With Renoir on the way, it’s about time we saw some midrange B550 Motherboards. According to tipster @rogame, MSI and ASRock have B550 motherboards in the works. Both are apparently called the “B550AM Gaming,” which could lead to some brand confusion down the line.

X570 motherboards have been out for quite some time, coinciding with the launch of third-generation Ryzen. They offered a number of advantages over X470 mobos: notably, you get Pcie 4.0 support (something that was pulled from earlier motherboards after AMD initially waffled about supporting it). It’s important to note that Intel currently doesn’t have any PCIe 4.0 motherboards, meaning you’ll need to go the Ryzen way if you want to get in on those high-speed PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs.

Cost continues to be an issue with the X570 platform, though. To support PCIe 4.0, OEMs have had to re-engineer their circuit designs for increased signal stability. This meant more expensive boards that run hotter and consume more power.

With the upcoming B550 platform, AMD is set to deliver a mid-range chipset that should offer support for PCIe 4.0 without breaking the bank. We’ll keep you posted with more information as it comes.

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