GIGABYTE A320 Motherboards Add Zen 3 Support

Last week, owners of one of Gigabyte’s motherboards based on AMD’s A320 chipset had a limited CPU upgrade path, if they didn’t want to overhaul their platform. And now? Gigabyte is dishing up beta BIOS updates that enable support for both Zen 2 (Ryzen 4000) and the latest Zen 3 (Ryzen 5000) processor from AMD.

This is potentially great news for budget builders who want to extend the life of their platform. As Intel’s Alder Lake processors come into view, retailers have been dropping prices on some of AMD’s latest generation Ryzen 5000 series chips. Take for example the Ryzen 7 5800X. It debuted at $449, and is now selling on Amazon for $393.99.

Read more @ Hot Hardware

ASUS Z690 Motherboards Feature Q-Release for Video Cards

Asus is delivering an excellent quality of life improvement with its upcoming Z690 motherboards with what it calls PCIe Slot Q-Release. As spotted by @momomo_us, this feature will allow users to easily remove a graphics card installed in the primary PCIe 5.0 slot on a Z690-based motherboard. 

Removing a modern graphics card from a motherboard shouldn’t be too much of a hassle in most cases. However, the heatsink design of some cards coupled with motherboards becoming increasingly crammed with components around the PCIe slot, can sometimes make removal a bit more cumbersome. The Q-Release aims to alleviate this by pressing a button mounted near the DDR4/DDR5 memory slots.

Read more @ Tom’s Hardware / @momomo_us

MSI MAG B560M MORTAR WIFI – itndaily

The MSI MAG B560M Mortar WIFI is also worth praising for the competent layout of the elements (there is enough space for installing even a dimensional cooler of the Noctua NH-D15S chromax.black level ), a large number of USB of different versions on the rear panel and light indicators that notify the user about problems with starting ( CPU, DRAM, Boot and VGA). There are no hot buttons for turning on / restarting the PC on the board.

Read more @ itndaily (Russian)

ASRock X570S PG Riptide – AnandTech

The ASRock X570S PG Riptide represents a new entry in ASRock’s gaming-themed Phantom Gaming series, but at the more entry to a mid-level market segment, which for an X570 board might be most people’s mid-range or even high-end for cost. Designed primarily for AMD’s latest Ryzen 5000 processors, it is also compatible with both the Ryzen 3000 and 2000 series of desktop processors, but it also supports Ryzen 5000, 4000, and 3000 APUs. It also has four memory slots with support for fast DDR4-5000 memory, with a maximum combined capacity of up to 128 GB.

Read more @ AnandTech

ASRock B550 PG Riptide – TechPowerUp

Having now reviewed both PG Riptide motherboards, a few comparisons can be made. ASRock uses the same heatsink and VRM design for both the B550 and X570 PG Riptide, which still comes with the same concerns I had previously. ASRock’s choice not to place a heatsink over the SoC VRM section is a real issue for those using an APU or wanting to do any meaningful overclocking. Overall, manually overclocking an AMD Ryzen CPU is a waste of time considering Precision Boost does an excellent job, though. A counter argument can be made for adjusting these settings from the default BIOS Auto values. Lower power consumption and CPU temperatures could be accomplished with a voltage offset and set CPU frequency. The BIOS is not set up for easy navigation, however, undervolting and setting the CPU clock frequency to benefit from said offset is a chore.

Read more @ TechPowerUp

New MSI, ASUS, GIGABYTE Intel Z690 Motherboards Revealed

Starting off with MSI’s Z690 motherboard lineup, we already got to see the Unify-X series which we talked about over here. The new Z690 motherboards include the MSI PRO Z690-A WiFi, MPG Z690 FORCE WiFi & the MAG Z690 TOMAHAWK WiFi DDR4. All three motherboards will be aimed at the entry-level and mainstream segment and are coupled with a range of new features and stunning designs despite being sub $300 US offerings. MSI has further supplemented each board with WiFi which really is a plus this generation. You can also see an impressive power delivery with the PRO rocking a 16 phase, & the Tomahawk rocking an 18 phase VRM design.

Read more @ Wccftech

GIGABYTE X570S AERO G – GinjFo

Its purpose is different with a perfectly mastered balance sheet to offer ultra-fast storage and multiple connectivity options. The goal is to have an “optimized” environment for creation. This can relate to video (DisplayPort input), photography, audio, 3D creation, rendering, architecture etc. In view of our tests, this mission is fulfilled with great services in this segment (3D rendering, audio encoding, video encoding). In other areas, the results are average with sometimes a slight decline compared to the X570S PG Riptide from ASRock (memory bandwidth, memory latency, gaming). We also noticed a little more energy consumption at rest.

Read more @ GinjFo (French)

ASUS PRIME Series Z690 Motherboards Break Cover

We received four photos of the upcoming Z690 PRIME motherboards from ASUS. The PRIME series used to be the mid-tier segment in the company’s lineup, but in the past few years, they have progressively been pushed back by TUF the lowest tier. The good news is that we finally get to see the design of the (almost) cheapest motherboards of the next generation.

It is worth noting that ASUS will be launching as many as 10 Z690 PRIME motherboards. The A-Series, which is a higher sub-tier in the PRIME series with the addition of RGB lighting etc., and V-Series (the lowest tier) have not been pictured yet.

Read more @ Videocardz

MSI MAG Z590-A PRO – Tom’s Hardware

The Z590-A Pro has capable power delivery, three M.2 sockets, 2.5 GbE, six SATA ports, and a unique checkerboard pattern on the PCB. But some sacrifices are inevitable at this price point. On this board specifically, two of the three M.2 sockets do not have a heatsink. The audio codec is dated, and there’s no included Wi-Fi (although there is a Wi-Fi model, for a bit more). But in this price range, these kinds of limitations are to be expected.

Read more @ Tom’s Hardware

Intel Alder Lake – Announcement Oct 27th, Launch Nov 4.

Our sources have confirmed that the Intel 12th Gen Core processor lineup along with the Z690 motherboards will be readily available on 4th November at 6:00 AM PT. Intel will also hold a pre-launch announcement next week where they would disclose the prices, specifications, and general performance numbers of their next-gen family during 27th & 28th October during the ‘Innovation’ event.

Read more @ Wccftech