MSI MPG B550I GAMING EDGE WIFI Motherboard Review

[Daniel_Doty]

Today we have the MSI MPG B550I GAMING EDGE WIFI board. This is a Mini-ITX Form Factor motherboard and retails at $199.99 on Amazon. Being at this price point it certainly isn’t at the extreme high end of retail for the AMD B550 boards, and certainly isn’t a low-end board either. Since this is a mITX and at this price, we want to see what your hard-earned money will get you on this little puppy.



MSI has been in the gaming and enthusiast scene for many years and most everyone that has had anything to do with gaming and computer products has either owned or at the very least know about them. MSI has a huge product line including laptops, video cards, motherboards...

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[Space_Ranger]

Very nice review Daniel! I've never been overly "keen" on having WiFi for my desktop computer. Sure it's a convenience, but as you pointed out, performance just isn't there for raw throughput.

Interesting little ITX board for sure. Thanks for the one-over for us!

 

[THUMPer]

I have this board... Curious, were you able to find the clear CMOS? haha
Looks like you have version 1.0. There is a 1.2 with a clear CMOS opening on the back. Otherwise, you have to remove the VRM heatsink...


(not my image)

 

[Dan_D]

Very nice review Daniel! I've never been overly "keen" on having WiFi for my desktop computer. Sure it's a convenience, but as you pointed out, performance just isn't there for raw throughput.

Interesting little ITX board for sure. Thanks for the one-over for us!

WiFi performance will vary a lot based on your environment. That being said, WiFi makes more sense on these mini-ITX boards as they lack the expandability of their ATX counterparts. Therefore, having as much built in as you can is often helpful. You don't have to waste a USB port on a WiFi dongle or use up your only PCIe slot for a wireless adapter should you need it.

 

[Space_Ranger]

WiFi performance will vary a lot based on your environment. That being said, WiFi makes more sense on these mini-ITX boards as they lack the expandability of their ATX counterparts. Therefore, having as much built in as you can is often helpful. You don't have to waste a USB port on a WiFi dongle or use up your only PCIe slot for a wireless adapter should you need it.

Why would you target a desktop system with a small ITX motherboard though? That was my point. For the use-cases for ITX, you're aiming at small form-factor systems that would typically use wired connections for their network anyways.

 

[Dan_D]

For the use-cases for ITX, you're aiming at small form-factor systems that would typically use wired connections for their network anyways.

I don't know if I'd agree with this. I can't tell you how many people I've played games with over the years that have trouble with their WiFi connections even on desktops. A friend of mine who is an AT&T installer tells me that the vast majority of installs he does have zero wired connections even when desktops are involved. The reason? Most homes in the U.S. lack preinstalled wiring for Ethernet. It's only been in the last 20 years that this has really been available and only the last ten years where its been common place. Despite the housing boom, most of homes built in the U.S. are more than 20 years old.

Also, the excuse I most commonly hear for not using wired connections for networking come down to someone's wife not wanting to see a cord strung across the floor or stapled to the walls and ceiling.

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

Thanks @Daniel_Doty for the awesome review. I'm always curious about ITX solutions. I'll probably never build one but I am fascinated how powerful they can be these days and a board like this is a step in the right direction. Not to mention, at that price-point it's pretty tough to beat.

 

[magoo]

Nice review.
My only critique and it's just a pet-peeve......I cant read articles where the author
uses "we" to address him/herself.

It conjours up a room full of people staring at a computer screen or the object in question. Like review by committee. It just doesn't fit. Just sayin'

 

[Daniel_Doty]

I've wondered about that myself @magoo

I have thought about it and I agree with you. I'm taking that "we" out of the equation.

 

[Dan_D]

Nice review.
My only critique and it's just a pet-peeve......I cant read articles where the author
uses "we" to address him/herself.

It conjours up a room full of people staring at a computer screen or the object in question. Like review by committee. It just doesn't fit. Just sayin'

It's a hold over from the HardOCP days. Over there, "we" was the preferred pronoun for some reason. To some extent, it made sense over there because Kyle had a hand in every review. Although, the vast majority of the work done was handled by the actual author. Kyle ran certain benchmarks and did his own overclocking test, but that's as far as his involvement went aside from proof reading.

It makes sense for some other sites as well given that the author may not have done any of the actual testing or very little of it as they have a larger staff, each doing their own part. They'll have someone run the benchmarks, someone else overclock and someone else handle the photos and finally, the article. Each piece of hardware may pass through many hands before the article is done. That's not how we actually work. Daniel Doty handles his reviews 100% as I do mine. They are proof read and edited by someone else, but that's it.