AORUS B450 Pro Motherboard Review

Final Thoughts

How Much Does it Cost?

Unfortunately, the prices for this motherboard weren’t live at the time of writing. However, we will update this as soon as possible. The motherboards launch today, and my guess is that this one will be around £120, putting it in line with the pricing of their rivals products. With X470’s high-end boards costing around £200 on average, B450 is poised to be a great value for money solution for anyone investing in a Ryzen CPU.

Overview

There’s not really anything to complain about when it comes to the latest Aorus motherboard. It’s got all the performance we would want from a high-end Ryzen CPU, and at a price that’s set to be much more affordable than the flagship X470 chipset motherboards. Sure, Aorus has trimmed the fat while leaving plenty of core features that you would want in your next gaming PC.

Performance

Enthusiast overclockers who are going to be pushing way past 4 GHz 24/7 and ragging their CPU hard may still want to look at X470. B450 isn’t an enthusiast overclocking solution and lacks some of the extra hardware and software to push the limits. However, for your day-to-day gamer who just wants to dial up the multiplier and voltages to get a few extra FPS, it’s got more than enough features for that level of overclocking. Plus with XFR2 and the latest Ryzen Gen 2 CPUs, overclocking is less of a necessity than ever before. Aorus’s Smart Fan 5, a bank of 6 temperature sensors, and hybrid fan headers (with fan stop) will ensure you get the airflow your system needs, and the silence you need, when you need them most.

Connectivity

So a few features are stripped away, but there’s certainly more than enough left over. Fewer USB ports here or there isn’t going to cause many headaches for you. With six SATA ports and a pair of NVMe compatible M.2 drive mounts, you’ll find more than enough storage solutions. Of course, with their dual thermal guards, RAID support, and Store MI support, getting the best out of your storage devices should be a breeze too.

For audio, I’m very happy to see the ALC1220 chipset included. It’s a well proven and much loved audio chipset that wouldn’t look out of place on a board twice as expensive. For those hooking up powerful headphones and speakers, you’ll have no concerns here.

Finally, the integration of the rear I/O guard is awesome. This was once a feature for the flagship motherboards, and it’s great to see it filter down into more affordable solutions.

Should I Buy One?

If you’ve been saving up for a £200+ high-end X470 motherboard for your next gaming rig, ask yourself, do you really need it? Are you fussed about not having extensive overclocking settings, as many people aren’t? If you just want great all-around performance, and you don’t need excessive amounts of USB ports, then you’re not missing out on anything with B450. It’s cheaper, but the motherboard looks just as good as its more expensive big brothers. Highly recommended for anyone looking to take a leap into the world of Ryzen.