A520 Motherboard Vs B550

In 2020, AMD announced the new A520 chipset, which is compatible with a few of the Ryzen CPUs and is the follow-up to the A320 chipset.

Today, we’ll be looking deep into the A520 chipset and talking about its different advantages and disadvantages, and also comparing its specifications at the same time with the B550 chipset directly to see how well it really stacks up when compared to it.

Chipset Specs:

Here’s a concise comparison chart showing the main differences between these two chipsets:

Product	A520	B550
Chipset PCIe Gen	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 3.0
Direct CPU PCIe Configuration	1x16	1x16 or 2x8
Direct CPU PCIe Gen	PCIe 3.0	PCIe 4.0
CPU to Chipset Connection	PCIe 3.0 x4	PCIe 3.0 x4
Chipset USB 5 Gbps Ports	2	2
Chipset USB 10 Gbps Ports	1	2
Chipset Dedicated SATA Ports	2	4
Chipset PCIe Lanes	6	10
Chipset USB 480 Mbps Ports	6	6
Overclocking Support	No	Yes

Read more: Top AM3+ CPU

A520 Vs. B550 Chipset:

After looking into A520 Motherboard vs. B550, we’ll ultimately decide the overall A520 quality and assist you in figuring out whether the new chipset is worth the money and time.

• A520 Chipset:

This chipset is essential, for all purposes and intentions, the new home requisites CPU chipset. It’s a bit barebones and basic but still manages to provide a few additional upgrades over the A320 chipset, but the disparities here are just marginal.

It’s a bit of an upgrade over the previous offering by AMD, with the main disparity being the addition of USB 3.2 ten Gbps ports for your CPU. The A520 also comes with 4 PCIe lanes that are upgraded from 4 PCIe 2.0 lanes by A320.

But the major upgrade seen in it is the extra CPU support. The A520 will actually be compatible with all your Ryzen Zen 2 3000-based chips and will provide a path for future upgrades. It denotes that it ought to be compatible with the future Ryzen Zen 3 5000-based chips as well.

The A520 motherboards really stand as an absolutely adequate option, providing all the basic requirements for computer builders with the opportunity for future upgradability, but it does not have as many features as the other chipset.

The A520 is, however, not a bad option for the people looking for something on a budget as the majority of A520 boards are accessible for around 100 dollars or less. Really, when you glance at it, the A520 does not provide very much in terms of new upgrades.

The CPU is expanded upon for supporting the latest models, which is incredible, but nothing else has been changed here. The upgrade from the PCIe 2.0 to PCIe 3.0 slots is good, but that’s the only other thing actually added here.

• B550 Chipset:

When compared to the B550, the A520 chipset feels quite basic. One of the main disparities between these two chipsets is the overclocking capabilities of B550 versus the overclocking capabilities of A520.

The fact of the matter is that an A520 chipset isn’t actually intended to be overclocked, while B550 is rather overclockable.

It might be a deal-breaker to a lot of individuals, as overclocking is greatly locked on the A520 chipset. The B550 motherboards also come with more features than the A520 choices practically across the board, comprising PCIe 4.0 connectivity, two USB ten Gbps ports over A520’s one port, four SATA III ports over two SATA III ports of A520, and more.

Conclusion:

A520 is the most basic, but it’s also charged much lower than the other one. You can get yourself the A520 chipset for well under 100 dollars, while the B550 ones mainly cost higher than the 100 dollars range. Motherboards that come with the B550 chipset are usually priced between 100-300 dollars.

Which chipset is correct for you to rely entirely on the priorities you have; if you are shopping on a budget, then the A520 ought to be complete enough for the build, particularly if you do not care for overclocking the system. Conversely, if you want to make the most of your new computer, then you may desire to go for it and choose a more feature-packed B550.

In general, all such boards have their merits, and there’s no correct option when it comes to locating the best one. You ought to choose the one that feels great for you and decide for yourself. Hopefully, this post made your decision simpler and assisted in narrowing down the options for you.