AM4 boards roundup: iTX format

[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$Knipsel.jpg

[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/...a300-finally/:

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, 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