The MSI B550-A Pro is from the maker MSI. Over the years, MSI has managed to assure users, gamers, coders, and the like of the capabilities of their products. It is quite evident from the motherboards that they manufacture.
Apart from Asus, no maker is capable of standing on par with MSI. Today, we will be comparing two magnificent motherboards in the market. They are MSI B550-A Pro vs Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro.
These two exemplary models come with their unique features. They are quite appealing to consumers because of the specifications and the pricing as well. When you are keen on using a good model, you might want to opt for these motherboards.
The MSI board comes with a basic design and is relatively cheap. The unit cost only $90 when it was released in the market. However, the cost is not the same. It comes with a sleek all-black design that makes it beautiful in looks.
We found that it comes with most of the features that you would look for in any motherboard. The board has 2 M.2 slots, 6 SATA ports, a Realtek ALC892 HD audio codec, and a Realtek Gigabit Ethernet controller.
There is support for up to DDR4-4400 memory on the board. Users can make use of the 4 memory slots for installing 128 GB. Using the 2 M.2 slots at PCIe 4.0 x4 for the first. You can make use of the second slot at PCIe 3.0 x4.
You can notice in the rear part the unit comes with 2 USB 3.2 G2 ports, Type-A and Type-C. There are 2 USB 3.2 G1 Type-A and 4 USB 2.0 ports. This is the ideal chipset for the Ryzen CPU. You can make use of the Realtek controller with the Realtek ALC892.
The Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro comes with better power delivery, staggering features, and a higher quote than most budget B550 units. It comes with 4 SATA ports, 2 M., 2 sockets, a gigabit LAN port, and a solid audio system.
This is a beautifully shaped motherboard that comes in elegant dark royal color. The installation was relatively easy and straightforward. It is also compatible with several motherboards like the Ryzen 7 3700X and blends in effortlessly.
We also note that the RAM 3600 MHz from the radio. The heat was also not noticeable. For the price that is just slightly above $200, this is a good deal for consumers. The unit has 4 DIMM slots, and the top PCIe slot is reinforced.
The unit is positioned such that it is affordable. The motherboard does appear very Aorus styled. Besides that, the unit also comes with few exciting features. Let us read the review carefully and find out more about the units and winner mentioned at the end.
 |  |
|---|---|
| MSI B550-A PRO | GIGABYTE B550 AORUS PRO |
| PROS | PROS |
| The model has a sleek design in a black tone. It comes with stunning features. It has splendid overclocking capabilities. The cooling technology infused in it is sublime. The unit is affordable and priced under $145. | The design of the model is sublime and pleasant to the eyes. It comes with tremendous power delivery. There are 10 USB ports infused in it. It has solid audio performance embedded into it. The model is reasonably priced. |
| CONS | CONS |
| The performance of the motherboard is only average at best. | The model has only 1 M.2 with a heatsink. |
Features & Layout
The MSI B550-A Pro motherboard comes with a straightforward appearance, as most MSI boards do. We felt that the unit offers you excellent value without compromising any design and features.
The black design with the light tone of grey once in a while gives it an elegant look. We noticed that the motherboard comes with all the necessities, including dual NVMe drive support, DP, USB-C gen 3.2, USB-Header, HDMI, and a colossal 10 Phase VRM with heatsink.
We preferred the positioning of the NVMe drive without having to dump heat from the video card. You can effortlessly pair the board with the Ryzen 9 5900X and the rest. We found this to be the ultimate combination of efficiency and power.
Overall, the features & layout of the B550-A Pro were sublime. Our tester felt that there is nothing to complain about it. Likewise, the design of the Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro motherboard is elegant.
We liked the tones used on it, and Aorus motherboards come with stunning designs containing the right amount of elements. The looks of the Aorus Pro have few premium aesthetics.
According to the maker, it is the first product to come with those trademarks. For example, users can notice the neatly done aluminum finish on the VRMs. Besides, it also has a black PCB. You can find the integrated lighting on the board at the audio location.
