AM4 boards roundup: iTX format

[Dirk Broer]

AM4 boards roundup: iTX format

At this moment there are three different chipsets being used in AM4 boards: the X370, the B350 and the A320. Still to come are the X300 and A300.
http://images.bit-tech.net/content_images/2017/03/amd-ryzen-1800x-and-am4-platform-review/chipset-1280x1024.jpg
The usual advantage of the X370 -SLI/Crossfire- falls away in the iTX scenario -my Antec ISK 110s do not even support a discrete video card-, so why would you want to spend extra money on it?

The X370 chipset can connect up to six SATA drives (four when using Ryzen) and supports up to a massive ten USB 3.1 gen1 ports and two USB 3.1 gen2 ports.
So far we've had the ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Gaming-ITX/ac and the Biostar Racing X370GTN with this chipset.
If you don't have plans to make your tiny iTX into a hedgehog of USB connectors you can save money and go for a B350 board instead.
It can connect up to four SATA drives (two when using Ryzen) and still supports up to six USB 3.1 gen1 ports and two USB 3.1 gen2 ports.
So far we've seen the ASRock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac, the Biostar Racing B350GTN and the Gigabyte AB350N-Gaming WiFi. The Asus RoG Strix B350-I Gaming is announced

The X370 boards: What do they offer, is the chipset fully utilized?


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


ASRock Fatal1ty
X370 Gaming-ITX/ac

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
3 Rear
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 7265
867 Mbit/s

4.2

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

6+2


Asus ROG Strix
X370-I Gaming

4x

2x
(1x M.2 PCI-e 2.0 x4)

2x Type-A

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Dual Band Wireless

4.2



ROG SupremeFX
S1220A

6+3


Biostar Racing
X370GTN

4x

1x

1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Realtek
RTL8118AS
-

-

DVI-D,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC892

5+2

WiFi and Bluetooth don't come free and the Asrock board is by far the most expensive choice. How do these boards hold up against the B350 competition, as they do not fully utilize the advantages the X370 chipset offers?


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


ASRock Fatal1ty
B350 Gaming-ITX/ac

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
3 Rear
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3168
433 Mbit/s

4.2

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

6+2


Asus RoG Strix
B350-I Gaming

4x

2x
(1x M.2 PCI-e 2.0 x4)

2x Type-A

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC

4.2

-

ROG SupremeFX
S1220A

6+3


Biostar Racing
B350GTN

4x

1x

1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Realtek
RTL8118AS
-

-

DVI-D,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC892

5+2


Gigabyte AB350N
Gaming WiFi

4x

1x

2x Type-A

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3165
433 Mbit/s

4.2

Display Port,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

4+2

MSI B350I
Pro AC

4x

1x

2x Type-A

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek
RTL8111H

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3168
433 Mbit/s

4.2

Display Port,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC887

6+2+1

USB Type-A is the old, well known always-wrong-the-first-time USB connection, Type-C is the always-right type. The two USB front ports, whether 2.0 and/or 3.0/1 are provided through headers on the motherboard.

Did I hear jaws drop? There is nothing to justify the X370 models in terms of functionality -the B350 board do support PCIe express too-, they only cost more money! Someone smack some engineers for me....

If this all is still too much for your needs -e.g. because it just won't fit all into your small iTX casing-, there's the A320 chipset.
It can also connect up to four SATA drives (two when using Ryzen) and also supports up to six USB 3.1 gen1 ports, but only one USB 3.1 gen2 port.

But: there are no iTX boards yet with the A320 (nor with the X300 or A300). It seems the mobo companies have decided that you're just gonna use a BIG iTX case, like the Bitfenix Prodigy. or the total and utter behemoth of iTX computing: the Thermaltake Core X1, that is even stackable when you go into custom loop liquid cooling and need room for a reservoir (why not try to add another iTX board instead?):
https://ic.tweakimg.net/ext/i/2000865147.jpeghttp://www.thermaltake.com/db/products/case/coreX1/pic1.jpg

[Nflight]

you have pegged my interest Dirk

[vaughan]

Excellent write-up Dirk.

