Motherboards
All the latest motherboard news, with everything related to new boards from AMD & Intel, new BIOS/UEFI, and upcoming products.
MSI's upcoming budget-focused AMD B850 motherboards: tuned for Ryzen X3D CPUs, latest I/O tech
MSI will soon release its fleet of new AMD B850-based motherboards, focusing on the budget gaming PC side of the market, but the new mobos will be tuned for Ryzen X3D processors and feature the latest I/O connectivity.
Our friends at Wccftech got their hands on an upcoming MSI AM5 B850 roadmap, with 5 new motherboards based on the B850 chipset arriving in Q2 2025. We can expect a new MPG-branded B850 motherboard, with a Mini-ITX design, and a full-sized ATX motherboard in the upcoming B850 Gaming PLUS Wi-Fi PZ. These motherboards will include:
Outside of the new MPG B850I Edge Wi-Fi and B850 Gaming PLUS Wi-Fi PZ motherboards, the rest of MSI's upcoming B850 motherboards are found in the PRO series. MSI's new B850 series motherboards will feature the latest I/O connectivity, including support for Wi-Fi 7, Gen5 PCIe and M.2 SSD slots, CPU and RAM overclocking, a bunch of EZ DIY features, and enthusiast-grade 5GbE ethernet.
ASRock updates its website with Ryzen 9 9950X3D, 9900X3D CPU compatibility for its motherboards
AMD's new Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D processors are still in the ovens at TSMC, but ASRock has just updated its website adding support for the new CPU compatibility lists for its AM5 motherboards and the new 9950X3D and 9900X3D chips.
ASRock's updated website includes support for the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, Ryzen 9 9900X3D, and Ryzen 7 9800X3D (which is already on the market and kicking asS) and is the first motherboard maker to do so. ASUS, GIGABYTE, and MSI haven't updated their websites adding CPU compatibility for AMD's fresh X3D processors.
Better yet, ASRock's updated CPU compatibility listing includes the entire stack of 600-series and 800-series processors, right down to the budget A620 motherboard. AMD has previously confirmed that its new X3D processors will work on all AM5 chipsets, and with the flagship Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor having a 170W TDP, it'll be interesting to see the flagship X3D chip on a lower-end A620 motherboard.
ASRock debuts a flurry of new Intel B860, AMD B850 mid-range motherboards at CES 2025
ASRock had a suite of its new mid-range motherboards on show at CES 2025, and we got to check them all out: new AMD B850 and Intel B860 chipsets galore.
The new ASRock B850 Steel Legend Wi-Fi motherboard and its AM5 socket has a 14+2+1 phase power design with 80A Dr. MOS and 4 x DDR5 DIMMs that are good for DDR5-8000+ and faster memory. There's a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot and PCIe 4.0 x16 slot on this mobo, with 1 x Blazing M.2 (Gen5 SSD) and 3 x Hyper M.2 (Gen4 SSD).
USB wise we've got 4 x USB 3.2 Gen2 (2 x rear, 2 x rear USB-C), 7 x USB 3.2 Gen1 ports (3 on the rear, 4 on the front) and 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C port on the front header. There's also 2.5GbE wired ethernet, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth connectivity on the new ASRock B850 Steel Legend Wi-Fi motherboard.
AMD's new B850 motherboard spotted: new mid-range AM5 motherboard ready for CES 2025 reveal
The first AMD B850-powered motherboard has been spotted, with the budget-focused mid-range chipset ready for AMD's new Ryzen 9000 series "Zen 5" processors.
In some new photos of GIGABYTE's upcoming B850M AORUS ELITE WIFI6E ICE motherboard from VideoCardz, we can expect a huge flood of B850 motherboards in the near future... probably at CES 2025 in January. We don't have much to go on with the photo, but it does show the B850M chipset, an all-white design, and AORUS branding on the VRMs.
AMD's new B850 chipset is a mid-range affair, featuring Gen5 and Gen 4 support -- which is fantastic to see, the mid-range B850 supporting Gen5 SSDs -- with motherboard makers to make the decision to have dedicated Gen5 lanes for discrete graphics cards if they want. B850 motherboards will support both memory and CPU overclocking, which will make them just that much more enticing against Intel's mid-range counterparts.
ASUS will have X870 BTF motherboards + Ryzen 9 9000X3D processors on show at CES 2025
ASUS has confirmed that its new X870-based BTF motherboards will be on-show at CES 2025 early next year, launching alongside AMD's new flagship Ryzen 9 9000X3D series processors.
In a new post from our friends at UnikosHardware, a post from Bilibili was spotted with the ASUS China General Manager confirming ASUS X870 BTF motherboards will be released soon. The GM didn't specify when the X870 BTF motherboards would be unleashed by the company, but he did confirm the new boards will launch alongside Ryzen 9000X3D processors at CES 2025.
