A new era is upon us, an era that involves a re-envisioned focus on performance and efficiency leadership in the CPU landscape. There are two companies that are battling hard to hold the throne of this segment but given the incremental (and sometimes revolutionary) changes that each chipmaker is bringing to the field in a span of a few quarters, there's no decisive victor. In return, the consumers keep on reaping the benefits of this heated battle between red and blue which is the most intense it's ever been.
While Intel may have managed to take the performance, value, and efficiency throne from AMD with its 12th-Gen Alder Lake lineup, AMD isn't going to sit silent. They planned two brand new CPU launches this year, one being a demonstration of how 3D V-Cache can allow gamers to benefit from faster performance in a mainstream package. But that's just one chip, The bigger and the main CPU launch has always been scheduled for the second half of 2022 in the form of Ryzen 7000 and it's going to fundamentally change everything for the Ryzen Desktop CPU platform.
In the five years of Zen, the company went from performance leadership to core leadership, efficiency leadership, and gaming leadership. And today, the red team even manages to secure the clock speed leadership, something that we thought was impossible against a rival such as Intel. The clock leadership will be short-lived considering the competition has planned chips that are 6 GHz capable of launching next month but it's an impressive feat for AMD regardless.
Intel 12th Gen vs AMD Ryzen 5000 Desktop CPU Prices:
| Intel CPU | Cores / Threads | Clocks (Max) | Price (MSRP) | Prices (Newegg) - 01/11/2021 | Prices (Newegg) - 01/11/2021 | Price (MSRP) | Clocks (Max) | Cores / Threads | AMD CPU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | $749.99 US | $799 US | 4.7 GHz (105W) | 16/32 | AMD Ryzen 9 5950X |
| Intel Core i9-12900K | 16/24 | 5.2 GHz (241W) | $589 US (K) $564 US (KF) |
$649.99 K $629.99 KF |
$559.99 US | $549 US | 4.6 GHz (105W) | 12/24 | AMD Ryzen 9 5900X |
| Intel Core i7-12700K | 12/20 | 5.0 GHz (190W) | $409 US (K) $384 US (F) |
$449.99 K $419.99 KF |
$394.99 US | $449 US | 4.7 GHz (105W) | 8/16 | AMD Ryzen 7 5800X |
| Intel Core i5-12600K | 10/16 | 4.9 GHz (150W) | $289 US (K) $264 US (KF) |
$319.99 K $299.99 KF |
$309.99 US | $299 US | 4.6 GHz (65W) | 6/12 | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X |
So this year, AMD has decided to launch a second architecture overhaul, and oh boy! It's a big one. Enter AM5 & Zen 4, a brand new architecture with a prime focus on efficiency and multi-threading performance, and comes with a brand new platform that is outfitted with next-generation features such as DDR5 and PCIe 5.0. The AMD Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" lineup will include the top-to-bottom Ryzen 9, Ryzen 7, and Ryzen 5 CPUs.
The main features of AMD's Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs include:
- Up To 16 Zen 4 Cores and 32 Threads
- +29% Performance Uplift In Single-Threaded Apps
- Brand New Zen 4 CPU Cores (IPC / Architectural Improvements)
- Brand New TSMC 5nm process node with 6nm IOD
- 25% Performance Per Watt Improvement Vs Zen 3
- >35% Overall Performance Improvement Vs Zen 3
- ~13% Instructions Per Clock (IPC) Improvement Vs Zen 3
- Support on AM5 Platform With LGA1718 Socket
- New X670E, X670, B650E, and B650 Motherboards
- Dual-Channel DDR5 Memory Support
- Up To DDR5-5600 Native (JEDEC) Speeds
- 28 PCIe Lanes (CPU Exclusive)
- 105-120W TDPs (Upper Bound Range ~170W)
Today will be a bit different. Instead of focusing on the CPUs, the main focus would be four B650E & B650 series motherboards which are aimed at the mainstream segment. We will try to see what kind of value the new motherboards offer versus their X670E & X670 counterparts.
Before we talk about CPUs, we have to talk about the platform itself. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs will be migrating to a new home known as AM5, the successor to the long-lasting AM4 platform. It marks a fresh start for the Ryzen Desktop family and as such, existing Ryzen CPUs starting with Ryzen 1000 & all the way up to Ryzen 5000 won't be supported by the new platform we will tell you why it is so.
The AM5 platform will first and foremost feature the brand-new LGA 1718 socket. That's correct, AMD isn't going the PGA (Pin Grid Array) route anymore and now focusing on LGA (Land Grid Array), similar to what Intel uses on its existing desktop processors. The main reason to go LGA is due to the addition of enhanced and next-gen features such as PCIe Gen 5, DDR5, etc that we will get to see on the AM5 platform. The socket has a single latch & gone are the days of worrying about pins underneath your precious processors.
In terms of features, the AM5 platform will initially support AMD's Ryzen 7000 'Zen 4' Desktop CPUs and extend that support to future Ryzen CPUs and APUs. The platform offers DDR5-5200 (JEDEC) memory support, up to 28 PCIe lanes (Gen 5 standard), increased NVMe 4.0, and USB 3.2 I/O lanes & we have also heard chatter about native USB 4.0 support which will be a game-changer.
A new feature called EXPO (AMD Extended Profiles for overclocking) will allow enhanced DDR5 memory OC on the new platform, similar to Intel's XMP. It has been a rough road for AM4 to offer decent DDR4 OC capabilities but that has more or less been sorted out by now, we can only expect DDR5 to have a much better OC and compatibility experience compared to DDR4 on AM4 platforms. Furthermore, it looks like the platform will only be DDR5 compatible and we won't see DDR4 options as we do on Intel's existing platform. But with DDR5 prices and availability improving, that won't be that big of a deal for most high-end consumers for who AMD will be aiming first.
AMD X670 Series Platform
The AM5-compliant AMD 600-series motherboards are currently being prepped up by the board makers, The 600-series lineup will initially consist of three chipsets, the X670E, X670, B650E, and B650.
In terms of features, the X670E (Extreme) is designed for the higher-echelon of motherboards with unparalleled capabilities, and extreme overclocking, and will have PCIe 5.0 support for both GPU and storage.
The X670 motherboards will be very similar in offering enthusiast-level overclocking but PCIe Gen 5.0 support for storage and graphics will depend on the manufacturers. It is likely that some board makers will go to the cost-effective route and enable PCIe 5.0 support only for the GPU while keeping storage limited to PCIe 4.0. Both X670 chipsets will come in a dual-PCH solution on the motherboard to allow for the increased I/O for the next-gen platform.
AMD B650 Series Platform
Finally, there are the B650E & B650 chipsets which will be aimed as a mainstream motherboard solution with the Extreme series featuring both PCIe Gen 5.0 and M.2 while the non-E boards will adopt only PCIe 5.0 slot designs.
The B650 motherboards will be the successor to the B550 motherboards and come in a similar price range. Compared to the X670/E offerings, the B650 chipset will come in a single PCH design. The motherboards will carry support for RDNA 2 iGPU too which will be featured on Ryzen 7000 'Raphael' CPUs and offer both HDMI / DP outputs.
You can check out our full roundup of all the X670E & X670 motherboards that have been revealed so far here.
