Motherboards

GIGABYTE has just introduced its new X870E AERO X3D WOOD motherboard, which is a new statement piece for your PC that has been designed for the "discerning connoisseur" with actual wood for a totally different aesthetic. Check it out:

GIGABYTE announced the new motherboard, explaining that the new X870E AERO X3D WOOD "brings comfort and harmony to your space through thoughtful design that honors the quiet presence of natural materials. Every detail has been meticulously considered, from the premium leather pull tab-a tactile delight that brings luxurious warmth to your fingertips-to the natural wood aesthetic that evokes the warmth and authenticity of home".

We'd agree with that, as there's never been anything quite like a wood-themed motherboard for PCs before, with GIGABYTE also including a comprehensive thermal solution for the X870E AERO X3D WOOD motherboard. We have the VRM Thermal Armor Advanced with superior heat pipes, M.2 Thermal Guard L, M.2 Thermal Guard Ext., and a PCB Thermal Plate providing 14% thermal improvement and reinforced stability, ensuring optimal performance under demanding workloads while maintaining the board's elegant aesthetic.

Here's an interesting motherboard release from ASRock that flew under the radar. The ASRock H610M COMBO (via @unikoshardware), which supports 14th, 13th, and 12th Gen Intel Core processors (LGA1700 socket), supports both DDR4 and DDR5 dual-channel memory. Unfortunately, you can't install both at the same time, but this unique board includes 2 x DDR4 and 4 x DDR5 DIMMs.

"Designed for versatile memory configurations, this motherboard features 4 x DDR5 and 2 x DDR4 memory slots, allowing users to choose the memory type based on their needs (not compatible for mixed installation), greatly enhancing hardware configuration flexibility," the description reads. "The maximum system memory capacity depends on the memory type: up to 96GB with DDR5, or up to 64GB with DDR4."

This compact, versatile micro-ATX board also includes multiple display outputs, including HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-D, D-Sub, and eDP, which is impressive. On the flip side, it only includes a single PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 slot for SSD storage, but it supports up to 12 USB devices, including two USB 3.2 Gen2 ports on the rear, one of which is Type-C.

COLORFUL has just confirmed AMD's next-generation Zen 6-based Ryzen CPUs are supported on its new B850 motherboards, with new CVN, Battle-Ax, and MEOW mobos based on the B850 chipset.

COLORFUL joins motherboard makers like ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE, and ASRock in supporting next-gen Zen 6 processors on their latest AM5 motherboards, meaning users don't need to upgrade their motherboard to enjoy next-gen Ryzen CPUs based on the new Zen 6 architecture. Unlike Intel, as its new Core Ultra 400 series "Nova Lake" desktop CPUs use a new LGA1954 socket, meaning you'll need to buy a new CPU and a new motherboard when they drop in 2026.

COLORFUL explains: "Colorful Technology Company Limited, a leading brand in gaming PC components, gaming laptops, and HiFi audio products, today announced three new additions to its B850 motherboard family: the CVN B850M ARK FROZEN, BATTLE-AX B850M-PLUS S WIFI7, and COLORFIRE B850M-MEOW WIFI7. These new models bring enhanced power delivery, upgraded connectivity, and signature COLORFUL design identities to meet the performance needs of next-generation AMD Ryzen processors".

MSI's new MEG X870E ACE MAX motherboard specifications have been listed in China, with the mid-cycle "refresh" mobo featuring 3 x PCIe 5.0 slots, and dual Gen5 M.2 SSD slots, as well as "next-level CPU" support.

MSI's upcoming MEG X870E ACE MAX motherboard sports an 18+2+1 phase SPS DrMOS power design, with 4 x DDR5 UDIMM slots with support for memory overclocking at up to 8400 MT/s and beyond. On the storage and expansion side of things, it features 1 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slot, 1 x PCIe 5.0 x8 slot, 1 x PCIe 5.0 x4 slot, 2 x PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 SSD slots, 3 x PCIe 4.0 x4 slots, and 4 x SATA III ports. On the rear, I/O includes USB4 40Gbps Type-C ports.

There's a larger 64GB BIOS on the MEG X870E ACE MAX motherboard, which provides the motherboard support for "next-level CPU" upgrades with better compatibility, says MSI. The next-level CPU upgrades most likely refer to AMD's upcoming Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 and Ryzen 7 9850X3D2 processors with dual X3D cache (up to 192MB of L3 cache on the 9950X3D2). It could also refer to the next-gen Ryzen 10000 series CPUs based on the next-gen Zen 6 architecture, which will debut in 2026.

