Asus Prime B850-Plus VS MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ

Both the Asus Prime B850-Plus and the MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ use the AM5 CPU socket and B850 chipset, and both have an ATX form factor. However, the MSI board supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, while the Asus does not offer Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connectivity. In terms of overclocking, both motherboards make it easy, and both come with RGB lighting. The Asus model has dual BIOS support, but the MSI model does not. Both motherboards are equipped with a single CPU socket and lack integrated graphics and integrated CPUs.

For physical dimensions, the Asus Prime B850-Plus measures 244 mm in height and 305 mm in width, while the MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ is slightly smaller at 243.8 mm in height and 304.8 mm in width.

Both boards come with a 3-year warranty period. The Asus board also offers an easy BIOS reset function, whereas the MSI model does not have this feature explicitly mentioned.

Both the Asus Prime B850-Plus and the MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ support a maximum memory amount of 256GB. They both have 4 memory slots, and use DDR5 memory with dual memory channels. However, the MSI board supports a higher overclocked RAM speed of 8200 MHz, compared to the 8000 MHz supported by the Asus board. Neither board supports ECC memory, as both explicitly list this feature as unsupported.

In terms of memory capabilities, the two motherboards are quite similar, with only the slight difference in the maximum overclocked RAM speed setting them apart.

The Asus Prime B850-Plus and MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ have different USB port configurations. The Asus board offers 3 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-A ports, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 USB-A ports, and 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C port. In contrast, the MSI board has only 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-A port, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 USB-A port, and 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB-C ports. Both boards include 2 USB 2.0 ports, but neither offers USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, USB 4, or Thunderbolt ports. Additionally, neither board has eSATA, DVI, VGA, or PS/2 ports.

For video output, the Asus Prime B850-Plus includes an HDMI output, while the MSI model lacks HDMI but offers a DisplayPort output, similar to the Asus.

Both motherboards feature a single RJ45 port and support USB Type-C, but the Asus Prime B850-Plus includes an HDMI output, which the MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ does not.

The Asus Prime B850-Plus and the MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ are similar in their connector offerings. Both motherboards feature 4 SATA 3 connectors and 6 fan headers. They also have 3 M.2 sockets, 4 USB 2.0 ports (through expansion), and 2 USB 3.0 ports (through expansion). The key difference lies in the number of USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports through expansion: the Asus model provides 2, while the MSI board offers 4.

Both motherboards support a TPM connector, and neither includes U.2 or mSATA connectors. Both also lack SATA 2 connectors.

Overall, the connector setups are quite similar, with the MSI model offering slightly more flexibility in USB 3.2 Gen 1 expansion ports.

The Asus Prime B850-Plus and the MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ offer different configurations for expansion slots. The Asus board has 1 PCIe 4.0 x16 slot and 1 PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, but no PCIe x1, PCI, or PCIe x4 slots. In comparison, the MSI board has 1 PCIe 5.0 x16 slot and 2 PCIe x1 slots, along with 1 PCIe x4 slot. The Asus model does not include any PCIe x1, PCIe x4, or PCIe x8 slots, while the MSI board offers more variety in expansion with additional PCIe x1 and PCIe x4 slots.

Overall, the main difference between the two boards lies in the variety of PCIe slots available. The Asus model is focused on PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, while the MSI board provides more options for lower-speed PCIe slots, particularly for additional cards.

Both the Asus Prime B850-Plus and the MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ support 7.1 audio channels, offering similar high-quality sound options. However, they differ in their audio connectors and additional features. The Asus model has 3 audio connectors, while the MSI board has only 2. Additionally, the MSI board includes an S/PDIF Out port, which the Asus model lacks.

In summary, the Asus Prime B850-Plus provides slightly more audio connectors, while the MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ offers the benefit of an S/PDIF Out port for digital audio output.

The Asus Prime B850-Plus and the MSI B850 Gaming Plus Wi-Fi PZ are identical in terms of RAID support. Both motherboards support RAID 1, RAID 10 (1+0), RAID 5, and RAID 0. Neither board supports RAID 0+1, as this feature is explicitly not available on both models.

In summary, the storage capabilities for RAID configurations are the same for both boards, with both supporting the most common RAID setups but excluding RAID 0+1.