One of the highlighted features of the AMD AM5 600-series platform is SAS or Smart Access Storage. This technology will enable GPU decompression with supported Microsoft DirectStorage games. Although there aren't many of those out there yet but expect industry-wide support for this on newer platforms.
SmartAccess Storage gets you out of the load screen and into your gameplay
Traditional game loading takes a significant amount of compute power to decompress the game’s data, requiring the CPU to do the decompression and data transfer, which introduces latency and takes up considerable system resources.
To help bypass these bottlenecks, AMD has created SmartAccess Storage, a suite of technologies supporting Microsoft DirectStorage that utilizes Smart Access Memory with new AMD platform technologies along with Radeon GPU asset decompression to improve both game load times and texture streaming.
AMD AM4/TR4 Chipset Features and Specifications:
| Wccftech | X670E/X670 | X570 | X399 Refresh | X399 | X470 | X370 | B450 | B350 | A320 | X300 | A300 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CrossfireX/SLI | Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | Quad SLI/CFX (Max 6 GPU Support) |
Quad SLI/CFX (Max 6 GPU Support) |
Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | Triple CFX/2-Way SLI | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| PCIe Gen 5 Lanes | 24 (with Ryzen 7000 CPUs & above) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| PCIe Gen 3/4 Lanes | TBD | 30 +16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 60 (With Threadripper CPU) 4 Lanes Reserved for PCH |
60 (With Threadripper CPU) 4 Lanes Reserved for PCH |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) | 16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
16 (with Ryzen 7 CPU) 8 (with Bristol Ridge) |
| PCIe Gen 2 Lanes | N/A | N/A | 8 PCIe Lanes (reserved) | 8 PCIe Lanes (reserved) | 8 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 8 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 6 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 6 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 4 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 4 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) | 4 (plus x2 PCIe Gen3 when no x4 NVMe) |
| USB 3.1/3,2 Gen2 | TBD | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| USB 3.1/3.2 Gen1 | TBD | 12 (PCH + CPU) | 13 (PCH+CPU) | 13 (PCH+CPU) | 10 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| USB 2.0 | TBD | N/A | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| SATA 6Gb/s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| SATA Express | TBD | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| DDR5 DIMMs | 4 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| DDR4 DIMMs | N/A | 4 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Overclocking Support |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| XFR2 Enhanced | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Precision Boost Overdrive | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| NVMe | Yes (Gen 5.0) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Form Factor | ATX | ATX, MATX | ATX, MATX | ATX, MATX | ATX, MITX | ATX | ATX, M-ATX | ATX, M-ATX | M-ATX, Mini-ITX | Mini-ITX | M-ATX, Mini-ITX |
Meet The LGA 1718 Socket - How Long Will This One Last?
As mentioned earlier, AM4's reign is finally over and the AM5 socket is here now. The new socket moves from a PGA (Pin-Grid-Array) design to an LGA (Land-Grid-Array) layout. The new LGA 1718 socket offers more pin connections to the CPU, allowing for more communication channels with the board itself and enabling support for enhanced features that the new platform has to offer.
As for longevity, AMD hasn't promised anything but they have stated that they want to see the new AM5 socket last at least four to five years, similar to AM4. While there has been a lot of controversy regarding Ryzen support on the initial AM4 motherboards, I believe that AMD has learned and will not follow the same route as AM5. With that said, the AM4 platform will still continue forward & will be supported in the foreseeable future (possibly with newer hardware and software launches).
Cooler Compatibility With AM5 Socket
The AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs will feature a perfect square shape (45x45mm) but will house a very chonky integrated heat spreader or IHS. The CPUs will be the same length, width, and height as the existing Ryzen Desktop CPUs and are sealed across the sides so applying thermal paste won't fill the interior of the IHS with TIM. That's also why current coolers will be fully compatible with Ryzen 7000 chips.
Coming to the CPUs now, we have managed to get hold of the final specifications of AMD's Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPU family which, as expected, are going to feature four SKUs based on the Zen 4 core architecture. Once again, these SKUs include:
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
- AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
- AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
So before getting into the core specifications of these four SKUs, we have to point out that the AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs are based on a TSMC 5nm process node with a CCD die size of 70mm2 compared to 83mm2 for Zen 3 and featuring a total of 6.57 Billion transistors, a 58% increase over the Zen 3 CCD with 4.15 Billion transistors, The CPUs adopt the Zen 4 architecture, bringing with it a 13% IPC uplift but the majority of the performance benefit comes from the higher clock speeds and a higher TDP that is supplemented to each chip versus the prior generation.
AMD has highlighted a +29% Single-Threaded, >35% Multi-Threaded and >25% Perf/Watt increases when comparing Zen 4 to Zen 3 cores. The IOD is fabricated on the 6nm process node and houses an iGPU which comes with 2 RDNA 2 Compute Units running at up to 2200 MHz as detailed here. It features a die size of 124.7mm2 which is almost the same size as the Zen 3 IOD which measured at 124.9mm2.
AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPU Render (With/Without IHS):
As per AMD, the main improvements for IPC come from a new Front End & Load/Store + Branch Predictor that makes up for 80% of the gains while the L2 cache structuring and Execution Engines offer the remaining 20% uplifts.
AMD also highlighted that AVX-512 & VNNI add up to 30% faster FP32 (multi-thread) inferencing performance and a 2.5x gain in INT8 (multi-thread) CPU performance uplift. In addition to the larger caches, the Micro-op cache has been increased from 4 KB to 6.75 KB, the L1I and L1D cache stick to 32 KB, the L2 cache size has doubled to 1 MB and now runs at 14 cycles instead of 12 while the L3 cache also features slightly higher latency, going up from 46 cycles to 50 cycles. The L1 BTB has also been increased from 1 KB to 1.5 KB.
Compared to Zen 3, Zen 4 architecture is also going to be really efficient, offering 62% lower power at the same performance, and 49% more performance at the same power. The CPUs also feature 50% less area versus the competition (10nmESF Alder Lake) thanks to their 5nm process node and up to 47% higher power efficiency.
AMD Ryzen 'Zen 4' Desktop CPU Features:
- Up To 16 Zen 4 Cores and 32 Threads
- +29% Performance Uplift In Single-Threaded Apps
- Brand New Zen 4 CPU Cores (IPC / Architectural Improvements)
- Brand New TSMC 5nm process node with 6nm IOD
- 25% Performance Per Watt Improvement Vs Zen 3
- >35% Overall Performance Improvement Vs Zen 3
- ~13% Instructions Per Clock (IPC) Improvement Vs Zen 3
- Support on AM5 Platform With LGA1718 Socket
- New X670E, X670, B650E, B650 Motherboards
- Dual-Channel DDR5 Memory Support
- Up To DDR5-5600 Native (JEDEC) Speeds
- 28 PCIe Lanes (CPU Exclusive)
- 105-120W TDPs (Upper Bound Range ~170W)
The CPUs will come with an optimized cache restructuring, featuring double the L2 cache (1 MB vs 512 KB), a shared L3 cache like the previous generation, support for DDR5 memory with EXPO (AMD's Extended Profiles For Memory Overclocking), PCIe Gen 5.0 graphics card, and M.2 SSD support. Overclocking features such as PBO and XFR will also carry over from the past chips. So with all of that said, let's get on with the specifications.
AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU Box Packages:
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X 16 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Starting with the flagship of them all, we have the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X which retains its healthy 16 core and 32 thread count from the previous two generations. The CPU will feature an impressive base frequency of 4.5 GHz and a boost clock of up to 5.7 GHz (5.85 GHz F-Max) which should make it 200 MHz faster than Intel's Alder Lake Core i9-12900KS which has a boost frequency of 5.5 GHz on a single-core.
It looks like AMD is extracting every ounce of Hertz that it could within that 170W TDP (230W PPT) for the Ryzen 9 chips. As for the cache, the CPU comes with 80 MB of that which includes 64 MB from L3 (32 MB per CCD) and 16 MB from L2 (1 MB per core). The flagship is going to cost $699 US which means that it will be priced slightly higher than the Core i9-12900K while offering a significant performance leap in multi-threading apps such as Chaos V-Ray of up to +57% and doing so with up to 47% higher energy efficiency.
In terms of gaming performance, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X will be offering up to 35% higher uplift in games such as Shadow of The Tomb Raider versus the Core i9-12900K.
AMD also showcased the performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X against the Intel Core i9-12900K in both gaming and content creation tasks. The CPU was anywhere from -1% to +23% faster in the gaming benchmarks and +36 to +62% faster in creation workloads.
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 12 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Next up, we have another AMD Ryzen 9 chip, the 7900X, which as the name suggests, would come equipped with 12 cores and 24 threads. The CPU comes with an even higher base clock of 4.7 GHz and a boost clock adjusted at 5.6 GHz across a single core. The CPU retains its 170W TDP and gets 76 MB of cache (64 MB L3 + 12 MB L2). The CPU will be positioned in the same ballpark as the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X but with performance that would shake the ground from below the Core i7-12700K. The Ryzen 9 7900X will retain the same prices as the Ryzen 9 5900X while offering better processor capabilities.
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 8 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Moving over to the Ryzen 7 family, here we have the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, an 8-core and 16-thread part. AMD positions this as the sweet spot for gamers and as such, the CPU will feature a base clock of 4.5 GHz and a boost clock of 5.4 GHz but at a lower 105W TDP (142W PPT). The CPU will get a 40 MB cache pool which consists of 32 MB L3 from the singular CCD &8 MB L2 from the Zen 4 cores.
Now one interesting thing to mention is that there is so far no update by AMD on a Ryzen 7 7800X chip. It is likely that AMD wants to replace that part with a successor to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with Zen 4 cores (3D V-Cache). If that was the case, we can expect an update later this year to the CPU lineup since the V-Cache parts have been confirmed for a late Q4 2022 launch by AMD themselves. The Ryzen 7 7700X will be priced at $399 US and will be competing with the Core i7-12700K during launch.
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 6 Core "Zen 4" Desktop CPU
Last up, we have the most budget-tier chip (if you can call it that but the pricing won't be reflective of that), the Ryzen 5 7600X. This will be a 6-core and a 12-thread part that features a high 4.7 GHz base clock and a 5.3 GHz single-core boost frequency. The CPU will also run at a 105W TDP (142W PPT) which is much higher than its 65W predecessor though once again, that's the sacrifice you've to pay to achieve the faster clock speeds. The CPU will carry 38 MB of cache which comes from 32 MB of L3 and 6 MB of L2 on the die. This chip is going to be priced at $299 US and will be offering a 5% performance gain over the Core i9-12900K in gaming.
AMD will be bringing back its PBO and XFR overclocking features to the Ryzen 7000 Zen 4 CPUs along with enhanced DDR5 memory and overclocking support through EXPO technology. The CPUs will also come equipped with RDNA 2 iGPU with up to 2 Compute Units running at 2.2 GHz which would be usable through HDMI 2.1 FRL and DP 1.4 connectors on the latest AM5 motherboards. In addition to the CPU & GPU, there will be an expanded instruction set for AI acceleration (AVX-512 anyone?).
AMD Ryzen 7000 'Raphael' Desktop CPU Specs (Official):
| CPU Name | Architecture | Process Node | Cores / Threads | Base Clock | Boost Clock (SC Max) | Cache | TDP | Prices (TBD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMD Ryzen 9 7950X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 16/32 | 4.5 GHz | 5.7 GHz | 80 MB (64+16) | 170W | $699 US |
| AMD Ryzen 9 7900X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 12/24 | 4.7 GHz | 5.6 GHz | 76 MB (64+12) | 170W | $549 US |
| AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 8/16 | 4.5 GHz | 5.4 GHz | 40 MB (32+8) | 105W | $399 US |
| AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | Zen 4 | 5nm | 6/12 | 4.7 GHz | 5.3 GHz | 38 MB (32+6) | 105W | $299 US |
The ASRock B650E Taichi motherboard comes in a large cardboard package. The front is themed in black and gold. You can also note the Taichi logo on the front and sides which looks great. The front side also lists down support for AMD's Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" processors, DDR5 memory, and PCIe Gen 5.0.
The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard such as the 24+2+1 Power Phase design that uses 105A SPS, Enhanced USB4 Type-C ports, Blazing M.2 Gen5 Fan heatsink, and several other features.
Inside the package is another box that contains the accessories at the bottom. It is very easy to access although the accessories and each of them are nicely packed in two compartments.
Following is the full list of accessories in the package.
- 1 x User Manual
- 4 x SATA Data Cables
- 1 x Wireless Dongle USB Bracket
- 1 x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6 GHz Antenna
- 3 x Screws for M.2 Sockets
- 1 x Standoff for M.2 Socket
The motherboard is housed above the accessories and has anti-static wrapping to protect it from any built-up electrical resistance that can affect the board. One of the most important accessories (not shipped with the B650E Taichi) is the Blazing M.2 Fan heatsink which is an entirely separate heatsink unit with an active fan cooler and a thermal pad underneath it for PCIe M.2 SSDs. The whole unit has a single 4-pin connector coming out from it to power the fan. It is up to you if you want to use it passively or with the active fan cooler. The heatsink comes standard with the high-end X670E Taichi but for the B650E Taichi, you have to buy it separately.
The ASRock B650E Taichi is a very loaded motherboard, one that looks very premium for its $450 US pricing. The whole gold and black look on it look super appealing.
The ASRock B650E Taichi is styled in black and gold. The motherboard comes with the standard ATX form factor so compatibility won't be an issue on a wide range of PCs. The Taichi theme looks absolutely brilliant and eye-catching on the motherboard as well as the overall design layout which has been upped from the past Taichi variants.
The board uses the LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen 7000 processors. The socket is compatible only with Ryzen 7000 CPUs for now but will also support future iterations on the AM5 platform.
Next to the socket are four DDR5 DIMM slots that can support up to 128 GB of dual-channel memory. These slots are rated to support EXPO profiles up to 6400 MHz (OC Plus). The DIMM slots feature metallic shielding around them for extra durability. Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation. DDR5 memory comes with a different latch position so forcing a DDR4 module into a DDR5 slot will cause permanent damage.
The ASRock B650E Taichi features a 24+2+1 (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX) phase digital power delivery that makes utilizes the Renesas RAA229628 PWM controller and RAA22010540 (105A) MOSFETs for the VCore & SOC. The Vcc GT and Vcc AUX MOSFETs are spec'd at 60A & 70A respectively.
