Analyzing B450 for AMD Ryzen: A Quick Look at 25+ Motherboards
by Gavin Bonshor on July 31, 2018 8:00 AM ESTMSI B450M Pro-M2 and B450M Pro-VDH
Last up from MSI is a pair of microATX motherboards from the Pro series of motherboards, the B450M Pro-M2 and B450M Pro-VDH. Both models share the same black PCB with brownish traces and tracks, while the B450M Pro-VDH makes use of a heatsink on the CPU section of the power delivery, whereas the B450M Pro-M2 omits power delivery heatsinks completely. Both have a square black metallic chipset heatsink with a fin array.
MSI B450M Pro-VDH (left) and MSI B450M Pro-M2 (right)
Both models have a full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slot with both featuring metal reinforcement; the B450M Pro-VDH having the most predominant looking of the two. Also included on both is a pair of PCIe 2.0 x1 slots for expansion cards. The Pro series microATX pairing have four RAM slots supporting up to DDR4-3466 memory and have the ability to support up to 64 GB. ECC and non-ECC modules are both supported, albeit with installed ECC memory operating in non-ECC mode.
Storage wise, both boards have a total of four SATA 6 Gbps ports with the ports on the B450M Pro-M2 all featuring straight angled connectors, and the B450M Pro-VDH having two right-angled and two straight angled connectors. Both models have a single M.2 slot capable of supporting both PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA M.2 2280 (22 x 80 mm) SSDs.
While both virtually identical in terms of overall specifications, the main difference comes on the rear panel. Both feature four USB 3.1 5 Gbps Type-A ports and two USB 2.0 ports; the B450M Pro-VDH has an additional two USB 2.0 ports giving it a total of four. Both boards have DVI-D and HDMI 1.4 video outputs, as well as a PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo port. The three 3.5 mm audio jacks on the B450M Pro-M2 is provided thanks to a Realtek ALC887 audio codec, whereas the B450M Pro-VDH utilizes a slightly more premium Realtek ALC892 codec. The LAN ports on both models are controlled by a Realtek 8111H Gigabit LAN controller.
Users looking to make the most of their new Ryzen 1st or 2nd generation processors, or even one of the Ryzen APUs with integrated Vega graphics cores without all the gaming-themed stylings and RGB could potentially save a bit of budget by opting for a Pro series board. While pricing hasn’t been unveiled as of yet, the B450M Pro-VDH is likely to cost a little bit more than the B450M Pro-M2 which is set to retail for $69.99 due to a slightly higher-grade audio codec and the M2 having no power delivery heatsinks supplied.
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JohanPirlouit - Wednesday, August 1, 2018 - link
Thanks Sakkura ;-) .... And I also agree with you..patire - Wednesday, August 1, 2018 - link
The ASRock microATX B450M Pro4 has a total of four SATA ports not the six as wrongly posted on the final page table for choosing the right B450 Motherboard.Xajel - Thursday, August 2, 2018 - link
Yet not a single high-end X470 mATX motherboard !!Xajel - Thursday, August 2, 2018 - link
Yet not a single high-end X470 mATX motherboard !!jensend - Saturday, August 4, 2018 - link
WHY ON EARTH DO THEY KEEP MAKING AMD BOARDS WITHOUT DISPLAYPORT?FreeSync is a game changer for the Ryzen APUs, and very few of the inexpensive adaptive sync displays support FreeSync over HDMI.
KAlmquist - Sunday, August 5, 2018 - link
Gavin Bonshor's otherwise excellant page on choosing the right B450 motherboard doesn't include a list of boards that support DisplayPort. Unless I've missed some, there are eight:ASRock B450 Gaming K4
ASRock B450 Gaming ITX/ac
ASRock B450 Pro4
ASUS ROG Strix B450-F Gaming
MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC
MSI B450M Mortar
MSI B450M Mortar Titanium
MSI B450-A Pro
I once had a motherboard with a Realtek network controller and got so sick of it randomly connecting at 10 mb/sec that I vowed I would never buy another Realtech network controller. That leaves only one B450 option:
ASUS ROG Strix B450-F Gaming
AdrianB1 - Sunday, August 5, 2018 - link
There is also the MSI B450 Carbon AC that in theory is better as it has better VRM and wireless LAN. It is also a bit cheaper in the stores in my area.DMCbr - Sunday, August 5, 2018 - link
I think MSI totally won this time, with the PRO Carbon AC board: best sound, best lan, wifi, 5+2 VRM phases, good heat-sinks...foxbat - Tuesday, August 7, 2018 - link
Great, really great ... but still can't buy outside of USA 13" laptop with Mobile Ryzen APU except extremely expensive not so well designed Lenovo 720S. What is the reason?Djoie123 - Tuesday, August 14, 2018 - link
I think that B450 gaming plus have 4+3 vrm phase design, on their site they said it's 7 phase power design