I particularly agree with this "USB Type-A is the old, well known always-wrong-the-first-time USB connection,"

[Dirk Broer]

As with the previous form factor, there are three possible chipsets.

A320 boards
The most basic of the presently used chipsets, see the table with the iTX roundup.
There are four boards that make the cut. The cut I've made is that I think a board should be upgradeable, so more RAM should be a possibility.
All four major mobo maker have a board here: Asrock's A320M Pro4, ASUS' PRIME A320M-A, Gigabyte's GA-A320MA-M.2 and MSI's A320M Bazooka.
All four are not expensive (between 68 and75 Euro here)

The Asrock board stands out for having two M.2 slots, Crossfire capability and having a heatsink for its VRMs.
The ASUS board has no heatsinks and only one case fan header. ASUS wants you to have a 35 Watt TDP APU or at most a 45 Watt Zen APU in her A320 board and no more it seems. It does have two M.2 slots and two PCIe 3.0x16 slots though, and one can buy a fan controller -one might even need one with this board.
The Gigabyte board is the only one with a USB 3.1 Gen2 port here, but has no VRM heatsink, no 2nd PCIe x16 slot and no 2nd M.2 slot either.
The MSI board is the only one of the four that includes light on the mobo (white), but offers no other redeeming capabilities.

Based on the above I think the Asrock A320M Pro4 board would be my favorite A320 board, especially when I do not want to overclock -reportedly impossible on a A320 board.

B350 boards
A more elaborate version of the presently used chipsets, again: see the table with the iTX roundup.
Here ten boards make the cut, amongst them now also a Biostar. Furthermore one Asrock board, four (!) MSI ones, two Gigabyte and two ASUS.
The Asrock board, that is almost a twin of the A320 edition, again leaves the strongest impression with having the only full VRM heatsink of the bunch, its two M.2 slots and two PCIe x16 slots -be warned though that you can't use them all at once! The Asrock board is also much cheaper (75 euro) than the e.g. the Asus TUF B350M-PLUS GAMING (106 Euro), the Gigabyte GA-AB350M-D3H (97 Euro) or the MSI B350M Mortar Arctic (94 Euro).

X370 boards
There's a quick one: there's only the Biostar Racing X370GT3, and it costs some 120 Euro's.
Biostar has another odd one out: the sole A320 ATX board, the Biostar TA320 BTC, where BTC stands for Bitcoin, as it is aimed at Bitcoin miners.

[Dirk Broer]

Two new iTX boards included in the overview (ASUS ROG X370 and MSI)

[Dirk Broer]

Do they read these posts at Asus, Biostar, Gigabyte and MSI?

Fact is that the Socket AM4 B450 and X470 mobo's presently shown at Computex have better VRM cooling than the previous -A320, B350 and X370- generation.
It can also be their own conclusion after comparing their VRM cooling solution with the Asock's Pro4 and Tachi models.
MSI AM4 B450 mobo's at AnandTech (https://www.anandtech.com/show/12896/msi-b450-am4-motherboards-at-computex)
Gigabyte X399 TR4 and B450 AM4 mobo's at Tom's Hardware (https://www.tomshardware.com/news/aorus-x399-xtreme-b450-motherboard,37194.html)

[plonk420]

where do you guys find your VRM info if not listed on the mobo mfg's site? that german forum? or is there another source, too?

also, does VRM count above 5 really matter much if you're not OCing? and what about cooling, too? mainly for OCers?

[Dirk Broer]

where do you guys find your VRM info if not listed on the mobo mfg's site? that german forum? or is there another source, too?

also, does VRM count above 5 really matter much if you're not OCing? and what about cooling, too? mainly for OCers?

