AMD A620 Motherboards Listed Overseas For Under $100

Generic AMD AM5 CPU and motherboard
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

AMD's entry-level A620 motherboards may finally give consumers a reason to upgrade to the AM5 platform. Overseas retailers have started to list A620 motherboards from different vendors for under $100.

B650 motherboards are great options for consumers that don't need all the features from a premium chipset like X670 or X670E. Still, it wasn't until recently that motherboard vendors started to roll out B650 motherboards at the $125 price point. But the A620 motherboards are the real heroes for consumers on a really tight budget. Manufacturers have to cut corners to bring a sub-$100 range AM5 motherboard to the market, so we should expect a severely reduced feature set on the A620 chipset. That will likely include slower interfaces, more basic connectivity options, and very modest power delivery subsystems, similar to the prior A520 motherboards.

Polish retailer BuyIT and Slovakian retailer Edis Computers (via momomo_us (opens in new tab)) have listed MSI Pro A620M-E for $82.90 (opens in new tab) and $79.11 (opens in new tab), respectively (after converting to USD). The prices could be placeholders but we don't think so, given their similarity. Unfortunately, neither retailer posted any detailed information about the MSI Pro A620M-E. Furthermore, both got the specifications wrong, erroneously stating that the motherboard sports the LGA1700 socket. From the little available information, the MSI Pro A620M-E is a microATX motherboard with an HDMI and VGA port.

Early rumors claim that there may be two A620 chipset designs. One (Promontory 21) reportedly is a cut-down version of the B650 chipset, whereas the other (Promontory 22) seemingly boasts a new design that's cheaper to produce. The first wave of A620 motherboards allegedly used the Promontory 21 design, and the latter offerings will transition to the Promontory 22 design. We think vendors may temporarily roll with the first design to meet AMD's launch window, rumored to be the middle of the year, before jumping on the second design later.

AMD A620 Motherboard Pricing

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MotherboardPricingRetailer
MSI Pro A620M-E$82.90BuyIT (Poland)
MSI Pro A620M-E$79.11Edis Computers (Slovakia)

AMD hasn't revealed the specifications for the A620 chipset; however, reputable hardware leaker chi11eddog has reportedly obtained some information on the upcoming budget chipset. The B650 chipset delivers eight PCIe 4.0 lanes with an uplink consisting of four PCIe 4.0 lanes. The A620, on the other hand, purportedly offers the same number of chipset lanes and uplink, but they are limited to PCIe 3.0 speeds.

Unlike B650, A620 seemingly lacks PCIe 5.0 support. Therefore, the 28 PCIe lanes from Zen 4 processors are limited to PCIe 4.0 speeds. It's not a huge letdown since PCIe 4.0 SSDs are still plenty fast for most consumers' needs. Moreover, even the best graphics cards are happy with a PCIe 4.0 interface (none of them support PCIe 5.0 yet), so having a budget chipset without PCIe 5.0 support isn't a huge deal. A620 is rumored to lack CrossFireX support as well — not like anyone even uses that feature anymore.

The A620 chipset could arrive without support for processor overclocking, which is to be expected since A620 motherboards likely won't have robust power delivery subsystems. For the same reason, it's possible that some of the basic A620 motherboards may not have what it takes to handle the higher-watt Ryzen 7000 chips, such as the 170W Ryzen 9 7950X. We'll have to wait to find out.

Luckily, memory overclocking is still on the table, according to the leaked information. Other rumored compromises reside in the USB connectivity. The A620 chipset might not support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports. It could be limited to just two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports while retaining the six USB 2.0 ports.

A620 motherboards will be a welcome addition to the pricey AM5 platform. Consumers will finally be able to tap into the best CPUs without spending a small fortune on an AM5 motherboard. In addition, with DRAM pricing plummeting, DDR5 memory should be cheaper very soon, giving buyers added stimulus to hop on the Zen 4 train.

Zhiye Liu
RAM Reviewer and News Editor

Zhiye Liu is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • Metal Messiah.
    We think vendors may temporarily roll with the first design to meet AMD's launch window, rumored to be the middle of the year

    Actually, these entry-level motherboards are being prepped for unveiling later this month with retail availability expected in April. A new report also states that these boards might support AMD AM5 CPUs up to 100W.

    Of course take this leak as a rumor for now, but few other posts on the Chinese board Forums/Insider tech community hub are claiming the same availability/release timeline (around April 2023).

