media. It can be speculated that the motherboard is only in the preparation stage:
▲ China’s Meijie Technology has revealed its new motherboard “Yanlong B550M”. Although the launch date is not sure, it is probably the first and most daring one to be exposed first (Image source）
In addition, there is an interesting point about this motherboard that was exposed early. Because the specification sheet still shows that the PCI-E specification supported by the motherboard through the chipset is Gen 3, the reason why it can support PCI-E 4.0 (Gen 4) is actually provided through the PCI-E channel pulled out by the CPU. The author thinks this still needs to be verified, but it sounds reasonable. If B550 can support PCI-E 4.0 because of this, then it will have a different product positioning from the B450 motherboard that can only support PCI-E 3.0. On the other hand, the B550 is considered to support dual graphics cards. Even though the two PCI-Es are PCI-E 4.0 x16 and PCI-E 3.0 x4, it is still marked in this specification sheet that dual graphics cards can be used:
▲Although the motherboard is PCI-E 3.0, it will get a PCI-E 4.0 x16 interface because of the CPU (Image source）
For ordinary users, the B550 is relatively suitable for new processors and can support new specifications. It is also more cost-effective than the more expensive X570. If you have recently spotted the performance brought by AMD’s new processors and want to upgrade your computer, whether it is directly updating the BIOS for the current B450 motherboard to cope with the new processor, or upgrading the motherboard together to prepare for future PCI-E 4.0 graphics cards, it is a feasible option. Buying the best performance with the lowest budget is still AMD’s best strategy.
Source: KOCPC Chinese