The AMD B550 Motherboard Overview: ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI, ASRock, and Others
by Dr. Ian Cutress & Gavin Bonshor on June 16, 2020 11:00 AM ESTBiostar Racing B550GTA
For the launch of AMD’s B550 chipset, Biostar has a pair ready to go with an ATX sized model and micro-ATX sized option. Both under its Racing moniker with flashy looks and controller sets catering more towards entry-level models, and it’s possible we could see Biostar release the B550GTN mini-ITX mode at a later date, although Biostar hasn’t unveiled any details of this at present.
Starting with the larger and more premium of the pairing, the Biostar Racing B550GTA an ATX model which looks very intriguing on paper. The most contrasting features of this model include a Realtek 2.5 G Ethernet controller while opting for an old school Realtek ALC1150 HD audio codec. Also present are two M.2 slots, a pair of USB 3.2 G2 ports on the rear panel, and support for DDR4-4400 memory.
Focusing on the design, the Biostar Racing B550GTA has a black and light grey patterned PCB which resembles sun rays, similar to that on the Japan national flag. It includes a black power delivery heatsink which doubles up as a rear panel cover, while the chipset heatsink includes a Racing logo and has white contrasting lines. The board includes two full-length PCIe slots with the top slot operating at PCIe 4.0 x16 slot and the second slot locked to PCIe 3.0 x4. There are also three PCIe 3.0 x1 slots with a legacy PCI slot and is the only B550 model at present to feature this. For storage, Biostar is advertising two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, but this is likely an error in the specifications and one slot will operate at PCIe 4.0 x4 and one at PCIe 3.0 x4. It also includes six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays. The B550GTA includes four memory slots with speeds of up to DDR4-4400, and up to a maximum capacity of 128 GB.
Over on the rear panel of the B550GTA is a pair of USB 3.2 G2 ports including a Type-A and Type-C, with four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A and two USB 2.0 ports. Biostar includes a pair of video outputs including an HDMI and DisplayPort output, a PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo port, as well as a Realtek RTL8125 2.5 GbE Ethernet port. Finishing off the rear panel is a Realtek ALC1150 HD audio controller which adds three 3.5 mm audio jacks.
The Biostar Racing B550GTA is a little bit of a mixed bag with some core features attributed to the B550 chipset including USB 3.2 G2 connectivity and official support for PCIe 4.0. The decision to combine a premium Realtek RTL8125 2.5 G Ethernet controller with an older ALC1150 HD audio codec. Biostar also isn’t clear in its official specifications about the validity of its M.2 slots, as it advertises two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots, but this is really unlikely to be the case. At present, Biostar hasn’t unveiled any information in regards to pricing.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
101 Comments
View All Comments
kerwyn - Monday, June 29, 2020 - link
The second M.2 slot for the Aorus Elite seems to support PCIE3.0x2 instead of x4 stated in the review unless I read wrong. Could anyone else confirm? This is the swaying factor for me to lean towards the Mortar. Specs from Gigabyte website below:Storage Interface
1 x M.2 connector (M2A_CPU), integrated in the CPU, supporting Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280/22110 SSDs:
3rd Generation AMD Ryzen™ processors support SATA and PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSDs
3rd Generation AMD Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Graphics processors support SATA and PCIe 3.0 x4/x2 SSDs
1 x M.2 connector (M2B_SB), integrated in the Chipset, supporting Socket 3, M key, type 2242/2260/2280 SSDs:
Supporting SATA and PCIe 3.0 x2 SSDs
sd7832kjd3bcds - Tuesday, June 30, 2020 - link
Almost all of the boards include PS/2 connector. Why they put it in 2020? They stopped making PS/2 devices 15 years ago. Better would be to have an empty space there.Ethos Evoss - Sunday, July 5, 2020 - link
I ordered this then I quickly cancelled and ordered B550I AORUS PRO AXQuestor - Sunday, July 12, 2020 - link
"One of the main complaints about the AMD X570 motherboard line was the wide variation in pricing."This can't be said of Intel based motherboards? Yes it can and accurately so. What is the point with this pointless statement?
Cards_ - Sunday, July 26, 2020 - link
Does the WiFi module connect to any WiFi Network, or is it only ASUS Networks if so would I need to buy a WiFi adapter?CamoGeko - Sunday, August 30, 2020 - link
Hey, so is there any cheaper alternative to the Aorus 550M Pro with similar or better feature set? I'm in the middle of building a Ryzen system with 3300X and motherboard is the last thing I need to decide on. Other mATX at the same price or cheaper just don't look as good as the B550M Aorus Pro.Iqbalusamah - Sunday, October 25, 2020 - link
I need help..the mob manual says the m.2 slot for the chipset suport sata n pcie 3.0x2..but this review says it suport pci3.0x4..i bought a samsung 970 evo with a pcie 3.0x4..can it be used in the slotIqbalusamah - Sunday, October 25, 2020 - link
Help me..i cant understand which one is true..the 2nd m.2 slot for chipset runs at pci3.0x4 or pcie 3.0x2(mob manual).and can a pcie3.0x4 be used in the slotZwirley - Sunday, July 18, 2021 - link
Question, is this board capable of overclocking and does it have a good power phase design? I was wondering because I want to build an all-white system but then came across another concern of this motherboard and that is if this supports BIOS Flashback feature so that I don't have to go out of my way to purchase an older gen CPU for it to support my 5900xcharlesa365 - Tuesday, August 3, 2021 - link
My personal computer running Debian has had four GIGABYTE B550 Vision D motherboards. The first and fourth had NIC initialisation on power up problems. The second one's NICs died after ~6 months. The third did not show voltage/temperature values properly. GIGABYTE warranty agents wrote "We do not give support to Debian OS".