The CPU will run at full speed as long as the CPU wattage rating does not exceed what the mobo VRM is designed to handle. Mobo makers of course probably will not provide a BIOS that supports Ryzen 7000/8000 CPUs that exceed the VRM design of their mobo for obvious safety reasons.
"Mobo makers of course probably will not provide a BIOS that supports Ryzen 7000/8000 CPUs that exceed the VRM design of their mobo for obvious safety reasons."
How is that obvious? They can simply limit anything exceeding VRM capacity to Eco Mode, or outright limit PPT for ALL CPUs
Curious as well, the 7000X series all have a configurable TDP that could, in theory, allow them all to operate at 65-Watts just fine (well, with reduced performance, but you get my point). I thought that the 7000X3D series though did *not* support that, and can only operate at their default 120-Watt TDP.
Looking at those $100 and $86 asrock A620 boards, I don't see that pictured Asus TUF A620 board costing less than $120.
I think I would avoid the $86 asrock A620 board altogether. I don't see it handling anything more than a 4 core CPU. The $100 asrock A620 board claims it can handle a 120W CPU with 6 phase VRM, but I would have to see a review to believe it.
Its nice to see a small amount of sanity in the desktop PC market. We need more people to stop buying overpriced gamer crapware to drive everything down a bit further.
Frankly I hope not, I hope all the silicon goes to AMD laptops. I'd rather see a Zen 3+ Ryzen 6000 adaptation make it to the AM5 platform while the Zen 4 SoCs make AMD's laptop segment finally competitive and timely. There is very little benefit to Zen 4 and RDNA 3 in a desktop socket.
Yeah, I agree. There's no compelling argument for desktop APUs anymore. dGPUs are in stock, even though their prices are astronomically wrong.
Prices for mini PCs equipped with ryzen laptop APUs are really cheap these days. For $500, one can get a 5800H, 16GB ram, 512GB SSD For $400, 5600H, 16GB ram, 512GB ssd For $350, 5500U, 16GB ram, 512GB ssd
There is no way a desktop 7000 series APU, stuck with using desktop DDR5, is going to beat those prices.
I'd like one for an HTPC build (in a full size HTPC case with drive bays and possible expansion options, not a NUC) without having to stick a fat, power-hungry GPU in it for AV1 decoding. Current Ryzen APUs won't do hardware AV1.
The problem is, of all things to cheap out on, a motherboard isn't one of them. This thing is really neutered and not worth the 30% savings over a higher quality, more capable and future-proof board. In many cases the price difference could be <$40. That's ridiculous to have a system that is heavily performance bound. And if you think the CPU performance throttling is acceptable, keep in mind there is NO PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 IO, and the PCIe 3.0 IO is limited to x8. Even mid-range GPU's will be bottlenecked by that.
Buying the right 620 board (one that can support the wattage) with the right 8 core x3d part might be the way to go.
Who cares about PCIe 5 anyway. PCIe 4x16 will be more then enough for a long time. PCIe 3x16 is enough right now. Need to drop all the way to PCIe 3x4 to have noticeable issues at the moment.
Current x670 motherboards are already so de-contented I'm surprised this even has audio. My $300 x570 board has more features than a $900 x670. I am sitting this generation out and you should too.
IMO if you are paying more than $300 for an AM5 mobo you are getting fleeced. Asrock sells a quality Steel Legend X670E mobo for $300. They are so popular that Newegg can hardly keep them in stock. If consumers are willing to pay $500-$1000 for a mobo Asus and friends will be glad to take your money.
Just as with the Tom's Hardware A620 story this Anandtech story is technically incorrect.
Specifically the A620 chipset does NOT in any way prevent the full use and operation of Ryzen 7000 CPUs up to the VRM design of the mobo maker. There is a long thread on this on Tom's Hardware that they have buried due to their failure to post accurate information.
Asrock has already supplied a $100 U.S. A620 mobo with a VRM that allows the use of CPUs up to 120w. For an entry level mobo this is amazing value and performance.
