GIGABYTE B550 Aorus Elite DDR4 AMD Motherboard

The GIGABYTE B550 Aorus Elite DDR4 is an ATX-form-factor motherboard (30.5 cm x 24.4 cm) built on the AMD B550 chipset and designed around the AM4 socket. It supports AMD Ryzen 3000 series, Ryzen 4000 G-series, Ryzen 5000 series, and Ryzen 5000 G-series processors, making it a versatile foundation for AMD-platform builds at the mid-to-high mainstream tier. Power delivery is handled by a true 12+2 phase digital VRM solution using 50 A DrMOS components, a dedicated PWM controller, and doublers. All-solid capacitors support transient response, and the board ships with both a 24-pin ATX main connector and an 8-pin ATX 12V CPU power connector. Enlarged surface heatsinks across the VRM area help manage thermals under sustained workloads. Memory support spans four DDR4 DIMM slots with a maximum capacity of 128 GB. Ryzen 3000 processors reach up to DDR4-4000 (O.C.), while Ryzen 4000/5000 G-series processors can address DDR4-4733 (O.C.). Both ECC and non-ECC unbuffered DIMMs are supported, along with XMP profiles and dual-channel operation. Storage options include two M.2 Socket 3 connectors: the CPU-connected M2A supports PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe and SATA with Ryzen 3000 CPUs, while the chipset-connected M2B supports PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe and SATA. One of the M.2 slots ships with a thermal guard. Four SATA 6 Gb/s ports are also provided via the chipset. The primary PCIe x16 slot runs at PCIe 4.0 x16 with Ryzen 3000 CPUs (PCIe 3.0 x16 with G-series APUs). Two additional PCIe x16-keyed slots run at chipset PCIe 3.0 x2 and x1 modes respectively, and one PCIe x1 slot rounds out the expansion options. Rear connectivity includes 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 2 x USB 2.0/1.1, DisplayPort (up to 5120x2880 @ 60 Hz via APU), HDMI (up to 4096x2160 @ 60 Hz via APU), an RJ-45 port, optical S/PDIF out, and five audio jacks. Networking is handled by a Realtek 2.5 GbE LAN chip supporting 2.5 Gbit, 1 Gbit, and 100 Mbit speeds. Audio uses the Realtek ALC1200 codec with WIMA FKP2 capacitors, supporting 2/4/5.1/7.1-channel output and S/PDIF out. RGB Fusion 2.0 controls onboard lighting along with two addressable LED headers and two standard RGB LED headers. Smart Fan 5 manages up to five fan or pump headers with individual temperature-sensor mapping and FAN STOP functionality. The UEFI is AMI-licensed, stored on a 256 Mbit flash chip, and supports Q-Flash Plus — allowing BIOS updates from a USB drive without installing a CPU, memory, or GPU. A pre-installed I/O shield simplifies installation. Key Specifications: - Socket: AM4 | Chipset: AMD B550 - Form Factor: ATX, 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm - Memory: 4 x DDR4 DIMM, up to 128 GB, DDR4-4733 (O.C.) max - VRM: True 12+2 phase digital, 50 A DrMOS - PCIe: 1 x PCIe 4.0 x16 (CPU), 1 x PCIe 3.0 x2 (chipset), 1 x PCIe 3.0 x1 (chipset), 1 x PCIe 3.0 x1 slot - Storage: 2 x M.2 (1 x PCIe 4.0/SATA, 1 x PCIe 3.0/SATA), 4 x SATA 6 Gb/s - LAN: Realtek 2.5 GbE - Audio: Realtek ALC1200, 7.1-channel, S/PDIF out - USB rear: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 2 x USB 2.0 - Display: 1 x DisplayPort, 1 x HDMI (APU required) - BIOS: AMI UEFI, Q-Flash Plus - Warranty: 3 years