ASRock A520M Pro4 Motherboard Pictured, A520 Platform Lacking PCIe Gen4 Confirmed

[btarunr]

Here's the first picture of an ASRock A520M Pro4 Micro-ATX Socket AM4 motherboard based on AMD's upcoming A520 entry-level chipset that succeeds the A320. The picture reveals a spartan, well laid out motherboard that appears to cover all the segment essentials needed for entry-level builds using AMD's Athlon 3000 processors, or Ryzen 3000 and 4000G processors. Among its segment first features are the inclusion of two M.2 slots, from which one is wired to the AM4 socket, and includes an SSD heatsink. The board also features an M.2 E-key slot so you can add a WLAN card (provision for rear-panel antennae also offered). USB connectivity includes a type-C port on the rear panel. Surprisingly, the only display output is a D-Sub. Perhaps there are variants of this board that come with HDMI or DP.

Another striking detail from this VideoCardz-sourced picture is the printed marking near the top M.2 NVMe slot (wired to the processor) which reads "PCIe Gen 3 x4." On AMD B550 based motherboards, ASRock marks this as "PCIe Gen 4 x4." This is a confirmation of the AMD A520 platform being segmented from the B550 with lack of PCI-Express gen 4.0 support. The lack of gen 4.0 ancillaries could slim the bill of materials for motherboard manufacturers, letting them sell motherboards based on the A520 around the $50-$70 mark. This shouldn't be a problem for people with Athlon 3000G, Ryzen 3000G, or even new 4000G, as none of these processors offer PCIe Gen 4.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[lexluthermiester]

This is a confirmation of the AMD A520 platform being segmented from the B550 with lack of PCI-Express gen 4.0 support.

Wasn't this already known? Or was it just rumor before?

 

[JAB Creations]

I get that staggered releases sometimes have to be a thing but more than a year and a month later and it's not even officially announced? It makes no sense to release these now any way if AMD will just release the Ryzen 4000 series a month or two later then requiring the "early" release of A520 boards to get a patch to accept 4000 series CPUs. Same thing with the mess of labeling Zen 2 APUs as 4000 series.

 

[Jomale]

A320 boards to get a patch to accept 4000 series CPUs.

No, A320 are outdated and only a few B450 get bios updates to Zen3/4000er.

 

[JAB Creations]

No, A320 are outdated and only a few B450 get bios updates to Zen3/4000er.

*520

 

[Jomale]

And there it is the ITX sister

 

[lexluthermiester]

and only a few B450 get bios updates to Zen3/4000er.

Not true at all. Most B450 boards got updates to Ryzen 3xxx CPU's and they will very likely get updates to Ryzen 4xxx.

 

[Nater]

Curious, who's buying mainboards with D-Sub and PS/2 in quantities to make them worth manufacturing?

 

[SL2]

It does have HDMI and DP.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Curious, who's buying mainboards with D-Sub and PS/2 in quantities to make them worth manufacturing?

In regards to PS/2 ports, anyone who wants to run Windows 7 on Ryzen. And that is a lot of people.

 

[TheUn4seen]

I see you need a cheap, well rounded motherboard. It would be a shame if you couldn't connect a modern monitor to it [evil laughter rising to an unbearable volume]

It does have HDMI and DP, just barely visible on the picture, beneath the D-sub. I just couldn't pass this opportunity to make a poor joke.

 

[Selaya]

In regards to PS/2 ports, anyone who wants to run Windows 7 on Ryzen. And that is a lot of people.

You can just preload the correct usb drivers on your installation media and you'll be able to use your USB keyboard/mouse for the installation ...
You'll have to do it anyways if you do not have an optical disc drive, anyways.

 

[lexluthermiester]

You can just preload the correct usb drivers on your installation media and you'll be able to use your USB keyboard/mouse for the installation ...

Why would you need to with PS/2 and USB 2.0 available on the system for installation? Though I do see your point.

 

[Selaya]

Well as you probably know, out-of-the-box 7 will not recognise any of your USB ports at all on Matisse - you either have to fallback to PS2 or load proper, custom drivers for your USB ports onto your installation media ...

 

[newtekie1]

Same thing with the mess of labeling Zen 2 APUs as 4000 series.

And Zen+ APUs the 3000 series and Zen APUs the 2000 series...

 

[Alien88]

It does have HDMI and DP.
View attachment 165458

Yes, took about 2 seconds to find that on TH, no idea how TPU stuffed that up, and haven't updated this article yet.

Of the MBs themselves, they look useful for general purpose builds like office builds etc.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Yes, took about 2 seconds to find that on TH, no idea how TPU stuffed that up, and haven't updated this article yet.

They didn't. The above article is called a "press release" announcement. TPU doesn't actually have a sample in hand. A failure to understand the dynamic of that situation does not reflect poorly on TPU.

 

[SL2]

They didn't. The above article is called a "press release" announcement.

All I see is a leak via Videocardz. A press release about an Asrock product should mention Asrock as a source IMO, usually together with

.

 

[lexluthermiester]

All I see is a leak via Videocardz. A press release about an Asrock product should mention Asrock as a source IMO, usually together with View attachment 165862.

Seems you're correct. That information only shows on the front page part of TPU, it doesn't show up here in the forums. Didn't see it because I viewed the article's forum entry... Perhaps @W1zzard might be able to shed a little light on that?

 

[W1zzard]

Seems you're correct. That information only shows on the front page part of TPU, it doesn't show up here in the forums. Didn't see it because I viewed the article's forum entry... Perhaps @W1zzard might be able to shed a little light on that?

Yeah the forum has no way to show the source link, it's a separate ui element on the main site, not part of the news post text