M.2 Shield FROZR: M.2 thermal accessory. Keeps M.2 SSDs safe while preventing throttling, making them run faster. And as you can imagine, the higher-end ones with above 190W of TDP all gave this board a hard time.

It is an ATX motherboard, with around 243.84mmx304.8mm. Be sure to take that into account when choosing the case to use with it. However, the B650 Gaming X AX is a less attractive option since the Aorus Elite AX offers a superior product at the same price, boasting fourteen 70A power stages for the vcore VRM, PCIe 5.0 M.2 support, and eleven USB 3.2 ports. Not deviating too much from its older brother’s, this one has 12+2+1 phases, with 12 PHASE CORE POWERSPS/75A, 2 PHASE SOC POWER, and 1 PHASE MISC POWER. That explains why this board shows very similar, if not just a little bit worse cooling power to the Msi Pro X670-P Wifi. Still, it has a shorter heatsink as we mentioned, so it can’t keep up with its competitor in the end. Power connectors and SSD Here are all the VRM temperature results, and it won't surprise anyone to learn that the Aorus Master and Taichi are the two best performing boards here, though there are several Aorus Pro and Elite models with similar temps in the low 50s.Memory Support DDR5 7200+(OC)/ 7000(OC)/ 6800(OC)/ 6600(OC)/ 6400(OC)/ 6200(OC)/ 6000(OC)/ 5800(OC)/ 5600(OC)/ 5400(OC)/ 5200(OC)/ 5000(OC)/ 4800(JEDEC) MHz They are perfect if you are on a budget and don’t need a vast amount of SATA ports or USB ports. In my opinion, if you want to buy a budget-oriented setup, this is your go-to.

Memory Support DDR5 6400+(OC)/6200(OC)/6000(OC)/5800(OC)/5600(OC)/5400(OC)/5200(OC)/5000(OC)/4800(JEDEC) MHz Having said that, be sure to go for a 6000MHz memory for optimal performance unless you’re on a restricted budget and need to save money for other components. Wi-Fi 6E: Features an AMD Wi-Fi 6E module (ultra-low latency, high-bandwidth) & Bluetooth 5.2 technology. Here we can see clearly how the chipset limits the features of the motherboard, as it only has so many USB ports. Fortunately, it also has a flash bios button, so it’ll be easier to update the BIOS if needed. Lastly, the antennae are basically the same as the x670-P, very cheap looking with also cheap materials but do the job as it is supposed to. Final thoughts When to buy it

On the other hand, it only has 2x slots for normal JRGB headers. Due to that, if you plan on matching all RGB colors in your case, buy yourself a hub, or use the one that often comes with the case or AIO. Besides that, it has only 4x Fan headers, which emphasizes the necessity of getting a proper hub to do the hard job. PCI connectors, WIfi, and Audio Even though it is not commonly used nowadays, this board supports multi-GPU. It has 2 slots for the graphics card, the first one is x16 with PCIe 4.0 support and a steel shield to prevent sagging and damage to the slot.

This one, though, has some slight deviations that make it marginally better than the other one, in my opinion, but I still can’t think of it as an aesthetically good motherboard. The Asus TUF Gaming B650M-Plus WiFi is also noteworthy. It's a MicroATX board with a dozen 60A power stages for the vcore VRM. Although decent on paper, it doesn't really surpass the B650M Aorus Pro AX, especially given it offers significantly fewer USB 3.2 ports. And with that said, let us know which of these B650 boards you're planning on buying, or perhaps you've already bought your board. Either way, let us know in the comments section. Hopefully, this B650 buying guide was helpful to you. If so, please share it with your peers; it might help us muster up the energy to do this again with another generation of motherboards. Shopping Shortcuts: A thing that wouldn’t be as easy to do if it were in the first slot since you’d have to remove the graphics card first, and then the SSD. Wi-Fi 6E 6GHz may depend on every country’s regulations and will be ready in Windows 10 build 21H1 and Windows 11.Another viable option at this price point is the Gigabyte B650M Aorus Elite AX, which includes a dozen 60A power stages for the vcore VRM, albeit with just two PCIe expansion slots. It includes a PCIe 5.0-enabled M.2 port, an additional PCIe 4.0 M.2, eleven USB 3.2 ports, eight USB 2.0 ports, and WiFi 6E. Either way, if you have a decent airflow in your case, I wouldn’t use my M.2 in this first slot. Both slots have PCIe 4.0 support, so you won’t be losing performance by doing so. And using the secondary slot will make it easier if you want to take the SSD off in the future. As expected, while the heatsink is shorter and the board is less sturdy, the materials used for the board are exactly the same. In comparison, Gigabyte's B650 Aero G appears to be a superior creator-type motherboard. The VRM is significantly upgraded with sixteen 90A power stages for the vcore. It also includes WiFi 6E and more USB 3.2 ports, making it a better board overall. Available only on processors featuring integrated graphics. Graphics specifications may vary depending on the CPU installed.