MSI Intros the A320 Grenade Socket AM4 Motherboard

btarunr · Apr 10, 2017

MSI today introduced the A320 Grenade, an entry-level yet gaming-grade socket AM4 motherboard based on AMD's basic A320 chipset. Built in the narrow micro-ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors. A simple 5-phase VRM conditions power for the AM4 SoC. The socket is wired to a pair of DDR4 DIMM slots, and a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. Two PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slots make for the rest of the expansion area.

Storage connectivity includes four SATA 6 Gbps ports, from which two are wired to the SoC, and one 32 Gbps M.2 slot. USB connectivity includes four USB 3.0 ports (four on the rear panel, two via headers). Gigabit Ethernet (driven by Realtek RTL8111H controller) and 6-channel HD audio (Realtek ALC887 CODEC), make for the rest of it. We expect it to be priced around the $75 mark.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

peche · Apr 10, 2017

btarunr said:
entry-level yet gaming-grade

Atnevon · Apr 10, 2017

MSi what do you have...for me?

(sings Bruno Mars in head)

TheLaughingMan · Apr 10, 2017

is the Grenade name a reference to it be small but powerful? Because I would expect an ITX board for that. Maybe this should be the MSI Sidearm.

Static~Charge · Apr 10, 2017

TheLaughingMan said:
is the Grenade name a reference to it be small but powerful? Because I would expect an ITX board for that. Maybe this should be the MSI Sidearm.

More like the "MSI Pop Gun".

It's decent enough for a basic machine, but I wouldn't classify it as "entry-level gaming" (unless we're talking something like Angry Birds...).

erocker · Apr 10, 2017

Grenade is a bad word to give any product. Grenades blow up. I don't want to blow up a motherboard... or toaster, or whatever. Seriously, no one should be paid or compensated in any way for naming this motherboard.

TXST Guardian · Apr 10, 2017

These boards are definitely for eSport pc's. I would never stick one of these boards in one of my own builds.

on a side note, When will someone make a decent matx AM4 board!? I'd love to see an X370 platform mATX. This is the only reason I have yet to go AMD.

TheLaughingMan · Apr 10, 2017

TXST Guardian said:
These boards are definitely for eSport pc's. I would never stick one of these boards in one of my own builds.

on a side note, When will someone make a decent matx AM4 board!? I'd love to see an X370 platform mATX. This is the only reason I have yet to go AMD.

There are plenty of B350 boards. The only thing you would lose would be Nvidia SLI support. What are you waiting for that you would get from the X370?

TXST Guardian · Apr 10, 2017

TheLaughingMan said:
There are plenty of B350 boards. The only thing you would lose would be Nvidia SLI support. What are you waiting for that you would get from the X370?

SLI lol

uuuaaaaaa · Apr 10, 2017

With that name I am expecting teh well known msi implementation of nikos mosfets for the cpu vrm.

cdawall · Apr 10, 2017

erocker said:
Grenade is a bad word to give any product. Grenades blow up. I don't want to blow up a motherboard... or toaster, or whatever. Seriously, no one should be paid or compensated in any way for naming this motherboard.

I mean we are talking about MSI...

Remember the krait edition 970? That is on fire

uuuaaaaaa · Apr 10, 2017

cdawall said:
I mean we are talking about MSI...

Remember the krait edition 970? That is on fire

Nikos mosfet power

natr0n · Apr 10, 2017

If imbeciles kill a board without using active cooling such as placing a fucking fan on vrm its some how the companies fault forever.

Fuck your logic

uuuaaaaaa · Apr 10, 2017

natr0n said:
If imbeciles kill a board without using active cooling such as placing a fucking fan on vrm its some how the companies fault forever.

Fuck your logic

On a more serious note, Nikos mosfets are known for being cheap, bad and hot (very high internal resistance) and somehow MSI keeps on using them for the cpu vrm. You can check the threads on overclock.net...

-The_Mask- · Apr 10, 2017

natr0n said:
If imbeciles kill a board without using active cooling such as placing a fucking fan on vrm its some how the companies fault forever.

Fuck your logic

I guess you, just like MSI, haven't heard off over current and over temp protection.

uuuaaaaaa · Apr 10, 2017

I bet that this is using Nikos... Even their top of the line X370 does...

For the CPU power delivery section, six NIKOS PowerPAK PK616BA and twelve NIKOS PowerPAK PK632BA are combined. The SOC section gets four PK616BA MOSFETs and four PK632BA.

MSI’s power delivery system seems a little light for a flagship, overclocking-geared design. ASRock and ASUS offer higher total phase counts on their competitors while also using efficient Texas Instrument NexFET power blocks (MOSFETs).

