Agent47 Posted September 25, 2022 Posted September 25, 2022 Lining up with AMD’s Ryzen 7000 CPU announcements, many motherboard partners are showing off their new X670E/X670-based motherboards, featuring the new AM5 socket, to go along with the new Zen 4 chips. The new motherboards come with a slew of updates and improvements to support the new CPU platform. This includes moving from DDR4 to DDR5 (no DDR4 options, unlike Intel), a shift from PCIe 4.0 to PCIe 5.0, and upgraded power delivery to support the socket capable of using up to 230W. I look forward to all the new hardware bits and functionality, but I get most excited about the new designs board partners come up with. Over the coming months, we’ll review many of these boards, with the best models earning spots on our best motherboards page. Until we get started with reviews, we’ve created a list of Ryzen 7000 motherboards, with as much information directly from partners as possible. Many details, including the all-important price, will arrive later. So there’s some speculation on our end below. We’ll provide everything we have regarding official facts and update the information here as we get it. AMD’s X670 Chipset: AM5 goes LGA, PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 Just as with our Z690 overview article earlier this year, when we started this one, AMD had not released the full details of the X670 chipsets. But what we do know is AMD has moved away from the PGA (Pin Grid Array) socket to an LGA (Land Grid Array) socket, like Intel processors. The new socket contains 1,718 pins, 18 more than Intel’s LGA 1700 socket for its Z6x0 motherboards and Alder Lake processors. The good news is that AM4-compatible cooling will fit the AM5 motherboards. Many mounting kits work natively, though some will need new ones for best results. Reach out to the company that made your cooler to confirm compatibility. Along with the flagship-class X670E chipset, AMD is also releasing X670 (no “E”), B650E and B650 chipsets. X670E supports all the new bells and whistles, including PCIe 5.0 slots and storage, along with AMD EXPO memory technology (essentially an AMD-specific version of Intel’s XMP). X670, on the other hand, supports EXPO, but only PCIe 5.0 on the NVMe storage (not the PCIe slot). The other chipsets, B650E and B650, offer users a less-expensive path into the new AM5 platform. The “E” variant has comprehensive support for PCIe Gen 5 (slot and NVMe storage), while the ‘base’ X650 chipset only supports PCIe 5.0 on storage/NVMe. Both chipsets support overclocking the processor and memoryThe B650E motherboards target the mid-range to higher ‘budget’ options, so there will likely be some pricing overlap between the higher tier B650E and X670, as they share some of the same internals, including PCIe redrivers and the necessary space to support them. While most motherboard partners haven’t disclosed pricing, AMD did mention that AM5 motherboards will be available for as low as $125. However, we imagine this is likely the MSRP of the least expensive B650 motherboard(s). That said, we expect a price increase compared to X570 and perhaps even Z690, regardless of the chipset tier. It’s nice to see graphics cards coming down in price, but getting into a new DDR5 platform will cost you. Along with the jump to DDR5, AMD is also releasing AMD EXPO (EXtended Profiles for Overclocking) memory technology, a one-click overclocking profile for Ryzen 7000 series memory. Similar to integrated XMP profiles for Intel, you’ll have EXPO profiles to select in the BIOS to run your kit at the rated speeds. AMD partnered with several memory manufacturers, including ADATA, Corsair, Geil, G.Skill and Kingston to help bring DDR5 memory kits to the market with the new features. According to AMD, upon launch on September 27th, you should see at least 15 kits of DDR5 with AMD EXPO functionality at speeds up to DDR5-6400. We’ve already covered kits from G.Skill and TeamGroup. One of the more unique features of the X670E boards is their dual PCHs. The chipset (actually a chipset, defined as multiple chips) uses two Promontory 21 (PROM21) chips. Instead of exclusive access to the CPU for each, the two chips connect to each other through four PCIe 4.0 lanes, which then connect to the CPU directly, sporting the same PCIe 4.0 x4 bandwidth as X570 for DMI. Combined, the chipset provides three PCIe 4.0 x4 interfaces (12 lanes total) and eight PCIe 3.0, the latter reserved for slower connectivity like networking. Board partners have the flexibility to configure the PCIe 3.0 to SATA ports, which yields a mix and match of six SATA plus two PCIe (x4 + x4). A benefit of using a multi-chip configuration (both 7W TDP, note), is that they can be spread out and cooled passively, forgoing the fans that many despised (few with good reason, as they weren’t noisy) on the first batch of X570 motherboards. Thankfully, we haven’t seen any chipset fans on Micro ATX or larger boards, but we do expect to see them used with high-end Mini-ITX motherboards since real estate is so limited on those tiny boards. Check out our article from a few months back for more detailed information. AMD hasn’t released an official chipset diagram at this time, but we have one for the Aorus Master, which gives you an example of how things can be split up. Link : https://www.tomshardware.com/features/x670-motherboard-overview
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