I usually google on 'power delivery' or 'power phase', together with the mobo model. Some projects can really tax your system and some CPUs need more power than others.
I really do think that a CPUs like Threadripper 2 -or the last 200+ watt TDP FX CPUs- are really better off with a stable power delivery -and so do the mobo makers.

[Dirk Broer]

The Asrock AM4 iTX-boards


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


ASRock Fatal1ty
X470 Gaming-ITX/ac

4x

1x

Rear,
1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

Intel®2T2R
Dual Band
1733 Mbit/s

5.0

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


Fatal1ty B450
Gaming-ITX/ac

4x

1x

Rear,
1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3168
433 Mbit/s

4.2

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


ASRock Fatal1ty
X370 Gaming-ITX/ac

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
3 Rear
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 7265
867 Mbit/s

4.2

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


ASRock Fatal1ty
B350 Gaming-ITX/ac

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
3 Rear
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3168
433 Mbit/s

4.2

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


ASRock A320M-ITX

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
3 Rear
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

-

-

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC



No doubt a X570 model will soon come out, offering PCIe 4.0 and other performance tweaks. The top model for now, the X470, goes for around 170 Euro's here,
the B450, X370 and B350 boards do some 110 Euro and the A320 board is nowhere to be found, except on the Asrock website. No vendor dares to sell it here.
The X370 has gone from Asrocks website, so seems to be discontinued. I already wrote earlier that I think the X370 is total overkill in the iTX setup anyway.
My advise would be to take the B450 board, based upon chipset capabilities and better CPU VRM cooling (but bear in mind that it will not support Excavator-based AM4 APUs and CPUs).
If you want an Asrock AM4 iTX, the X470 isn't worth the extra money -or you would have to have a desperate need for the greater WiFi speed.

Asus


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


Asus RoG Strix
X470-I Gaming

4x

2x
(1x M.2 PCIe3.0x4)

2x Type-A

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC
867 Mbit/s

4.2

HDMI

ROG SupremeFX
S1220A

6 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


Asus RoG Strix
B450-I Gaming

4x

2x
(1x M.2 PCIe3.0x4)

2x Type-A

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC
867 Mbit/s

4.2

HDMI

ROG SupremeFX
S1220A

6 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


Asus ROG Strix
X370-I Gaming

4x

2x
(1x M.2 PCIe2.0 x4)

2x Type-A

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Dual Band
Wireless-AC
867 Mbit/s


4.2

-

ROG SupremeFX
S1220A

6 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


Asus RoG Strix
B350-I Gaming

4x

2x
(1x M.2 PCIe2.0x4)

2x Type-A

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC
867 Mbit/s

4.2

-

ROG SupremeFX
S1220A

6 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


It seems that adding 'ROG' to an ASUS product warrants an extra amount of money to be asked for it. The X470 board goes for just short of 200 Euro's here, the B450 board does 150 Euro's,
the two 300-series board go at the moment for 140 Euro's, making ASUS by far the most expensive choice when choosing the mini-iTX format. And just as Biostar seems to think "WiFi? Why? No WiFI!"
ASUS seemed to have thought "APUs? Why? No APUs, no video-out!" with the 300-series of boards, only to have come back to their senses with the 400-series.

Biostar


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


Biostar Racing
X470GTN

4x

1x

1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Realtek
RTL8118AS
-

-

DVI-D,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC892

4 CPU VCC +
3 SoC VCC


Biostar Racing
X370GTN

4x

1x

1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Realtek
RTL8118AS
-

-

DVI-D,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC892

4 CPU VCC +
3 SoC VCC


Biostar Racing
B350GTN

4x

1x

1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Realtek
RTL8118AS
-

-

DVI-D,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC892

4 CPU VCC +
3 SoC VCC


All three models still feature on the Biostar website, but the B350 board has has fallen off the price lists here. The remaining two board lack WiFi as compared to their competitors and have the over-the-top (for iTX) X370 and X470 chipsets.
Why? You can't do crossfire or SLI on an iTX board, and there's no room for the other extra's that might be given chipset-wise too.