So contrary to what this story and Tom's Hardware has written the A620 chipset mobos are NOT specifically limited to 65w CPUs to have full support. It is imperative that those building PCs check the mobo/CPU details to be certain that the CPU that you want to run is compatible with the VRM of the mobo that you are considering. While this has ALWAYS been the case, apparently some enthusiasts were not aware of this fact.
To be clear, at no point are we claiming that A620 is limited to 65W CPUs. To quote:
"AMD also does not mandate its partners to support processors with a TDP higher than 65W, so in many cases (if not most of them) cases A620-based mainboards will not be able to operate Ryzen 7000X or Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs at their full power limits"
The chips will run. Mobo vendors' CPU validation lists support that. But for a true baseline motherboard, you may not be able to feed much more than 65W to your CPU.
The AMD quote assumes an 88w (minimum) VRM design on A620 mobos, not the currently available 120w Asrock A620M-HDV/M.2+ mobo design that has the proper VRM design to power 120w CPUs.
So to be clear: If an AM5 CPU of up to 120w is used on the Asrock A620M-HDV/M.2+ mobo it can run at full speed. Other mobo models or brands can have the minimum VRM design limiting which CPU models will function at full speed. :)
Upon further investigation the Asrock A620M-HDV/M.2+ mobo with a VRM designed for up to 120w CPUs can run all currently available Ryzen 7000 CPU models at FULL SPEED except the 170w Ryzen 9 7900X & Ryzen 9 7950X which would be limited to the 120w power consumption. The Ryzen 9 7900X3D and 7950X3D are both 120w CPUs so even they should run at full speed on this specific model Asrock A620 mobo with the 120w VRM.
I suspect Asrock specifically made this mobo for those on a budget that want to run the X3D CPUs.
The quote describes the aggregate situation across all motherboards. It assumes only that “in many cases (if not most of them)” MB makers will build the A620 to minimum required power specs. It doesn’t actually say that A620 MBs *can’t* support more than 65W, only that AMD expects most A620 MBs made to not do so, since it’s not required.
So it’s not “incorrect” at all, it’s just not as detailed as what you’re sharing, about a specific MB that does go above minimum specs.
"...will not be able to operate Ryzen 7000X or Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs at their full power limits"
The quote says the A620 chipset mobos will not run 7000X or 7000XD3 CPUs at their full power limit which is totally incorrect. Again the issue is that AMD was making the assumption that all A620 mobos would be using the minimum 88w VRM design.
The mobo chipset does NOT determine what CPUs can be used, the VRM typically does.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
28 Comments
Back to Article
nfriedly - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
I wonder, if you put a higher-power CPU into one of these motherboards, with it work at all? Perhaps at a lower TDP?Ryan Smith - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Per AMD's notes, those chips will run. They just won't be able to pull more power than what the mobo can safely provide."Models with higher TDPs will boot if the BIOS' AGESA version supports them, but multithreaded performance may be limited by VRM power limits"
Techie2 - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
The CPU will run at full speed as long as the CPU wattage rating does not exceed what the mobo VRM is designed to handle. Mobo makers of course probably will not provide a BIOS that supports Ryzen 7000/8000 CPUs that exceed the VRM design of their mobo for obvious safety reasons.dotjaz - Friday, April 7, 2023 - link
"Mobo makers of course probably will not provide a BIOS that supports Ryzen 7000/8000 CPUs that exceed the VRM design of their mobo for obvious safety reasons."How is that obvious? They can simply limit anything exceeding VRM capacity to Eco Mode, or outright limit PPT for ALL CPUs
NextGen_Gamer - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Curious as well, the 7000X series all have a configurable TDP that could, in theory, allow them all to operate at 65-Watts just fine (well, with reduced performance, but you get my point). I thought that the 7000X3D series though did *not* support that, and can only operate at their default 120-Watt TDP.meacupla - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Looking at those $100 and $86 asrock A620 boards, I don't see that pictured Asus TUF A620 board costing less than $120.I think I would avoid the $86 asrock A620 board altogether. I don't see it handling anything more than a 4 core CPU.
