B850 Motherboards for Ryzen: ASUS TUF Gaming B850-PLUS WiFi, ASRock B850M Pro RS WiFi and MSI PRO B850-P WiFi
What the B850 chipset brings to AM5, how it differs from B650 and X870, and three mainstream boards to compare.
What the B850 chipset brings to AM5, how it differs from B650 and X870, and three mainstream boards to compare.
Photo by Marcin Wieclaw (pcsite.co.uk) / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
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B850 is AMD’s mainstream AM5 chipset for Ryzen 7000 and 9000 processors. It sits between B650 and X870, and it’s where most gamers should look.
B850 vs B650 vs X870
- B650: older and often cheaper. PCIe 5.0 M.2 support depends on the board.
- B850: requires PCIe 5.0 for at least one M.2 slot, and often adds newer Wi-Fi.
- X870: adds USB4 and PCIe 5.0 graphics as standard, at a higher price.
For gaming, the CPU and GPU perform the same on all three. Choose by the features you need.
Three to compare
- ASUS TUF Gaming B850-PLUS WiFi: an ATX board from ASUS’s durable TUF line.
- ASRock B850M Pro RS WiFi: a micro-ATX board for smaller cases or tighter budgets.
- MSI PRO B850-P WiFi: a no-frills ATX board from MSI’s PRO line.
What to check
- M.2 slots: how many, which generation, and whether one shares lanes with the GPU slot or SATA ports.
- VRM cooling: for high-core-count CPUs like the Ryzen 9, look for good VRM heatsinks.
- Rear I/O: USB ports, Wi-Fi version, Ethernet speed.
- BIOS flashback: lets you update the BIOS without a CPU installed.
- Size: ATX or micro-ATX, to match your case.
BIOS updates
Update to the latest BIOS after building, for CPU support, memory compatibility and fixes.
Bottom line
B850 is the sensible AM5 middle ground. Pick the board by its slots, ports and size, not its name.
Our picks: Motherboards
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Illustrative photos: Photo by Marcin Wieclaw (pcsite.co.uk) / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0; Photo by PantheraLeo1359531 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0