When AMD introduced its AM5 platform for Ryzen 7000 CPUs, the company promised a starting price of $125 for the motherboards, but despite its launch months ago, no AM5 motherboards were available at that specific price until now.
The ASRock B650M-HDV motherboard fulfills AMD’s promise that AM5 products start at a price of $125 in the US.
ASRock appears to be the first AM5 motherboard manufacturer to have a product that falls within AMD’s promised “starting price” of US$125. As AMD and GM Ryzen Channel Business CVP David McAfee points out, the motherboard is now priced at $124.99 USD at Newegg and that’s the lowest price ever for not just ASRock’s AM5 lineup, but the entire lineup. AM5 motherboard line in general.
When AM5 was released I said that we would see motherboards starting at $125. @HotHardware Realized, my timing *might* have been a bit off… (https://t.co/TJtRCUirxY) but I’m happy to see ASRock first to ship with a $125 B650 board for @AMDRyzen https://t.co/c19zLBnTNs pic.twitter.com/G6CKqfx57I
—David McAfee (@McAfeeDavid_AMD) March 9, 2023
The ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2 is an entry-level motherboard that features an entry-level Micro-ATX form factor and houses the AM5 socket with 8+2+1 phase VRM cooled by heatsinks. Power is provided via a single 8-pin connector, and the motherboard houses only two DDR5 DIMM slots that can support speeds of up to 6400 Mbps+ (OC), including EXPO memory. This would only allow capacities up to 64 GB until the latest AGESA BIOS firmware 1.0.0.7 comes out which will enable 24 and 48 GB memory support for capacities up to 96 GB on a motherboard with two DIMM slots.
As for connectivity, the ASRock B650M-HDV/M.2 motherboard houses two PCIe 4.0 x16 slots, a single PCIe 4.0 x1 slot, and a single PCIe Gen 5.0 x4 M.2 slot. The M.2 slot features a heat sink and there is one without which runs the Gen 4×4 protocol.
The single AMD B650 PCH is housed under an aluminum heatsink, and storage options include four SATA III ports. You’ll get a Dragon 2.5GbE LAN port, 7 USB 3.2 Gen1 ports, and a single USB 3.2 Gen2 port along with a BIOS flashback switch. There is also a M.2 WiFi slot that can be configured with a WIFI card (purchased separately).
The motherboard comes with an I/O shield pre-installed and supports the ALC897 audio codec, so overall it’s a decent option. AMD has some great deals with its recent Ryzen 7000 CPU bundles along with gaming promotions and we expect more motherboard vendors to tighten their prices for entry-level motherboards like Newegg did with ASRock’s deals.
