AMD's entry-level A620 motherboards may finally give consumers a reason to upgrade to the AM5 platform. Overseas retailers have started to list A620 motherboards from different vendors for under $100.
B650 motherboards are great options for consumers that don't need all the features from a premium chipset like X670 or X670E. Still, it wasn't until recently that motherboard vendors started to roll out B650 motherboards at the $125 price point. But the A620 motherboards are the real heroes for consumers on a really tight budget. Manufacturers have to cut corners to bring a sub-$100 range AM5 motherboard to the market, so we should expect a severely reduced feature set on the A620 chipset. That will likely include slower interfaces, more basic connectivity options, and very modest power delivery subsystems, similar to the prior A520 motherboards.
Polish retailer BuyIT and Slovakian retailer Edis Computers (via momomo_us) have listed MSI Pro A620M-E for $82.90 and $79.11, respectively (after converting to USD). The prices could be placeholders but we don't think so, given their similarity. Unfortunately, neither retailer posted any detailed information about the MSI Pro A620M-E. Furthermore, both got the specifications wrong, erroneously stating that the motherboard sports the LGA1700 socket. From the little available information, the MSI Pro A620M-E is a microATX motherboard with an HDMI and VGA port.
Early rumors claim that there may be two A620 chipset designs. One (Promontory 21) reportedly is a cut-down version of the B650 chipset, whereas the other (Promontory 22) seemingly boasts a new design that's cheaper to produce. The first wave of A620 motherboards allegedly used the Promontory 21 design, and the latter offerings will transition to the Promontory 22 design. We think vendors may temporarily roll with the first design to meet AMD's launch window, rumored to be the middle of the year, before jumping on the second design later.
AMD A620 Motherboard Pricing
| Motherboard | Pricing | Retailer |
|---|---|---|
| MSI Pro A620M-E | $82.90 | BuyIT (Poland) |
| MSI Pro A620M-E | $79.11 | Edis Computers (Slovakia) |
AMD hasn't revealed the specifications for the A620 chipset; however, reputable hardware leaker chi11eddog has reportedly obtained some information on the upcoming budget chipset. The B650 chipset delivers eight PCIe 4.0 lanes with an uplink consisting of four PCIe 4.0 lanes. The A620, on the other hand, purportedly offers the same number of chipset lanes and uplink, but they are limited to PCIe 3.0 speeds.
Unlike B650, A620 seemingly lacks PCIe 5.0 support. Therefore, the 28 PCIe lanes from Zen 4 processors are limited to PCIe 4.0 speeds. It's not a huge letdown since PCIe 4.0 SSDs are still plenty fast for most consumers' needs. Moreover, even the best graphics cards are happy with a PCIe 4.0 interface (none of them support PCIe 5.0 yet), so having a budget chipset without PCIe 5.0 support isn't a huge deal. A620 is rumored to lack CrossFireX support as well — not like anyone even uses that feature anymore.
The A620 chipset could arrive without support for processor overclocking, which is to be expected since A620 motherboards likely won't have robust power delivery subsystems. For the same reason, it's possible that some of the basic A620 motherboards may not have what it takes to handle the higher-watt Ryzen 7000 chips, such as the 170W Ryzen 9 7950X. We'll have to wait to find out.
Luckily, memory overclocking is still on the table, according to the leaked information. Other rumored compromises reside in the USB connectivity. The A620 chipset might not support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports. It could be limited to just two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports while retaining the six USB 2.0 ports.
A620 motherboards will be a welcome addition to the pricey AM5 platform. Consumers will finally be able to tap into the best CPUs without spending a small fortune on an AM5 motherboard. In addition, with DRAM pricing plummeting, DDR5 memory should be cheaper very soon, giving buyers added stimulus to hop on the Zen 4 train.
