The Asus motherboard without a VRM fan out is the one that lacks the dedicated power delivery fan configuration.
The Asus motherboard without a VRM fan out is the one that lacks the dedicated power delivery fan configuration.
I checked the B550-XE, B550-E, X570 Dark Hero, and possibly the B550-F. I used to assume these units didn’t have high-quality fans, but a BuildZoid video on the Asus ROG Strx B550-XE showed a dedicated fan in the VRM area. That’s disappointing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38BmSrYMY2w I’m curious if the B550-E, Dark Hero, or B550-F also include VRM fans without chipset ones. I don’t want any additional motherboard fans.
It appears you're mixing up two different components: the VRM heat sink with its built-in fan and the chipset fans themselves. The B550-XE uses a compact fan inside its VRM, not a dedicated chipset fan. Most boards like the B550 don’t have visible chipset fans, except perhaps the MSI B550-I Gaming Edge. Your concern might stem from misunderstanding how cooling works in these systems.
It seems unclear about the correct solution, but does it really matter? If the noise level isn’t too high, running the VRM cooler with a fan can be beneficial. It might not power up fully under heavy use, but that’s probably normal. Lower-end builds often lack these components, so consider a mid-range option. Checking teardowns of each board would help confirm. It’s understandable that reviewers focus on temperature graphs, and people often compare to other models, even if the actual performance isn’t drastically different. The concern about a 2°C difference is reasonable, but as long as it meets expectations and you can overclock, the exact temperature shouldn’t be a big issue.
Previously we mentioned the chipset, but I should have included VRM. I made the correction.
I've heard Asus fans on chipsets in X570 boards tend to be noisy. That's a bit disappointing since you can't adjust them like with MSI or Gigabyte. However, Asus performs well in other areas. About 1.5 years ago I read a review about chipset fans and it said Asus is harder to control and louder, which seems similar for the even less common VRM fans. Yes, VRM temperatures matter, but models like the Gigabyte B550 Aorus Master, X570 XTREME and X570S Aorus Master have excellent VRMs that run smoothly without any fan. Although Gigabyte's BIOS and firmware aren't great.