Source:
http://www.kitguru.net/components/m...-xpower-gaming-titanium-motherboard-review/3/

It is a shame really to cheap out on the vrm on a flagship board like this...

Mistral · Apr 11, 2017

I like my motherboards non-exploding....

owen10578 · Apr 11, 2017

TXST Guardian said:
SLI lol

Same here waiting for SLI mATX X370 boards. So that I can crossfire. Lol.

cdawall · Apr 11, 2017

natr0n said:
If imbeciles kill a board without using active cooling such as placing a fucking fan on vrm its some how the companies fault forever.

Fuck your logic

It has a stock cpu...shouldn't need active cooling.

AsRock · Apr 11, 2017

erocker said:
Grenade is a bad word to give any product. Grenades blow up. I don't want to blow up a motherboard... or toaster, or whatever. Seriously, no one should be paid or compensated in any way for naming this motherboard.

Yes some one needs to be fired and who ever else agreed with this naming.

Ferrum Master · Apr 11, 2017

erocker said:
Grenade is a bad word to give any product. Grenades blow up. I don't want to blow up a motherboard... or toaster, or whatever. Seriously, no one should be paid or compensated in any way for naming this motherboard.

I always made the same ideas about Supernova PSU lineup.

ixi · Apr 11, 2017

Atnevon said:
MSi what do you have...for me?

(sings Bruno Mars in head)

These branding names are epic, haha.

ShurikN · Apr 11, 2017

uuuaaaaaa said:
I bet that this is using Nikos... Even their top of the line X370 does...

For the CPU power delivery section, six NIKOS PowerPAK PK616BA and twelve NIKOS PowerPAK PK632BA are combined. The SOC section gets four PK616BA MOSFETs and four PK632BA.

MSI’s power delivery system seems a little light for a flagship, overclocking-geared design. ASRock and ASUS offer higher total phase counts on their competitors while also using efficient Texas Instrument NexFET power blocks (MOSFETs).

Source:
http://www.kitguru.net/components/m...-xpower-gaming-titanium-motherboard-review/3/

It is a shame really to cheap out on the vrm on a flagship board like this...

Hmmm... it looks like MSI is the AM4 board to avoid.

RMX · Apr 11, 2017

I like the design, if the price is right

However, with RYZEN 7/5 I would prefer B350 since these babies beg for some proper overclocking.

System Name	RBMK-1000
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard	Gigabyte B550 AORUS Elite V2
Cooling	DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory	2x 16GB DDR4-3200
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 4070 Ti EX
Storage	Samsung 990 1TB
Display(s)	BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case	Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s)	ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply	Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse	ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard	Gamdias Hermes E2
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	Athenna
Processor	intel i7 3770 Dellided
Motherboard	GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Rev. 1.1
Cooling	Thermaltake Water 3.0 Pro + Tt Riing12 x2 / Tt ThunderBlade / Gelid Slim 120UV fans
Memory	16GB DRR3 Kingoston with Custom Tt spreaders + HyperX Fan
Video Card(s)	GeForce GTX 980 4GB Nvidia Sample
Storage	Crucial M4 SSD 64GB's / Seagate Barracuda 2TB / Seagate Barracuda 320GB's
Display(s)	22" LG FLATRON 1920 x 1280p
Case	Thermaltake Commander G42 Window
Audio Device(s)	On-board Dolby 5.1+ Kingston HyperX Cloud 1
Power Supply	Themaltake TR2 700W 80plus bronce & APC Pro backup 1000Va
Mouse	Tt eSports Level 10M Rev 1.0 Diamond Black & Tt Conkor "L" mouse pad
Keyboard	Tt eSports KNUCKER
Software	windows 10x64Pro
Benchmark Scores	well I've fried a 775' P4 12 years ago, that counts?

System Name	HAL_9017
Processor	Intel i9 10850k
Motherboard	Asus Prime z490-A
Cooling	Corsair H115i
Memory	GSkill 32GB DDR4-3000 Trident-Z RGB
Video Card(s)	NVIDIA 1080GTX FE w/ EVGA Hybrid Water Cooler
Storage	Samsung EVO 960 M.2 SSD 500Gb
Display(s)	Asus XG279
Case	In Win 805i
Audio Device(s)	EVGA NuAudio
Power Supply	CORSAIR RM750
Mouse	Logitech Master 2s
Keyboard	Keychron K4

System Name	ODIN
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard	Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite AX V2
Cooling	Dark Rock 4
Memory	G Skill RipjawsV F4 3600 Mhz C16
Video Card(s)	MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ventus 3X OC LHR
Storage	Crucial 2 TB M.2 SSD :: WD Blue M.2 1TB SSD :: 1 TB WD Black VelociRaptor
Display(s)	Dell S2716DG 27" 144 Hz G-SYNC
Case	Fractal Meshify C
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Audio
Power Supply	Antec HCP 850 80+ Gold
Mouse	Corsair M65
Keyboard	Corsair K70 RGB Lux
Software	Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Benchmark Scores	I don't benchmark.

