X870(E) mainboards for Ryzen 9000 are here
New AM5 mainboards bring Wi-Fi 7 and USB4. AMD also confirms a 105-watt mode for the cheaper Ryzen 9000 CPUs.
Four new AM5 mainboards from Asus.
(Image: Asus)
AMD's Ryzen 9000 desktop processor series does not require new motherboards. However, those who want a modern range of functions can still buy new models from now on: Mainboards with the X870E and X870 chipsets are now available.
Technically, they use the same chipsets as the previous X670(E) and B650(E) mainboards, but AMD has tightened the specifications for manufacturers. All 800 models must come with additional chips for USB4 and Wi-Fi 7. The newcomers are available at a lower price than old 600 mainboards with USB4.
However, the naming is opaque: while the X870E chipset is the new spearhead, the X870 is actually a renamed B650E. It couples a single so-called Promontory 21 chip to the processor. All X670(E) and X870(E) boards, on the other hand, use two Promontory 21s and therefore have more fast USB and M.2 slots, among other things. X870 prices should therefore be compared with B650E mainboards.
220 to 650 euros
The Asrock X870 Pro RS (starting from 189,05 €) currently starts at a good 220 euros. The model has many USB ports, but most of them only with USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbit/s, formerly known as USB 3.0) and USB 2.0 speed. Two Type-C ports are compatible with USB 4. For comparison: The cheapest 600 series mainboard with USB4 costs 60 euros more, Asrock's B650E Taichi Lite.
If you are looking for an X870E mainboard, you will have to spend more than 300 euros. The cheapest model currently available is the X870E Aorus Elite Wi-Fi 7 (starting from 285,73 €) from Gigabyte –, although the features do not differ too much from the X870 boards (without E).
In the even higher price ranges above 400 euros, you get much more USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbit/s) in addition to the 40 Gbit/s USB and faster Ethernet with 5 or 10 Gbit/s. Convenience functions such as a BIOS flash back are also added, for example on MSI's MPG X870E Carbon Wi-Fi (starting from 475 €). The most expensive model to date comes from Asus – the ROG Crosshair X870E Hero (starting from 515,67 €).
Prices are likely to level out over the next few days and weeks as availability improves.
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105-watt cTDP for small Ryzen 9000
Along with the 800 series motherboards, AMD is making two changes official: a 105-watt mode for the eight-core Ryzen 7 9700X and the six-core Ryzen 5 9600X, as well as BIOS updates that reduce the latency between the compute chiplets on the Ryzen 9 9950X and Ryzen 9 9900X.
By default, the cheaper Ryzen 9000 processors run with a TDP of 65 watts, which results in a real maximum power consumption of 88 watts. With a 105-watt TDP, they can consume up to 142 watts. This increases performance by a few percent, but at the expense of efficiency. According to AMD, the warranty remains intact with the 105-watt mode. The option is migrating to the UEFI interfaces of most AM5 mainboards as "configurable TDP" (cTDP).
The reduced latency between the compute chiplets should only bring an advantage in a few cases. AMD mentions PC games that use many CPU cores, but without so-called core parking. In these cases, threads can jump back and forth between the two chiplets. Specifically, AMD lists "Metro" (exact part not mentioned), "Starfield" and "Borderlands 3" and also the 3DMark benchmark Time Spy.
(mma)