Gigabyte


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


Gigabyte Aorus
B450 I Pro WiFi

4x

1x

2x Type-A

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Intel®GbE LAN

Intel® 2x2 Wave2
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
1733 Mbit/s

5.0

Display Port,
2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

4 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


Gigabyte AB350N
Gaming WiFi

4x

1x

2x Type-A

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3165
433 Mbit/s

4.2

Display Port,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

4 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


A total redesign for the Aorus B450 I Pro WiFi by Gigabyte here. A far bigger CPU VRM heatsink and a complete relocation of components.
On top of that they actually dropped the price of the B450 board here (116 Euro's), as compared to the B350 board (125 Euro)

MSI


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


MSI B450I
Gaming Plus AC

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek
RTL8111H

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3168
433 Mbit/s

4.2

Display Port,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC887

6 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


MSI B350I
Pro AC

4x

1x

2x Type-A

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek
RTL8111H

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3168
433 Mbit/s

4.2

Display Port,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC887

6 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC

The better-looking 120 Euro's B450 model lost the heatsink on the SoC VCC VRMs and the Gen2 USB ports, as compared to the B350 model while that can be bought for 112 Euro's.
What matters more to you?

[AMDave]

It is great to see a lot more choice in the format, with more capability, which brings more competition.
I saw a couple of prices on the old ones that really need to be refreshed as they are a bit out of whack compared to the more recent offerings.
Although I guess they don't need to clear that stock if the take-up of newer versions is high enough.
Generally, I suppose, prices are higher for an older version as the support grows older so maybe it was deliberate (Rhetorical ?).

[Dirk Broer]

I saw a couple of prices on the old ones that really need to be refreshed as they are a bit out of whack compared to the more recent offerings.
Although I guess they don't need to clear that stock if the take-up of newer versions is high enough.
Generally, I suppose, prices are higher for an older version as the support grows older so maybe it was deliberate (Rhetorical ?).

I am surprised that you think recent prices in Euro's are out of whack with actual offerings. Are you comparing the Euro's with Australian Dollars?
Present exchange rate is one euro equals 1.60 AU$378

[Dirk Broer]

With everybody at home due to the Corona virus it is time to refresh this subject. With 2020Q2 before us, what are the present offerings?

Asrock, as ever the king of the small form factor, has the most offerings. The smallest of them come in a case, complete with its own PSU: the Asrock Deskmini A300.

You only have to add an APU (as the Deskmini has no room for a GPU), one or two SODIMMs, a SSD and/or HDD and optionally a M.2 WiFi module. It will take Bristol Ridge (Excavator AM4 A6/A8/A10/A12), Raven Ridge (Athlon 200GE, 220GE, 240GE and Ryzen 3 2200G/GE and Ryzen 5 2400G/GE) or Picasso APUs (Athlon 3000, Ryzen 3 3200G/GE and Ryzen 5 3400G/GE) up to 65 Watt tdp. There even seems to be a BIOS setting that lets you choose the tdp, but users report that it doesn't actually do something. The case comes with its own cooler, but that seems to be even smaller than the AMD stock cooler for 35 Watt tdp APUs -and standard, the CPU cooler is the only cooler in the system.

To show you how small it all is, a small low-height Noctua mounted on the Deskmini A300 as hown on https://smallformfactor.net/reviews/asrocks-deskmini-a300-finally/:
https://smallformfactor.net/wp-content/uploads/a300-30-810x540.jpg
I'd say: mount a 140mm Noctua at the side, and forget about the closing lid -or maybe even better forget about this SFF casing for 24/7/365 crunching. Nice for office use though.

[Dirk Broer]

One step upwards from the SFF boards are the iTX boards, Asrock again being the company with the most offerings -not just AMD-wise.