As you can see, the VRMs are getting ample cooling from the Composite VRM heatsink that is both beefy in terms of size and features active cooling too. This motherboard is designed specifically for enthusiasts and overclocking so expect a smooth & stable operation of the electrical circuitry when this board is running. The motherboard also comes with a backplate that features thermal pads for extra cooling performance.
The CPU is supplied power through an 8+8 pin power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 300 Watts of power. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs are very power-hungry with the maximum package power rating of 230W & more if you are planning to overclock these chips.
Getting a closer look at the VRM heatsinks reveals an aluminum fin design on both heatsinks. Each heatsink has thermal pads located underneath for efficient transfer of heat.
There's a large heat pipe that runs between the two top-most VRM heatsinks and provides good heat dissipation. There's also an active fan featured underneath the I/O plate which you can see through the four cut-outs over the metallic IO plate.
Expansion slots include two PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 5.0 x16 or 2 x Gen 4.0 x4) and three M.2 slots.
ASRock is using a metallic cover on the sides of the expansion slots which provides protection to some extent. It adds more retention and shearing resistance by reinforcing the slots with metal plates. Aside from adding more protection, they do look really sweet.
All three M.2 slots are cooled off by the thermal pad and aluminum baseplate cooling. This will ensure stable operation for M.2 storage devices. The thermal adhesive has a plastic cover over them which needs to be removed before being used with the storage devices.
The topmost M.2 slot will house the primary PCI Gen 5.0 M.2 at the top which offers even more cooling performance through a larger heat sink. This can also house the Blazing M.2 cooler that was detailed above. The third M.2 slot shares lanes with the 2nd PCIe Gen 4.0 slot so if either will be disabled depending on your usage. Following is the M.2 config on the motherboard:
CPU:
- - 1 x Blazing M.2 Socket (M2_1, Key M), supports type 2230/2242/2260/2280/22110 PCIe Gen5x4 (128 Gb/s) mode
Chipset:
- - 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_2, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
- - 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_3, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
The B650E PCH is housed beneath a large heatsink with the Taichi eagle logo etched over it that looks great.
The PCH heat sink and the I/O cover feature RGB LEDs, as a part of the Polychrome Sync suite, embedded within it and there is also a wide range of RGB connectors on the motherboard if you want to set up your own lighting.
Storage options include just four SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support 4 different storage devices at once. There are also three USB 3.2 front panel connectors (1 x Gen 2x2 + 2 x Gen 1). 4x USB 2.0 connectors are also included.
ASRock is using a Realtek ALC4082 Audio Codec for audio output through a 5.1 channel HD audio jack that comes with WIMA audio capacitors (front outputs) and an ESS SABRE9218 DAC (front panel).
The LED DEBUG along with the Power On/Off and Reset switches can be found below the PCH heat sink.
The full list of connectors on the motherboard is listed as follows.
- - 1 x SPI TPM Header
- - 1 x Power LED and Speaker Header
- - 1 x RGB LED Header
- - 3 x Addressable LED Headers
- - 1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin)
- - 1 x CPU/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
- - 6 x Chassis/Water Pump Fan Connectors (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
- - 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
- - 2 x 8 pin 12V Power Connectors (Hi-Density Power Connector)
- - 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector (15μ Gold Audio Connector)
- - 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (Support 4 USB 2.0 ports)
- - 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports)
- - 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Header (20 Gb/s) (ReDriver)
- - 1 x Dr. Debug with LED
- - 1 x Power Button with LED
- - 1 x Reset Button with LED
ASRock is using a 2.5G Killer E3100G LAN switch along with the latest 802.11ax WiFi 6E module to power connectivity. The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:
- - 2 x Antenna Ports
- - 1 x HDMI Port
- - 1 x Optical SPDIF OutPort
- - 1 x USB4 Type-C Port (40 Gb/s)
- - 3 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Ports (10 Gb/s) (ReDriver) (USB32_12 are Lightning Gaming Ports. USB32_11 supports Ultra USB Power.)
- - 8 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Ports (ASMedia ASM1074 hub)
- - 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port
- - 1 x Clear CMOS Button
- - 1 x BIOS Flashback Button
- - 1 x Line Out Jack (Gold Audio Jack)
- - 1 x Microphone Input Jack (Gold Audio Jack)
The B650 AORUS Elite AX motherboard comes in the standard cardboard package. The front is themed in black and orange which has been part of the AORUS lineup for a while now. You can also note the AORUS Eagle logo on the front which looks great. The front side also lists down support for AMD's Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" processors while the motherboard is clearly labeled as a gaming product.
The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard such as the Direct 14+2+1 Phase Digital VRM Solution, Fully-Covered MOSFET heatsinks with Pipe, Fast 2.5 GbE LAN & WIFI 6E support.
Inside the package is another box that contains the accessories at the bottom. It is very easy to access although the accessories and each of them are nicely packed in two compartments.
Following is the full list of accessories in the package.
- Quick Installation Guide, User's Manual
- 2 x SATA Cables
- 1 x G-Connector
- 2 x Screws for M.2 Sockets
- 1 x Antenna (WiFi)
The motherboard is housed above the accessories and has anti-static wrapping to protect it from any built-up electrical resistance that can affect the board.
The B650 AORUS Elite AX is a very mainstream offering priced at $230 US and still retains a very nice design with a good set of features.
The X670E AORUS Elite AX motherboard features matte black and silver/grey colors. The board comes in a standard ATX form factor and has a good set of heatsinks that provide a nice visual appearance which is great to see on a board of this pricing.
The board uses the LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen 7000 processors. The socket is compatible only with Ryzen 7000 CPUs for now but will also support future iterations on the AM5 platform.
Next to the socket are four DDR5 DIMM slots that can support up to 128 GB of dual-channel memory. These slots are rated to support EXPO profiles up to 6666 MHz (OC Plus). The DIMM slots feature metallic shielding around them for extra durability. Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation. DDR5 memory comes with a different latch position so forcing a DDR4 module into a DDR5 slot will cause permanent damage.
The X670E AORUS Elite AX features a 14+2+1 (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX) phase digital power delivery that utilizes Infineon TDA21472 SPS (70A) for the VCore, NCP303160 SPS (60A) for the SOC and a Renesas ISL99390 SPS (30A) MOSFET design.
As you can see, the VRMs are getting ample cooling from the heatsink which makes use of two aluminum fin blocks that are interconnected via a heat pipe solution.
The CPU is supplied power through an 8+4 pin power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 225 Watts of power. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs are very power-hungry with the maximum package power rating of 230W & more if you are planning to overclock these chips.
Getting a closer look at the VRM heatsinks reveals an aluminum fin design on both heatsinks. Each heatsink has thermal pads located underneath for efficient transfer of heat. The thermal pads on the X670E AORUS Elite AX are rated at 7w/mK.
Expansion slots include three PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 4.0 x16 / 2 x Gen 3.0 x1) and three M.2 slots. One of the M.2 slots is rated at Gen 5 while the rest of two are rated at Gen 4.0 specs.
