MSI Announces MEG B550 UNIFY Motherboards with Pure Black, RGB-Less Design

[Tsing]

Image: MSI



MSI has unveiled its pair of flagship AMD B550 motherboards, the MEG B550 UNIFY and MEG B550 UNIFY-X. These appear to be ideal choices for Ryzen users who want a mid-range board that forgoes the traditional gamer aesthetic, as they come in a pure black design without any RGB LEDs.



Some of the highlights of the MEG B550 UNIFY and MEG B550 UNIFY-X are quadruple M.2 connectors with double-sided “Frozr” shields for keeping SSDs cool; a power design comprising direct 14+2 digital power phases, a 90-amp power stage, and 14 titanium chokes; an aluminum cover with extended heat sink; and 2.5 G LAN with Wi-Fi 6 AX.



MSI has also shared two CPU-Z results that tease what the MEG B550 UNIFY and MEG B550 UNIFY-X can do for overclockers. You can...

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[Stoly]

My prayers hace bien answered, thank god.

Hopefully others Will follow

 

[Dan_D]

I don't see why people get bent out of shape about the RGB stuff. The motherboards have an option to turn it all off. It's in the UEFI even. RGB lights are also so cheap as their costs are virtually negligible.

 

[Stoly]

I don't see why people get bent out of shape about the RGB stuff. The motherboards have an option to turn it all off. It's in the UEFI even. RGB lights are also so cheap as their costs are virtually negligible.

I don't see why people get bent out of shape about the RGB stuff. Why does it even exist in the first place?

can't make a product that performs better, cheaper, faster, cooler or more stable? no prob, just put leds on it.

 

[Dan_D]

I don't see why people get bent out of shape about the RGB stuff. Why does it even exist in the first place?

That's probably the most irrational statement I think I've read all day. The fact is, DIY PC's and boutique PC builds are a niche within a niche of the market. Desktops today are almost always built for gaming. Workstations are a thing, but they are few and far between comparatively. Have you ever wondered why every company went ham on calling everything a "gaming" this or that? It's because research conducted by these companies YEARS ago showed that the market had shifted to mobile devices or laptops for all "normal" computing tasks.

Gamers like customizing the look of their stuff. Gamers tend to like flashy aesthetics. That's why the LED's exist. They exist for the same reason why people used to cut windows into the side of their beige cases and paint them. They exist for the same reason people started blacking out their cables, using round IDE cables, building crazy water cooling loops etc.

Would you prefer green or brown PCB's, flat gray power supplies and condiment colored power cables everywhere? I'll get off your lawn now.

can't make a product that performs better, cheaper, faster, cooler or more stable? no prob, just put leds on it.

One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

 

[LazyGamer]

Thanks for that, Dan -- while I get Stoly's perspective, RGB LEDs exist on motherboards (and anything else they can put them on) for the same reason that many things exist, and many others don't: marketing.

You also don't have to run them in Rainbow Bright mode unless that's your schtick

[almost forgot to add: I like the inclusion of four M.2 slots, and while they likely won't all be full speed, the current economics of NVMe drives makes using more drives far more palatable than using larger drives]

 

[Dan_D]

I forgot to mention that MSI increased it's sales dramatically the first year they changed everything to a "gaming" board and made them all red and black in color. Apparently, that was huge in China. It didn't matter that it had already been done by ASUS' ROG brand years earlier. Similarly, putting all the RGB lighting on the motherboards has had a similar effect.

Be glad MSI has thrown the "Get off my Lawn" crowd a bone and created a motherboard (that's still all blacked out like a lot of other gamer boards) and has no RGB LED's on it. MSI's not the only one doing it, but they are one of the few. Why? Because they know there is a market for it. However small it may be. It's not hard to design a board that doesn't have the LED's on it.

I bet they sell primarily to 40+ year olds who long for the days of DOS prompts and bitmap based FPS shooters. MSI should consider a packaged deal with Werther's Original candies.

 

[Grimlakin]

I forgot to mention that MSI increased it's sales dramatically the first year they changed everything to a "gaming" board and made them all red and black in color. Apparently, that was huge in China. It didn't matter that it had already been done by ASUS' ROG brand years earlier. Similarly, putting all the RGB lighting on the motherboards has had a similar effect.

Be glad MSI has thrown the "Get off my Lawn" crowd a bone and created a motherboard (that's still all blacked out like a lot of other gamer boards) and has no RGB LED's on it. MSI's not the only one doing it, but they are one of the few. Why? Because they know there is a market for it. However small it may be. It's not hard to design a board that doesn't have the LED's on it.

I bet they sell primarily to 40+ year olds who long for the days of DOS prompts and bitmap based FPS shooters. MSI should consider a packaged deal with Werther's Original candies.

Ahem... as a 46 year old gamer who likes less bling on my boards I still appreciate a good looking design. I like having options and not being forced to buy things I don't want just to get what I do want.
Think of it like buying a sports car for track use. You don't need a lot of crap in the car. And if you could get one for a fair price that focused on driving and safety and not on a 1000 watt stereo and a 12 inch lcd display but something more configurable to be only what you needed... wouldn't that be the better track car? Just my thoughts here but gaming computers are like track cars. We put together the pieces when we build them to make them good at what we want them good at. And we all know our threshold to be good for us.

