ASRock

Mar 29, 2023

March 28, 2023 When AMD launched the Ryzen 7000 family processors, it was with several control circuits in tow. The first wave of motherboards were mainly based on the top performance layer X670 control circuit, models that cost thousands of kroner. Along with the B650 controller, lower prices were promised, with the entry level of $125 and up, something that has since not quite been the case in practice. So far, only a few models have found their way to the famous entry-level price, with the extremely stripped-down Asrock B650M-HDV/M.2 being one of the earlier example models. AMD’s solution to the problem instead appears to be another control circuit – the even simpler variant A620. Early out is again Asrock, as with the sibling model A620-HDV/M.2 lowers the bar both one and two steps more. In addition to the processor socket, two DDR5 slots are visible and a single card slot with support for at most PCI Express 4.0. The number is admittedly not entirely unusual in combination with the form factor, which in this case is slightly smaller Micro ATX, but falls into the “thrifty” category. Also interesting is the VRM design, which appears to consist of a total of 6 phases and no cooling to speak of. Comparatively, 15–20 phases or more are not uncommon in the upper performance segment. Based on the images, previous information that PCI Express 5.0 is missing is correct, as neither the two M.2 slots for NVME-based storage nor the one for network cards are marked with more than version 4.0. This also applies to the M.2 slot whose PCI Express lanes go directly to the processor and are thus basically not limited by the motherboard’s control circuit. On the storage side, it is complemented by two SATA 6.0 Gbps slots for 3.5- and 2.5-inch drives. Even the connections at the rear have gone on a proper diet. In terms of pure image connections, it’s HDMI or Displayport, with one of each type. There are four USB Type A ports of unknown version, as well as one USB Type-C. In addition to that there is a network port and a bunch of audio connections. Although the product images claim that motherboards with the A620 chipset appear to both exist and be close to launch, there is currently no official announcement from AMD. Both the price tag and exact launch date for Asrock’s stripped-down variant are still question marks at the time of writing.