Users can add RGB light by getting them additionally. Of course, they also have to plug it on the onboard headers. This unit is way ahead in terms of design and the layout compared to most units that we have reviewed having the same price.
The connectors, slots, and sockets come in black and grey tones. We also like the plastic shroud on the VRM heatsinks. You can find 4 DRAM slots near the right socket. The capacity of the exceptional memory at 128GB running to DDR4 4266.
Though that figure is slightly lower than others compared in the market, however, we are delighted to let you know that it can seamlessly reach the AMD ‘sweet spot’ DDR4 3600/3733. On the whole, the features & layout are stunning, with good features placed in there.
Software and Firmware
Next, we will take a look at the software and firmware of the MSI B550-A Pro motherboard. MSI provides adequate software and firmware features. It is good enough for you to design your new PC without much hassle.
As you already know, it offers adequate support for 3rd generation AMD Ryzen processors. Gamers will also use future AMD Ryzen processors can be used. That is because they come with the updated BIOS.
It comes with sufficient support for dual-channel DDR4 memory for 128GB that has close to 4400 MHz. The figure may not be very exciting or stunning. But it is enough to get the work done. Gamers will like the PCIe 4.0, Lightning Gen 4 M.2 coming with the M.2 Shield Frozr.
That is because you can play and have an immersive experience. You can play mild to heavy use games without any fuss. We pushed the chipset to its limits and noticed that it got slightly heated up.
Besides, the AMD Turbo USB 3.2 GEN 2 enables you to get immense quality. You can also use the core boost technology that enables you to move ahead with power circuit layouts.
There is also the digital power regulation for providing you with good delivery for CPU usage. The audio performance of the unit is also good. We felt that they provide you with a breathtaking experience.
The BIOS button enables you to flash it without using memory. This may not be an exceptional feature, but it provides you with what you are looking for. It also comes with premium thermal that can operate at 7W/mk.
Not to mention, you can also use 2oz thickened copper. On the whole, the software and firmware of the B550-A Pro were satisfying. We could not say that it is stunning, but it comes with decent features.
Looking at the Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro, it comes with the N-channel MOSFETs VRM. In most of their unit, you can find the DrMOS MOSFETs. In this setup, the high and low sides use 1 IC. There is also the 4C10N on the high side.
On the low side, you can use the 4C06 parts. The audio section comes with the Realtek ALC1200 codec. You can also notice 4 Nippon audio capacitors that come in gold color. You can also come across 3 PCIe slots, 2 full-length, and 1 x1 size slot.
Our tester was not happy with the x1 slot location. When you want to use more than 1 slot video card, it will make it almost unusable. The first socket comes with a heatsink keeping the hot drives cool.
It is appreciable that Gigabyte has included few applications. You can use them for performing several operations. Some of them include audio, RGB lighting control, overclocking, and system monitoring.
The BIOS worked well for us. Our tester felt that most of their motherboards come with a LED panel. Each of them comes labeled with MOBO, PSU, CPU, and VGA. When your board does not boot up as it should do, you can verify these features.
You cannot find out what is wrong, but you know which one is not functioning like it is supposed to. This is an excellent feature that we found. Most of the other brands like MSI, Asus, ASRock, and others might want to implement something similar to this on their models.
Overclocking
The overclocking abilities of any motherboard are a vital aspect of the unit’s performance. Our tester felt that the MSI B550-A Pro never gets too hot when it was made to push too hard. There was not too much heat.
All the cores were able to hit 4600Mhz all 12 cores. However, in the time stress testing, we did notice that it dropped down a bit. That is acceptable for a budget motherboard. You can make use of the decent cooler.
Sadly, when the cores are completely loaded, the fans get to full speed and can be heard from at least 3 feet. Our tester was thoroughly happy though using the unit. There were no compromises on the motherboard.
