The AMD B550 Motherboard Overview: ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI, ASRock, and Others
by Dr. Ian Cutress & Gavin Bonshor on June 16, 2020 11:00 AM ESTGIGABYTE B550M DS3H
Sitting at the bottom of GIGABYTE's B550 product stack is the B550M DS3H, which is one of just a handful of micro-ATX sized models to choose from. Aimed specifically at the sub $100 market, the B550M DS3H includes support for DDR4-4733 memory, dual M.2 slots and a Realtek Ethernet and audio codec pairing.
The GIGABYTE B550M DS3H has perhaps one of the funkiest black and grey patterned PCBs from GIGABYTE, with small black heatsinks that feature gold text for contrast. Included is a full-length PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, with another full-length PCIe 3.0 x4 slot, and a single PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. There are four memory slots with support for up to DDR4-4733, and up to a maximum capacity of 128 GB across four available memory slots. For storage is a pair of PCIe M.2 slots, one PCIe 4.0 x4 and the other PCIe 3.0 x4, with four SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays.
Included on the rear panel is the bare necessities to what an entry-level board should include, with four USB 3.2 G1 Type-A, and four USB 2.0 ports. For users looking to utilize an AMD Ryzen APU, GIGABYTE has included a pair of video outputs consisting of a DVI-D port, as well as an HDMI output, with a PS/2 keyboard and mouse combo port for legacy devices. A single Realtek Gigabit Ethernet controller powers the RJ45 port, while a Realtek ALC887 HD audio codec drives the board's three 3.5 mm audio jacks.
The B550M DS3H has an MSRP of $94 which sets it as the cheapest GIGABYTE B550 model at launch. With its budget controller set including a Realtek Gigabit Ethernet controller and Realtek ALC887, it has all the basics needed for a low-end and entry-level system. It has no Type-C or USB 3.2 G2 connectivity, but that's acceptable for a board in the sub $100 market space.
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Ghan - Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - link
Right now, it seems more like B for Backordered. They may be priced a bit high, but the demand still seems to be there.yannigr2 - Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - link
This is a great article but it needs a follow up with a table for every motherboard explaining how they use the PCIe lanes in conjunction with M2 and SATA slots. It seems that motherboard makers are totally f up(sorry for the expression) the more reasonably priced models in that area.romrunning - Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - link
Does anyone know if the boards that have the Intel i225-V are shipping with the fixed hardware (v2)?R3MF - Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - link
+1mooninite - Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - link
Wow, another broken Intel NIC? I wish motherboards would stop using Intel NICs.mooninite - Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - link
After Googling it looks like v2 is not fixed either... a v3 is coming out. Time to buy Realtek.romrunning - Wednesday, June 17, 2020 - link
Which is hilarious - I remember when Realtek was the worst when it came to NICs, and Intel/3Com was the standard. :)WaltC - Wednesday, June 17, 2020 - link
Yes, indeed...;) My x570 Master has an Intel gigabit & a realtek 2.5gb. It's amusing because my interface is an EWAN that tops out at 1Gb, but I thought I'd try the realtek just to see and then I forgot about it...;)...Seems every bit as stable as the Intel--still on it, lol...;) Six of one, half-dozen of another.eastcoast_pete - Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - link
Thanks Ian and Gavin! One question, related to a likely use case for B550 mini ITX or mATX Boards: is it true that AMD will, at least initially, limit Ryzen 4000 APUs to OEMs? If that is so, I am definitely not interested in a B550 board in those form factors, and I don't think I am alone here. An answer is appreciated - thanks!mrvco - Tuesday, June 16, 2020 - link
I'm just here for the Next mini-ITX boards. I'm liking the Aorus Pro AX quite a bit.