Closer Look
Colorful CVN B550M Gaming Frozen V14 arrived in a retail package which well described in a similar way as most gaming series motherboards. On the back, we have a picture of the motherboard and listed specifications and key features. The box design is similar to that of the previously reviewed CVN B460M motherboard.
We will find a well-protected motherboard, user’s manual, drivers and software DVD, SATA data cables, and IO shield inside the box. Everything as expected. I wish to see a pre-installed I/O shield, but it’s not an issue.
The motherboard itself looks great. I won’t hide that I love white PCB. Besides unique looks, it also works great with any illumination, reflecting light that gives additional effects. I think that heatsinks could be white too while they’re silver. When we install the motherboard, it won’t be really visible, and it’s also not an issue, more like a personal preference.
The motherboard doesn’t need any fans for cooling what a clear advantage is. There are no moving parts or noise.
The layout is not much different from what we can see in other micro ATX motherboards based on the B550 chipset or even most motherboards. There are two M.2 sockets from what one works in PCIe 4.0 mode, while the second one is PCIe 3.0. This is also popular because of chipset limitations. On the other hand, it’s more than enough for most gamers.
The motherboard is equipped with two strengthened PCIe x16 slots. One works in PCIe 4.0 and full 16 lanes, while the other one is PCIe 3.0 and uses 4 lanes. Again typical and fine for most gaming PCs.
We can also find Realtek Gbit LAN on the motherboard, but there is no WiFi and Bluetooth. If we wish to add it, we can use a PCIe card, which is quite cheap. Lack of WiFi and Bluetooth for sure lowers the motherboard price, and not all users need it.
The motherboard supports up to 128GB RAM in 32GB modules. It also supports up to DDR4-4000+, and it actually works with four modules at DDR4-3866+, so the same as more expensive, competitive motherboards.
The motherboard is equipped with a single HDMI and single DVI outputs. I guess we could already say that Display Port is more popular than DVI in modern computers, but those who are into gaming probably will use a discrete graphics card, so it doesn’t matter much.
There are more detailed specifications on the next page, so let’s move there to check additional components that were not described yet.
