AMD has announced its new A520 Motherboard which is targeted at its entry-level audience. The motherboard is capable of running the third generation as well as the next generation of AMD Ryzen CPUs and APUs. The motherboard manufacturers have commenced the operation of using the A520 chipset and their products are now available at a price that will not put a dent in your wallet.
The budget-friendly motherboard compares well against the older options such as A320 or the B450 motherboards. The AMD A520 offers a better I/O, new and improved components, and most important of all, it will officially support the next generation of Ryzen CPUs and APUs unlike the A320 or B450 motherboard (B450 will support the AMD Ryzen 4000 series after a bios update).
The only area where the AMD A520 falls short of B450 is its inability to be overclocked but we can ignore that since most of the entry-level consumers are not going to overclock their CPUs.
Out of the box, the AMD A520 offers up to 26 PCIe gen 3.0 available lanes when it’s paired with an AMD Ryzen 3000 processor. Better components such as 4 USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (and another dedicated one) when paired with Ryzen 3000 CPUs, faster ethernet ports, and Wi-Fi controllers for greater speeds. All these factors make the A520 motherboard a better purchase then it’s similarly priced alternatives.
Something to note would be PCIe being generation 3 and not 4. in simpler terms, this would mean that the data transfer speeds would not be as high as compared to the motherboards that support PCIe 4.0 such as the X570 motherboard (PCIe 4.0 offers twice as much bandwidth).
This would create a bottleneck if someone decides to pair it with high-end components. However, the motherboard is aimed at consumers who have little knowledge about PC building and just want the best out of their bucks.
Shortly after the launch, motherboard manufacturers such as ASRock, MSI, ASUS, Biostar and Gigabyte have released their line-up of A520 motherboards available at sub $100 price tag.
ASUS
Asus has lifted five motherboards running the AMD A520 chipset. These include:
- PRIME A520M-A
- PRIME A520M-E
- PRIME A520M-K
- TUF GAMING A520M-A
- TUF GAMING A520M-PLUS
MSI
MSI offers its motherboards for both gaming and professional use. The motherboards are equipped with enhanced features such as boosted DDR4 and A-XMP which will provide stability and compatibility to memory and boost its performance to 4600MHz. These include:
- MAG A520M VECTOR WIFI (for gamers)
- A520M PRO
- A520M -A PRO
- A520M PRO-C DASH
ASRock
ASRock has a line-up of both full-sized ATX motherboards as well as mini ITX boards. If you are interested in capitalizing on maximum available DRAM, the larger A520M Pro4 should be your choice. But if you prefer smaller, compact systems, ASRock has got you covered with their A520M-ITX/ac motherboard.
Gigabyte
Gigabyte has presented with its line-up which includes motherboards of all form factors (ATX, M-ATX, and M-ITX). These include the following:
- A520 AORUS ELITE
- A520M AORUS ELITE
- A520M DS3H
- A520M H
- A520M S2H
- A520I AC
The first two in the list are in the premium Aorus category.
Biostar
Biostars take on the motherboard is targeted more at the audience who want the motherboard for professional or business use. Their model A520MH V6.0 is designed for users to excel in their daily tasks. It also supports up to 64 GB of RAM