B650/B650E Lineup
Aimed at the budget segment of the market, the B650 motherboards are expected to give Zen4 a price/performance uplift. Previously, you’d end up paying more for the motherboard (X670) than for the actual CPU (R5 7600X).
ASUS
Starting off with ASUS, we have the top-notch ROG STRIX B650-E board priced at $349.99. At the lower end, we see the ASUS Prime B650M series starting from $199.99. Even the lowest end offering is still 60% more expensive than what AMD promised.
MSI
MSI’s MPG B650 CARBON WiFi is 20$ cheaper than its competitors in the same category. Although, even MSI has not offered anything below $199.99 which may give Intel’s Raptor Lake an edge in terms of pricing.
GIGABYTE
GIGABYTE’s B650 AORUS MASTER comes in at $349.99. We do not see that many offerings from GIGABYTE speaking relatively. The lowest end motherboard is no less than $199.99 currently.
ASRock
ASRock is offering its B650 TAICHI board for $449.99 which makes this the most expensive AM5 B650 motherboard. However, catering to the lower segment as well ASRock’s B650 PG RIPTIDE comes in at $169.99 which is the cheapest B650 board as of now.
A Hurdle For AMD
Many enthusiasts think that this pricing for AMD’s B650 lineup is still expensive. Do bear in mind, AMD has offered significant price cuts on its Ryzen 7000 series. Although, the AM5 motherboards offset that difference and in turn, you pay more. This is a major problem for AMD because Intel’s Raptor Lake is backwards compatible with the 600 series LGA 1700 lineup. The Z690 can be found for as low as $119.99 over at Newegg. Even if the 700 series boards cost a lot, Intel has the platform advantage this time. All in all, AMD will surely offer better and cheaper boards with the passage of time. However as of now, Raptor Lake has a major price-to-performance lead against Zen4.
