Introduction
MSI B650M Mortar WIFI review
Would this mortar make some noise?
Meet the MSI B650M Mortar WIFI motherboard. It’s a mid-tier product (from a series we had a chance to check, for example, with Intel’s B660 chipset) with a mid-tier AM5 chipset. It’s a very similar motherboard to a B650 Carbon WIFI, which Hilbert checked recently. Mortar is in mATX format (not ATX like Carbon) and has not four, but two M.2 slots, which are not PCIe 5.0 compatible (whereas, in the Carbon, one of four had it). What else is different? The smaller (reviewed) board supports DDR5 up to 6400+ MHz (ATX version is up to 6600+ MHz), but in reality, for the Ryzen 7000 series, it’s not crucial, as the Infinity Fabric works in the 1:1 mode up to 6000 MHz. The 2.5Gbps LAN is still there, the same as the Wi-Fi 6E and six SATA ports. It’s great that the Audio codec is Realtek’s ALC4080, which is the top offer. Even more expensive boards, with, for example, X670E, not always have it but can house the ALC1220 (which is not bad, but still). For most users – even this motherboard should offer enough possibilities for daily usage with the entire line of Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs.
The B650 board is equipped with an LGA 1718 socket. The used chipset (and also the B650E) will be applied to the more affordable products. The actual method of differentiating B650 and B650E from the X670 is not that hard; X670 and X670E consist of two physical chips, while those of the B650 family consist of only one. Onboard I/O on B650-class motherboards is, in fact, cut in half. The MSI MPG B650 Mortar WIFI features a dual 8-pin connector for powering the CPU socket and is powered by a 12+2+1 phase digital power supply solution. The motherboard features dark heatsinks above the power supply, providing adequate cooling for the electrical components beneath. Regarding procedure memory, the board features four DDR5 DIMM slots that support EXPO overclocking. MSI equips the B650 with 1x PCIe x16 4.0 (from CPU), 1x PCIe x4 4.0 (from chipset), and 1x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots (from chipset). MSI B650M Mortar WIFI uses a black design on an all-black PCB. It does look great. This is a 24.4 x 24.4 cm product, and that’s typical of the mATX form factor. It’s equipped with the B650 chipset, and it offers such features as a 12+2+1-phase power design, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, and a built-in Wi-Fi 6E module.
AMD Ryzen 7000 (codename Raphael) Desktop CPU Specs | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cores / Threads | Base/Boost Clock | TDP | Cache (L2+L3) | Launch Price(USD) | |
AMD Ryzen 7000 Zen4 (Raphael) | |||||
Ryzen 9 7950X | 16C/32T | 4.5/5.7 GHz | 170W | 80MB (16+64) | 699 USD |
Ryzen 9 7900X | 12C/24T | 4.7/5.6 GHz | 170W | 76MB (12+64) | 549 USD |
Ryzen 7 7800X | - | - | - | - | 449 USD |
Ryzen 7 7700X | 8C/16T | 4.5/5.4 GHz | 105W | 40MB (8+32) | 399 USD |
Ryzen 5 7600X | 6C/12T | 4.7/5.3 GHz | 105W | 38MB (6+32) | 299 USD |
AMD Ryzen 5000 Zen3 (Vermeer) | |||||
Ryzen 9 5950X | 16C/32T | 3.4/4.9 GHz | 105W | 72MB (8+64) | 799 USD |
Ryzen 9 5900X | 12C/24T | 3.7/4.8 GHz | 105W | 70MB (4+64) | 549 USD |
Ryzen 7 5800X3D | 8C/16T | 3.4/4.5 GHz | 105W | 100MB (4+96) | 449 USD |
Ryzen 7 5800X | 8C/16T | 3.8/4.7 GHz | 105W | 36MB (4+32) | 449 USD |
Ryzen 7 5700X | 8C/16T | 3.4/4.6 GHz | 65W | 36MB (4+32) | 299 USD |
Ryzen 5 5600X | 6C/12T | 3.7/4.6 GHz | 65W | 35MB (3+32) | 299 USD |
The MSI B650M Mortar WIFI includes two full-length PCIe slots. The top slot support PCIe 4.0 x16; the second is PCIe 4.0 x4. There’s also one PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. This board has a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet controller (Realtek RTL8125B). The wireless connection has an 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E Module and supports IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ax. The Wireless module is pre-installed in the M.2 (Key-E) slot. It supports:
- Bluetooth 5.2
- MU-MIMO TX-RX
There are two M.2 Sockets for your SSDs: both support “only” PCIe Gen4x4 (no Gen5 in this board, sorry, you need to pick, for example, the Carbon). You also get six SATA ports, which should be fine for the users when the M.2 drives are barely more expensive than the 2.5” drives. As for the audio, you get the Realtek® ALC4080 codec. The power section is really good, as it’s a 12-phase design that should help handle even the most demanding CPUs, such as the Ryzen 9 7950X. Premium 60A Power Chokes (Nichicon12K - 100% Japan-made high-quality conductive polymer), the eight layers, and server-grade low-loss PCB should help ensure stability and reliability.
So what does B650 mean in reality? Four memory slots support up to 128 GB, a total of up to DDR5-6600+ (OC). There is some good information for RGB fans: two regular (12V) RGB LED headers and two addressable (5V) RGB LED headers. Lighting can be synchronized using the MSI Mystic Light. There are no onboard power and reset buttons or a two-digit LED debugger. We’ll check this B650 motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and take it through our benchmark paces for this review. The board, as stated, is positioned in the mid-tier market segment (with a price of 239 USD) and looks elegant. Let’s have a closer look at it, then, right?