GIGABYTE is set to launch its new flagship motherboard for AMD Ryzen X3D processors, including the popular Ryzen 7 9800X3D for gaming. GIGABYTE notes that this is the "world's first flagship motherboard platform purpose-built" for X3D chips, which you can probably tell just by taking a look at its premium and stylish look.

The new X870E AORUS XTREME X3D AI TOP motherboard includes X3D Turbo Mode 2.0 for overclocking, an AI-powered model that will deliver a custom tuning profile that GIGABYTE claims can improve gaming performance by a whopping 25% in addition to a 14% boost to multi-tasking productivity. With the X870E AORUS XTREME X3D AI TOP, you'll be able to unleash the "true potential of AMD Ryzen X3D processors."

As a flagship board, the hardware here is impressive, with the 24+2+2 (SPS 110A) VRM able to push the premium Ryzen 9 9950X3D to its limit. The flagship-grade cooling and thermal design also features the DDR Wind Blade XTREME cover for memory, enhancing cooling and airflow, as well as the M.2 Thermal Guard XTREME for its five M.2 SSD slots, which includes a built-in 5mm fan and heat fins.

MSI Portal X is a web-based interface accessible via Chrome or Edge browsers on Windows PCs, designed to offer MSI hardware owners an easy and app-free way to customize their gear. After announcing the tool earlier this year, MSI has announced that Portal X is now live, letting users customize the lighting on MSI-branded motherboards, graphics cards, and "most memory modules."

Portal X is limited to current MSI Intel and AMD 800 Series motherboards, the company's lineup of GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards, and RAM from "most brands on the market." Portal X is presented as an alternative to the company's dedicated Mystic Light Utility and MSI Center apps for making changes to lighting.

However, as it currently stands, Portal X isn't a replacement, as the dedicated Mystic Light app supports all MSI products, as well as third-party gear, and offers deeper synchronization controls. Additionally, although Portal X allows you to make lighting changes through your browser, it still requires a one-time installation of the MSI Portal X Launcher app, available via the Microsoft Store.

MSI has just quietly released its new compact enthusiast motherboard, the new MPG X870I EDGE TI EVO WIFI, which packs support for DDR5 memory speeds of over 10,000+ MT/s out of the box. Check it out:

The new MSI MPG X870I EDGE TI EVO WIFI motherboard features the AM5 socket and is ready for AMD's next-gen Zen 6-based Ryzen CPUs, with a high-end VRM setup that uses an 8+2+1 SPS 110A power phases, so you're ready to rock and roll when it comes to overclocking your CPU and RAM.

We have dual DIMM slots that MSI says support 10,000+ MT/s speeds, meaning we should expect some new DDR5 memory overclocking records on the new MPG X870I EDGE TI EVO WIFI motherboard, with MSI promising the 10,000+ MT/s speeds on RAM using a 1DPC 1R configuration. With a 1DPC 2R configuration, MSI says you'll be good for DDR5 speeds of around 8000 MT/s, but with some tweaks we could expect overclockers to breach that, too.

AMD has yet to confirm or formally announce details on its next generation of desktop Ryzen CPUs that will be built using the company's on-the-horizon Zen 6 architecture. Credible leaks, rumors, and speculation suggest that Zen 6 will feature a mix of TSMC's 3nm and 2nm process nodes, offering more cores than previous generations, along with notable improvements in power efficiency, latency, and performance.

Marketing for the new ASUS X870 AYW GAMING WIFI W motherboard confirms 'Zen 6' support

It's also expected that the Zen 6 generation of Ryzen CPUs will be supported by the AM5 platform and current Ryzen motherboards, even though the release is expected sometime in late 2026 or in the first half of 2027. This aligns with AMD's commitment to supporting motherboard chipsets for multiple CPU generations, as reflected in the new X870 AM5 boards listed as "future CPU ready."

COLORFUL has just introduced its new CVN X870E ARK FROZEN motherboard, its first X870E-based motherboard. Check it out:

The new COLORFUL CVN X870E ARK FROZEN motherboard sports a gorgeous white PCB that is covered by the company's in-house Aries frost cooling armor and a full-sized metal backplate. On the power delivery side of things we've got a 16+2+1 phase VRM design with 80A DrMOS and dual 8-pin EPS power connectors.

COLORFUL's new CVN X870E ARK FROZEN motherboard will support AMD Ryzen 7000, 8000, and 9000 series CPUs (including their wicked-fast X3D chips), while supporting up to 192GB of DDR5 memory at up to 8200 MT/s, with both EXPO and XMP profiles.

