Enaa Mari
Even in 2021, the B450 chipset remains one of AMD’s most popular chipsets due to its compelling pricing offer and outstanding CPU compatibility. Due to popular demand, AMD has agreed to enable the new Ryzen 5000 series (for which we have a separate motherboard guide) of Zen 3 architecture CPUs on the B450 platform. This implies that B450 is the only AMD platform capable of supporting all four versions of Ryzen CPUs available at the time of writing. That is remarkable in today’s PC gaming scene, when it is difficult to find a chipset that supports more than two generations of CPU.
- MSI B450M Mortar MAX
The MSI B450M Mortar is one of those motherboards that appears to be too wonderful to be true until you investigate more. It’s one of the greatest B450 motherboards available, and probably the best B450 motherboard in the micro-ATX form size. Essentially, it’s a compacted B450 Tomahawk with certain features added or deleted to create a somewhat distinct product, which isn’t necessarily a negative thing given the Tomahawk’s reputation. This is fantastic news for micro-ATX enthusiasts, as they now have the option of purchasing a micro-ATX B450 motherboard with a strong VRM architecture. All Ryzen 5s and even Ryzen 7s should be OK with this power supply method.
- ASUS TUF B450-Plus Gaming
The TUF series has long been known as ASUS’s budget-friendly motherboard range, and the TUF B450-Plus is no exception. It is not just one of the more affordable motherboards in our range, but it is also pretty good for the price. It does away with certain superfluous bells and whistles that don’t add much to performance, instead lowering the price to appeal to a larger audience. Although the VRMs’ thermal management isn’t perfect, you shouldn’t have any issues with VRM temps unless you’re creating false conditions. On this motherboard, overclocking Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 9 components is not recommended.
- Gigabyte B450 AORUS Pro
The Gigabyte AORUS series has long been known for its outstanding motherboards, and the B450 AORUS Pro appears to be another example of that. Gigabyte has integrated a really good power delivery arrangement behind the pretty elegant VRM heatsinks that should have no trouble handling Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 CPUs even at overclocked settings. This is fantastic news for overclockers who want to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of their CPUs. Apart from being extremely beautiful, the VRM heatsinks also serve the goal of properly cooling the VRM components, which is critical when overclocking Zen 3 CPUs aggressively.
- ASUS ROG Strix B450-E
When it comes to motherboards, ASUS’ ROG Strix series is the premium line, and their B450 options are no exception. The ROG Strix B450-E competes against the MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX for the title of best overall B450 motherboard, adding to the MSI vs. ASUS argument. While the MSI choice is somewhat less expensive and slightly superior in terms of VRM design, the ASUS alternative is more well-rounded and filled with features.
