Motherboard msi B550I Gaming Edge Wifi

[Tuscany]

Lets ask AMD then, shall we? I will ask their support for opinion on this.
What do you think will happen? AMD will say "No! MSI are bad partner, they didn't follow the guidelines, we will refund you your money, or will ask them to supply a backplate for your cooler of choice for free", will they? Not very likely.

Although this is their problem, as I am buying AM4 system, they will rather advise me to use compatible cooler or choose another motherboard. So, for me, as a customer, they are to be blamed as well. This is ITX system, it isn't like I have much options for cooling.
Why is this MB on sale, if it is not following their standards?

 

[Tuscany]

Anyways, scratch this - whoever bought the MB, will have to deal with this.
Lets talk some problems - did anyone manage to get this undervolted? Despite using the new BIOS, I still can't lower my voltages with Offset. Here some pictures:

MSI - Google Drive

drive.google.com

I even get lower voltages with Auto versus -0.2v offset ...

 

[Valantar]

Lets ask AMD then, shall we? I will ask their support for opinion on this.
What do you think will happen? AMD will say "No! MSI are bad partner, they didn't follow the guidelines, we will refund you your money, or will ask them to supply a backplate for your cooler of choice for free", will they? Not very likely.

Although this is their problem, as I am buying AM4 system, they will rather advise me to use compatible cooler or choose another motherboard. So, for me, as a customer, they are to be blamed as well. This is ITX system, it isn't like I have much options for cooling.
Why is this MB on sale, if it is not following their standards?

That is some weird logic right there. If you buy new wheels for your car and they don't match the mounting bolts on your car, is that the fault of the car manufacturer? AMD made a design specification for their partners for the AM4 platform - which is their prerogative as the platform maker and owner. MSI chose to disregard the specification, breaking compatibility with products that require other backplates than the one supplied with the motherboard. How on earth is that AMD's responsibility? I would assume AMD support's response would be "well, looks like MSI screwed this one up, go talk to them, it's their mess." And they would be 100% right. This is not AMD's problem - they aren't responsible for the actions of entirely separate companies, even if those companies are making components that are (supposed to be) compliant with their platforms. I mean, they should raise this as a concern with MSI (as in: asking for an explanation of why they aren't following the design specification), but it is in no way AMD's responsibility to fix this for you as an MSI customer.

 

[Tuscany]

Apart from the fact, that I choose AMD on the first place, right? It isn't MSI depending on AMD, but the other way around. If all big motherboard manufacturers decide to be with an opinion on AM4 spec (or Intel's), who will be most concerned?

My point is that his ain't supposed to happen. You buy Intel or AMD powered system. Such small, but vital things should not make difference. Pay different for better VRM, for better I/O, for better something. But for CPU Cooling compatibility? I call this bs ...

I am out of this discussion. I don't have the luxury to change my motherboard now - I will live with it and use my dremel to improve my 220 EUR purchase.

 

[AlexTSG]

I have to agree that the cooler backplate issue is 100% MSIs fault.

I can't find the document for AM4 sockets, but what AMD releases are issued as "guidelines" for thermal designs. So, I suppose they can't be enforced.

MSI should at least make it clear to buyers that their design does not follow these guidelines, and that not all AM4 CPU coolers may fit on the board.

Personally, I'm still going to buy this board, as no other option that's currently available has as many features that I want as this one.

I'm more worried about the BIOS than the backplate at this point. I do hope they sort out that out soon.

 

[zenpressocup]

Would anyone know if using 2mm washers/spacers to mount the Noctua l9a-AM4 (without backplate) work fine? Or will it still need backplate support? Noctua support told me before they'd send optional parts for installation but I have not heard from them since 2 weeks ago. Thinking if I should just dremel the backplate, or just use washers/spacers with the l9a mounting screws.

 

[scatterforce]

Would anyone know if using 2mm washers/spacers to mount the Noctua l9a-AM4 (without backplate) work fine? Or will it still need backplate support? Noctua support told me before they'd send optional parts for installation but I have not heard from them since 2 weeks ago. Thinking if I should just dremel the backplate, or just use washers/spacers with the l9a mounting screws.

The back-plate is for rigidity. It is unnecessary, but it will help with board warping and (potentially) the longevity of the board. For heavier tower coolers, a back plate is absolutely needed.

I have a Blackridge, which uses washers..... and I later installed a back-plate as I didn't like the warping.

 

[zenpressocup]

The back-plate is for rigidity. It is unnecessary, but it will help with board warping and (potentially) the longevity of the board. For heavier tower coolers, a back plate is absolutely needed.

I have a Blackridge, which uses washers..... and I later installed a back-plate as I didn't like the warping.

Thanks. That's good info. Do you think adding spacers to raise the AM4 standard backplate of the l9a will work? Or does it need to be flush against the board.

