AMD B650E Chipset Motherboards: Bringing PCIe Gen 5.0 Slot & Gen 5.0 M.2 Support At Mainstream Prices
We reported back at Computex 2022 that the B650E series motherboards offer more PCB layers to efficiently offer better signaling due to PCIE’s rigid Gen5 protocol specifications. Right now, there is the Extreme X670 chipset has been announced officially, adding to the capability of PCIe Gen 5 slot for graphics support and PCIe Gen 5 M.2 for storage. In an internal presentation leaked by @wxnod, we can see that a manufacturer has listed the B650E (E For Extreme) chipset in one of its slides. The main advantage of B650E motherboards will be that since they feature a singular Promontory 21 chipset, they will definitely be aimed at the mainstream consumer segment with more affordable prices compared to the X670E and the X670 lineup. While losing a Promontory 21 chipset will lead to decreased I/O capabilities, this implementation will allow for more feasible mATX and mITX designs. We have seen ASUS’s ROG Maximus X670E Gene and ROG STRIX X670E-I Gaming WiFi which feature an mATX & mITX design, respectively. Both motherboards are based on the X670E chipset which means that they will be priced higher. But a board with a B650E chipset can retain the two most crucial aspects of the Extreme series platform and that’s support for a PCIe Gen 5.0 slot and PCIe Gen 5.0 M.2. At the same time, the pricing compared to the standard B650 (Non-E) motherboards will be slightly higher for the B650E offerings considering they will pack more PCB layers to support the necessary signaling interface for Gen 5 slot and M.2 support. B650E will give AMD an edge in the mainstream segment where they do lack DDR4 support versus the Intel offerings but having proper Gen 5 slot and M.2 port support can have better longevity, especially considering that Gen 5 SSDs and the DirectStorage API are going to be a major deal in the upcoming years. There have so far been no product announcements regarding either, the B650E or B650 boards. But, we expect to see products in October as they were previously meant to launch in early Q4 2022. Till then, you can feast your eyes upon the various yet more expensive X670E offerings in our roundup here. AMD will be hosting its official Ryzen 7000 & AM5 unveil in a few hours so make sure you tune in with us during the Livestream here. News Source: Videocardz
