Log Best sffpc motherboard: X570i vs. B550i and which brand?

[Deleted member 22799]

After reading about ITX boards I left wondering for the safest bet for the smøl Dan A4. Here's an alphabetical table I made after researching all the boards, help me fill it! If you could post stuff about clearance, problems, specs and performance differences. Sources would be appreciated. Other good comparison I found.

Board	Pros	Cons
B550i over X570i	○ -80$, ○ Can plug in fast front panel USB-C 3.2 directly to MB ○ Stronger VRM ○ Better fit for Dan A4/ITX ○ Newer release	○ Marginally worse power delivery ○ Slower but not noticeable? ○ Worse VRM thermals ○ PCIe 4.0 enough for only one GPU and one SSD (are points 2 and 3 outdated? The PCIe 4.0 thread has a good explanation for anyone as confused as I)
ASRock B550M-ITX/ac	○ -50$	○ Crap design and limited connectivity ○ VRM 6+2 50A ○ No USB 3.2 Gen 2 front panel connector ○ No Wifi 6 (802.11ax) ○ Intel Wifi issues? ○ Name: did not know this even existed since it is not called B550i/B550-I like others
ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax	○ VRM 6+2 90A power stages	○ +30$ ○ No VRM fan, but not a problem? ○ 90° SATA connectors, that need to be rerouted for Dan A4 ○ Intel Wifi issues? ○ Name
Asus ROG Strix B550-I	○ Generally recommended as best (1, 2...) and many successful builds (google "your case + MB"), BUT	○ +30$ ○ VRM 8+2 50A power stages ○ Limited fan curve ○ Bad updating and BIOS ○ Intel Wifi issues? ○ Info on their website insufficient ○ ...eh?
Gigabyte B550I Aorus Pro AX	○ VRM 6+2 90A power stages	○ Messy BIOS said many: check video ○ Intel Wifi issues?
MSI MPG B550I Gaming Edge	○ Fast updating and support ○ Clean BIOS	○ VRM 8+2 60A power stages ○ CPU backplate mount is dumb and you might need to ask custom one ○ Chipset fan is on the way? ○ Info on their website insufficient

Personally, I'm leaning towards Gigabyte for my Dan A4 V4.1 build, but depending on CPU or case you might not care about VRM or space issues. FYI, there's some old info floating around B550i not having PCIe 4.0. Also, read that X570 boards and some B550 do not support 4th gen Ryzen 5000s out of the box, so better wait until they have BIOS updated or wait for a new MB like X590. Unless you can update it yourself with an older CPU or with the BIOS update USB slot.
My current build plan is below comments are more than welcome!

Part	Part (click for store)​	Price (rounded €)​	Reason​
Case	DAN A4-SFX V4.1​	214​	Hopefully lasts 10 years​
Motherboard	On hold​	​	I'll get MB after 6800​
PSU	Corsair SF750​	155​	Duh!​
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 5600X​	320​	Smart Access Memory​
CPU cooling	Asetek AiO 645LT 92mm with Noctua NF-A9x14​	94​	Better cooling than Black Ridge(?) and I want a challenge!​
GPU	AMD Radeon RX 6800​	520 (estimate)​	Smart Access Memory​
RAM	Ballistix 32GB Kit DDR4 2x16GB 3600 CL16​	160​	Thanks to abqnm666 for info on c-die vs b-die​
SSD	1000GB Crucial P1 NVMe M.2 2280​	92​	Cheap for 1TB​
Fans	2x Noctua NF-A9x14​	33​	Noctua bes​
Other	USB to MB part 1 and part 2​	14​	I wanna plug stuff to front USB 3.1​

It is kind of a bad time to build a computer, but unfortunately I can't wait for 6 months until price drop and new MBs/AMD AM5 to come out.

 

[DrLeroy]

for what it is worth, I have the x570i Strix board in a Dan A4, and its been a phenomenal board, however, the VRM sink intrudes into the cooler space, so i had to file down 2-3mm off the fins on my C7g where they overhung the vrm Sink, I believe the B550i Strix has this same issue from what i have seen with the C7 coolers.

the B550i seems a better board than the X750 though with the 2.5g ethernet, kind of wish i waited for B550 and 5000 series when i got my x570 and 3950x now. . . b550i strix and 5900x would be the go IMO.
I see you are going the 5600x though, I wouldn't bother with the 92mm water cooler personally, the black ridge would be fine,if it wasn't for the issues i mentioned above i would recommend the c7g, its cooling my 3950x in eco mode well enough.

 

[dmitrybask]

B550 is a good chipset, and even if Ryzen 5000 was not supported initially, it should be now. You should be able to download and install BIOS update from USB without loading OS.

Now it also supports PCIe 4.0, but less lanes than X570. I don't think it is important for ITX.

I would go with Asus ROG Strix or ASRock B550 Phantom

Gigabyte mobos are good, and I have one myself, but their software is not the best one.

