ASRock B450M Pro4 (90-MXB8F0-A0UAYZ)
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MicroATX motherboard for AMD processors equipped with Socket AM4. Applies to 2018 model year products, based on AMD Promontory B450 chipset, supports full range of 1st and 2nd generation Ryzen 3/5/7 (Pro) processors (Summit Ridge, Pinnacle Ridge cores), Ryzen processors with integrated graphics core Radeon Vega (Raven Ridge), as well as Athlon 200GE. It is equipped with a multi-phase digital Digi Power power supply subsystem that provides power to the CPU with a TDP of up to 105 W.
The manufacturer is positioned as a middle-class product with the most attractive price, comparable to low-cost models from other manufacturers. The ASRock B450M Pro4 motherboard is designed to create performant office and home configurations, and can be used to assemble affordable entry-level and mid-level gaming stations. Up to 4 DDR4-2933/2666/2400/2133 RAM modules with a total capacity of up to 64 GB are supported.
It is possible to connect two high-speed drives with M.2 interface and up to 4 standard SATA3 drives (up to 6 Gbps, RAID arrays of levels 0,1,10). A high-speed wired network connection is provided by a Realtek RTL8111H gigabit controller. Sound output is provided by the eight-channel Realtek ALC892 audio codec. For external drives and various peripheral devices, there are 14 USB ports, including 8 high-performance ones: 2x USB 3.1 Gen2 (up to 10 Gbps, 1x Type-C) and 6x USB 3.1 Gen1 (up to 5 Gbps).
Expanding the boundaries
Popular micro-ATX motherboards based on the B450 chipset look damn attractive. With an average check of $100, they offer a universal format suitable for both regular and compact cases, 4 slots for RAM and good overclocking capabilities. But ASRock B450M Pro4 goes even further.
USB-C, NVMe and gigabit LAN controller
It costs just $80, boasts a multi-phase Digi Power digital power subsystem and VRM cooling, a pair of M.2 slots (one NVMe and one SATA) and two full-length PCI-E 16x (although the second only provides x4). The board also has four DIMM slots (a maximum clock speed of 3200 MHz is supported), four regular SATA and modern USB-C, which is not so common in boards in this price segment. Of the pleasant, it is worth noting a gigabit LAN controller, 7-channel mid-range audio and support for AMD Crossfire-X.
Will pull AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Considering the reinforced power circuits of the processor, even a powerful processor of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X level can be installed in the ASRock B450M Pro4 and count on moderate overclocking without fear of overheating. In the Intel camp, for this money, you will be offered the most simple motherboards without VRM cooling, overclocking, or support for high-speed memory. The only thing is that before buying, check with the seller which version of the board you are offered. Models released before May 2019 will need a BIOS update to version 3.30 to add support for the new AMD Ryzen 3000. If you're buying a 2nd generation Ryzen processor, this doesn't matter.
