Last May, AMD announced the end-of-life of its B650 chipset, intended for mid-range motherboards and introduced in 2022. However, despite its long career, the reds have decided to retire it, leaving users with only the choice of the B850, a more expensive equivalent.
The B650 will soon be replaced by the B850:
It’s something we’re gradually witnessing: the disappearance of motherboards equipped with B650 chipsets. The latter, having reached the end of its life, will gradually disappear from the shelves, while the B850 will take its place. However, we’re not sure we’ll gain anything from the change. The Reds’ new-generation chipset is more expensive for one simple reason: it forces PCIe 5.0 for storage. In fact, every card equipped with this chip offers a PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot, whereas this was optional on the B650. However, there’s no change when it comes to graphics cards: depending on the reference, you’ll be able to have a PCIe Gen5 or Gen4 slot. The choice is left to the manufacturer.
Currently, if we compare sales prices, the top price for the B650 is currently around €100, while at Top Achat you can expect to pay around €140 for a card equipped with a new-generation chipset.
Of course, we could look at the B840, but we’re talking about a chipset that’s inferior in terms of functionality. It offers no overclocking, no USB4, is totally limited to PCIe 4.0 and has a limited number of lines. As it stands, it’s more like a hypothetical A820 than anything else. What’s more, the motherboard offer is really limited. But if you’re on an ultra-limited budget, you may just have to resign yourself to it. In the meantime, B650 boards are still on sale, but that may not last.