AM5 first look: Venders showcase X670E & X670 motherboards
During one of AMD’s “meet the experts” webinars, five motherboard vendors showed the world what to expect from their brand new X670E and X670 motherboards.
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AM5 first look: AMD regularly hosts “meet the experts” events, where experts in a broad manner of computing (usually from manufacturers) are invited to speak about their products or even AMD’s own.
Thursday’s “meet the experts” event was all about the new platform for their up-and-coming Zen 4 CPUs, AM5, and what motherboard manufacturers are going to bring to the table with the latest X670E and X670 chipsets. Spoiler alert, it’s big!
This particular event was held on the 4th of August 2022.
Now read: AM5, what we know.
AM5 first look: X670E and X670 chipsets
Firstly, AMD confirmed that the high-end AM5 motherboards would utilize AMD’s X670E and X670 chipsets. The X670E (Extreme) chipset will support ‘unparalleled’ expandability, extreme overclocking support, and PCIe gen 5 connectivity for multiple GPUs as well as Gen 5 enabled M.2 SSDs.
The X670E chipset will be the first chipset to feature a dual chip design, keeping the TDP down to a minimum. One of the biggest complaints on X570 motherboards was the noisy active chipset cooling.
The X670 chipset is a little tamer, but AMD promised that it would still cater to the most avid PC enthusiast. With strong overclocking support on both CPU and RAM, with plenty of connectivity too.
AMD itself outlined key features of the AM5 platform too. AM5 has been confirmed to support a socket TDP of 170W, to maximize the performance of AMD’s next-generation processors. AMD’s new Zen 4 CPUs support up to 24 PCIe lanes (16X PCIe 4x for storage and 4x for chipset), Dual-channel DDR5 memory support, as many as four DisplayPort2 or HDMI 2.1 ports, up to 14 USB ports (including several USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 ports as well as USB-C), and finally Wi-Fi 6E on a select few motherboards.
AM5 key points
AM5 motherboard manufacturers seem to have pumped a lot of resources into power staging and VRMs this time around, with a heavy and consistent focus on power delivery coming from each of the manufacturer’s presentations.
Focusing on power delivery proves advantageous as it extends the overclocking potential of Zen 4 processors, by supporting higher voltages and frequencies with greater stability.
Some X670E and X670 motherboards will come equipped with the M.2-25110 slot standard to ensure compatibility with upcoming high-performance SSDs.
Connectivity is new and improved with the main X670 and X670E motherboards supporting USB4 and Thunderbolt 3/4 via an external controller.
Some X670 and X670E motherboards will support the latest Wi-Fi 6 connectivity using AMD’s own RZ616 Wi-Fi 6E controller, whereas others will use a solution made by Intel.
There was no real mention of DDR5 voltages or speeds in any of the manufacturer’s presentations.
Now let’s take a look at what Asus, ASRock, MSI, Gigabyte, and Biostar have in store for us when AM5 launches.
Asus
Asustek is one of the biggest names in PC component manufacturing and it’s easy to see why if you’re familiar with their products.
Asus showcased two motherboards in Thursday’s webinar, the ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme and the ROG Crosshair X670E Hero, but there are more to come. The motherboards will feature VRMs based on Infineon ASP2205 power management IC (PMIC) and Vishay SIC850 110A smart power stages.
Also, the Crosshair Extreme will feature a 20 + 2-stage power delivery system. However, the ROG hero will be slightly less beefed-out, featuring an 18 + 2 stage VRM power delivery system.
Speaking of power delivery, some of Asus’s boards will be capable of delivering 60W fast charging capabilities to your phone or tablet devices.
Both of Asus’s motherboards will feature future-proof connectivity, boasting two USB4 ports, 10GbE(Extreme), or 2.5GbE (Hero), a more advanced audio system, and Wi-Fi 6E adapters. All of this makes for one exciting Asus ROG motherboard line-up.
