ITX motherboards in that article as well, can't say I'm a fan (pun intended) of fans being back on the chipset / SSD cover. Gen 5 SSD's run hot so I guess they have to deal with that somehow !!!
 

Bioforce

Airflow Optimizer
Aug 31, 2018
251
116
Biostar B650-E M-ATX board, B650EGTQ

Looks pretty solid, has a USB 3.2 2x2 slot on the back and has room for 3 M.2's.
I'm curious though, why does all the documentation say it's ATX and not mATX? For dimensions it lists 24.4cm x 24.4 cm, which is correct for mATX, but nothing actually says it's micro ATX explicitly.
 

Analogue Blacksheep

King of Cable Management
Dec 2, 2018
831
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I'm curious though, why does all the documentation say it's ATX and not mATX? For dimensions it lists 24.4cm x 24.4 cm, which is correct for mATX, but nothing actually says it's micro ATX explicitly.
Yeah I noticed that as well. The board seems to come up as well when you search "ATX", but not "M-ATX". Website error I guess?

*edit* - Just had a look through the manual, it's listed as u-ATX.
 
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Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
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For the life of me I can't understand why they keep using these cast aluminium blocks on the VRMs rather than far, far superior heatpipe+fin arrays. Yes, the latter is more expensive, but given ballooning aluminium costs that difference is likely to be negligible these days, and especially on $250+ motherboards another $1 on the BOM isn't going to make much of a difference. If they just went that way they could make the VRM heatsinks so much smaller and less restrictive.
 

GuilleAcoustic

Chief Procrastination Officer
SFFn Staff
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Jun 29, 2015
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For the life of me I can't understand why they keep using these cast aluminium blocks on the VRMs rather than far, far superior heatpipe+fin arrays. Yes, the latter is more expensive, but given ballooning aluminium costs that difference is likely to be negligible these days, and especially on $250+ motherboards another $1 on the BOM isn't going to make much of a difference. If they just went that way they could make the VRM heatsinks so much smaller and less restrictive.
I've been having the exact same discution with the team a few days ago. I feel less alone now 🥰
 
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Analogue Blacksheep

King of Cable Management
Dec 2, 2018
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For the life of me I can't understand why they keep using these cast aluminium blocks on the VRMs rather than far, far superior heatpipe+fin arrays. Yes, the latter is more expensive, but given ballooning aluminium costs that difference is likely to be negligible these days, and especially on $250+ motherboards another $1 on the BOM isn't going to make much of a difference. If they just went that way they could make the VRM heatsinks so much smaller and less restrictive.
Aesthetic™

***

Seriously though, I think it makes the borad seem more premium/expensive then it actually is. That's the reason why I like the look of those Gigabyte MC13-LE1 B650-E boards or server boards in general. Focuses on what matters.
 

GuilleAcoustic

Chief Procrastination Officer
SFFn Staff
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Jun 29, 2015
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Heatpipes and fin stacks looked better IMHO....

 

wertzius

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Sep 13, 2022
102
70
To sum up the differences of ITX options (all have 160MHz WIFI 6E and 2.5G Ethernet - German prices including VAT):

GPU PCIeM.2SoundUSB specialitiesRemarksVerdict

ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-I

around 530 Euro (Cashback)

PCIe 5.01x PCIe 5.0
1x PCIe 4.0
stacked in an absurdely high tower
No internal - no front headers
External ALC 4050 +ESS® SABRE9260Q DAC
2x USB4/TB4 incl. display out1x fan for VRM
1x fan for M.2/chipset
External ROG HIVE with audio and a flex button

daughterboard for SATA and front headers
Highendboard for TB4 lovers who want an AIO anyway - large air coolers do not fit - loses 1 M.2 slot if the heatsink gets dismantled

ASUS ROG Strix B650E-I

around 385 Euro (Cashback)
PCIe 5.01x PCIe 5.0 on the front, high tower
1x PCIe 4.0 backside
active cooling for PCIe 5.0
Realtek ALC 4080
Savitech SV3H712 AMP
1x USB-C 3.2 GEN 2 with display out on panel1x fan for VRM
1x fan for M.2/chipset
Highendboard for all who do not need TB4 but want USB-C with display out and internal audio with proper AMP - might be problematic for big aircoolers
ASRock B650E PG-ITX

around 380 Euro
PCIe 5.01x PCIe 5.0 upside with high heatsink and fan on top - effortlessly removable
1x PCIe 4.0 underside
Realtek ALC 4220-
1x fan for M.2 - removable
Should be the best selling board with no real deficiencies besides no USB-C display out and no BIOS flashback
MSI MPG B650I EDGE

around 290 Euro
PCIe 4.01x PCIe 4.0 upside - active cooling - effortlessly removable
1x PCIe 4.0 downside
Realtek ALC 4080-
1x fan for M.2 - removable
Cheapest option for all who do not need PCIe 5.0 now
GIGABYTE B650I AORUS Ultra

- around 330 Euro?
PCIe 4.01x PCIe 5.0 +
1x PCIe 4.0 front with high heatsink and fan on top - heatsink and fan easily removable - M.2 slots on daughterboard
1x PCIe 4.0 back
Realtek ALC 40801x USB-C Gen 3.2 Gen2 with display out on panel1x M.2 fan on stacked M.2 tower

daughterboard for SATA and front headers - theoretically removable - additional PW switch Jumper on mainboard

daughterboard for 2. M.2 on front - theoretically removable to get more space
Only board with 3x. M.2
and 3x display out on board - including 1x DP and 1x USB-C with DP ALT Mode

might be problematic for big aircoolers
 
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Legion

Airflow Optimizer
Original poster
Nov 22, 2017
357
386
The Asus B650E-I is a 400€ board and the MSI B650I Edge is 300€ (and is limited to gen4 PCIe only) ... 😭
I did say Asus would charge heavily for this when I posted it earlier in the thread, I'm genuinely not surprised at the price tag,
Safe to say though, AMD are the new Intel lol
Sales of it are terrible.
There will be a price cut. Q1 most likely.
Early adopters of this for gaming are out and out mugs, I can understand Prosumers wanting the uplift.
 
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THUMPer

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 5, 2020
106
58
Excellent find. I'm gonna bookmark that one for sure.
I saw this too and was interested. But this other Biostar board didnt get a great review.

I'll be shooting for a Gigabyte B650M Aorus Pro AX.
 

Valantar

Shrink Ray Wielder
Jan 20, 2018
2,201
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The Asus B650E-I is a 400€ board and the MSI B650I Edge is 300€ (and is limited to gen4 PCIe only) ... 😭
It's not like PCIe 5 will matter whatsoever to consumers in the next decade though. Sure, storage benchmarks will look worse, but not realistic GPU will be limited by PCIe 4, and real-world storage performance in actual usage doesn't even saturate PCIe 3x4. We need flash with better random performance to get any further, and that doesn't seem to be on the horizon.