• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

ASRock Launches AMD A520 Motherboards with Best In-class Features

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
46,362 (7.68/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
The leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, proudly introduce the new motherboard lineup for AMD A520 chipset, a new value solution to join the AMD 500 series family. The newly launched ASRock AMD A520 motherboards brought the support of latest AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Desktop Processors along with stunning performance to the masses.

"At AMD, our goal is to provide every PC user with the most powerful, flexible and reliable user experience across all verticals," said Chris Kilburn, corporate vice president and general manager, client component business unit, AMD. "We are pleased to introduce the AMD A520 chipset, offering a robust platform for the award-winning 3rd Gen Ryzen Desktop Processors alongside a promise for future support of the upcoming "Zen 3" architecture. With creative designs in a range of form factors from Mini-ITX to full size Micro-ATX coupled with an abundance of connectivity options from our partners at ASRock, the A520 chipset will offer a streamlined and trusted platform to satisfy even the most demanding home and office PC users."



"To allow the latest and greatest AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen Desktop Processors can be enjoyed on all sorts of platform, ASRock provides all sort of solution for you to choose from, such as the A520M-ITX/ac, a Mini-ITX motherboard that is packed full of excitement including Dr.MOS VRM solution, 802.11ac WiFi and a full coverage heatsink for M.2 SSD, a robust little beast for the entry Mini ITX lover." Says Chris Lee, general manager of ASRock motherboard business unit.

ASRock also provides full size Micro ATX solution such as A520M Pro4 for those who is intended to populate all 4 DIMM slot and achieve maximum DRAM capacity, A520M Pro4 also provides perfect expandability with total of two M.2 slots and tons of USB ports, a heatsink for M.2 SSD is also included to ensure your high speed M.2 storage device always perform at its best. Nahimic Audio utility is also available on this motherboard, whether you are using headphones or speakers, via USB, Wi-Fi, analog output or even HDMI, Nahimic Audio offers you the most engaging listening experience, vibrant and rich with details.

With a wide range of options available including everything from Mini-ITX to full size 4 DIMM mATX, ASRock's A520 range includes something for everyone, ASRock has the right product to suit your needs.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2013
Messages
5,460 (1.42/day)
Location
Everywhere all the time all at once
System Name The Little One
Processor i5-11320H @4.4GHZ
Motherboard AZW SEI
Cooling Fan w/heat pipes + side & rear vents
Memory 64GB Crucial DDR4-3200 (2x 32GB)
Video Card(s) Iris XE
Storage WD Black SN850X 4TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 4TB x2 in an external enclosure
Display(s) 2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s) Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply 65w brick
Mouse Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
Software Windows 10 pro 64 bit, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores PDQ
These boards would have been much more attractive if they had spent the extra .005918 worth of paint/pigment to make everything solid black, but apparently that would have cut too much into their margins :(
 
Joined
Feb 20, 2019
Messages
7,292 (3.87/day)
System Name Bragging Rights
Processor Atom Z3735F 1.33GHz
Motherboard It has no markings but it's green
Cooling No, it's a 2.2W processor
Memory 2GB DDR3L-1333
Video Card(s) Gen7 Intel HD (4EU @ 311MHz)
Storage 32GB eMMC and 128GB Sandisk Extreme U3
Display(s) 10" IPS 1280x800 60Hz
Case Veddha T2
Audio Device(s) Apparently, yes
Power Supply Samsung 18W 5V fast-charger
Mouse MX Anywhere 2
Keyboard Logitech MX Keys (not Cherry MX at all)
VR HMD Samsung Oddyssey, not that I'd plug it into this though....
Software W10 21H1, barely
Benchmark Scores I once clocked a Celeron-300A to 564MHz on an Abit BE6 and it scored over 9000.
Important features for a new "normal" consumer board these days are M.2 slots for PCIe storage because inferior 2.5"/SATA drives are now more expensive than superior M.2 NVMe drives. We've passed the switchover point and SATA is now officially 'legacy'. If people want legacy then they don't need a new motherboard, their A320 or B450 will do just fine.

So, 0/4 boards have more than one NVMe M.2 slot, and I can see no USB-C to speak of. Actually maybe the Pro4 has one on the rear IO but it's hard to tell and none of them have a single USB-C internal header to speak of.

Look, I know A-series boards are budget boards, but that doesn't mean they have to be outdated as well.
 
Joined
Oct 27, 2014
Messages
177 (0.05/day)
These boards would have been much more attractive if they had spent the extra .005918 worth of paint/pigment to make everything solid black, but apparently that would have cut too much into their margins :(

It's not about margins at all, It would even make their life easier all in one color... Its about aesthetics most likely.
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
Messages
2,087 (0.43/day)
Those are some of the most meagre VRMs I have seen outside of haute couture catwalks.

And i bet it still runs a 3950x flawless. It's because of the design standards AMD requires for mobo makers, that it must run anything that fits into that socket, even OC'ed.
 
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
578 (0.40/day)
If people want legacy then they don't need a new motherboard, their A320 or B450 will do just fine.

Only one NVMe slot on my B450 board which is occupied. My SATA SSD's on the same board are fast enough that I barely notice the speeds any longer.
 