ASRock
ASRock’s AM5 lineup will consist of five motherboards, including two flagship X670E Taichi Carrara and X670E Taichi platforms, X670E Steel Legend, X670E Pro RS, and X670E PG Lightning.
ASRock incorporated a total of 26 power phases onto its high-end motherboards, but further details about the power delivery technology are unknown. Regardless, the plan for ASRock’s high-end motherboards is to facilitate high-performance overclocking by any means necessary. The X670E Taichi Carrara also features state-of-the-art connectivity, with two USB4/Thunderbolt 4 ports, eight SATA 3.0 ports, and a PCI Express 5.0 x4 M.2 slot.
These five motherboards from ASRock will feature an eight-layer printed circuit board, USB4 type 4 connectors, and active M.2 Gen 5 SSD cooling.
MSI
MSI is currently working on four top-of-the-line AM5 motherboards. These are the MEG X670E Godlike, MEG X670E Ace, MPG X670E Carbon Wi-Fi, and the X670-powered Pro X670-P Wi-Fi. The godly flagship (MEG X670E Godlike) will feature power phases never before seen on an MSI board, boasting a 24 + 2 + 1 phase design with 105A power phases for Voltage cores.
The lesser (but only marginally) MEG 670E Ace will ship with a 22 + 2 + 1 VRM design, featuring up to 90A power phases for Voltage cores.
MSI motherboards will now use an all-new VRM cooling solution, comprised of direct heat pipes and a full contact MOSFET baseplate.
The flagship MSI AM5 motherboards (MEG X670E Godlike and MEG X670E Ace) will feature MSI’s M.2 Xpander-Z Gen5 Dual adapter expansion card to house two M.2-25110 drives with a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface.
Gigabyte
Gigabyte has brought four high-end motherboards to the table, the X670E Aorus Xtreme, X670E A Aorus Master, X670 Aorus Pro AX, and X670 Aorus Elite AX. The flagship AM5 motherboard (X670E Aorus Xtreme) will feature a full 18 + 2 + 2 power delivery design.
This design will be based on the Renesas RAA229628 PMIC, the X670E Xtreme will also feature 18 Renesas RAA2201054 SPS 105A V-core power stages, two ON NCP303160 SPS 60A SoC power stages, and two Renesas ISL99390 SPS 90A power stages.
The other remaining motherboards will feature a 16 + 2 + 2 power phase featuring PMICs and MOSFETs that differ from the X670 Xtreme’s.
Only GIGABYTES X670E motherboards will support PCIe gen 5 on the PCIe slots and M.2 storage slots. Whereas the X670 line-up will only feature PCIe gen 5 connectivity for SSDs. however, all of GIGABYTE’s AM5 motherboards will feature at least one M.2-25110 slot.
All gigabyte motherboards will include a 2.5GbE/10GbE port, a USB 3.2 Geb 2×2 connector, a THB_U4 header, and up to two HDMI or DisplayPort outputs.
Biostar
Last but certainly not least is Biostar. Biostar is a new combatant in the bloodsport that is high-end motherboard manufacturing, Biostar will have but one X670E motherboard ready for the AM5 launch, and that motherboard is the X670E Valkyre.
This board will feature a 22-phase VRM design with 105A Dr.MOS stages. The X670 Valkyre will also feature a PCIe Gen 4 X16 slot, four Gen 4/5 M.2-2208/22110 slots with high-performance heat spreaders, USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 ports, two display outputs (DP 1.4 and HDMI 2.1), and finally a 2.5GbE connecter.
AM5 first look: Final word
AMD is rumored to release its AM5 motherboards and Zen 4 processors on the 15th of September 2022. This new AM5 platform will be bringing many features forward into reality such as DDR5 on AMD, PCIe gen 5.0, Wi-Fi 6E, and USB 3.2 gen 2×2.
As of right now, five major manufacturers just announced a grand total of 16 motherboards between them, developed for the AM5 platform on both the X670E and X670 chipsets. These motherboards will boast different features and cover a wide range of price points.
Stay tuned for more information on AM5. We hope you enjoyed our AM5 first look article.
