Asrock b550am gaming will offer pcie 4.0 in the mid-range
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We have images and documentation of one of ASRock's upcoming motherboards: the B550AM Gaming. This is a Micro-ATX motherboard based on one of AMD's upcoming chips.
ASRock B550AM Gaming would confirm mid-range PCIe 4.0 support for Ryzen
We should note that while the new chipset could be called the B550, this particular motherboard appears to be a B550A motherboard, which are OEM boards as AMD confirmed in October last year. In fact, this is the same motherboard that was seen in October.
Where things get a bit confusing is that, at the time, the B550A chipset was said by AMD's Robert Hallock as a rehash of the B450 chipset, but for OEMs, only with PCI-Express 3.0. The specs we find now, however, point to the motherboard having PCI-Express 4.0 on all fronts. Therefore, it is possible that there is only one B550 chipset, and that the argument that "B550A is for OEMs" was intended to mislead the community.
It was rumored, but not certain, that PCI-Express 4.0 would hit AMD's mid-range B-series platform. PCI-Express 4.0 support is not as extensive as on X570 motherboards, though it's unlikely to affect customers interested in models like this.
While X570 motherboards have a PCI-Express system that brings PCI-Express 4.0 tracks to all PCI-E slots, and can split them into multiple slots if necessary, ASRock's B550AM Gaming only supports PCI-Express 4.0 in the top slot and in the M.2 slot. The second PCI-Express slot may look like an x16 slot, but on this Micro-ATX motherboard it will only feed four tracks of PCI-Express 3.0 through the chipset. Connecting PCI-Express slots directly to the CPU is a cost-saving measure, but perfectly acceptable on a B-series board. After all, most people don't use more than one graphics card, so these are likely limitations do not affect many. Those who need more options can opt for the X570 motherboards.
Visit our guide on the best motherboards on the market
This ASRock B550AM Gaming motherboard has a whopping 10-phase VRM that uses ASRock's Digi power design, and they also have a heat sink for cooling. That's a level of VRM circuitry we've only seen on high-end X-series chips in the past year.
It seems that the B550 chipset will be more than enough for most Ryzen users and future users.
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