For Socket AM4 we now get


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


Asrock X570 Phantom
Gaming-ITX/TB3

4x

1x PCIe 4

USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A
1 Front, 2 Rear
1x Type-C Tunderbolt3

USB 3.2 Gen1
2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Intel® 802.11ax
2400 Mbit/s

5.0

1x HDMI,
1x DisplayPort

Realtek
ALC1220

4 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


ASRock Fatal1ty X470
Gaming-ITX/ac

4x

1x

Rear,
1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

Intel®2T2R
Dual Band
1733 Mbit/s

5.0

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


Asrock Fatal1ty B450
Gaming-ITX/ac

4x

1x

Rear,
1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3168
433 Mbit/s

4.2

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


ASRock Fatal1ty X370
Gaming-ITX/ac

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
3 Rear
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 7265
867 Mbit/s

4.2

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


ASRock Fatal1ty B350
Gaming-ITX/ac

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
3 Rear
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3168
433 Mbit/s

4.2

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


ASRock A320M-ITX

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
3 Rear
1x Type-C

2 Front,
2 Rear

Intel
I211AT

-

-

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


ASRock A320TM-ITX

1x

1x

-

4 Rear

4 Front

Realtek
RTL8111GR
/ RTL8111H

-

-

2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC233

3 CPU VCC (x2)
+2 SoC VCC


The ASRock A320TM-ITX is a Thin-iTX board, and has place for two SODIMMS up to a total of 64GB (non-ECC) RAM. Another nicety is that you can mount the common Intel socket 115x coolers on it. Those two features it shares with the Asrock X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3, by the way. If you want a small case, you'b better buy a ASRock A320TM-ITX than the Deskmini, as it offers much more possibilities in ports, cooling, GPU and CPU. If and when you are a hard-core LAN party gamer, the X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3 might just be for you at a mere 249 Euro -compare that to the other X570 iTX offerings.

[Dirk Broer]

ASUS


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


Asus ROG Strix
X570-I Gaming

4x

2x
(1x M.2 PCIe4.0 x4)

3x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Dual Band
Wi-Fi 6 AX200
2400Mbit/s


5.0

HDMI
DisplayPort

ROG SupremeFX
S1220A

8 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


Asus RoG Strix
X470-I Gaming

4x

2x
(1x M.2 PCIe3.0x4)

2x Type-A

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC
867 Mbit/s

4.2

HDMI

ROG SupremeFX
S1220A

6 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


Asus RoG Strix
B450-I Gaming

4x

2x
(1x M.2 PCIe3.0x4)

2x Type-A

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC
867 Mbit/s

4.2

HDMI

ROG SupremeFX
S1220A

6 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


Asus RoG Strix
B350-I Gaming

4x

2x
(1x M.2 PCIe2.0x4)

2x Type-A

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front

Intel
I211AT

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC
867 Mbit/s

4.2

-

ROG SupremeFX
S1220A

6 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


Asus Prime
A320I-K/CSM

4x

1x M.2 PCIe2.0x4

-

2 Front 3.0
4x Rear 3.1

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek
RTL8111H

-

-

HDMI
DisplayPort

ALC887

5 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


It still seems that adding 'ROG Strix' to an ASUS product warrants an extra amount of money to be asked for it, nowadays seemingly even more so. The X470 board goes for 214 Euro's here now, while the B450 board does 168 Euro's. ASUS dropped their X370 model, but the new X570 model now goes for a whopping 285 Euro. At the other side of the price spectrum they lowered the price for the B350 model to 127 Euro and brought out an A320 Prime model for 98 Euros. A more balanced portfolio. And if you really want to blow your money away on a small form factor board, there's the mini-DTX ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Impact (https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ROG-Crosshair-VIII-Impact/), that changes hands for some 377 Euros...for those iTX cases that leave us that little bit of extra space (8 × 6.7 inch / 203 × 170 mm), an iTX board with room for one extra PCIe slot in short.