AMD has released its new Ryzen 7 9800X3D, but it has its higher-end Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Ryzen 9 9950X3D processors waiting in the wings for CES 2025. The Bilibili post has the ASUS China GM asked "when will AMD's back-plug motherboard be released?" to which he replied: "everyone knows that the recent 9800X3D is really the strongest on Earth. There may be a more powerful CPU at CES later, by then you will see the new X870 back-plug motherboard".
ASUS intros Pro WS Z890-ACE SE workstation mobo, ready for Arrow Lake CPUs with rotated socket
ASUS has just unveiled its new Pro WS Z890-ACE SE workstation motherboard: ready for Intel Core Ultra 200 series "Arrow Lake" CPUs, with an interesting rotated socket design. Check it out:
ASUS is using the consumer-focused Z890 chipset for its new workstation motherboard, the best chipset for Arrow Lake CPUs, in a workstation design. The company is using a rotated LGA1851 socket on the Pro WS Z890-ACE SE workstation motherboard, with more of the components rotated and shifted around.
The company first and foremost has (obviously) rotated the LGA1851 socket, but the VRMs have been switched around, also featuring 16+2+1+2 phase power stage design. The DDR5 DIMMs (there are only 4 here) are at the top of the motherboard, with ASUS also repositioning one of the M.2 SSD slots.
MSI 'X3D Gaming Mode' feature: faster gaming perf with single, dual-CCD Ryzen 3D V-Cache CPUs
MSI has just introduced its new "X3D Gaming Mode" feature that will give you increased gaming performance when running a single or dual CCD processor from Ryzen and its growing X3D range of chips.
Now that AMD's new Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor is out in the wild, motherboard makers have been quick to launch their own performance-boosting tweaks to X3D processors on their motherboards. MSI's new "X3D Gaming Mode" BIOS feature allows you to disable the other CCD or SMT to improve gaming performance.
MSI's new X3D Gaming Mode will be great for dual CCD processors like the upcoming Ryzen 9 9950X3D, and the Zen 4-based Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Ryzen 9 7900X3D processors. But, it's not just the dual CCD processors that will benefit from X3D Gaming Mode, with single CCD chips seeing performance boosts... perfect timing for the launch of AMD's new gaming champion: the Ryzen 7 9800X3D (you can read our review here).
GIGABYTE's new X870I AORUS PRO ICE is the company's first X870-powered Mini-ITX motherboard
GIGABYTE has just launched its new X870I AORUS PRO ICE motherboard, the company's first X870-based Mini-ITX board which costs $299. Check it out:
The company is using an 8+2+1 (VCORE+SOC+MISC) phase VRM design that supports AMD's extensive AM5 socket, ready to rock and roll with up to Zen 5-based processors like the just-released AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor. GIGABYTE's new X870I AORUS PRO ICE motherboard has 2 x DDR5 DIMMs (hey, it's a Mini-ITX mobo) with support for up to DDR5-8800 memory through AMD EXPO overclocking profiles.
There's also room for 2 x M.2 SSDs (1 x Gen5 + 1 x Gen4) while there's a full-sized PCIe 5.0 x16 slot ready for graphics cards, with GIGABYTE's reinforced UD Slot X design (Ultra Durable) that supports heavier graphics cards. GIGABYTE's new X870I AORUS ICE PRO motherboard also features Wi-Fi 7 and features the company's new "EZ-Plug" antenna system.
GIGABYTE's new Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE motherboard has CAMM2 memory support
GIGABYTE is preparing its new Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE CAMM2 motherboard, which will support the new CAMM2 memory standard that offers higher speeds and massive capacities.
The upcoming GIGABYTE Z890 AORUS TACHYON ICE CAMM2 motherboard was spotted on the Z890I AORUS ULTRA motherboard that Aussie YouTubers GearSeekers was presented with. The new board was shown off at Computex 2024 earlier this year, with the new CAMM2 version now on its way.
What do CAMM2 memory modules offer? CAMM2 memory modules will be offered in gigantic 256GB capacities, with speeds that we haven't got right now in the DDR5 memory market. CAMM2 memory modules will replace SO-DIMM modules for laptops, which usually maxed out at 5600MT/s, while desktops were pushing 8000MT/s.
ASUS teases 'exciting' upgrades to Z890 BTF motherboards, ready for Intel Arrow Lake CPUs
ASUS has teased it has some "exciting" upgrades to its still unannounced Z890 BTF motherboards, the boards that have backside power connectors and sleek style.
During a recent livestream by ASUS North America on YouTube, the team was asked if there was going to be a next-gen Z890 BTF motherboard with ASUS manager Juan Jose Guerrero saying there's no designs planned for the Z890 launch, but the company remains committed to the design, development, and production of BTF products.
Guerrero said: "BTF at Computex was just for demo to show our commitment to BTF design alongside other BTF products we highlighted including next-gen AIO design and chassis. We also showed a CAMM2 board but do not have a model we are launching. While we do not have a launch BTF Z890 motherboard we are committed to the design, development and production of BTF solutions. Response from our uses and the community has been extremely positive and we have some exciting updates in the works".