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Are you looking for a realistic AM5 motherboard to pair with your Ryzen CPU? Our B650 Findings ensure that you don’t need deep pockets.
The mid-range section has always made more sense to gamers. Within the mid-range and budget segments, each product category has intense competition. People nowadays look to value things more than outright cash out for Halo PC parts. Ryzen changed everything in the CPU world, including taking the CPU performance crown from the Core Ultra 9 / I9 category. AMD has garnered a reputation for being the best value for money. With Zen 5, both performance and mid-range got really exciting. Unless connectivity or complex topics such as IOMMU grouping are considered, B650 motherboards are the go-to choice for anyone with a budget for an AM5 Ryzen 8 or 12-core CPU.
Our article covers the vital aspects of judging a motherboard, including VRM setup, networking capabilities, audio codec, USB, and storage options. This ensures that anyone, say a gamer, content creator, streamer, LLM explorer, or anyone, has the best money to buy. Let’s get on with it.
Disclaimer: We’ve used official motherboard manufacturers’ data to create this listicle. Verify the details with the board’s vendor before making a purchase. Kindly check with the motherboard’s QVL to ensure compatibility. The pricing information from Newegg, dated 25 March 2025, is subject to change.
1. ASRock B650E Taichi Lite
Price: ~$259
| Features | Specification |
| Power Delivery | 24+2+1 Phases with 105A Power Stages |
| Networking | Killer 2.5 Gigabit Lan, WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Audio | Realtek ALC4082 CODEC, WIMA capacitors, ESS SABRE9218 DAC. |
| Storage | 2 x M.2 (PCIe 4.0 x4), 4 x SATA 6G, RAID 0/1/10 support for SATA |
| Memory | 4 x DDR5 DIMM Slots, Dual Channel, Up to 256GB, Supports DDR5-7600+(OC). |
| PCIe Slots | 1x PCIe 5.0 x16 (CPU) + 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (Chipset, shared) |
| USB Ports | 19. |
Why Buy?
The ASRock B650 Taichi Lite offers a premium VRM design at an upper-midrange price point. Users who want to pair it with the Ryzen 9 series can easily do so.
2. MSI B650M Project Zero
Price: $229
| Features | Specification |
| Power Delivery | 10+2+1 Phases with 80A Power Stages |
| Networking | Realtek 2.5 Gigabit LAN and WIFI 6E. |
| Audio | Realtek ALC897 Codec |
| Storage | 2 x M.2 (PCIe 4.0 x4), 4 x SATA 6G, RAID 0/1/10 support for SATA. |
| Memory | 4 x DDR5 DIMM Slots, Dual Channel, Up to 256GB, Supports DDR5-7600+(OC). |
| PCIe Slots | 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (CPU, x16/x8/x4), 1x PCIe 3.0 x1 from chipset |
| USB Ports | 18. |
Why Buy?
The MSI Project Zero has a unique design and is quite capable with its specs. It has a sufficient VRM setup to tackle Ryzen 7 and beyond. Provided your case has decent airflow.
3. Gigabyte B650E Aorus Master
Price: ~$507
| Features | Specification |
| Power Delivery | 16+2+2 Twin Phase VRM Design |
| Networking | Intel 2.5 Gigabit LAN, WIFI 6E, and Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Audio | Realtek ALC1220-VB Codec with ESS ES9118 DAC |
| Storage | 4 x M.2 Slots (3 PCIe 5.0 x4, 1 PCIe 4.0 x4), 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports |
| Memory | 4 x DDR5 DIMM Slots, Dual Channel, Up to 256GB, Supports DDR5-8000+ (OC) |
| PCIe Slots | 1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 from CPU , another 1x PCIe 4.0 x4 from Chipset and 1x PCIe 4.0 x2 from Chipset |
| USB Ports | 20 |
Why Buy?
The Gigabyte B650E AORUS Master features the most extensive VRM setup. It can drive any Ryzen CPU you throw at it. However, there are more sensible options in the X870 category at this price point. We believe that the Aorus Master may not quite fit the B650 category, but its performance is unquestionable.
4. ASUS ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming WiFi
Price: $266
| Features | Specification |
| Power Delivery | 12 + 2 Phase VRM design |
| Networking | Intel 2.5G Gigabit LAN, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth v5.2 |
| Audio | Realtek ALC 4080 Codec |
| Storage | 3 x M.2 slots (1 PCIe 5.0 x4, 2 PCIe 4.0 x4), 4 x SATA 6Gb/s ports |
| Memory | 4 x DDR5 DIMM Slots, Dual Channel, Up to 128GB, Supports DDR5-6400+(OC) |
| PCIe Slots | 1x PCIe 5.0 x16 from CPU, 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 from Chipset, x4 mode), and 2x PCIe 4.0/3.0 x1 mode |
| USB Ports | 19 |
Why Buy?
Gamers in the upper-midrange budget territory have this as an option. At this price, ASUS offers a very interesting VRM design that is capable of driving the Ryzen 9 series without issue.
5. MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WiFi
Price: $179
| Features | Specification |
| Power Delivery | 14+2+1 Duet Rail Power System / SPS 80A |
| Networking | Realtek RTL8125BG 2.5 Gbps LAN, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 |
| Audio | Realtek ALC4080 Codec |
| Storage | 3 x M.2 Slots (PCIe 4.0 x4), 6 x SATA 6Gbps Ports |
| Memory | 4 x DDR5 DIMM Slots, Dual Channel, Up to 256GB, Supports DDR5-7600+(OC) |
| PCIe Slots | 1x PCIe 5.0 x16 (CPU), 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 (Chipset, x4 mode), 2x PCIe 4.0/3.0 x1. |
| USB Ports | 17 |
Why Buy?
The MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk has an interesting price point, excellent connectivity, a decent audio codec, and a capable VRM. Gamers should consider upgrading to this over entry-level X870 boards.
Final Recommendation
- Budget Buyers: MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WiFi
- Content Creators: ASRock B650E Taichi Lite
- Enthusiastic Gamers: ASUS ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming WiFi.
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