ASUS is the first motherboard maker to officially support AMD's next-gen Zen 6-based Ryzen CPUs on its B850M OC series motherboards.

The company recently announced its new B850M AYW OC motherboard as a new mATX mobo with impressive overclocking features, launching the board for around $190, making it the cheapest B850M OC mobo with an external BCLK generator, and rocking support for DDR5 memory clocking in at over 10,000 MT/s.

ASUS's new B850M AYW OC motherboard features a bigger 64MB BIOS that is ready for updates in the future that will enable support for new Ryzen CPUs from AMD, including the next-gen Zen 6-based CPUs. ASUS isn't the only one, with MSI and ASRock also confirming Zen 6-based Ryzen CPU support on its B850 series motherboards.

SAPPHIRE is cooking up its new NITRO+ X870EA WiFi PhantomLink motherboard, which features hidden power connectors and even supports ASUS BTF-ready graphics cards. Check it out:

The new SAPPHIRE NITRO+ X870EA WiFi PhantomLink motherboard is an AMD AM5 motherboard that supports Ryzen 7000, Ryzen 8000, and new Ryzen 9000 series CPUs with 4 x DDR5 DIMMs that support up to 256GB of RAM. There's also PCIe 5.0 support for graphics cards, dual Gen5 M.2 SSD slots for lots of mega-fast storage, as well as 5GbE LAN, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4.

Now, what's this PhantomLink technology? SAPPHIRE's new PhantomLink technology is the hidden power connector goodness, with the powerful GC-HPWR power connector that means it's ready for ASUS BTF-ready graphics cards. It'll draw all of the power for the GPU from the motherboard, making for much cleaner gaming PC builds.

GIGABYTE has just unveiled some new X870E AORUS X3D motherboards, ready for AMD's new Ryzen 9000X3D processors on the AM5 socket. Check them out:

GIGABYTE's new X870E AORUS X3D motherboards have X3D Turbo Mode 2.0, a new AI-powered performance enhancer that users can enable on their X3D processors. The proprietary X3D Turbo Mode 2.0 technology from GIGABYTE intelligently dynamically optimizes gaming performance by up to 25% using its built-in AI model, providing more gaming or productivity performance that adapts to your usage scenario in real-time.

Another part of the launch is that these new X870E AORUS X3D motherboards also have GIGABYTE's breakthrough D5 Bionic Corsa technology, a revolutionary system that uses AI-enhanced innovations in software, hardware, and firmware to boost DDR5 memory speeds up to the lofty heights of 9000 MT/s.

SAPPHIRE has just unveiled its new NITRO+ B850A WIFI 7 motherboard, based on the AMD AM5 socket and using the B650 chipset, it is ready for a wide range of Ryzen CPUs.

The new SAPPHIRE NITRO+ B850A WIFI 7 motherboard has the classic premium NITRO+ cooling which consists of extensive heatsink coverage across the motherboard to critical components like the VRM, PCH, and M.2 SSD storage slots, designed to maximize surface area and thermal efficiency, ensuring everything on the NITRO+ B850A WIFI 7 mobo is kept as cool as possible under heavy gaming and professional or AI workloads.

SAPPHIRE has crafted the NITRO+ B850A WIFI 7 motherboard with a convenient M.2 SSD clip design, which enables quick and easy SSD installation or removal. We also have 4 x DIMM support for high-speed DDR5 memory with support for RAM, while in dual-DIMM mode the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ B850A WIFI 7 mobo can support up to 8000MHz OC and up to 256GB maximum.

AOOSTAR has just introduced its new MoTD motherboard that packs AMD's latest bleeding-edge laptop processors including the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D and Ryzen 9 9955HX chips.

The two Zen 5 chips are AMD's latest enthusiast-level mobile processors, both of which feature 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 processing power at up to 5.4GHz, with 55W TDPs that can be tweaked up to 75W. The Ryzen 9 9955HX3D features 144MB of cache in total (64MB of X3D cache per chiplet) while the 9955HX features 80MB of cache (no X3D cache).

AOOSTAR's new MoTD motherboard itself sports black + white aesthetics with a 10-phase VRM for power delivery, VRM heatsinks and M.2 heatsinks, a full-length PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for graphics cards, and an additional PCIe 4.0 x1 slot for other devices. On the SSD side of things we've got two Gen5 x4 M.2 slots for SSD storage, while the motherboard supports dual DDR5 UDIMMs for up to 128GB of total RAM.

