AMD A620 Launch Finally Imminent As First Entry-Level Zen 4 Chipset Breaks Cover
AMD’s first true entry-level AM5 motherboard has been pictured, carrying the all-new A620 chipset. The motherboard featured is known as the ASRock A620M-HDV/M.2 and is a baseline micro-atx motherboard with minimal rear I/O, just two DDR5 slots and no VRM heatsinks. A620 is believed to be AMD's first entry-level chipset for the AM5 platform, that will come with lower motherboard price options than B650. Official specifications and a potential release date are unknown but we suspect the board will cost around $125 - the promised AM5 starting price from AMD.
Based on this previously rumored data A620 will be locked out of PCIe Gen5 connectivity completely, and be segregated to PCIe Gen 4 and Gen 3 connectivity alone. The PCIe lanes coming from the CPU will reportedly be rated at Gen 4 speeds, but the chipset lanes will be downgraded to Gen 3 - instead of Gen 4 like on B650. PCIe Lane count is going down for the chipset as well, from 36 on B650 down to 28. Overclocking will also be limited, with CPU overclocking completely banned, however, DDR5 overclocking will still be enabled, allowing users to run their EXPO kits at their fullest potential.
ASRock’s new A620 motherboard appears to follow these PCIe downgrades quite consistently. The board is as barebones as you would expect from any current AMD A520 or Intel H610 motherboard. The rear I/O has just five USB ports in all, with four of those being Type A and one being Type C. The audio ports are quite bare as well with just three outputs in total. However, the display connectivity is decent, with DisplayPort and HDMI connections to choose from.
On the main board, you will find two DDR5 slots, a single M.2 slot for storage, another M.2 for wireless connectivity, a single PCIe x16 slot, and two PCIe x1 slots right underneath it. Power delivery is quite minimal, with just six visible phases and no VRM heatsinks to keep them extra cool. The power delivery is especially concerning since it means users will probably be limited to AMD’s non-X 65W TDP Ryzen 7000 CPUs and Ryzen 7 7800X3D, due to the lower-end design. Users installing any of AMD’s more power-hungry CPUs are more than likely to encounter VRM thermal throttling or other artificial power limiters.
Sadly, pictures were only shown so we don’t know the board’s MSRP or release date. However, based on the motherboard box it looks like this ASRock A620 motherboard is ready for shipment. If so we could see A620 motherboards in a very short period of time. Besides timing, the most interesting aspect of the A620 platform will be motherboard pricing. Some of Gigabyte and ASRock’s cheapest B650 motherboards are discounted as low as $119.99 right now on Newegg.com, so if AMD wants A620 to be competitive it will have to MSRP A620 at $125 or lower.