    A620 Seems to be coming out in a week - SFF Minor Gallery (dcinside.com)
    In addition to MSI boards, a few Gigabyte models have also been confirmed through a listing at the EEC (via Momom_US), but these are not listed on any online store yet:A620M GAMING X AXA620M GAMING XA620M C
    Reply
  • ohio_buckeye
    Good. For someone like me who just likes to game and not a lot of overclocking, this may work with a non X cpu, this might be something to consider.
    Reply
  • setx
    A620 is likely not a chipset at all: just a dummy to activate the CPU, all the connectivity is coming from CPU directly (like it was on AM4 for A "chipset").

    The A620 chipset might not support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports. It could be limited to just two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports while retaining the six USB 2.0 ports.
    USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports are implemented in actual chipset (Promontory for AM5), so "chipset" A620 obviously won't have them. But the rest isn't true: CPU has 4 USB3 Gen 2 + 1 USB2, so providing less than that would be artificial limitation (still very likely – to cut the cost despite that the savings would be fraction of $ for manufacturer).
    Reply
  • ohio_buckeye
    If one desires usb 3 on that board, I was looking and it looks like some of them like this one will have a couple of pci e x1 slots.

    TweakTown.com Enlarged Image (new) - /image.php?image=https://static.tweaktown.com/news/9/0/90867_04_the-asrock-a620-motherboard-is-first-entry-level-am5-board-to-be-pictured_full.jpg


    If that's the case, maybe a card like this would be useful. Surely there are others, this was just one in a quick search.

    PCIe USB 3.0 Card 7 Port, RIITOP PCI-e Express x1 to 7 Port USB3.0 Expansion Controller Card Adapter, NEC Chipset, No Need Power Supply - Newegg.com
    Reply
  • TJ Hooker
    setx said:
    A620 is likely not a chipset at all: just a dummy to activate the CPU, all the connectivity is coming from CPU directly (like it was on AM4 for A "chipset").


    USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports are implemented in actual chipset (Promontory for AM5), so "chipset" A620 obviously won't have them. But the rest isn't true: CPU has 4 USB3 Gen 2 + 1 USB2, so providing less than that would be artificial limitation (still very likely – to cut the cost despite that the savings would be fraction of $ for manufacturer).
    Ryzen 7K CPUs don't have any native SATA ports from the SoC, so I would imagine that the A620 would need to have have at least some actual functionality in order to provide those.
    Reply
  • TechieTwo
    I personally do not feel that the AM5 mobos with the X670 and B650E chipsets are over priced if you are buying a quality mobo such as the Steel Legend from Asrock or similar. I haven't checked current prices from Gigabyte or Asus but they tend to charge more and not deliver any more value when it comes to AM5 systems. When using the same chipset you are going to get the same basic performance.

    Why anyone would pay $500 for a mobo that doesn't perform any better than the $300 Steel Legend is beyond me regardless of brand. If people are willing to pay those prices mobo makers are going to charge those prices.

    The A620 chipset and <$100. mobos are very basic entry level mobos that allow people to enjoy a current AM5 system at a very budget friendly price. In many respects it's a gift compared to a std. X670/B650E chipset mobo.
    Reply
  • hotaru251
    Luckily, memory overclocking is still on the table

    even higher end MB have issues hitting XMP speeds.

    i doubt you are "oc'ing" anything but the slowest of ram on these extreme budget boards.
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    Intel sales will skyrocket rocket :)
    Reply
  • Metal Messiah.
    Metal Messiah. said:
    Actually, these entry-level motherboards are being prepped for unveiling later this month with retail availability expected in April. A new report also states that these boards might support AMD AM5 CPUs up to 100W.

    Actually, WCCFTECH has not just confirmed this. Like I mentioned earlier, AMD's A620 chipset motherboards for AM5 PC builds are finally launching tomorrow.

    AMD A620 Motherboards For Entry-Level AM5 PCs Launch Tomorrow, MSI A620 PCB & Pricing Revealed (wccftech.com)

    Based on the latest information that we have received, AMD and its partners will finally introduce the much-awaited & very affordable AM5 motherboard options tomorrow. The boards will adopt the A620 chipset which will come in two flavors, one variant will be a cut-down B650 SKU due to yields and the other will be the proper A620 die which will mostly be the more affordable option.
    Reply