AORUS is using a metallic cover on the sides of the expansion slots which provides protection to some extent. It adds more retention and shearing resistance by reinforcing the slots with metal plates. Aside from adding more protection, they do look really sweet.
All three M.2 slots are cooled off by the thermal pad and aluminum baseplate cooling. This will ensure stable operation for M.2 storage devices. The thermal adhesive has a plastic cover over them which needs to be removed before being used with the storage devices.
The topmost M.2 slot that will house the primary M.2 is based on the new M.2 Thermal Guard heatsink design that offers even more cooling performance through a larger heat sink. Following is the M.2 config on the motherboard:
CPU:
- 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 25110/2280 PCIe 5.0* x4/x2 SSD support) (M2A_CPU)
* Actual support may vary by CPU. - 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 25110/2280 PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2B_CPU)
Chipset:
- 1 x M.2 connector (Socket 3, M key, type 25110/2280 PCIe 4.0 x4/x2 SSD support) (M2C_SB)
Chipset:
- 6 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
The B650 PCH is housed beneath a heatsink with a black color coat and the AORUS Label. This is a very basic-looking design.
The PCH heat sink and the I/O cover feature RGB LEDs, as a part of the RGB Fusion 2.0 suite, embedded within it and there is also a wide range of RGB connectors on the motherboard if you want to set up your own lighting.
Storage options include four SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support four different storage devices at once. There are also three USB 3.2 front panel connectors (Gen 1). and four USB 2.0 connectors are also included.
AORUS is using its Realtek AUDIO codec for audio which is a combination of hardware, and software audio solutions. 7.1 CH HD audio.
The full list of connectors on the motherboard is listed as follows.
- 1 x 24-pin ATX main power connector
- 1 x 8-pin ATX 12V power connector
- 1 x 4-pin ATX 12V power connector
- 1 x CPU fan header
- 1 x water cooling CPU fan header
- 3 x system fan headers
- 1 x system fan/water cooling pump header
- 2 x addressable LED strip headers
- 2 x RGB LED strip headers
- 1 x CPU cooler LED strip/RGB LED strip header
- 3 x M.2 Socket 3 connectors
- 4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
- 1 x front panel header
- 1 x front panel audio header
- 1 x USB Type-C header, with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 support
- 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 header
- 2 x USB 2.0/1.1 headers
- 1 x Trusted Platform Module header (For the GC-TPM2.0 SPI/GC-TPM2.0 SPI 2.0 module only)
- 1 x reset button
- 1 x reset jumper
- 1 x Clear CMOS jumper
AORUS is using Realtek 2.5 GbE LAN and AMD WiFI 6E RZ616 (MT7922A22M) Module to power wireless connectivity such as 802.11ax WiFi (2.4/5/6 GHz WiFi) and Bluetooth 5.2. There are in fact two variants of the motherboard, the older v1.0 came with the AMD WIFI 6E chipset while the latter v1.1 boards support Intel's WIFI 6E AX210 chipsets. We received v1.0 as our sample.
The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:
- 1 x Q-Flash Plus button
- 2 x SMA antenna connectors (2T2R)
- 1 x DisplayPort
- 1 x HDMI port
- 1 x USB Type-C port, with USB 3.2 Gen 2 support
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red)
- 5 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
- 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
- 1 x RJ-45 port
- 3 x audio jacks
The MSI MAG B650M Mortar WIFI motherboard comes in the standard cardboard package. The front is themed in black and silver with a nice Tomahawk logo in the middle. The front side also lists down support for AMD's Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" processors while the motherboard is clearly labeled as a gaming product and we know that MAG stands for "Massive Arsenal Gaming".
The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard such as a 12 Duet RTail CPU power system with 80A Power stages, 2.5G LAN, Lightning Gen 4, M.2 Shield Frozr, DDR5 support, Lightning 20G ports, WIFI 6E+Bluetooth, and Memory boost capabilities.
Inside the package is another box that contains the accessories at the bottom. It is very easy to access although the accessories and each of them are nicely packed in three compartments.
Following is the full list of accessories in the package.
- Quick Installation Guide, User's Manual
- 2 x SATA Cables
- 2 x Thermistors
- 2 x EZ M.2 Clips
- 1 x Cable Sticker
- 1 x Antenna (WiFi)
The motherboard is housed above the accessories and has anti-static wrapping to protect it from any built-up electrical resistance that can affect the board.
The MSI MAG B650M Mortar WIFI is another mainstream option that doesn't sway away much from the sub-$250 US price segment. The board has a retail price of $240 US.
The MSI MAG B650M Mortar WIFI motherboard comes in very nice-looking brushed-metallic black and grey colors. The motherboard is our first look at an mATX design which is a very popular form factor these days considering most gamers and consumers are building smaller form factor PCs.
The board uses the LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen 7000 processors. The socket is compatible only with Ryzen 7000 CPUs for now but will also support future iterations on the AM5 platform.
Next to the socket are four DDR5 DIMM slots that can support up to 128 GB of dual-channel memory. These slots are rated to support EXPO profiles up to 6400 MHz (OC Plus). Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation. DDR5 memory comes with a different latch position so forcing a DDR4 module into a DDR5 slot will cause permanent damage.
The MSI MAG B650M Mortar WIFI features a 12+2+1 (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX) phase digital power delivery.
Despite its small size, the motherboard still carries some weighty VRM heatsinks which utilize an aluminum fin design. There is no heat pipe implementation but we will see if its removal still gets us good temperatures.
The CPU is supplied power through an 8+8 pin power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 300 Watts of power. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs are very power-hungry with the maximum package power rating of 230W & more if you are planning to overclock these chips.
Getting a closer look at the VRM heatsinks reveals an aluminum fin design on both heatsinks. Each heatsink has thermal pads located underneath for efficient transfer of heat.
Expansion slots include three PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 4.0 x16 / 1 x Gen 4.0 x4 / 1x Gen 3.0 x 1) and two M.2 slots. All two M.2 slots are rated to support NVMe PCIe Gen 4 x4.
AORUS is using a metallic cover on the sides of the expansion slots which provides protection to some extent. It adds more retention and shearing resistance by reinforcing the slots with metal plates. Aside from adding more protection, they do look really sweet.
The two M.2 slots are cooled off by the thermal pad and aluminum baseplate cooling. This will ensure stable operation for M.2 storage devices. The thermal adhesive has a plastic cover over them which needs to be removed before being used with the storage devices.
Both M.2 slots are using the M.2 Shield Frozr design from MSI which provides good cooling for Gen 4 NVMe SSDs. Following is the M.2 config on the motherboard:
CPU:
- M.2_1 (From CPU) supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4 , supports 2280/2260 devices
- M.2_2 (From CPU) supports up to PCIe 4.0 x4 , supports 2280/2260 devices
The single B650 chipset is housed beneath a small heatsink which has an aggressive look & comes with a Mortar logo.
MSI keeps things plain and simple as far as RGB implementation is concerned. The motherboard takes inspiration for its design from the MSI Unify series which is designed around a non-RGB environment. The all-black nature of this motherboard looks very nice and perfect for the RGB-heartens out there. But with that said, there are plenty of ARGB/RGB headers that you can use.
Storage options include six SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support 6 different storage devices at once. There are also two USB 3.2 front panel connectors (Gen 2x2 + Gen 1). USB 2.0 dual connectors are also included.
