AMD 800 series chipsets won’t be ready for when Ryzen 9000 processors arrive, and MSI is seizing the opportunity to launch a new B650 motherboard in time for launch. As part of the company’s Pro series, Pro B650-A WiFi aims to primarily cater to working professionals’ needs. However, there’s plenty here that practically ever system builder should be able to get behind.
Don’t let its understated appearance fool you, Pro B650-A WiFi has all the specs necessary to handle the best CPUs that AMD has to offer across its AM5 portfolio. For instance, it packs a 14+2+1 80A VRMs power design, with heatsinks for days spread across the board. That’s not forgetting its four DIMM slots capable of running DDR5 RAM at up to 7,600MT/s too.
Adding to the list of welcome features are two PCIe 4.0 x16 slots, in addition to a single PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. Meanwhile, storage expansion includes three M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 slots with MSIEZ clip for quick installation, as well as six SATA ports. As the B650 doesn’t support PCIe 5.0, there’s no sign of it on Pro B650-A WiFi. However, there’s no tangible benefit to Gen 5 storage for most users, and we’re yet to see AMD or Nvidia produce a graphics card with the aforementioned interface. Suffice to say, there’s little reason to bemoan its omission.
In terms of I/O, MSI equips Pro B650-A WiFi with four USB Type-A 5Gbps, three USB Type-A 10Gbps, a single USB Type-C 20Gbps, and two USB 2.0 ports. As its name suggests, wireless connectivity is duly present, in the form of Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, with 2.5Gbps Ethernet ready for those who can’t cut the cord. Rounding things off, DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1 ports make up the included display inputs, alongside 7.1 channel audio inputs with onboard audio powered by Realtek’s ALC4080 codec.
All these features are nice and all, but the one that I appreciate the most is the USB BIOS Flashback. This little button is an invaluable addition to any motherboard. I’ll never forget how it saved a friend of mine from having to send back his motherboard, as an update remedied an unfortunate memory incompatibility.
Though this MSI motherboard rocks the B650 chipset, in lieu of B850 now due in September, it’s ready for Ryzen 9000 processors out of the box. While there’s no word on availability or pricing for Pro B650-A WiFi, we expect it won’t break the bank, making for a great option if you don’t need cutting-edge features.
