Home > Motherboards > B550-A Pro vs B450-A Pro Max

Comparing the MSI B550-A Pro vs B450-A Pro Max (Motherboard Differences Explained)

Are the New Features of the MSI B550-A Pro Worth the Price Premium?

It's a no-nonsense board with all the basics you need for a typical mid-tier gaming system. But now the B550-A Pro is out and has been priced roughly $40 more (US), budget builders will no doubt wonder if its benefits are worth the price premium over the previous model. Let's first compare the spec differences side by side and then we'll go into more detail on the main features differences and whether they are actually important (to you).

B450-A Pro Max vs B550-A Pro (Specs Comparison)

Key Differences of the B450-A Pro Max vs B550-A Pro

The main differences between the MSI B450-A Pro Max and the MSI B550-A Pro motherboards are as follows:

1. PCIe 4.0 M.2 Slot

PCIe 4.0 support at an affordable price is the main drawcard of the B550 chipset, and the most notable way that affects a system is in the form of a PCIe 4.0 compatible M.2 SSD slot. That means, today (or in future) you can run the fastest high-end SSDs on the market (specifically, PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSDs) at their maximum speed. Whereas with a B450 board, that same SSD would only run at PCIe 3.0 speeds. This PCIe 4.0 slot also has a cover (called a heatshield) which theoretically helps keep the drive cool and running optimally (without getting throttled via overheating).

Having this PCIe 4.0 slot isn't necessarily an important feature as most people are not, and will not be buying high-end PCIe 4.0 SSDs due to their high cost (especially if eyeing off a budget/mid range motherboard like this). But if you're say building a fast video editing PC on a budget and do want to invest in the absolute fastest SSDs on the market (PCIe 4.0 drives of today or that'll release in the near future), the B550-A Pro is a cost-effective board to consider if you're not going too extreme with your CPU (in which case you'd be better off investing more in your motherboard). 

2. Additional M.2 Slot (PCIe 3.0)

Another difference between the B450-A Pro Max and B550-A Pro (and between B450 vs B550 motherboards in general) is the B550 model has 2 M.2 slots (but the B450 has 1). Only the more high-end B450 boards have 2 M.2 slots. But having 2 M.2 slots isn't of huge importance for many though, as a common storage setup for a typical cost-effective gaming PC is to have 1 M.2 SSD (or SATA SSD) as your main system drive for Windows and a few key games/programs, and a large traditional HDD for all your other stuff. But what's also common these days is getting 2 SSDs, so having the ability to throw in 2 M.2 SSDs is handy as that means you don't need to get a 2.5" SATA SSD which also reduces cables slightly (but nothing wrong with getting a 2.5" SSD like the super popular Samsung 860 Evo).

3. PCIe 4.0 GPU Slot

Besides PCIe 4.0 storage support, the other "main" benefit of B550 (at least, on paper) is having a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot to take full advantage of PCIe 4.0 compatible graphics cards. This is even less important than the above two points, as there's no real-world performance gains from running a PCIe 4.0 compatible GPU in a PCIe 4.0 slot (at least not now and unlikely for the near future). Put another way, PCIe 4.0 is not important for GPUs and likely won't be for a long time. Keep in mind it's only the top PCIe x16 slot that is PCIe 4.0 - the bottom PCIe x16 slot is PCIe 3.0 (and the other short PCIe x4 slots, for add-on cards like networking cards, are also PCIe 3.0).

4. Larger Heatsink (& Better VRM)

The MSI B550-A Pro comes with a larger main VRM heatsink compared to the B450 model, which means the board is more effectively able to cool the VRM (Voltage Regular Module). Speaking of which, the VRM of the B550-A Pro is naturally better than the VRM of the B450-A Pro Max, and is of similar quality to the well-known solid VRM that's found on the B450 Tomahawk Max. The better VRM and heatsink means the B550-A Pro is more suitable for running a capable CPU like a Ryzen 7 or 9, and/or when overclocking any CPU. 

6. USB Type C (Rear + Front)

As pictured, the B550-A Pro has a rear USB Type-C port (USB 3.2 Gen2), but it also has an internal Type-C header on the board for connecting a front-panel USB Type-C port (should your case have this feature; most don't yet). Hate to sound like a broken record, but again, this new feature isn't anything special, as most people don't even use USB Type-C ports on their computer (yet). If you're wondering, Type C ports are just like Type A but a smaller form factor (size) for connecting other Type C devices like smartphones. It may become the norm one day, but that's a far way off (just like PCIe 4.0) so buying a motherboard that doesn't have a Type C port (like the B450-A Pro Max) isn't a deal breaker.

Other New Features of the B550-A Pro

Besides the above, the MSI B550-A Pro has a bunch of other additional features over the B450-A Pro Max, including:

• Better board quality/construction, also referred to as the PCB (Printed Circuit Board). This means improved heat dissipation and overall better stability/longevity when running high-end CPUs or if overclocking.

• Slightly faster memory overclocking support of up to 4400MHz (compared to 4133MHz). Unimportant for most as you'll probably just get 3200MHz or 3600MHz maximum.

• Slightly better looking design with crisper colors.

• 2 extra fan headers (6 compared to 4 on the B450-A Pro Max).

Is the MSI B550-A Pro Worth It? (Pros and Cons)

---