It worked quite well with the Ryzen 9 5900X. You can notice some thermal throttle during the overclocking at low speeds too. That is quite normal according to us. You can find it occurring on most motherboards.
The VRMs deserves a mention here because they can run quite smoothly. Though you push the CPU hard, there is no issue with it getting very hot. During the test, we noticed that it reached a temperature of 87-degree Celsius.
We felt that the B550-A Pro passed the overclocking with flying colors. Please note that this is an under $150 priced motherboard. You cannot expect it to run on par with top-end models like the ones found by Asus and MSI.
Coming to the Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro, it worked well on the Ryzen 9 5950X without much problem. The heat did get up once in a while, but everything was manageable. We had to ensure that the decrease in the Vdroop.
The unit is designed nicely for the VRM to perform well. It comes with 12+2 phases that are infused with 50A power stages. It implements the black colors. We liked the cooling system embedded in the system.
It is ideal for use on your Ryzen 3 3000, if you may. There is also the PCI Gen 4.0 implemented with the x16 slot and single M2 slot. We were glad to notice that the B550 Aorus Pro chipset could uplink the DMI as most units come with PCIe Gen 3.0.
All in all, the VRMs were able to hold quite well using the CPU. We did not face too many issues except that it was too hot in overclocking. Please do note that the temperatures reached more than 100-degree Celsius.
Price
The pricing between the MSI B550-A Pro vs Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro can play a vital factor for many users in choosing the former. But one must not judge the product solely based on the price.
The MSI B550-A Pro is priced under $145 that is cheap and low priced. Likewise, the Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro is priced under $206. This makes a price difference of $60. If you look at the MSI model, it comes with several features infused in it.
However, the Gigabyte unit too comes with exceptional features embedded in it. You can find some discrepancy between the cost of budget level motherboards and the current unit when you look at it.
VERDICT
We hope you enjoyed reading the comparison review between MSI B550-A Pro vs Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro motherboards. The MSI B550-A Pro is a solid choice for a motherboard. It runs in a high-intensity design of products.
Though we did not require the BIOS update, the cables had to be sorted out. That was not a very fun experience and is a common issue with most boards. We decided to go with the Corsair water cooling system.
The CPU begins to work sublimely. We felt that the built-in BIOS management software was good on the unit. We strongly recommend that you register for the MSI warranty immediately. We thought that the board’s performance was exceptional, with full RAM speed and a quick data transfer.
The overclocking and cooling system deserve mention here. They worked as they should and were operational. On the other hand, the Gigabyte B550 Aorus Pro motherboard was an excellent unit to work and design a new PC.
It did give few problems initially, but after that, things were fine with it. Based on the feedback from several users, it works splendidly on most AMD 5000 series processors. You can effortlessly design a B550-based PC.
Of course, you cannot make use of integrated Wi-Fi. We used the Ryzen 9 5950X processor, and it worked like a charm on it. The board comes with 4 SATA ports, 2 M.2 sockets, a unique audio system, and a massive 10 USB ports.
We highly recommend that you add a cooling fan on the VRMs as they can get slightly hot when you want to push them hard. We sorely missed the heatsinks on the M.2 sockets. When you don’t require more than 4 SATA hard drives and integrated Wi-Fi, then this is your best option.
Our winner would be the B550-A Pro from MSI. That is because of the flexibility that it offered to users. The pricing was also lower than the Gigabyte model. However, that was not the main reason for choosing the MSI unit.
At the end of the day, it will be your requirements, preferences, and budget options. When you are keen on using something that can offer you extreme flexibility, go with the B550-A Pro unit; when you want something lesser, then B550 Aorus Pro can manage them.
James Smith has always been intrigued by electronic products since his childhood. After his post graduation in electronics from a popular university, he decided to pursue a career in the electronics sector. But his calling for writing about these marvellous pieces of work got the better of him. That is how UBG was started. With a writing career spanning more than 12 years, James has worked on several hundred product reviews. During his free time, he like to spend time with his pet dog and relax in the swimming pool.