Joined
Nov 24, 2018
Messages
2,108 (1.07/day)
Location
south wales uk
System Name 1.FortySe7en VR rig 2. intel teliscope rig 3.MSI GP72MVR Leopard Pro .E-52699, Xeon play thing
Processor 1.3900x @stock 2. i7 7700k @5. 3. i7 7700hq
Motherboard 1.aorus x570 ultra 2. z270 Maximus IX Hero,4 MR9A PRO ATX X99
Cooling 1.Hard tube loop, cpu and gpu 2. Hard loop cpu and gpu 4 360 AIO
Memory 1.Gskill neo @3600 32gb 2.hyperxfury 32gb @3000 3. 16gb hyperx @2400 4 64GB 2133 in quad channel
Video Card(s) 1.GIGABYTE RTX 3080 WaterForce WB 2. Aorus RTX2080 3. 1060 3gb. 4 Arc 770LE 16 gb
Storage 1 M.2 500gb , 2 3tb HDs 2. 256gb ssd, 3tbHD 3. 256 m.2. 1tb ssd 4. 2gb ssd
Display(s) 1.LG 50" UHD , oculus rift S.2 MSI Optix MAG342C UWHD. SONY bravia 1080p, . 3.17" 120 hz display
Case 1. Thermaltake P5 2. Thermaltake P3
Audio Device(s) 1 Onboard 2 Onboard 3 Onboard
Power Supply 1.seasonic gx 850w 2. seasonic gx 750w. 4 RM850w
Mouse 1 ROG Gladius 2 Corsair m65 pro
Keyboard 1. ROG Strix Flare 2. Corsair F75 RBG 3. steelseries RBG
VR HMD rift and rift S and Quest 2.
Software 1. win11 pro 2. win11 pro 3, win11 home 4 win11 pro
Benchmark Scores 1.7821 cb20 ,cb15 3442 1c 204 cpu-z 1c 539 12c 8847 2. 1106 cb 3.cb 970
well what a sorry state thay look, was i hoping for too much. think ill be sticking with my b450 and that was free with the cpu.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
13,210 (3.81/day)
Location
Sunshine Coast
System Name Black Box
Processor Intel Xeon E3-1260L v5
Motherboard MSI E3 KRAIT Gaming v5
Cooling Tt tower + 120mm Tt fan
Memory G.Skill 16GB 3600 C18
Video Card(s) Asus GTX 970 Mini
Storage Kingston A2000 512Gb NVME
Display(s) AOC 24" Freesync 1m.s. 75Hz
Case Corsair 450D High Air Flow.
Audio Device(s) No need.
Power Supply FSP Aurum 650W
Mouse Yes
Keyboard Of course
Software W10 Pro 64 bit
Those are some of the most meagre VRMs I have seen outside of haute couture catwalks.
The iTX board seems to be the only decent one among them.
 

tabascosauz

Moderator
Supporter
Staff member
Joined
Jun 24, 2015
Messages
7,526 (2.34/day)
Location
Western Canada
System Name ab┃ob
Processor 7800X3D┃5800X3D
Motherboard B650E PG-ITX┃X570 Impact
Cooling PA120+T30┃AXP120x67
Memory 64GB 6000CL30┃32GB 3600CL14
Video Card(s) RTX 4070 Ti Eagle┃RTX A2000
Storage 8TB of SSDs┃1TB SN550
Display(s) 43" QN90B / 32" M32Q / 27" S2721DGF
Case Caselabs S3┃Lazer3D HT5
Power Supply Corsair HX1000┃HDPlex
The iTX board seems to be the only decent one among them.

Those who bought the B550M-ITX/ac are in for quite the surprise if they bought that board thinking it was a great deal compared to the rest of the B550 ITX SKUs :laugh: turns out they got baited by ASRock because the A520M-ITX/ac literally is the exact same board for less money. Still all Gen1 USB, still a single USB-C, exact same features, exact same layout.

I guess it does lose out on PCIe 4.0 and manual OC for being A520, but let's face it - 6 x 50A SiC654 is hardly "cool-running" for an ITX board, especially not with that cigar-sized paperweight ASRock calls a "heatsink", with which the A520M-ITX probably performs no better than the A520I-AC despite having 2 more Vcore phases.

Regardless of how great it is in the value department, it's a real shame that there's no Gen2 USB anywhere to be found. The B450 ITX all had them, and these A520 ITX boards are almost carbon copies of those boards in features and design.
 

ppn

Joined
Aug 18, 2015
Messages
1,231 (0.39/day)
Everything over USB. It will happen some day, things are moving in that direction.

So what is the VRM exactly, 8x DRmos on the ITX board looks good and runs much cool cigar shaped or not.. The naked ones not so lucky are propably reaching 140C under load.

Too bad I dont like the idea of ZEN2 chiplet design 7nm+12nm IMC for desktop. AMD just give me single Die CPU+IMC 8 core at $199 made on 6nm already.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Aug 12, 2020
Messages
1,136 (0.84/day)
Pro4 looks reasonable, I hope it won't get too close price-wise to better chipsets.

And i bet it still runs a 3950x flawless. It's because of the design standards AMD requires for mobo makers, that it must run anything that fits into that socket, even OC'ed.

3950x? Even OC'ed? Press X to doubt.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
1,618 (0.29/day)
These boards would have been much more attractive if they had spent the extra .005918 worth of paint/pigment to make everything solid black, but apparently that would have cut too much into their margins :(
contrast is attractive, it's biologically hardwired in the human brain... a single color of absolutely everything looks like some unfinished rendering

99.999999999% of exaggerations using ridiculous imaginary numbers is extremely ugly, absolutely lazy argument
 
Top