Just because I don't have a use for leds doesn't mean I don't want braided cables and modular power supplies. Heck I'd like that new one with the power bar that gos in the back of the case.

So yea I don't see a point to features I don't want. But I'm flexible enough to know that I'll pay for a brand I trust with some features I find stupid because I need a quality I am accustomed to.

And that is not a light green abit board with capacitor wine from the moment you turn it on.

I got rambly... now give me my **** worthers back and get off my lawn!!

 

[Dan_D]

Ahem... as a 46 year old gamer who likes less bling on my boards I still appreciate a good looking design. I like having options and not being forced to buy things I don't want just to get what I do want.
Think of it like buying a sports car for track use. You don't need a lot of crap in the car. And if you could get one for a fair price that focused on driving and safety and not on a 1000 watt stereo and a 12 inch lcd display but something more configurable to be only what you needed... wouldn't that be the better track car? Just my thoughts here but gaming computers are like track cars. We put together the pieces when we build them to make them good at what we want them good at. And we all know our threshold to be good for us.

Just because I don't have a use for leds doesn't mean I don't want braided cables and modular power supplies. Heck I'd like that new one with the power bar that gos in the back of the case.

So yea I don't see a point to features I don't want. But I'm flexible enough to know that I'll pay for a brand I trust with some features I find stupid because I need a quality I am accustomed to.

And that is not a light green abit board with capacitor wine from the moment you turn it on.

I got rambly... now give me my **** worthers back and get off my lawn!!

My point is that for the vast majority of these things, the LED's help sell boards. It's good MSI has created an option for those who don't want the LED's. I never said it wasn't. But you can't ever mention the Unify without a bunch of grandpa's coming into the thread and bitching about lights that A.) Cost you nothing. B.) Can be turned off in BIOS and on some boards, by jumper / switch on the PCB. I just don't see their inclusion as an offense the way some of you guys do.

BTW, I'm 41 and I like the lights. I do think they have been carried too far in some cases, but I don't mind them.

 

[Stoly]

That's probably the most irrational statement I think I've read all day. The fact is, DIY PC's and boutique PC builds are a niche within a niche of the market. Desktops today are almost always built for gaming. Workstations are a thing, but they are few and far between comparatively. Have you ever wondered why every company went ham on calling everything a "gaming" this or that? It's because research conducted by these companies YEARS ago showed that the market had shifted to mobile devices or laptops for all "normal" computing tasks.

Gamers like customizing the look of their stuff. Gamers tend to like flashy aesthetics. That's why the LED's exist. They exist for the same reason why people used to cut windows into the side of their beige cases and paint them. They exist for the same reason people started blacking out their cables, using round IDE cables, building crazy water cooling loops etc.

Would you prefer green or brown PCB's, flat gray power supplies and condiment colored power cables everywhere? I'll get off your lawn now.



One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

Its just a smaller pointy nose, bigger boobs, it adds nothing of value other than looks. Nowadays its hard to get quality parts that don't have leds on them. My current PC has leds on the PSU, video card and RAM and MB not to mention keyboard and mouse (last two were a present from my kid so I can't complain). All the parts I've got on great deals, and I really couldn't get comparable parts without LEDs at comparable prices so I'm stuck with that.

One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

Really think so? how about the thousands of cheapo parts that suck big time but hey they have little lights everywhere so they sell like hotcakes. I've seen lots of PSUs, cases, kb, mouse etc that are big sellers on amazon just because they have fancy lights.

 

[Dan_D]

Its just a smaller pointy nose, bigger boobs, it adds nothing of value other than looks. Nowadays its hard to get quality parts that don't have leds on them. My current PC has leds on the PSU, video card and RAM and MB not to mention keyboard and mouse (last two were a present from my kid so I can't complain). All the parts I've got on great deals, and I really couldn't get comparable parts without LEDs at comparable prices so I'm stuck with that.



Really think so? how about the thousands of cheapo parts that suck big time but hey they have little lights everywhere so they sell like hotcakes. I've seen lots of PSUs, cases, kb, mouse etc that are big sellers on amazon just because they have fancy lights.

There is hardware that sucks and hardware that rocks. Both come with LED's. Having LED's or being high quality aren't mutually exclusive. That's my point. The two are unrelated.

 

[Niner51]

I've been building and working with computers for over twenty years and I enjoy the RGB hardware as much as the non RGB stuff. I've learned you get what you pay for when it comes to hardware so you just have to do your research before buying as we all know. The cheaper LED stuff that flies off the shelves as Stoly mentioned usually goes to impulse buyers that want those LED's and that's what they can afford.

 

[Stoly]

There is hardware that sucks and hardware that rocks. Both come with LED's. Having LED's or being high quality aren't mutually exclusive. That's my point. The two are unrelated.

Except that adding leds gives crappy hardware a high end look, marketing 101.

 

[Dan_D]

Except that adding leds gives crappy hardware a high end look, marketing 101.

I'm not arguing that point. I'm simply stating that there is crappy hardware and high end hardware with a crap ton of RGB LED's. Thus, it has nothing to do with how good the hardware actually performs or how well its made. LED count is not how you differentiate high end hardware from low end hardware. Anyone who's spent five minutes looking into motherboards has likely figured that out.