Really a great board for the price and features included. Particularly found the USB C port a nice addition (as my case did not include one). Very approachable BIOS as well which I've used to set fan curves and XMP Profile for RAM. I haven't tried any CPU overclocking yet (as I haven't needed to at all with the R5 3600). Also the 2 M.2 slots are very appreciated, though it should be noted that using M.2 slot #1 disables 2 of the SATA ports. Not an issue for me as I don't intend on using the SATA ports.

I also crashed the system trying to OC my RAM. BIOS flash was super easy with the included button on the I/O and clearly marked USB port.

I heard everyone praising MSI's B450 boards, this one was among the best rated, solit VRMs, as far as I know. I was thinking about the mini ITX format (better fit on my table), but I changed my mind last minute. Only thing I'm concerned about is the fact that in bios it says that the Vcore is at 1.465 Volts. That seems crazy high, but in windows it goes down by a looot. while idling it's at like 1.20. I updated the BIOS to the latest one (09.20.2019).

NOTE: 2020-03-23 / Looks like this may be out of stock everywhere due to the pandemic and everyone building PCs for stay-at-home. Hopefully it'll return soon.

TLDR: This is an excellent B450M mATX motherboard with no real negatives. Long review, below.

This has been a solid board so far, with zero real issues.

PROs:

• Low price for the quality and features.

• Installation was a breeze as it should be.

• Obviously I dropped a 3700x on this. OC'd the RAM to 3600MHz without any issue whatsoever. Stressed the entire system with high-intensity games and Handbrake video conversions, all with the CPU clocking 4.3GHz, 700MHz over base, and pushing the 1080 Ti to its performance limits.

• With light, adequate cooling in the case and on the CPU, the board and its components (including the VRM) always remain cool and stable.

• No wifi, but you know that going in. I bought the 1x wifi 6 card listed in my build list and plugged it into the free 16x PCI-E slot and J_USB plug (for bluetooth). No issue there at all.

Cons:

• Not available in the US! What's up with that, MSI? So, I live on the US West Coast and had to buy this through Amazon UK. Got to me in just a few days with expedited shipping, and was totally worth it.

• Came with a SLOW-READ DVD with terribly outdated software. Better in any case to download all of the software and install from that. Oh and the I/O plate and two SATA cables. And that's it. No frills, just a solid motherboard.

• What's with the Printer and COM headers, MSI? Even when this board was first sold, who even used those anymore? And if they were seen as important, why not include the PCI slot output adapters? These spots and the board traces might have held something more useful... like fan headers. :P

• Oh and I blocked this out to preserve my sanity: The MSI Dragon software is absolute GARBAGE on both of my MSI/AMD PCs. Couldn't even get it to download and install Mystic so I could turn off that permanent red LED strip under the 24-pin connector. And "Performance Boost" is terrible and often erratic—good luck getting it to work properly. Motherboard: GOOD. Dragon software: BAD. I'd take stars off for it, but the board has been good on its own.

• Updated the BIOS to the latest version (2019-12-31). My only issue with that was that for my MSI X570 Unify board, I was forced to rename the downloaded BIOS file to MSI.ROM or it would not be found by the update utility. Thinking I had to do that with this board, I tried this and FAILED. The update utility could not find the BIOS file. Instead, I just extracted the file and did not rename it. The update was found and pushed to the board with no other problem. Thanks for the consistency in process, MSI. /s

NOTE that even with all of the "cons" I really like this board for it's quality, stability, and features for the size of it. None of the cons were catastrophic or ultimately damaging to the experience after the board was installed and updated. I would definitely buy this board again.

My only gripe with it so far is the voltages... They're too high. Even when updated to the latest BIOS (AGESA 1.0.0.3), voltages nearly reach 1.5V. Setting a -0.1V offset limits the CPU's capability, sadly. For now I'd rather keep it as is, and if the high voltage kills it, it's either MSI's or AMD's problem to fix.

I really like this board ... I've got nothing to nag. Two m.2-Ports, Bios-Flash-button and VR-ready-USB3-ports are a nice bonus.

Solid motherboard for the price. Has Ryzen 3000 support out of the box, Bios Flashback via USB, lots of storage options (2 M.2 + 4 SATA), 2 PCIE slots (second one is disabled if you insert a second M.2), very good VRMs and cooling solution even for Ryzen 3000. Click Bios is pretty good and has most CPU option available with their standard names instead of hiding or renaming them like many other manufacturers do. Highly recommended for small form factor builds.

I love the look and also the lighting of the background. I didn't have to do a BIOS flashback or any kind. It has 2 m.2 slots, 3 system fan slots, and a lot of slots that I don't have any idea what it is for. All I know, I love the everything about it. I had to remount it three times because of where I want to put my cables, I'll explain with my case once I get there. MSI has the best thermals in terms of VRAM, so I got this one.

Great broad, choose this over the tomahawk because it has an extra m.2 slot even know the mortar is smaller. Very easy to work with.

I should've chosen a larger board since I am using an ATX-size NZXT. I chose it due to many positive feedback from people and articles. If there's one thing that I do not like is the RGB back-lighting. It's quite stupid to turn it off: there's no manual OFF switch in Mystic Light, just set the RGB to black. I do wish I could turn the back-lighting off in the BIOS settings. Anyway, it's just a really minor nuisance. The Mortar Max is an excellent board. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone. Get the MAX version if you're pairing it with Ryzen 3000 CPU.

The MSI Mortar Max is a B450M mATX AMD motherboard which has had no performance issues but did not recognise the ram as DDR4-3200 but as DDR4-2100, this was fixed by turning the XMP on. The Bios was not the easiest to use but it did work how it should have. The motherboard has plenty of headers and connectors which means it will work with almost any mATX build and if there is not enough, maybe you should look for an ATX motherboard.

The Dragon Centre software which is MSI’s all in 1 software for lighting etc. is garbage and the individual apps which it seems to uninstall when you install it are way better. Although overall it is a solid motherboard.