MSI is using the Realtek ALC4080 CODEC to drive a 7.1 channel HD audio system internally that supports up to 32-bit/384 kHz playback from the front panel too.
The full list of connectors on the motherboard is listed as follows.
- 1x Power Connector(ATX_PWR)
- 2x Power Connector(CPU_PWR)
- 1x CPU Fan
- 1x Pump Fan
- 3x System Fan
- 2x Front Panel (JFP)
- 1x Chassis Intrusion (JCI)
- 1x Front Audio (JAUD)
- 1x Tuning Controller connector(JDASH)
- 2x Addressable V2 RGB LED connector (JARGB_V2)
- 2x RGB LED connector(JRGB)
- 1x TPM pin header(Support TPM 2.0)
- 4x USB 2.0
- 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type C
AORUS is using AMD's WiFI 6E RZ616 (MT7922A22M) Module to power wireless connectivity such as 802.11ax WiFi (2.4/5/6 GHz WiFi) and Bluetooth 5.2. In terms of Ethernet, there is also a single 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet LAN port which is powered by Realtek's RTL8125B controller. The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:
- DisplayPort 1.4
- 2.5G LAN Port
- USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps Type-A
- USB 3.2 Gen 1 5Gbps Type-A
- Wi-Fi / Bluetooth Antenna
- HD Audio Connectors
- Flash BIOS Button
- HDMI
2.1 Port - USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20Gbps Type-C
- Optical S/PDIF OUT
The ASRock B650E PG-ITX motherboard comes in a small cardboard package. The front is themed in black and red which has been a staple of ASRock's Phantom Gaming design for years. You can also note the "PG" logo on the front which looks great. The front side also lists down support for AMD's Ryzen 7000 "Zen 4" processors while the motherboard is clearly labeled as a gaming product.
The backside of the package lists the specifications and special features of the motherboard such as the Direct 10+2+1 Phase 105A SPS VRM design, Blazing M.2 Gen5 Fan-Heatsink, PCIe Gen 5 tech, and Intel Killer connectivity for LAN and WIFI.
Inside the package is another box that contains the accessories at the bottom. It is very easy to access although the accessories and each of them are nicely packed in three compartments. Following is the full list of accessories in the package.
- 1x User Manual
- 2x SATA Data Cables
- 1x ASRock WiFi 2.4/5/6 GHz Antenna
- 1x Screw for M.2 Socket
The motherboard is housed above the accessories and has anti-static wrapping to protect it from any built-up electrical resistance that can affect the board. Despite being an ITX board and based on the B650E chipset, ASRock is asking $290 US for the product which is fairly decent.
The ASRock B650 PG ITX motherboard features matte black and red colors. The motherboard falls within the Mini-ITX form factor and looks adorable yet ferocious at the same time. It's something about that PG aesthetic that gives it a different perspective and its also the first ITX AM5 board in our test suite.
The board uses the LGA 1718 socket to support AMD Ryzen 7000 processors. The socket is compatible only with Ryzen 7000 CPUs for now but will also support future iterations on the AM5 platform.
Next to the socket are four DDR5 DIMM slots that can support up to 128 GB of dual-channel memory. These slots are rated to support EXPO profiles up to 6200 MHz (OC Plus). The DIMM slots feature metallic shielding around them for extra durability. Each slot is labeled, making it easier to install DIMMs in the proper orientation. DDR5 memory comes with a different latch position so forcing a DDR4 module into a DDR5 slot will cause permanent damage.
The B650E PG-ITX features a 10+2+1 (VCore/ VccGT/VccAUX) phase digital power delivery.
There's a singular heatsink on the motherboard which stands taller due to the amount of work it has to handle. 90% of the VRMs are populated underneath this heatsink so there's bound to be a lot of heat generated in this particular area.
The CPU is supplied power through a single 8-pin power connector configuration. This will feed the CPU with up to 150 Watts of power. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs are very power-hungry with the maximum package power rating of 230W & more if you are planning to overclock these chips.
Getting a closer look at the VRM heatsinks reveals an aluminum fin design on the heatsink. The heatsink itself is very slim but shares some of its load with the M.2 Blazing heatsink thanks to a heat pipe implementation.
Expansion slots include a single PCI Express x16 (1 x Gen 5.0 x16) and two M.2 slots which are rated at Gen 5 and Gen 4 specs.
ASRock is using a metallic cover on the sides of the expansion slots which provides protection to some extent. It adds more retention and shearing resistance by reinforcing the slots with metal plates. Aside from adding more protection, they do look really sweet.
The front M.2 heatsink sits beneath the new M.2 Blazing heatsink while the second slot sits on the back of the motherboard and doesn't feature any heatsink. Though there's enough room that you can get a Gen 4 NVMe that already uses a heatsink. The thermal adhesive has a plastic cover over them which needs to be removed before being used with the storage devices.
Following is the M.2 config on the motherboard:
CPU:
- - 1 x Blazing M.2 Socket (M2_1, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen5x4 (128 Gb/s) mode
- - 1 x Hyper M.2 Socket (M2_2, Key M), supports type 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 (64 Gb/s) mode
The B650E PCH is housed beneath a secondary heatsink underneath the M.2 heatsink which comes with an active cooling solution.
Storage options include two SATA III ports rated to operate at 6 GB/s. These can support 2 different storage devices at once. There are also three USB 3.2 front panel connectors (1 x Gen 2x2 2x Gen2x1) and dual USB 2.0 dual connectors are also included.
ASRock has implemented a 7.1 channel HD audio with the latest Realtek ALC1220 audio codec.
The full list of connectors on the motherboard is listed as follows.
- - 1 x eDP Signal Connector
- - 2 x Addressable LED Headers
- - 1 x CPU Fan Connector (4-pin)
- - 1 x CPU/Water Pump Fan (M.2 Fan) Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
- - 1 x Chassis/Water Pump Fan Connector (4-pin) (Smart Fan Speed Control)
- - 1 x 24 pin ATX Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
- - 1 x 8 pin 12V Power Connector (Hi-Density Power Connector)
- - 1 x Front Panel Audio Connector (15μ Gold Audio Connector)
- - 1 x USB 2.0 Header (Supports 2 USB 2.0 ports)
- - 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Header (Supports 2 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports)
- - 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Header (20 Gb/s) (ReDriver)
ASRock is using Intel's WiFi 6E 802.11 AX210 WiFi Module to power wireless connectivity such as 802.11ax WiFi (2.4/5/6 GHz WiFi) and Bluetooth 5.2. In terms of Ethernet, there is also a single 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet LAN port which is powered by a Killer E3100G network controller chip. The motherboard comes with the following I/O connectors:
- - 2 x Antenna Ports
- - 1 x HDMI Port
- - 1 x Optical SPDIF OutPort
- - 3 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A Ports (10 Gb/s) (USB32_23 are Lightning Gaming Ports.)