MSI has just introduced its new MEG X870E GODLIKE X Edition motherboard, a masterclass board celebrating the 10th anniversary of the GODLIKE series.

The upgraded MEG X870E GODLIKE X Edition motherboard has a black and gold aesthetic, and with only 1000 units being made, each of them comes with a golden nameplate engraved with a unique number from 1-1000. You'll also get a cool collectors stand and a black-colored Lucky Stuff toy.

MSI's new MEG X870E GODLIKE X Edition motherboard has some new upgrades that include the OC Engine, which allows for independent BCLK control, with a promise of up to 15% more gaming performance on AMD Ryzen CPUs, and better overclocking abilities. The new MEG X870E GODLIKE X Edition motherboard features an onboard BCLK jumper for any enthusiasts that want to personally tweak their CPUs.

AMD B650 (AM5) motherboards are on their way out, with the chipset no longer being produced according to fresh chatter from the grapevine.

This is from Channel Gate (in China), so add a fair sprinkle of seasoning, but to be fair, the move was expected - and indeed was rumored earlier this year.

Wccftech spotted the report which claims that AMD has told motherboard makers that it's no longer making B650 chipsets and that they should switch over to using newer tech (namely B850).

The ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero is one of the company's flagship motherboards, which it released for the latest Ryzen 9000 Series of CPUs and the X870-series chipset. This week, the company is formally introducing the ROG Crosshair X870E Hero BTF variant, with hidden reverse-side connectors.

And it's an impressive unit, with a 600 W-capable 12V-2x6 power connector on the reverse side to support ASUS's BTF-compatible ROG Strix, ROG Astral, and TUF Gaming graphics cards. And when you add in reverse side connectors for motherboard power, SATA, USB headers, fans, audio, and more, it offers up the potential to put together a high-end gaming PC with no visible cables.

Outside of its BTF design, the specs and capabilities of the motherboard are similar to the original ROG Crosshair X870E Hero, which earned an award when we reviewed it last year. So it's equipped with premium power delivery, five NVMe M.2 SSD storage slots, multiple high-speed Ethernet ports, Wi-Fi 7, and two 40 Gbps USB4 ports.

A new GIGABYTE motherboard vulnerability has been discovered that affects the BIOS or UEFI firmware. The vulnerabilities are severe, as they allow attackers with local or administrative privileges to execute code in System Management Mode (SMM), which is separate from the operating system.

This allows the code to bypass traditional security on affected devices, as discovered by Binarly, which assigned a high-severity score of 8.2. The good news is that GIGABYTE has posted a security bulletin covering the vulnerabilities, which also lists the affected platforms. However, the vulnerabilities affect hundreds of motherboards covering the Intel 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 series platforms.

As these vulnerabilities affect motherboards for the popular 10th and 11th Gen Intel Core processors, which many are still using, Eclypsium has published a list of the affected motherboards in PDF format, which can be found here.

COLORFUL has just launched its first workstation motherboard with the introduction of the WS W790E PRO V20, which supports Intel's family of Xeon W3400 and W2400 processors.

The new COLORFUL WS W790E PRO V20 motherboard sports the Intel LGA 4677 socket that will house Intel Xeon W3400 and W2400 series processors, with an 8+2+2 phase enhanced power design. The new professional series motherboard packs an Intel X710AT2 10G wired ethernet card and Intel I226LM 2.5G wired ethernet card, with 4 x PCIe 5.0 x16 slots that support multiple graphics cards, and 4 x PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slots for super-fast SSD storage.

COLORFUL's new WS W790E PRO V20 motherboard has 8 x DDR5 memory slots that support up to 2TB of RAM, perfect for professionals, content creators, and AI workloads that need oodles of system memory.

GIGABYTE has just introduced its new Ultra Turbo Mode for Intel Z890 motherboards and Intel Core Ultra 200 series CPUs, right up to the flagship Core Ultra 9 285K processor.

The company promises that its new BIOS-level feature will provide up to 35% more performance in gaming, and a huge 68% improvement in memory performance. GIGABYTE's new Ultra Turbo Mode optimizes CPU frequencies, DRAM latency, and power limits, which will unlock additional performance out of your Intel Core Ultra 200K series CPU.

The new Ultra Turbo Mode feature from GIGABYTE is for users who want more performance, but don't want the headaches of manual overclocking and tweaking their hardware. GIGABYTE's new Ultra Turbo Mode has three different performance modes: