Since AMD launched its Zen 4 CPU household final yr, potential upgraders have been ready for extra inexpensive {hardware} to reach. AMD launched with solely the costliest CPUs and motherboard chipsets first, understanding hardcore fans don’t have the persistence to carry off for a number of months. Now that it’s been a minute, we’re beginning to see extra inexpensive gear arrive. Motherboards are a giant ticket merchandise on this equation. Upgraders are already paying so much for a Zen 4 CPU and DDR5 reminiscence. Tacking on one other $500 for a motherboard is a bridge too far for some. Now MSI is readying a barely extra inexpensive X670E motherboard, which is the top of the sequence for options and efficiency.
The motherboard in query is the MSI MAG X670E Tomahawk Wi-Fi. MSI has three classes of boards, as Sizzling {Hardware} states: MEG, MPG, and MAG. When you take away the M and G and deal with the center letter, you see what they provide; they’re separated into Fanatic, Efficiency, and Attainable. So a MAG X670E is probably the most inexpensive model of the highest-end chipset for the AM5 platform. It’s a tantalizing mixture and welcome information for would-be AMD PC builders. Pictures and pricing of the board have leaked on Twitter, revealing it to supply high-end options for $339. That’s a aggressive worth for an X670E board, as its MPG Carbon X670E is nearly $500. Some X670E boards are near $1,000 and past, together with MSI’s MEG Godlike, which prices nearly $1,400. No, that’s not a typo.
(Picture: @chi11eddog on Twitter)
As anticipated, this motherboard is totally loaded. For instance, it has a shocking 4 PCIe slots and 4 M.2 NVME slots, together with one PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for the GPU (despite the fact that there’s no such factor as a PCIe Gen 5 GPU at present). Then there are two PCIe 4.0 x16 slots and a single x1 PCIe 3.0 for rudimentary enlargement. For NVME storage, the top-most M.2 slot is PCIe Gen 5, so it’s prepared for next-gen drives. The remainder are all PCIe 4.0. and 4 SATA ports can be found.
We love a giant, fats row of USB-A ports. (Picture: @chi11eddog)
Different notable options embody 2.5Gb Ethernet, six USB Kind-A ports (two with USB 4), and twin USB-C, together with one that provides as much as 20Mb/s. There’s additionally a BIOS Flash button on the I/O panel. This allows you to improve the BIOS with no CPU put in within the socket through a USB key. The onboard Wi-Fi is the newest 6e commonplace, and there’s additionally Bluetooth 5.3.
This looks like it may very well be a well-liked motherboard for these trying to construct a brand new system. Folks have complained nonstop about X670 costs since launch, as board costs immediately jumped to round $400 and $500. Extra inexpensive B650 motherboards at the moment are accessible, however they’re missing in a variety of options in comparison with X670 boards. Additionally, many B650 boards are both mATX or ITX as a substitute of standard ATX.
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