Which B450M Mobo for the typical user?

[TechNuB]

Cant decide between the 4 mobos.

MSI B450M MORTAR MAX $180
GIGABYTE B450M AORUS ELITE $170.00
ASUS B450M-PLUS TUF GAMING $178.00
ASROCK B450M STEEL LEGEND $142.00

Setup
-Ryzen 3600
-crucial ballistix 2x8gb rams 3600/cl16(possible upgrading to 32gb in future)
-NVME M.2 SSD 1TB X 1
-1 spare hdd/ssd(for future add on storage but undecided)
-Will probably add Wifi/Bluetooth cards
-future 3060ti (reusing my GTX 960 for now till stock stabilise.)
-INTEL AC200 WIFI + BLUETOOTH CARD PCI-E - AX200NGW -- $35 bux worth?

My usage
-will not overclock
-will probably not upgrade cpu unless it dies.
-normally use until it dies or i cant stand it anymore
-i put more emphasis on practical functionalities/durability/cost over
aesthetics/color/rgb of mobo

So i m wondering if the superior VRM on the mortar max justifies its premium base on my usage.

would love to hear from the gurus here. ty

 

[watzup_ken]

I feel the MSI Mortar Max is probably one of the better B450M motherboards.

If not just go straight for the cheapest, which is the Asrock Steel Legends.

 

[malalover]

If you are gonna get a wifi/bluetooth card, might as well get the msi b550m mag mortar wifi or the asus tuf gaming b550m-plus wifi.
Both of those have decent vrm thermals and both have wifi 6.
On top of that they come with pcie gen4.
The asus mobo can be found for 215sgd on amazon while the msi is 228 sgd
But if you really only want B450M, then imo mortar max is a great choice.

 

[CursedHamster]

B450m mortar max have better VRM + bigger heatsink but steel legend have one extra fan header and the chassis fan headers are rated for 2A instead of 1A on the mortar max. Steel legend also have a 5v 3pin ARGB header which mortar don't. Since you are not overclocking and 3600 isn't that demanding to power, I would go for steel legend which is a lot cheaper and have a bit more features in terms of fan headers and argb header. I love the mortar max and it can be considered the best mATX b450 board but the $38 savings is substantial.

 

[footi3]

Go for the cheapest can liao

Posted from PCWX using SM-G985F

 

[klap_hanz]

B550M AORUS PRO-P

 

[piggypig1234]

At some of those prices a B550M board might make more sense.

Motar has good VRMs for a B450M board. B450M Steel legend is also a decent board if your running at stock clocks.

 

[Rapt0r]

At some of those prices a B550M board might make more sense.

You are right, Asrock B550M Pro4 is about $180 but it has pcie4 and better memory support etc which makes it a better choice.

 

[piggypig1234]

You are right, Asrock B550M Pro4 is about $180 but it has pcie4 and better memory support etc which makes it a better choice.

I think alot of these B450M boards can likely still be found below SRP now though, so it might still be a bargain, depending on what is offered.

 

[-Synchronicity-]

MSI board. On top of being a top quality board with great VRM and heatsinks, it has a feature which IMO is super important for all DYI-ers - debug LED.

No other B450 has this feature other then MSI boards. The other brands only have it on their x470 boards.

 

[NightRaven49]

sg still have stock for b450 mortar ah?

anyway, if not looking to upgrade to 5000 series soon, not much point getting max. u can find regular mortar on taobao for under $100. otherwise if concerned about local warranty, just get the cheapest. ur use case wont tax the vrms at all.

 

[Phen8210]

for b450m just get msi

 

[Illusionist_85]

just get msi

 

[RyoHarusaki]

Msi tomahawk max

 

[TechNuB]

Thx for all the insights guys.
it seems overwhelming that MSI Mortar Max is the preferred choice.

however since its in the 180 price bracket,
would a B550m makes more sense like what some mentioned?
I went and check and realise
ASROCK B550M PRO4 $165.00
GIGABYTE B550M DS3H $161.00

which would make more sense??

 

[Rapt0r]

I say go for ASRock b550m, hardware unboxed reviewed before it was decent board. Gigabyte b550m ds3h perform quite bad in the review iirc.

 

[-Synchronicity-]

I would still say the MSI b450. Not like you going to use the PICE gen 4 right? Unless you telling me you need the 2.5Gbps network port.

And most importantly, that debug LED really saves time if you need to troubleshoot in the future.

 

[wwenze]

Heng I just buy the cheapest that has enough slots.

BTW do the current B450 and B550 boards out there need Zen2 CPU to boot and flash bios before they can support Zen3

 

[snip82]

Is it worth it to get 450 steel legend with 5600?

 

[cesc88]

Hello all, I think my situation is quite similar to TS. Asked about the below from another thread my pasting it here again for advice:

Thanks for the advice!

Just some background info, its the first time I am building a pc and I am looking into this build:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core
Motherboard:
Case: Techware Forge M mATX ~$55/$79 (w RGB)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 16GB (2X8GB) DDR4 3200MHz ~$86 (Amazon)
GPU: GTX 1660 Super
SSD: WD Black SN750 500GB ~$88 (Amazon)
PSU: undecided, budget ~$110

Total budget: max $1,100

Existing monitor: LG 24MK430

Uses: Internet surfing, Dota 2. Looking into playing other games, but unlikely to be those which are graphic intensive (anyway, I believe the GPU and monitor wouldn't allow for the most graphic intensive games). I am more of those whom use a computer until it breaks down, rather than looking into upgrading my parts every other year (hence the B450m choice).

I hope to keep the mobo budget to around $150 (hopefully much less than that).

Saw a few which caught my eyes:
a) ASRock B450M PRO4 $112. (https://www.lazada.sg/products/asroc...4wjVK&search=1)

b) ASRock B450M Steel Legend.

c) MSI B450M Bazooka Max WIFI Gaming Motherboard B450M-Bazooka-Max-WIFI. $168. There was stock in the morning from the MSI flagship shop in Lazada but OOS now

d) GIGABYTE B450M DS3H $120. (https://www.lazada.sg/products/dynac...4wjVK&search=1)

e) Others which fits the budget?

1) Which do you recommend, in view of the other parts of the build and the budget?
2) Not sure if this should be a major consideration, but only a) and b) have USB C port if i am not wrong.
3) Is it recommended to get a mobo with wifi? Any wifi card to recco? Seem that from Lazada, there are very cheap ones going at $20+ to the more expensive ones >$100.
4) Lastly, FYI, I am not in a hurry to build a pc. Should I wait out a few more months for the GPU, mobo and Ryzen 5 3600 prices to fall before pulling the trigger? Not sure if it would fall even in a few more months looking at the demand currently.....

Thanks in advance!