- - 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C Port (10 Gb/s)
- - 4 x USB 2.0 Ports
- - 1 x RJ-45 LAN Port
- - 1 x Line Out Jack (Gold Audio Jack)
- - 1 x Microphone Input Jack (Gold Audio Jack)
For testing, I used the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and the four different B650 series motherboards that we took a look at above.
| Processors | AMD Ryzen 9 7950X |
|---|---|
| Motherboard (BIOS) | ASRock X670E Taichi (1.09) X670E AORUS Xtreme (F6a) X670E AORUS Master (F8a) ASUS X670E ROG HERO (0705) |
| Power Supply | ASUS ROG THOR 1200W |
| Solid State Drive | Samsung SSD 980 PRO M.2 (1 TB) |
| Memory | G.SKILL Trident Z5 32 GB (2 x 16GB) CL36 6000 Mbps (DDR5 Platforms) |
| Video Cards | MSI GeForce RTX 3090 SUPRIM X |
| Cooling Solutions | Corsair H115i (With LGA 1700 Mounting Kit) |
| OS | Windows 11 64-bit |
Our test rig includes the Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB SSD that boots up our main OS while a 2 TB Seagate HDD is used for the storage of games and applications. In addition to these, we are running an MSI GeForce RTX 3090 SUPRIM X graphics card, and an ASUS ROG Thor 1200W power supply. For this specific review, we used G.Skill's latest Trident Z5 NEO DDR5-6000 memory kit running at CL30 timings. We also got an AM5 mounting kit for the Corsair H115i to use as a cooling solution for our test setup.
3DMark Time Spy CPU Performance
3DMark Time Spy is a widely popular video card benchmark test for Windows that is designed to measure your PC’s gaming performance. While the overall benchmark is great, the utility also provides a good indication of the CPU performance.
3DMark TimeSpy CPU (Higher is Better)
Blender
Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, and even video editing and game creation.
Blender 2.8 (Lower is Better)
Cinebench R20
Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.
Cinebench R20 (Higher is Better)
Cinebench R23
Cinebench is a real-world cross-platform test suite that evaluates your computer’s hardware capabilities. Improvements to Cinebench Release 20 reflect the overall advancements to CPU and rendering technology in recent years, providing a more accurate measurement of Cinema 4D’s ability to take advantage of multiple CPU cores and modern processor features available to the average user.
Cinebench R23 (Higher is Better)
CPU-Z
CPUz is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system such as the Processor name and number, codename, process, package, cache levels, Mainboard, and chipset, Memory type, size, timings, and module specifications (SPD), and Real-time measurement of each core's internal frequency, memory frequency.
CPU-z (Higher is Better)
Geekbench 5
Geekbench 5, the latest major upgrade to Primate Labs’ easy-to-use cross-platform benchmark, is now available for download. Geekbench 5 allows you to measure your system’s power more accurately than ever before.
Geekbench 5 (Higher is Better)
HandBrake
HandBrake is a tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs.
Handbrake (Higher is Better)
PCMark 10
PCMark 10 is a complete PC benchmarking solution for Windows 10. It includes several tests that combine individual workloads covering storage, computation, image and video manipulation, web browsing, and gaming. Specifically designed for the full range of PC hardware from netbooks and tablets to notebooks and desktops, PCMark 10 offers complete Windows PC performance testing for home and business use.
PCMark 10 (Higher is Better)
POV-Ray
The POV-Ray package includes detailed instructions on using the ray-tracer and creating scenes. Many stunning scenes are included with POV-Ray so you can start creating images immediately when you get the package.
POV-Ray 3.7 (Higher is Better)
SuperPI
Super PI is used by many overclockers to test the performance and stability of their computers. In the overclocking community, the standard program provides a benchmark for enthusiasts to compare “world record” pi calculation times and demonstrate their overclocking abilities. The program can also be used to test the stability of a certain overclock speed.
SuperPi (Lower is Better)
WinRAR
WinRAR is a powerful archive manager. It can back up your data and reduce the size of email attachments, decompress RAR, ZIP, and other files downloaded from the Internet, and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.
Winrar 5.8 (Higher is Better)
X264 HD Encode Benchmark
This benchmark measures the encoding performance of the processor. It offers a standardized benchmark for the clip as well as the encoder used is uniform.
X264 HD Encode Benchmark (Higher is Better)
Battlefield V
Battlefield V brings back the action of the World War 2 shooter genre. Using the latest Frostbite tech, the game does a good job of looking gorgeous in all ways possible. From the open-world environments to the intense and gun-blazing action, this multiplayer and single-player FPS title is one of the best-looking Battlefields to date. The game was tested at max settings at 1440p.
Battlefield V (1440P)
DOOM Eternal
DOOM Eternal brings hell to earth with the Vulkan-powered idTech 7. We test this game using the Ultra Nightmare Preset and follow our in-game benchmarking to stay as consistent as possible.
DOOM Eternal (1440P)
GTA V
GTA V is one handsomely optimized title for the PC audience. It's scalable across various PC configurations and delivers an impressive frame rate. Rockstar did an amazing job with the PC build of GTA V and it comes with a large array of settings that can be configured by PC gamers. We tested the title at 1440P with everything set to Ultra and 4x MSAA.
GTA V (1440P)
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus continues the journey of Artyom through the nuclear wasteland of Russia and its surroundings. This time, you are set over the Metro, going through various regions and different environments. The game is one of the premier titles to feature NVIDIA’s RTX technology and does well in showcasing the ray-tracing effects in all corners. The game was tested at Ultra setting with RTX settings turned off at 1440p.
Metro Exodus (1440P)
Shadow of The Tomb Raider
Sequel to The Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of The Tomb Raider is visually enhanced with an updated Foundation Engine that delivers realistic facial animations and the most gorgeous environments ever seen in a Tomb Raider Game. The game is a technical marvel and really shows the power of its graphics engine in the latest title.
Shadow of The Tomb Raider (1440P)
Sid Meier's Civilization VI
Civilization VI is the pinnacle of the series. It features huge, sweeping changes, and nothing was left out. Everything has found a purpose, they all work together in tandem but also have a reason to stand alone. It uses a more fleshed-out engine that now supports DirectX 12 capabilities. We tested the game with every setting maxed out (4x MSAA, 4096x4096 shadow textures) at 1440P in DirectX 12.
Sid Meier's Civilization VI (1440P)
Watch Dogs Legion
Watch Dogs: Legion is a 2020 action-adventure game published by Ubisoft and developed by its Toronto studio. It is the third installment in the Watch Dogs series and the sequel to 2016's Watch Dogs 2. Set within a fictionalized representation of a futuristic, dystopian London, the game's story follows the hacker syndicate DedSec as they seek to clear their names after being framed for a series of terrorist bombings
Watch Dogs Legion (1440P)
Ashes of The Singularity (4K)
Stardock's Ashes of the Singularity RTS title is a new take on the historical genre. The game incorporates several things that many pc gamers have been curious about and anxious to try for themselves such as Explicit Multi-Adapter Support and full Asynchronous Compute under DirectX 12 API. We tested the game at 4K with 4x MSAA on Crazy Settings under DirectX 12.
Ashes of The Singularity (4K)
AMD's Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs utilize a brand new Zen 4 core architecture that is built on the 5nm process node as such, these chips are designed to be extremely efficient.
