AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs & the AM5 platform have officially launched but prices of the X670E boards aren't looking that enticing for consumers to switch to the new platform this soon, as such, AMD & its partners are getting ready for the launch of the more affordable and mainstream B650E & B650 motherboards that will be launching in early October.
AMD B650E & B650 Motherboards From Gigabyte Pictured, Affordable AM5 "Ryzen 7000" Platform Coming To You Soon!
We are aware of the premium prices that the AMD X670E & X670 motherboards are currently being priced at. Most motherboards are starting at over $300 US and the only options that were listed for under that amount are either sold out or not available yet. It is clear that AMD wants to focus on its high-end customers first before moving into the mainstream family. But as we get close to the Intel 13th Gen launch, AMD will finally open to doors to its B650E & B650 series motherboards. The new motherboards are designed for mainstream and budget consumers with prices starting at $125 US or so, as AMD has stated.
AMD B650 Series Platform
The B650E & B650 chipsets 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 the 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.
While we have only seen AMD's X670E & X670 motherboards so far, Benchlife has managed to get hold of several Gigabyte B650 series motherboards. These include the following motherboards and they are looking very impressive:
- B650E AORUS Master
- B650 AORUS ELITE AX
- B650M AORUS ELITE AX
- B650 AERO G
- B650I AORUS Ultra
AMD B650E & B650 Motherboards From Gigabyte (Image Credits: Benchlife):
All five motherboards look impressive with proper VRM and M.2 cooling, robust power delivery, and a great set of features. The B650E AORUS Master is the obvious stand-out with its PCIe Gen 5 and M.2 slots and a gamer aesthetic that is powered by dual 8-pin connectors. It is also great to see the Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX offerings which feature a single 8-pin connector to boot while the B650 ATX options feature an 8+4 pin connector configuration. Benchlife speculates that the prices of the B650E & B650 motherboards will be around 20-30% cheaper than the X670E and X670E boards and that's definitely great for mass consumption of the AM5 platform.
Update: Even mother B650E & B650 motherboards from ASRock, ASUS, MSI & Gigabyte have been pictured by Videocardz:
Furthermore, I just wanted to state that while many people have been taking the initial sales figures for Ryzen 7000 CPUs in the wrong way, they should remember that the reason why AMD's previous Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 became such big hits in the retail segment was mostly due to the fact that the AM4 platform offered a drop-in upgrade and boards were available at dirt-cheap prices. There was already a large user base of people on the AM4 platform and that's so far not the case with AM5. A few numbers have been shared by our friend TechEpiphany which come from Germany's largest tech retailer, MindFactory:
Launch:
Ryzen 9 7950X: 230 units
Ryzen 9 7900X: 190
Ryzen 7 7700X: 200
Ryzen 5 7600X: 50As expected
— TechEpiphany (@TechEpiphany) September 28, 2022
As we move forward and AM5 grows, we will see a bigger adoption rate of future mainstream chips. I also have to agree with other comments that say that the higher prices of the platform and the add-in DDR5 cost are to blame for this but this is the start of an entirely new platform and things are only going to get better moving forward. With that said, the B650 series motherboards will definitely be a major addition to the AM5 lineup and we might even see people upgrading to Ryzen 8000 or Ryzen 9000 CPUs on the same boards years from now as we saw with the AM4 generation.
