ASUS ROG STRIX B550-A GAMING ATX Motherboard For AMD Ryzen 5000 Series CPU, Socket AM4 - AMD B550 Chipset - 2x M.2 - 2x Internal USB 2.0 Header - 1x Internal USB 3.2 Header - 1x Internal TB Header - 1x 2.5 GbE

I recently decided to upgrade my older x470 motherboard and this was the option I decided to go with. The System it is now in did require a new windows product key as that activation went with the old motherboard (keep this in mind if your upgrading an old system). This motherboard was the better of the available choices at the time for a AM4 Socket setup. The only nitpick I have is the Asus fan control software was lacking in customizability for my desired control. Otherwise this board is a great option. I recently decided to upgrade my older x470 motherboard and this was the option I decided to go with. The System it is now in did require a new windows product key as that activation went with the old motherboard (keep this in mind if your upgrading an old system). This motherboard was the better of the available choices at the time for a AM4 Socket setup. The only nitpick I have is the Asus fan control software was lacking in customizability for my desired control. Otherwise this board is a great option.

Needed a ATX mobo because my smaller mATX wasn't big enough to fit a network card and my graphics card, this fits perfectly in my case. Needed a ATX mobo because my smaller mATX wasn't big enough to fit a network card and my graphics card, this fits perfectly in my case.

Got this to replace my gigabyte board that was having stability issues this in comparison runs like a dream and looks nice and sleek with lots of usb and nvme slots Got this to replace my gigabyte board that was having stability issues this in comparison runs like a dream and looks nice and sleek with lots of usb and nvme slots

Good product Good product

Reasons to buy

If you're building an ordinary gaming PC, I don't think you're giving up much over not buying X570,
If you're building an ordinary desktop PC, the build process won't have many surprises, if any
Captive screws on M.2 heatsinks
6 SATA ports
BIOS flashback
2.5G ethernet
No separate IO shield

Reasons not to buy
If you're not building an ordinary desktop PC and have specific needs you might have some quirks with the SATA ports when you're building, or not enough PCIe lanes with the B550 chipset
You can't have the 5th and 6th SATA port if you want to use the 2nd M.2 NVME slot
SATA ports are right angled, which means you have to m...view more Reasons to buy

If you're building an ordinary gaming PC, I don't think you're giving up much over not buying X570,
If you're building an ordinary desktop PC, the build process won't have many surprises, if any
Captive screws on M.2 heatsinks
6 SATA ports
BIOS flashback
2.5G ethernet
No separate IO shield

Reasons not to buy
If you're not building an ordinary desktop PC and have specific needs you might have some quirks with the SATA ports when you're building, or not enough PCIe lanes with the B550 chipset
You can't have the 5th and 6th SATA port if you want to use the 2nd M.2 NVME slot
SATA ports are right angled, which means you have to make sure your case is compatible
Only four SATA cables in the box, and if you're cramped you can't use just any SATA cable because of the reduced clearance of the right angled ports.

Make sure you take the sale price of this mobo and the CPU your pair with it into account because while AM4 was a great platform, AM5 is well into its lifecycle.

This motherboard paired with a Ryzen 5 5500 works perfectly with my GTX 1070 for gaming and general tasks , however it lacks wifi capabilities. This motherboard paired with a Ryzen 5 5500 works perfectly with my GTX 1070 for gaming and general tasks , however it lacks wifi capabilities.

It's getting harder to find a decent b550 motherboard as most have been discontinued, these are still around in great numbers for some reason. I only ended up with one because I damaged my previous motherboard. No issues with bios or setup, all seems to be working well.

White colour scheme is kind of annoying, but the large plastic oi shroud can be removed for improved aesthetics. It's getting harder to find a decent b550 motherboard as most have been discontinued, these are still around in great numbers for some reason. I only ended up with one because I damaged my previous motherboard. No issues with bios or setup, all seems to be working well.

White colour scheme is kind of annoying, but the large plastic oi shroud can be removed for improved aesthetics.

I just recently started to use this motherboard, and I have encountered some errors with the sound processing with the headphone jacks, as it is only outputing audio but not using the imputed audio in software like Discord. But I love the silver accents around the i.o. sheilding and the VRM chips, as I personally find them to be very tasteful. Also, I like the opt-in CPU fan option, as it eliminates the need for fan splitters for certain multifan coolers. I just recently started to use this motherboard, and I have encountered some errors with the sound processing with the headphone jacks, as it is only outputing audio but not using the imputed audio in software like Discord. But I love the silver accents around the i.o. sheilding and the VRM chips, as I personally find them to be very tasteful. Also, I like the opt-in CPU fan option, as it eliminates the need for fan splitters for certain multifan coolers.

I used this motherboard to replace another that stopped working. With AM4 options slim for the picking this was one of the better options available. It has the option of thunderbolt which is nice but is missing Bluetooth, wifi and built in front usb c header. I used this motherboard to replace another that stopped working. With AM4 options slim for the picking this was one of the better options available. It has the option of thunderbolt which is nice but is missing Bluetooth, wifi and built in front usb c header.

Looks great, works great. Really good value motherboard easy to use BIOS no complaints so far Looks great, works great. Really good value motherboard easy to use BIOS no complaints so far

Good quality works greats and look great Good quality works greats and look great

I transplanted a PC from one AM4 Motherboard to this one as part of a troubleshooting process, but liked this Motherboard so much that I decided to leave this one as the main one. It is well made, easy to use, and easy on the eye. I transplanted a PC from one AM4 Motherboard to this one as part of a troubleshooting process, but liked this Motherboard so much that I decided to leave this one as the main one. It is well made, easy to use, and easy on the eye.