Thursday, August 13th 2020

ASRock A520M Pro4 Motherboard Pictured, A520 Platform Lacking PCIe Gen4 Confirmed

Here's the first picture of an ASRock A520M Pro4 Micro-ATX Socket AM4 motherboard based on AMD's upcoming A520 entry-level chipset that succeeds the A320. The picture reveals a spartan, well laid out motherboard that appears to cover all the segment essentials needed for entry-level builds using AMD's Athlon 3000 processors, or Ryzen 3000 and 4000G processors. Among its segment first features are the inclusion of two M.2 slots, from which one is wired to the AM4 socket, and includes an SSD heatsink. The board also features an M.2 E-key slot so you can add a WLAN card (provision for rear-panel antennae also offered). USB connectivity includes a type-C port on the rear panel. Surprisingly, the only display output is a D-Sub. Perhaps there are variants of this board that come with HDMI or DP.

Another striking detail from this VideoCardz-sourced picture is the printed marking near the top M.2 NVMe slot (wired to the processor) which reads "PCIe Gen 3 x4." On AMD B550 based motherboards, ASRock marks this as "PCIe Gen 4 x4." This is a confirmation of the AMD A520 platform being segmented from the B550 with lack of PCI-Express gen 4.0 support. The lack of gen 4.0 ancillaries could slim the bill of materials for motherboard manufacturers, letting them sell motherboards based on the A520 around the $50-$70 mark. This shouldn't be a problem for people with Athlon 3000G, Ryzen 3000G, or even new 4000G, as none of these processors offer PCIe Gen 4.
Source: VideoCardz (Twitter)
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19 Comments on ASRock A520M Pro4 Motherboard Pictured, A520 Platform Lacking PCIe Gen4 Confirmed

#1
lexluthermiester
btarunrThis is a confirmation of the AMD A520 platform being segmented from the B550 with lack of PCI-Express gen 4.0 support.
Wasn't this already known? Or was it just rumor before?
Posted on Reply
#2
JAB Creations
I get that staggered releases sometimes have to be a thing but more than a year and a month later and it's not even officially announced? It makes no sense to release these now any way if AMD will just release the Ryzen 4000 series a month or two later then requiring the "early" release of A520 boards to get a patch to accept 4000 series CPUs. Same thing with the mess of labeling Zen 2 APUs as 4000 series.
Posted on Reply
#3
Jomale
JAB CreationsA320 boards to get a patch to accept 4000 series CPUs.
No, A320 are outdated and only a few B450 get bios updates to Zen3/4000er.
Posted on Reply
#4
JAB Creations
JomaleNo, A320 are outdated and only a few B450 get bios updates to Zen3/4000er.
*520
Posted on Reply
#5
Jomale

And there it is the ITX sister
Posted on Reply
#6
lexluthermiester
Jomaleand only a few B450 get bios updates to Zen3/4000er.
Not true at all. Most B450 boards got updates to Ryzen 3xxx CPU's and they will very likely get updates to Ryzen 4xxx.
Posted on Reply
#7
Nater
Curious, who's buying mainboards with D-Sub and PS/2 in quantities to make them worth manufacturing?
Posted on Reply
#8
SL2
It does have HDMI and DP.
Posted on Reply
#9
lexluthermiester
NaterCurious, who's buying mainboards with D-Sub and PS/2 in quantities to make them worth manufacturing?
In regards to PS/2 ports, anyone who wants to run Windows 7 on Ryzen. And that is a lot of people.
Posted on Reply
#10
TheUn4seen
I see you need a cheap, well rounded motherboard. It would be a shame if you couldn't connect a modern monitor to it [evil laughter rising to an unbearable volume]

It does have HDMI and DP, just barely visible on the picture, beneath the D-sub. I just couldn't pass this opportunity to make a poor joke.
Posted on Reply
#11
Selaya
lexluthermiesterIn regards to PS/2 ports, anyone who wants to run Windows 7 on Ryzen. And that is a lot of people.
You can just preload the correct usb drivers on your installation media and you'll be able to use your USB keyboard/mouse for the installation ...
You'll have to do it anyways if you do not have an optical disc drive, anyways.
Posted on Reply
#12
lexluthermiester
SelayaYou can just preload the correct usb drivers on your installation media and you'll be able to use your USB keyboard/mouse for the installation ...
Why would you need to with PS/2 and USB 2.0 available on the system for installation? Though I do see your point.
Posted on Reply
#13
Selaya
Well as you probably know, out-of-the-box 7 will not recognise any of your USB ports at all on Matisse - you either have to fallback to PS2 or load proper, custom drivers for your USB ports onto your installation media ...
Posted on Reply
#14
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
JAB CreationsSame thing with the mess of labeling Zen 2 APUs as 4000 series.
And Zen+ APUs the 3000 series and Zen APUs the 2000 series...
Posted on Reply
#15
Alien88
MatsIt does have HDMI and DP.
Yes, took about 2 seconds to find that on TH, no idea how TPU stuffed that up, and haven't updated this article yet.

Of the MBs themselves, they look useful for general purpose builds like office builds etc.
Posted on Reply
#16
lexluthermiester
Alien88Yes, took about 2 seconds to find that on TH, no idea how TPU stuffed that up, and haven't updated this article yet.
They didn't. The above article is called a "press release" announcement. TPU doesn't actually have a sample in hand. A failure to understand the dynamic of that situation does not reflect poorly on TPU.
Posted on Reply
#17
SL2
lexluthermiesterThey didn't. The above article is called a "press release" announcement.
All I see is a leak via Videocardz. A press release about an Asrock product should mention Asrock as a source IMO, usually together with .
Posted on Reply
#18
lexluthermiester
MatsAll I see is a leak via Videocardz. A press release about an Asrock product should mention Asrock as a source IMO, usually together with .
Seems you're correct. That information only shows on the front page part of TPU, it doesn't show up here in the forums. Didn't see it because I viewed the article's forum entry... Perhaps @W1zzard might be able to shed a little light on that?
Posted on Reply
#19
W1zzard
lexluthermiesterSeems you're correct. That information only shows on the front page part of TPU, it doesn't show up here in the forums. Didn't see it because I viewed the article's forum entry... Perhaps @W1zzard might be able to shed a little light on that?
Yeah the forum has no way to show the source link, it's a separate ui element on the main site, not part of the news post text
Posted on Reply
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