Processor	Intel Core i3-8100
Motherboard	ASRock H370 Pro4
Cooling	Cryorig M9i
Memory	16GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4-2400
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 WindForce OC 3GB
Storage	Crucial MX500 512GB SSD
Display(s)	Dell S2316M LCD
Case	Fractal Design Define R4 Black Pearl
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC892
Power Supply	Corsair CX600M
Mouse	Logitech M500
Keyboard	Lenovo KB1021 USB
Software	Windows 10 Professional x64

MSI Intros the A320 Grenade Socket AM4 Motherboard

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator

peche

Thermaltake fanboy

Atnevon

TheLaughingMan

Static~Charge

erocker

*

TXST Guardian

TheLaughingMan

TXST Guardian

uuuaaaaaa

cdawall

where the hell are my stars

uuuaaaaaa

natr0n

uuuaaaaaa

-The_Mask-

uuuaaaaaa

Mistral

owen10578

cdawall

where the hell are my stars

AsRock

TPU addict

Ferrum Master

ixi

ShurikN

RMX

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS TUF x670e-Plus Wifi
Cooling	EK AIO 360. Phantek T30 fans.
Memory	64GB G.Skill 6000Mhz
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 4090
Storage	WD/Samsung m.2's
Display(s)	LG C2 Evo OLED 42"
Case	Fractal Design North
Audio Device(s)	Topping E70 DAC, SMSL SP200 Amp, Adam Audio T5V's, Hifiman Sundara's.
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Keyboard	Epomaker 84 key
Software	Windows 11 Pro

Processor	AMD Ryzen 1700X
Motherboard	ASRock X370 Taichi
Cooling	EKWB Custom Loop
Memory	16GB (2x8GB) G.Skill Trident Z RGB 3000Mhz
Video Card(s)	MSI Gaming X GTX 1080 EKWB Nickel WB
Storage	256GB WD Black M.2 O/S & 1TB WD Black Storage
Case	Anidees Crystal Cube RGB
Power Supply	Corsair RM 850 W/ Cable Mod Carbon Pro Cables
Mouse	Razer Deathadder
Keyboard	Razer Black Widow
Software	Win 10

System Name	No name / Purple Haze
Processor	Phenom II 1100T @ 3.8Ghz / Pentium 4 3.4 EE Gallatin @ 3.825Ghz
Motherboard	MSI 970 Gaming/ Abit IC7-MAX3
Cooling	CM Hyper 212X / Scythe Andy Samurai Master (CPU) - Modded Ati Silencer 5 rev. 2 (GPU)
Memory	8GB GEIL GB38GB2133C10ADC + 8GB G.Skill F3-14900CL9-4GBXL / 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC4000
Video Card(s)	Asus R9 Fury X Strix (4096 SP's/1050 Mhz)/ PowerColor X850XT PE @ (600/1230) AGP + (HD3850 AGP)
Storage	Samsung 250 GB / WD Caviar 160GB
Display(s)	Benq XL2411T
Audio Device(s)	motherboard / Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro + Front panel
Power Supply	Tagan BZ 900W / Corsair HX620w
Mouse	Zowie AM
Keyboard	Qpad MK-50
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64Bit / Windows XP
Benchmark Scores	64CU Fury: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/11269229 / X850XT PE http://www.3dmark.com/3dm05/5532432

System Name	Moving into the mobile space
Processor	7940HS
Motherboard	HP trash
Cooling	HP trash
Memory	2x8GB
Video Card(s)	4070 mobile
Storage	512GB+2TB NVME
Display(s)	some 165hz thing that isn't as nice as it sounded

System Name	natr0n-PC
Processor	Ryzen 5950x-5600x \| 9600k
Motherboard	B450 AORUS M \| Z390 UD
Cooling	EK AIO 360 - 6 fan action \| AIO
Memory	Patriot - Viper Steel DDR4 (B-Die)(4x8GB) \| Samsung DDR4 (4x8GB)
Video Card(s)	EVGA 3070ti FTW
Storage	Various
Display(s)	Pixio PX279 Prime
Case	Thermaltake Level 20 VT \| Black bench
Audio Device(s)	LOXJIE D10 + Kinter Amp + 6 Bookshelf Speakers Sony+JVC+Sony
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 80+ Gold 650W \| EVGA 700 Gold
Software	XP/7/8.1/10
Benchmark Scores	http://valid.x86.fr/79kuh6

