As expected, AMD has announced its A520 motherboard chipset, which has been identified as part of a new affordable line of motherboards with the basics needed to get AMD 3rd, Gen Ryzen CPUs, up to speed.
Apart from their entry-level prices (under US$ 100), the AMD A520 motherboards have plenty to offer. In comparison to the existing ones, motherboards provide enhanced I/O, upgraded components and support for Ryzen’s next-gen CPUs and APUs, something that older A320 boards can’t provide.
While you don’t get any support for PCIe Gen 4 on A520 motherboards that isn’t that big considering that GPUs that users will end up running on the A520 platform would hardly even saturate the PCIe Gen 3 interface, board manufacturers included a range of features such as improved USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports and faster Ethernet and WiFi controllers that offer better experience over older inputs. You also get the support for the existing 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen CPUs ‘Matisse’ and APUs ‘Renoir’ out of the box.
In order to support the next generation AMD Ryzen CPUs called Vermeer as well as Ryzen APUs codenamed Cezanne, the AMD A520 Platform is going to be the newest of the 500 series PCH family. Board manufacturers will release BIOS for their respective A520 boards prior to the launch of the said processors, so if you’re thinking about upgrading to the next-gen Ryzen CPU / APU entry or mid-tier, then the A520 motherboards will definitely have you backed up.
A handful of motherboards are ready to go with the new chipset. These include the following
ASUS A520 Motherboard Lineup
To date, only three A520 motherboards have just been announced by ASUS. Two of them are in their PRIME series and one belongs to the TUF Gaming lineup.
ASRock A520 Motherboard Lineup
In the standard Pro line of products, ASRock has launched six new A520 motherboards. Four mATX boards and a Mini-ITX option are included.
MSI A520 Motherboard Lineup
MSI has four new AMD A520 motherboards with a new product from the MAG A520 M Vector WiFi series.
Gigabyte A520 Motherboard Lineup
With a total of seven boards, five of them are part of the regular UD segment, while the rest are part of the AORUS group, Gigabyte is the biggest producer.
Biostar A520 Motherboard Lineup
In its A520MH portfolio, Biostar has one AMD A520 motherboard with a price tag of under $100 US.
