MSI MPG B550 Gaming Plus Gaming Motherboard (AMD AM4, DDR4, PCIe 4.0, SATA 6Gb/s, M.2, USB 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI/DP, ATX)

PROS for MSI as a Company
Overall, as you can see from the below, I don’t write fake reviews. I write the good ones when earned and negative ones when deserved. In my opinion, MSI has earned 5 stars. They made a lifetime customer out of me by exchanging my 1st motherboard and now that I am building my 3rd system, I took a look at at its main competitor’s reviews and decided to stick with MSI. I had previously bought MSI because it was cheaper than the big competitor but now I’m paying equal value.

INSTALLATION
Apart from plugging in the Power / Reset switches, installation was extremely easy. Performance is excellent but for Ryzen 5 3600 and CPUs in that family, make sure you search the MSI web site for (1) bios update (2) driver installer. Without bios update for some CPUs, you’ll be stuck on the bios settings at bootup.

FEATURES
The ARGB works using the Dragon Center with my Ryzen 5 3600x, no surprises. No weird shutdowns.

Drivers install easily through windows, or are not needed if you use Ubuntu. The temp and voltage monitor through MSI’s Dragon Center software is good and non-intrusive.

Lots of fan connectors and a lovely and precise side plate.

RAM slots are accessible with even larger CPU coolers, though you might have to install CPU cooler after inserting the RAM.

GPU slot will make your video card overlap slightly with one of the M2 slots and so your storage. [Update – A few months later, have not noticed any overheating issues.]

And finally, the 2 x M.2 slots for storage make this mobo a good catch.

CONS
(1) The 550 board needlessly exists because you can easily use a 450 with A4, and if you want better performance, you can buy a 570 for not much more.
(2) I am not sure if any other motherboards in this price range offer different options for the power/reset key, but it would help to lock down those connectors! They are basically just pins sticking out, with wires attached, and if one detaches, it is painful to put it back.

UPDATE
Been shopping around for a second similar build and not finding any motherboards at a better price with all these features–including 2xM2 slots, 2xPci16 slots. Performance remains awesome. You’ll pay at least 15-25% more for the same features with other brand names beginning with “A” 🙂

Gute Qualität gibt es nichts zu meckern echt Klasse
Preis Leistung auch Super
Betreibe dieses Board mit einem AMD Ryzen 9 5900x // 2x G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16GB DDR4 16GTZR Kit 3200 CL16 (2x8GB) // Corsair RM850x PC-Netzteil 80 Plus Gold
und gekühlt wird das ganze mit einem ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 A-RGB Multi-kompatibler All-in-One CPU AIO Wasserkühler // Grafikkarte Gigabyte Radeon RX 6800 XT 16g oc
im spielbetrieb liegt die Temperatur zwischen 60-65 °C

excelente es lo que necesitaba

Placa de excelente calidad y buenas prestaciones, me sirvió muy bien para armar mi pc. Recomendable.

Was able to do a direct upgrade from a Z70 6700K without reinstalling the OS by putting it into CSM modem instead of UEFI. It only has a 8 pin CPU but it supplies enough power for 3900X. VRMs run cool, lots of power delivery for a mid priced board. Booted up right away, worked with older 2400 RAM.

Amazed by how easy to install components on this motherboard. Has support for everything. Comes with quick start manuals very easy to read and assimilate. I’m a newbie in PC building and found this very easy to comprehend and install. Great design, works super well and has a lot of key features specially if you’re building a gaming PC with lights for motherboard, fan, ram and processors. Great value for money!