 

[Deleted member 22799]

for what it is worth, I have the x570i Strix board in a Dan A4, and its been a phenomenal board, however, the VRM sink intrudes into the cooler space, so i had to file down 2-3mm off the fins on my C7g where they overhung the vrm Sink, I believe the B550i Strix has this same issue from what i have seen with the C7 coolers.

the B550i seems a better board than the X750 though with the 2.5g ethernet, kind of wish i waited for B550 and 5000 series when i got my x570 and 3950x now. . . b550i strix and 5900x would be the go IMO.
I see you are going the 5600x though, I wouldn't bother with the 92mm water cooler personally, the black ridge would be fine,if it wasn't for the issues i mentioned above i would recommend the c7g, its cooling my 3950x in eco mode well enough.

Thanks for the response. Read many people had that issue especially when air-cooling the Dan A4. Some said ASUS CPU plug is higher than others. Going for water cooling mainly for the challenge, never dealt with it before.

As they say, it's always bad time to buy technology. I'll probably regret buying AMD 5000s and the MB after they upgrade to AM5.

B550 is a good chipset, and even if Ryzen 5000 was not supported initially, it should be now. You should be able to download and install BIOS update from USB without loading OS.

Now it also supports PCIe 4.0, but less lanes than X570. I don't think it is important for ITX.

I would go with Asus ROG Strix or ASRock B550 Phantom

Gigabyte mobos are good, and I have one myself, but their software is not the best one.

Yeah, noticed some boards support BIOS updating without CPU. Also, PCIe 4.0 lanes seem to be enough for one GPU and SSD. Indeed, I'm leaning toward ASRock Phantom due ASUS having some BS about updating their BIOS and lower VRM.

 

[MarcParis]

Hey..don't complain about AM4 mini ITX motherboards choice..
Look at me...I need to deep dive into all ATX boards for my Cerberus-X..


One comment : avoid MSI B550i as CMOS jumper is hidden under I/O cover...WTF
To be honest :

• avoid X570 Mini ITX MB
• Focus on Asrock, Asus, Aorus B550 MB. As you did, triple check your needs and layout of each boards. In terms of Bios, Aorus could be counter intuitive but it can be done. Asus bios fan control can be overide by pretty good software. There is no perfect Mini ITX MB.

 

[n.tesla]

One comment : avoid MSI B550i as CMOS jumper is hidden under I/O cover...WTF

Connect a spare restart/power button to the jumper and run it to somewhere accessible.

EDIT: looked up the board and see whaat you mean. Although it's not a button and a strange choice at least it's accessible.

 

[SilentSniper]

I am ready to pull the trigger and cold use some help please.

I want to use 2x nvme 4.0 so leaning towards the ROG Strix x570i

If the X570 does not have the typc c header that goes with the front io, is there some kind of adapter I can buy?

Thanks

 

[rfarmer]

I am ready to pull the trigger and cold use some help please.

I want to use 2x nvme 4.0 so leaning towards the ROG Strix x570i

If the X570 does not have the typc c header that goes with the front io, is there some kind of adapter I can buy?

Thanks

Here.

 

[Snerual]

Can you explain why you picked the SF750 over the SF600? 600 watts is plenty to power the components you picked.

 

[SilentSniper]

Can you explain why you picked the SF750 over the SF600? 600 watts is plenty to power the components you picked.

For me I would choose it because the threshold for silent operation is higher in the 750

 

[lalaboi]

A B450i motherboard like Gigabyte with beta bios already supports Zen 3 & Renoir.
I would recommended that if you are going for a more budget system and dont really care about pcie 4.0

I did choose the Gigabyte X570i for my main system since it was highly recommended by buildzoid and it was on sale on amazon at the time of purchase.

 

[TrustUK]

I would not really pay too much attention on reddit, I read it too but some people have no clue others have the bad luck of a defective board which they should just return

I read all reviews, literally, all videos in 3 languages for the Mini and Micro and without going DTX, too expensive, Asus b550i is the most feature rich, X570i does not even have front USB C which at that ridiculous price is a no go. My Strix x370 has it on Intel platform and the board is 3 years old and I paid £180 for it...not £280 circa and has active fan for the hot chip, the fan on the B550i seems to never spin in normal cases even with overclock.

Gigabyte has horrible bios and MSI has Dragon Centre which seems to really be worse than Armoury Crate, which on my platform is actually now working kind of properly, still has some bug but then again my board is years old.

That's my 2 cent, you also get all USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports including a C, you can easily use adapter A to C and would work full specifications as the bus is the correct one.

If you need more ports...there are hubs, I use even now the one on my Acer Predator x34 monitor and I have over 8 usb used between monitor and PC no problems

 

[jamestylr]

Both are good because X570 and B550 have PCIe 4.0 due to which you can install Nvidia RTX 30 series GPU with 100% efficiency because your motherboard and GPU both will support the PCIe 4.0..Now it is your choice according to budget .If you have enough budget then go with premium choice which is X570i and if budget is a problem then go with B550I..You can Read here if want to know about the best motherboards for X570I or B550I.

 

[Kommando]

X570 doesn't feel much premium (looking at that 40 mm fan). In fact, there isn't much going for it, unless you really need two PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs with maxed top speed. I mean, you can use two of them on an B550 and wouldn't notice a difference, too. ;-)

The money saved can be invested elsewhere. Like a better CPU/GPU.

 

[jamestylr]

Yes you are right.B550 is best choice for PCIe 4.0 in low budget.

 

[Kommando]

No, my point is: It's best choice for any budget.