AMD is still maintaining a performance embargo for its mid-range B450 chipset, but that hasn't stopped its hardware partners from releasing information about their specific products. We've also spotted some B450 motherboards selling on Newegg.
The B450 chipset supplants AMD's previous generation B350 chipset and adds some new features. Notably, the newer chipset adds support for AMD's XFR2 Enhanced and Precision Boost Overdrive technologies that are found on the company's second-generation Ryzen processors.
Most of the other specs are the same. With the added goodies, the B450 is nearly as featured as AMD's top-end X470 chipset. Basically, you lose a couple of PCIe Gen2 lanes (six instead of eight) and a couple of SATA 6Gbps ports (four instead of six). The B450 chipset also lacks Crossfire and SLI support, but it does maintain the StoreMI SSD caching feature.
Otherwise, B450 motherboards should provide users with cheaper alternatives that perform roughly the same as X470 hardware. Coinciding with the launch, Gigabyte is changing up its branding. The company is ditching its Gaming 7/5/3 nomenclature for terms like Xtreme, Ultra, Pro, and Elite.
Gigabyte shared with us some of its new B450 models with the updated branding, and which previous generation boards they are closest to in terms of specs and price. They include:
- AB350 Gaming 3 ---> B450 Aorus Elite
- AB350M Gaming 3 ---> B450 Aorus M
- AB350N Gaming WiFi ---> B450 Aorus Pro WiFi
- AB350M DS3H --->B450M DS3H
Here's a breakdown of the features on Gigabyte's full-size ATX models:
And here's a look at its micro-ATX and mini-ITX boards:
None of these are available to purchase yet, and Gigabyte hasn't revealed any info on pricing. ASRock, however, does have a couple of B450 motherboards for sale. They include the mini-ITX Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/AC ($129.99) and micro-ATX B450M-HDV Promontory ($69.99).
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