 

[scatterforce]

Thanks. That's good info. Do you think adding spacers to raise the AM4 standard backplate of the l9a will work? Or does it need to be flush against the board.

I don't know if you'll have room for that... it depends on your case I guess.

Further more, I don't think that will really help the issue. The plate increases the surface area pressed against the board; it would help some flex, but it would not be nearly as effective.

 

[zenpressocup]

Alright. Seems like the best option really is to use dremel on the l9a backplate. I'll see what I can come up with. I'm seriously disappointed in Noctua's customer support after promising they'd send optional parts for proper installation of the l9a to this motherboard, then never replied back to any of my emails.

 

[AlexTSG]

Alright. Seems like the best option really is to use dremel on the l9a backplate. I'll see what I can come up with. I'm seriously disappointed in Noctua's customer support after promising they'd send optional parts for proper installation of the l9a to this motherboard, then never replied back to any of my emails.

Before you fire up the dremel try sending another mail to Noctua, and include a copy of your invoice for the L9a.

I got back a response within 24 hours last week, when I was asking about getting an additional fan clip for another of their CPU coolers. They just asked me to send a copy of my invoice, screenshot of the order, etc.

 

[zenpressocup]

Before you fire up the dremel try sending another mail to Noctua, and include a copy of your invoice for the L9a.

I got back a response within 24 hours last week, when I was asking about getting an additional fan clip for another of their CPU coolers. They just asked me to send a copy of my invoice, screenshot of the order, etc.

I already did this. And they replied to me that they'll be sending optional parts. I've been following up since with no other replies.

 

[AlexTSG]

Order placed! This was the last thing I needed for my build.

Sadly, Amazon would ship every other component except this board to South Africa, and only one local supplier had stock, so it's cost me the equivalent of $295

I should get it next week so I'll take some high res photos or do an unboxing video once I have it. I think I'll probably have to wait till mid August for my CPU and RAM to arrive.

 

[thelaughingman]

Order placed! This was the last thing I needed for my build.

Sadly, Amazon would ship every other component except this board to South Africa, and only one local supplier had stock, so it's cost me the equivalent of $295

I should get it next week so I'll take some high res photos or do an unboxing video once I have it. I think I'll probably have to wait till mid August for my CPU and RAM to arrive.

I just paid the same amount for the X570-I Strix last week ? ? ? Us non-US people got screwed so hard on pricing

 

[AlexTSG]

I just paid the same amount for the X570-I Strix last week ? ? ? Us non-US people got screwed so hard on pricing

There's some strange comfort knowing I'm not the only one suffering with pricing like this. ?

Luckily, the pricing on the rest of the stuff I needed to buy right now wasn't too bad, and hopefully things will go back to some sort of normal before I need to buy a new graphics card.

I'm also hoping that by the time everything arrives @Tuscany has done all the hard work on the MSI forums to get the BIOS sorted out!

 

[NOKYARD]

Sadly, Amazon would ship every other component except this board to South Africa, and only one local supplier had stock, so it's cost me the equivalent of $295

Not sure if this is the case here but, sometimes they can't ship motherboards internationally due to differing wi-fi band allocations/restrictions.

[edit] I also ordered mine but don't expect to replace my b360 Intel board until the 4000's go on sale. Normally i would have held off and purchased everything at the same time but since there about 3 total B550 ITX motherboards available in Canada i had to grab one while it was available. I did luck when the priced dropped by $13 between ordering and confirmation.

 

[AlexTSG]

Not sure if this is the case here but, sometimes they can't ship motherboards internationally due to differing wi-fi band allocations/restrictions.

I can’t figure out their reason for not shipping this particular board. I can get almost any other board including Z490 mini-ITX boards and other larger format B550 boards with the same Wi-Fi 6, even ones from MSI. The others that ship here are also “Ships from and sold by Amazon”.

There is a warning on Amazon when I log in saying that there are currently limited shipping options, and product selection. So, next week it may ship here, but then the CPU might not for some reason.

That’s why, given that it was the last component I needed, I decided to just buy it locally at the higher price, before it sold out.

 

[NOKYARD]

I had 8 tabs open. 4 online retailers and 4 local shops. I refreshed the tabs 3 times a day since June 16 and feel lucky i managed to get the one i have since it went back to 'out of stock' right after ordering.

 

[zenpressocup]

Ok. Just got an updated email from Noctua apologizing for the long delay. They said they'll be sending the parts to install the l9a on this using spacers (no backplate). I'll post a pic here when I receive them.

 

[AlexTSG]

Ok. Just got an updated email from Noctua apologizing for the long delay. They said they'll be sending the parts to install the l9a on this using spacers (no backplate). I'll post a pic here when I receive them.

Nice. I was just about to reply to a support ticket they got back to me about (unrelated), and tell them to come and check this thread to see why they weren't getting back to you about the alternative mounting option.