Asus PRIME B450M-K
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Balanced mid-range motherboard based on 2018 B450 chipset with AMD AM4 processor socket. It features compact size (microATX format), a full set of up-to-date system/peripheral interfaces, and LED backlighting. Designed to work with 2/4/8-core AMD Ryzen 3/5/7 (Pro) first and second generation CPUs (based on Summit Ridge/Pinnacle Ridge microarchitectures), Radeon Vega (Raven Ridge) integrated graphics APUs, and low-cost CPU Athlon 200GE.
It will be a reliable basis for a performant gaming or general-purpose home PC. Can be used to assemble entry-level workstation and office systems. The motherboard is equipped with a six-phase CPU power subsystem and can work for a long time under heavy gaming, multimedia or settlement load. Allows you to install up to 32 GB of high-speed DDR4 RAM in a 2x16 GB configuration, which is more than enough for current / future games, as well as any casual and professional software. Provides installation of an ultra-fast NVME SSD-drive (M.2) and up to 4 SATA3 devices. A gigabit network adapter is responsible for networking, an 8-channel HD audio subsystem is based on the Realtek ALC887-VD2 codec. There are 12 USB ports for connecting peripheral devices, including 2xUSB 3.1 Gen2 and 4xUSB 3.1 Gen1.
Optimal AMD B450 Chip
Prime series motherboards are inexpensive and designed for the most mass consumer. At the same time, as is often the case with Asus, the design savings turned out to be the most thoughtful — the board is based on the B450 chipset, which is positioned as an inexpensive alternative to the flagship AMD X470. At the same time, the user does not have to overpay for connectors he does not need, body lighting and other frills.
Universal Fighter
Connectivity includes a pair of RAM slots, DVI-D video outputs, 4 SATA connectors, one M.2, a PCI-E 16x slot, a pair of PCI-E 1x ports, standard 6 USB ports, and a back-to-the-future kit for PS/ 2 keyboards and mice. In general, this is a standard motherboard kit with a price tag of $100, which lacks only HDMI.
Thanks to the B450 chipset, the motherboard is able to pull out the overclocking of the processor and RAM within reasonable limits. And the quality of materials and design allows it to be friends with both entry-level office hardware and gaming configurations like AMD 2700X + 1080 Ti + SSD NVMe + 32 RAM with equal success. Needless to say, most users will have enough such power for years? Moreover, motherboards from Asus are respected among enthusiasts for their reliable and stable performance.
Pay attention to the size of the cooler
If you look for flaws without looking at the price, then you can only highlight the close placement of the socket and the PCI-E 16x slot, which is why compatibility problems with large air coolers and video cards of non-standard size are likely.
