MSI B550M PRO-VDH Motherboard M-ATX - Supports AMD Ryzen 3rd Gen Processors, AM4, DDR4 Boost (4400MHz/OC), 1 x PCIe 4.0/3.0 x16, 1 x M.2 Gen4 x4, 1 x M.2 Gen3 x4, Gigabit LAN

I purchased the MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS Motherboard for a new build featuring a Ryzen 5600X, and I couldn't be happier with my decision. The setup was incredibly easy, and the motherboard has been performing flawlessly for over six months now. My son uses this PC daily for both gaming and regular activities, and there have been no issues reported so far.Pros:Easy Setup: The installation process was straightforward and hassle-free. The motherboard was well-documented, and everything fit perfectly.Seamless Compatibility: It worked right out of the box with the Ryzen 5600G, with no need for any additional tweaks or troubleshooting.Flawless Performance: The system has been running smoothly without any hitches. My son uses it for gaming and everyday tasks, and it's been reliable throughout.Affordable: This motherboard offers great value for its price. It’s affordable yet packed with features that cater to both gamers and regular users.Well-Packaged: The packaging was secure and ensured that the motherboard arrived in perfect condition.Fast Delivery: The delivery was quick, which is always a plus when you’re eager to complete your build.Cons:Previous Experience with Another Brand: Before this, I tried another manufacturer’s motherboard and faced numerous boot issues. Despite following the recommended firmware update steps meticulously, I had no success and eventually gave up. The MSI motherboard, in contrast, worked perfectly from the get-go, saving me a lot of time and frustration.Conclusion:The MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS has been a fantastic purchase. The ease of setup, compatibility, and reliable performance make it a standout choice. After my experience with the previous motherboard, this was a breath of fresh air. I wouldn’t hesitate to order this motherboard again in the future. It’s a solid investment for anyone looking to build a dependable PC.

OK so it's not the best 500 series board out there but the 5 star rating is simply because of value for what's included - two M.2 slots for your NVME drives, Wifi, a USB-C header (check your case has a USB-C port - if not just leave it unplugged), two 3 pin RGB headers, and two 4 pin RGB headers,.Oh and it has 5 fan headers, which would be enough for most people I would think.And while I have only installed low power CPU's like 3600 and 5600 on it, according to Hardware Unboxed it also handles more powerful chips surprisingly well considering how light it looks. Superb board!I should also add that I only installed NVME drives in this board, no SATA SSD's so I can't speak for how well placed the SATA headers are if you had a long graphics card installed, but just from looking at it I'm guessing you would be fine, especially as they are side mounted and not front mounted like a different motherboard I recently worked with, which was a pain

A good quality motherboard with plenty of room for future expansion.Well laid out which made installing the board, and the various components straightforward.The motherboard has 4 easily accessed RAM slots, supporting up to 128G of RAM. 4 SATA connectors, 2 m.2 connectors, and 9 USB ports allow for plenty of future expansion as well.Cannot fault this product for the price.The only issue I had was the first board I bought wasn't a new product - the board was obviously used as there was thermal paste on the CPU socket, the USB-C connector had damaged pins, and at least one component had been ripped from the board (it was loose in the box). The replacement, however, was in perfect condition and has been excellent in use.

Last mobo for me on the AM4 platform. This could in theory help me skip over AM5 if i pack a good enough processor/memory/gpu in there.Good:The layout and workmanship is good. The ports are good places to the cables. Plenty of fan connectors and their ARGB connections if you have a hub and care about that.Not sure what the onboard bios is but with updates will take a ryzen 9 series if you want to.Massive heatsinks everywhere and reinforced ports.I love MSI. My first MSI mobo lasted me 8 years now and is still going I am writing this on it. My original MSI B350 Gaming board, the red one, has now gone through a CPU, memory and GPU upgrade. From a first gen ryzen 5 1500, 16GB 2133 DDR4 and a GTX 1060 6GB, to a ryzen 5 5500, 32GB 3600 DDR4 and an RTX 3060 12GB.This MSI B350 is the first board in over 30 years of building computers, that lived this long. The longevity of this thing is insane. So i am going to get another MSI board. Silicone lottery? Sure. But still....8 years now? Jus think of how many millions of amps went through that thing. And this was built during the age of cheap capacitors. Many of which had sustandard materials used. Many exploded or burst. The scandal was real!Bad:From the looks of things, with certain smaller cases the built in heat sink over the built in, in/out, panel in the rear, may prevent certain AIO radiators from being installed. I cant install a 240 AIO in a new mid tower case now. Not due to the heatsink over the in/out panel but because the case is not big enough. The heatsink is pretty big and that is not a bad thing. Just get a large case.The same can be said for the heat sinks over the voltage regulator modules. They are pretty big as well. Again, not a bad thing but if you are trying to put in a AIO in a smaller case then you might run into issues.Would i prefer self made little copper heatsinks and stick them on myself? No. I would just get a bigger case to accomodate the MSI heatsinks.So that is what i had to do now. I got a MSI Magforce 100Rm because i like MSI and because it will take this 240 AIO.When i bought ASUS and Gigabyte mid range gaming boards in the past they would never last more than 2 to 3 years before they died. SO i swear by MSI now. That first gen ryzen motherboard made a convert out of me. It really did.Ive always been an AMD user, not InteI. Since the Cyrix, AMD 286, 386 and 486DX days. Now steam charts suggest that the AMD share is at least %30 or more. Good.Overall happy with this board. I am only moving CPU, memory and GPU, as well as everything else, over from old system. I am only getting a new MOBO. When i dont even have to yet.Why? This board has 2 M2 SSD slots. Since i am now in the process of ditching windows i need one slot for windows and one slot for linux, till i can command linux good enough to make it my daily driver.