Power Consumption (Stock) Stress Test
Power Consumption (Stock) Gaming Test
The AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs either have two or three chiplets, one or two of which are the aforementioned AMD Zen 4 CCDs fabricated on the 5nm process node, and then we have the larger die around the center which is the IOD and that is based on a 6nm process node. The AMD Ryzen 7000 CCD measures at a die size of 70mm2 compared to 83mm2 for Zen 3 and feature a total of 6.57 Billion transistors, a 58% increase over the Zen 3 CCD with 4.15 Billion transistors,
Scattered around the package are several SMDs (capacitors/resistors) that usually sit under the package substrate if we consider Intel's CPUs. AMD is instead featuring them on the top layer and as such, they had to design a new kind of IHS which is internally referred to as the Octopus. We've already seen the delidded IHS before but now we get to see a final production chip with no lid on it to cover those gold Zen 4 nuggets!
With that said, the IHS is an interesting component of the AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs. The one picture shows the arrangement of the 8 arms which Robert Hallock 'Director of Technical Marketing at AMD' refers to as the 'Octopus'. Each arm has a small application of TIM beneath it which is used to solder the IHS to the interposer. Now delidding the chip is going to be really hard since each arm is right next to the massive array of capacitors. Each Arm is also slightly raised to make room for the SMDs and users shouldn't worry about heat getting trapped beneath.
The most interesting area of the AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPU IHS, besides the arms, is the gold-plated IHS which is used to increase thermal dissipation off of the CPU/IO dies and directly to the IHS. The two 5nm Zen 4 CCD's and singular 6nm IO die have liquid-metal TIM or Thermal interface material for better heat conductivity and the aforementioned gold plating does help a lot with heat dissipation. What remains to be seen is whether the capacitors will feature silicone coating or not but from the previous package shot, it kind of looks like they do.
The thermal testing was carried out with the Corsair H1150i AIO liquid cooler:
Temperatures
While we discussed the AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs in our main review, the focus here was solely on the motherboards. Now, we have to focus on the most important lineup within the AM5 ecosystem, the B650 series motherboards. Why the B650 series is so important because this lineup is designed for mass adoption and offers the best value if you are building a new Ryzen 7000 system. We took a look at four motherboards and the following is what we think of each motherboard.
ASRock B650E Taichi
Starting off with the B650E Taichi from ASRock, the motherboard shares a similar design as the X670E Taichi but it also has a similar price point. The ASRock B650E Taichi retails at $449.99 US which makes it an extremely expensive option that also sits above the majority of the X670E and X670 options. Considering the price difference between the B650E and X670E Taichi is just $50 US, we would definitely recommend getting the X670E option.
It's not just about value but there are certain features where the X670E Taichi is overall a better purchase. First of all, you are missing the Blazing M.2 heatsink fan which comes as a standard with the X670E Taichi. You are also getting a toned-down heatsink design that lacks the extended heat pipe solution that extends from the top VRMs to the bottom PCH. Furthermore, the X670E Taichi is equipped with double the SATA ports (8 in total) compared to just 4 on the B650E Taichi. The X670E option also comes with an extra Gen 4 x4 slot and dual PCIe 5.0 x16 slots versus a Gen 5 and Gen 4 combo on the B650E. While the performance is still there and the board looks as good as ever, the value proposition offered here is just too hard to recommend. The X670E Taichi is simply the better design here and is well worth the price even in the X670E segment.
MSI B650M Mortar WIFI
The MSI MAG B650M Mortar WIFI is priced at $239.99 US which makes it a very nice option with a decent set of features. The motherboard has an ample VRM solution that offers great performance and the whole black layout of this motherboard looks great. The two sets of heatsinks provide just enough cooling to make even the Ryzen 9 7950X run up to mark. The board has a single PCIe Gen 4.0 x16 slot while the rest are rated at lower PCIe link speeds. There are 6 SATA III ports but having just two M.2 slots might be a slight downside. If MSI could've replaced the two additional PCIe slots and added a third M.2 Gen 4 slot, that would have made this motherboard a perfect solution.
In addition to the hardware features, MSI also implements brand new software (BIOS) features in the form of "Performance Switch" which lets users select between various PBO performances and also PBO thermal points for enhanced undervolting and tuning options.
Despite that, the motherboard offers a great set of I/O with lots of USB 3.2 Gen 2 and Gen 1 ports and the Audio/LAN capabilities are just as good as you can expect from a motherboard in this price range. The pricing makes the MSI MAG B650M Mortar WIFI a very decent option for AMD Ryzen PC builders.
AORUS B650 Elite AX
The AORUS B650 Elite AX is the cheapest motherboard we have on our AM5 test bed, starting at just $230 US (currently at $220 US). The motherboard comes with a most basic feature set and retains decent IO such as WIFI 6E support and a good audio interface which I least expected from an entry-tier AORUS design. The motherboard has support for RGB Fusion with onboard LEDs & also several ARGB/RGB connectors for expandability. The unit we got was based on the AMD WIFI 6E solution and the newer one is based on Intel's WIFI 6E solution. I have used both and found no difference between them.
Some interesting features of this board are definitely its EZ-Latchj PCIe slot implementation that makes removing graphics cards easier. There are good expansion options too in the form of triple M.2 slots, all of which are covered by heatsinks and a PCIe Gen 5.0 x16 slot for newer GPUs. The motherboard has just four SATA III ports but the extra M.2 slot makes up for it. The heatsinks are great in looks but the thermals were still a bit on the high side with the Ryzen 9 7950X. Since the board is aimed at the mainstream segment, using a Ryzen 5 7600X or Ryzen 7 7700X makes the most sense with it and you can expect great performance out of the box.
ASRock B650E PG-ITX
The ASRock B650E PG-ITX is our first AM5 Mini-ITX motherboard and I really love the way this board is designed. Given its smaller footprint, ASRock had to make sacrifices here and there but at $290, it is an option that you should consider if you are in the market for an SFF Ryzen 7000 PC build. The PG ITX comes with a 10-phase VRM which was enough to handle the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X despite the top Zen 4 chip pulling in up to 230W at load. This was made possible thanks to the undervolting capabilities that Zen 4 desktop CPUs offer. Despite running at a lower power input, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X managed to deliver about the same performance as a high-end offering on the ASRock PG ITX B650E motherboard.
But if you really want to build a PC around this motherboard, you will be better off with a 105W chip such as the Ryzen 5 7600X or the Ryzen 7 7700X. Due to its smaller size, you are limited in terms of storage options with just two M.2 slots and two SATA III ports. The number of SATA III ports is a big letdown as I would have loved to see four on this board but the additional M.2 slot at the back kind of makes up for it. The back M.2 slot has no cooling solution attached and you need a casing with a large cut-out on the motherboard tray to support an NVMe heatsink solution.
Else, you will require a good amount of internal chassis airflow to keep the secondary M.2 heatsink cool. The front heatsink has the cooling covered with a beefy Blazing M.2 heatsink that comes with an active cooling fan and heat pipe solution that cools the Gen 5 SSD, and the B650E chipset and also takes some of that heat away from the VRMs. The I/O on the board is strong given its size and that makes me fully recommend the ASRock B650E PG-ITX to users who want to build a small AM5 PC.
The post AMD B650E & B650 Motherboard MEGA Review Ft. ASRock Taichi, AORUS Elite AX, MSI Mortar WiFi & ASRock B650E PG-ITX by Hassan Mujtaba appeared first on Wccftech.
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