System Name	Aryzen / Sairikiki / Tesseract
Processor	5800x / i7 920@3.73 / 5800x
Motherboard	Steel Legend B450M / GB EX58-UDP4 / Steel Legend B550M
Cooling	Mugen 5 / Pure Rock / Glacier One 240
Memory	Corsair Something 16 / Corsair Something 12 / G.Skill 32
Video Card(s)	AMD 6800XT / AMD 6750XT / Sapphire 7800XT
Storage	Way too many drives...
Display(s)	LG 332GP850-B / Sony w800b / Sony X90J
Case	EVOLV X / Carbide 540 / Carbide 280x
Audio Device(s)	SB ZxR + GSP 500 / board / Denon X1700h + ELAC Uni-Fi 2 + Senn 6XX
Power Supply	Seasonic PRIME GX-750 / Corsair HX750 / Seasonic Focus PX-650
Mouse	G700 / none / G602
Keyboard	G910
Software	w11 64
Benchmark Scores	I don't play benchmarks...

System Name	Nero Mini
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 4.7GHz-4.9GHz
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570i Aorus Pro Wifi
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15S+3x Noctua IPPC 3K
Memory	Team Dark 3800MHz CL16 2x16GB 55ns
Video Card(s)	Palit RTX 2060 Super JS Shunt Mod 2130MHz/1925MHz + 2x Noctua 120mm IPPC 3K
Storage	Adata XPG Gammix S50 1TB
Display(s)	LG 27UD68W
Case	Lian-Li TU-150
Power Supply	Corsair SF750 Platinum
Software	Windows 10 Pro

Processor	AMD 3900X \ AMD 7700X
Motherboard	ASRock AM4 X570 Pro 4 \ ASUS X670Xe TUF
Cooling	D15
Memory	Patriot 2x16GB PVS432G320C6K \ G.Skill Flare X5 F5-6000J3238F 2x16GB
Video Card(s)	eVga GTX1060 SSC \ XFX RX 6950XT RX-695XATBD9
Storage	Sammy 860, MX500, Sabrent Rocket 4 Sammy Evo 980 \ 1xSabrent Rocket 4+, Sammy 2x990 Pro
Display(s)	Samsung 1080P \ LG 43UN700
Case	Fractal Design Pop Air 2x140mm fans from Torrent \ Fractal Design Torrent 2 SilverStone FHP141x2
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha RX-V677 \ Yamaha CX-830+Yamaha MX-630 \Paradigm 7se MKII, Paradigm 5SE MK1 , Blue Yeti
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime TX-750 \ Corsair RM1000X Shift
Mouse	Steelseries Sensei wireless \ Steelseries Sensei wireless
Keyboard	Logitech K120 \ Wooting Two HE
Benchmark Scores	Meh benchmarks.

System Name	HELLSTAR
Processor	AMD RYZEN 9 5950X
Motherboard	ASUS Strix X570-E
Cooling	2x 360 + 280 rads. 3x Gentle Typhoons, 3x Phanteks T30, 2x TT T140 . EK-Quantum Momentum Monoblock.
Memory	4x8GB G.SKILL Trident Z RGB F4-4133C19D-16GTZR 14-16-12-30-44
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Pulse RX 7900XTX. Water block. Crossflashed.
Storage	Optane 900P[Fedora] + WD BLACK SN850X 4TB + 750 EVO 500GB + 1TB 980PRO+SN560 1TB(W11)
Display(s)	Philips PHL BDM3270 + Acer XV242Y
Case	Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO
Audio Device(s)	SMSL RAW-MDA1 DAC
Power Supply	Fractal Design Newton R3 1000W
Mouse	Razer Basilisk
Keyboard	Razer BlackWidow V3 - Yellow Switch
Software	FEDORA 41

Processor	Ryzen 5600
Motherboard	X570 I Aorus Pro
Cooling	Deepcool AG400
Memory	HyperX Fury 2 x 8GB 3200 CL16
Video Card(s)	RX 6700 10GB SWFT 309
Storage	SX8200 Pro 512 / NV2 512
Display(s)	24G2U
Case	NR200P
Power Supply	Ion SFX 650
Mouse	G703 (TTC Gold 60M)
Keyboard	Keychron V1 (Akko Matcha Green) / Apex m500 (Gateron milky yellow)
Software	W10