ASRock B650 PG Lightning

The B650 PG Lightning is one of ASRock's most affordable current-generation AM5 boards, giving budget builders a PCIe 5.0 GPU slot without the extras of the Steel Legend or Taichi lines, sold in both wired and WiFi variants.

ASRock markets this as an entry-tier AM5 board; its public product pages do not detail an exact VRM phase count, and it is intended for Ryzen 9000 non-X3D chips running at or near stock clocks rather than sustained overclocking. Four DDR5 DIMM slots support current AM5 memory configurations, with AMD EXPO profiles enabling overclocking on supported Ryzen 9000/8000/7000 processors up to roughly 7200+ MT/s. The board includes a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for the GPU and a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot at x4 from the chipset. Storage covers two M.2 slots, one supporting PCIe 5.0 and one PCIe 4.0. A 2.5G LAN controller handles wired networking; the base PG Lightning model ships without built-in WiFi, with a separate PG Lightning WiFi variant available for buyers who want wireless included. Audio uses a Realtek ALC897 codec. Against the ASRock B650M Pro RS also in this catalog, the B650 PG Lightning offers a full ATX layout instead of micro-ATX at a similar entry-level price point, making it the choice for builders who want more physical expansion room without paying more.