[Dirk Broer]

Biostar


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


Biostar Racing
X470GTN

4x

1x

1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Realtek
RTL8118AS

-

-

DVI-D,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC892

4 CPU VCC +
3 SoC VCC


Biostar
X470NH

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek
RTL8111H

-

-

HDMI,
VGA

Realtek
ALC887

4 CPU VCC +
3 SoC VCC


Biostar Racing
X370GTN

4x

1x

1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Realtek
RTL8118AS

-

-

DVI-D,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC892

4 CPU VCC +
3 SoC VCC


Biostar Racing
B350GTN

4x

1x

1x Type-A
1x Type-C

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Realtek
RTL8118AS

-

-

DVI-D,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC892

4 CPU VCC +
3 SoC VCC


A10N-9830E

2x

1x

-

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek
RTL8111H

-

-

HDMI
VGA

ALC887

3 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


A10N-9630E

2x

1x

-

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek
RTL8111H

-

-

HDMI
VGA

ALC887

3 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


A10N-8800E

2x

1x

-

2 Front,
2 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek
RTL8111H

-

-

HDMI
VGA

ALC887

3 CPU VCC +
1 SoC VCC


Biostar is by far the most surprising company in this market niece. Not only did they bring out new models, they brought models that have no equivalent with the other companies. They seem to be the only ones with the old Socket AM1 user-base in their minds and cater boards that may be appreciated there. And though all three previous socketed models still feature on the Biostar website, they have all fallen off the price lists here. From the four 'new' boards three have their CPU onboard, and that CPU is a Bristol Ridge/Excavator APU, a step-up from the AM1 Kabini APU with its R3/HD 8400 graphics. The other is a more basic X470 board, at 92 Euros.
The A10N-8800E (AMD FX-8800P Quad core, 2.1GHz up to 3.4GHz) is an ideal board for those who were early adapters of DDR4, as it accepts no faster than 2133 MHz [-those early sticks that you now have no use for]. Its tdp of a mere 15 Watt makes it an ideal AM1 replacement, and it sports Radeon R7 graphics, all this at a mere 90 Euro's -that's board plus APU.
The A10N-9630E (AMD A10-9630P Quad core, 2.6GHz up to 3.3GHz) will accept up to 2400 MHz DDR4. It has Radeon R5 graphics and a tdp of 35 Watt and is, IMHO, the weakest offering here, at an as yet unknown price -but I bet it will be low.
The A10N-9830E (AMD FX-9830P Quad core, 3.0GHz up to 3.7GHz) will also accept up to 2400 MHz DDR4. It sports Radeon R7 graphics though and also has a tdp of 35 Watt. It is the better of the two 35 Watt offerings in features, also at an as yet unknown price.

[Nflight]

All three are nice charts Dirk, thank you for your effort. Awesome job !

[Dirk Broer]

All three are nice charts Dirk, thank you for your effort. Awesome job !

Still have Gigabyte and MSI to go -though the latter hasn't brought out new iTX boards.

[Dirk Broer]

Gigabyte


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.1
Gen2
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


Aorus X570
I PRO WIFI

4x

2x PCIe4.0x4
(1x at backside)

1x Type-A,
1x Type-C

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Intel®GbE LAN

Intel® 2T2R
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
2400 Mbit/s

5.0

Display Port,
2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

6 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


Gigabyte Aorus
B450 I Pro WiFi

4x

1x

2x Type-A

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front

Intel®GbE LAN

Intel® 2x2 Wave2
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
1733 Mbit/s

5.0

Display Port,
2x HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

4 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


Gigabyte AB350N
Gaming WiFi

4x

1x

2x Type-A

2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3165
433 Mbit/s

4.2

Display Port,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC1220

4 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


The Aorus B450 I Pro WiFi was a total redesign by Gigabyte with a far bigger CPU VRM heatsink and a complete relocation of components as compared to their earlier GA-AB350N-Gaming WIFI.
With the Aorus X570 I PRO WIFI they needn't go that far and all this comes at a price of 242 Euro's, which is actually the cheapest X570 iTX mobo around here.
Prices have risen for B450 board here meanwhile (now 129 Euro's), and the earlier B350 board has fallen from the charts.

