Gigabyte has added a new AM4 motherboard to its mid-range roster, as more people are seemingly demanding hardware that can support DDR4 memory. Powered by AMD’s mid-range B550 chipset, the B550M Gaming X Wi-Fi 6E looks like an ideal micro-ATX board for those wanting to build an affordable gaming or media system.
Following the barebone B450M D3HP WiFi6E and anime-themed B760M Aorus Ari WiFi6E DDR4, Gigabyte’s latest DDR4 board once more features the fast 6GHz band of Wi-Fi 6E. Like its AM4 siblings, this board also supports Ryzen 5000, 4000, and 3000 series processors, including their G variants. These are powered by a 6+2 (Vcore + SoC) hybrid digital VRM design, fed via a single 8-pin cable. Gigabyte advertises CPU overclocking as a feature as well, although I wouldn’t go too far with this comparatively small VRM design.
The B550M Gaming X Wi-Fi 6E uses a four-layer PCB and features a large metal heatsink for VRM cooling, with an integrated I/O shield. The latter is quite handy as it removes the hassle of having to install it manually, which often gets forgotten in the excitement of building a new PC.
On the memory side, this board comes equipped with four UDIMM DDR4 slots, supporting up to 128GB of memory (4x32GB) and up to 3,200MT/s speeds, including XMP profile support. That said, Gigabyte claims you can reach up to 4,733MT/s via overclocking, assuming your RAM modules and CPU memory controller can handle it.
For expansion, the B550M Gaming X Wi-Fi 6E offers a variety of options, including three PCIe slots running at PCIe 4.0 x16, PCIe 3.0 x1, and PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds, plus two M.2 slots running at Gen 4 x4 and Gen 3 x4 speeds. If you need more storage, you can always turn back to the four SATA III 6Gb/s ports.
It’s not as fancy as its premium-tier siblings, but this mid-range offering does include some of the brand’s easy-to-use DIY features, such as a screwless M.2 SSD locking mechanism and an accessible PCIe lock release lever, not to forget the handy Q-Flash button for BIOS updating via USB. Also note that while this board supports ARGB-lit fans, it only has four PWM headers.
In terms of connections, we find two USB 2.0 and four USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps) ports. There’s also both HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 outputs, plus a Gigabit LAN socket and a PS/2 port for legacy peripherals. The lineup is completed by three 3.5mm audio jacks, as well as antennae connectors for Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E. The latter seems to be the main difference between this model and the B550M Gaming X Wi-Fi 6. Additional USB 2.0 and USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C ports can be added via the front case ports.
While Gigabyte hasn’t shared pricing for the B550M Gaming X Wi-Fi 6E, considering the cost of a nearly-identical B550M Gaming X Wi-Fi 6, we expect this updated model to retail for around £100 / $130.