[Dirk Broer]

MSI

Bit of a surprise here, at first just one board but later on both two B450 and two B550 boards (with WiFi to distinguish between them):


Model
SATA
600
M.2
S600/
Pcie3.0x4
USB 3.2
Gen2
USB 3.2
Gen1
USB 3.1
Gen1
USB 2.0
NIC
WiFi
Bluetooth
Video out
Sound
Power
design
phases


MSI B450I
Gaming Plus AC

4x

1x

-


2 Front,
4 Rear

2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek
RTL8111H 1Gbps

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3168
433 Mbit/s

4.2

Display Port,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC887

6 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


MSI B450I
Gaming Plus Max WiFi

4x

1x

-

2 Front,
4 Rear


2 Front,
2 Rear

Realtek
RTL8111H 1Gbps

Intel Dual Band
Wireless-AC 3168
433 Mbit/s

4.2

Display Port,
HDMI

Realtek
ALC887

6 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


MSI MPG B550I Gaming Edge WiFi

4x

2x

1(Type A) Rear

1(Type C), 2(Type A) Front
1(Type C), 2(Type A) Rear


2 Front,
2 Rear

RTL8125B
2.5Gbps

Intel? AX200/AX210
up to 2.4Gbps

5.2

HDMI

Realtek
ALC1200

8 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


MSI MPG B550I Gaming EDGE MAX WIFI

4x

2x

1(Type A) Rear

1(Type C), 2(Type A) Front
1(Type C), 2(Type A) Rear


2 Front,
2 Rear

RTL8125B
2.5Gbps

Intel? AX200/AX210
up to 2.4Gbps

5.2

HDMI

Realtek
ALC1200

8 CPU VCC +
2 SoC VCC


The better-looking, but by now unavailable B450 without WiFi in the name that lost its heatsink on the SoC VCC VRMs and the Gen2 USB ports as compared to the B350 model -and that disappeared from the MSI portfolio even earlier- was for a while the only MSI Socket AM4 iTX board.
It was followed up by the almost identical (white for red) WiFi version and went out of sales when the B550 arrived. The MAX model is slightly less luxorious (no LED light, one less fan port).
P.S. : They are all gone from the MSI portfolio by now, but you can still buy them 2nd hand.

[Dirk Broer]

Recapitulating, we have four small form factor (SFF) motherboard formats and nine chipsets:


Chipset/Format
Mini-STX
Thin Mini-iTX
Mini-iTX
Mini-DTX


A300/X300
ASRock Deskmini
ASRock X300TM-ITX




A320

ASRock A320TM-ITX
ASRock A320M-ITX
Asus Prime A320I-K/CSM



B350


ASRock Fatal1ty B350 Gaming-ITX/ac
Asus RoG Strix B350-I Gaming
Biostar Racing B350GTN
Gigabyte AB350N Gaming WiFi
MSI B350I Pro AC*



X370


ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Gaming-ITX/ac
Asus ROG Strix X370-I Gaming*
Biostar Racing X370GTN*



B450


ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac
Asus RoG Strix B450-I Gaming
Biostar B450NH
Gigabyte Aorus B450 I Pro WiFi
MSI B450I Gaming Plus AC
MSI B450I Gaming Plus Max WiFi



X470


ASRock Fatal1ty X470 Gaming-ITX/ac
Asus RoG Strix X470-I Gaming
Biostar Racing X470GTN*
Biostar X470NH



A520


ASRock A520M-ITX/ac
Gigabyte A520I AC



B550


ASRock B550M-ITX/ac
ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming-ITX/ax
Asus ROG Strix B550-I Gaming
Biostar B550T-SILVER
Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX
MSI MPG B550I Gaming Edge WiFi
MSI MPG B550I Gaming EDGE MAX WIFI



X570


ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming-ITX/TB3
Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming
Gigabyte Aorus X570 I PRO WIFI
Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Impact


*=may no longer be available