The $100 asrock A620 board claims it can handle a 120W CPU with 6 phase VRM, but I would have to see a review to believe it.
Wereweeb - Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - link
Knowing ASRock, it "handles" it by operating the VRM at 105°C and constantly throttling - also you'll need an airflow-oriented case and all fans.Samus - Friday, April 7, 2023 - link
Tis' the ASRock way. Push components to premature failure.PeachNCream - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Its nice to see a small amount of sanity in the desktop PC market. We need more people to stop buying overpriced gamer crapware to drive everything down a bit further.Threska - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
On your marks. Get set. Go! *and the race to the bottom starts*PeachNCream - Saturday, April 8, 2023 - link
Where have you been the last few decades?FatFlatulentGit - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Hopefully this means that Zen 4 APUs are right around the corner.lmcd - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Frankly I hope not, I hope all the silicon goes to AMD laptops. I'd rather see a Zen 3+ Ryzen 6000 adaptation make it to the AM5 platform while the Zen 4 SoCs make AMD's laptop segment finally competitive and timely. There is very little benefit to Zen 4 and RDNA 3 in a desktop socket.AMD strategy is driving me nuts though.
meacupla - Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - link
Yeah, I agree. There's no compelling argument for desktop APUs anymore.dGPUs are in stock, even though their prices are astronomically wrong.
Prices for mini PCs equipped with ryzen laptop APUs are really cheap these days.
For $500, one can get a 5800H, 16GB ram, 512GB SSD
For $400, 5600H, 16GB ram, 512GB ssd
For $350, 5500U, 16GB ram, 512GB ssd
There is no way a desktop 7000 series APU, stuck with using desktop DDR5, is going to beat those prices.
Wereweeb - Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - link
It's not always a question of performance, some people will want a fully modular computer with an energy-efficient APU.FatFlatulentGit - Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - link
I'd like one for an HTPC build (in a full size HTPC case with drive bays and possible expansion options, not a NUC) without having to stick a fat, power-hungry GPU in it for AV1 decoding. Current Ryzen APUs won't do hardware AV1.Samus - Friday, April 7, 2023 - link
The problem is, of all things to cheap out on, a motherboard isn't one of them. This thing is really neutered and not worth the 30% savings over a higher quality, more capable and future-proof board. In many cases the price difference could be <$40. That's ridiculous to have a system that is heavily performance bound. And if you think the CPU performance throttling is acceptable, keep in mind there is NO PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 IO, and the PCIe 3.0 IO is limited to x8. Even mid-range GPU's will be bottlenecked by that.Leeea - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Buying the right 620 board (one that can support the wattage) with the right 8 core x3d part might be the way to go.Who cares about PCIe 5 anyway. PCIe 4x16 will be more then enough for a long time. PCIe 3x16 is enough right now. Need to drop all the way to PCIe 3x4 to have noticeable issues at the moment.
lmcd - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Lack of 2x2 is bad, but also weak-VRM boards tend to age worse than overbuilt-VRM boards.coburn_c - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Current x670 motherboards are already so de-contented I'm surprised this even has audio. My $300 x570 board has more features than a $900 x670. I am sitting this generation out and you should too.Techie2 - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
IMO if you are paying more than $300 for an AM5 mobo you are getting fleeced. Asrock sells a quality Steel Legend X670E mobo for $300. They are so popular that Newegg can hardly keep them in stock. If consumers are willing to pay $500-$1000 for a mobo Asus and friends will be glad to take your money.Techie2 - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Just as with the Tom's Hardware A620 story this Anandtech story is technically incorrect.Specifically the A620 chipset does NOT in any way prevent the full use and operation of Ryzen 7000 CPUs up to the VRM design of the mobo maker. There is a long thread on this on Tom's Hardware that they have buried due to their failure to post accurate information.
Asrock has already supplied a $100 U.S. A620 mobo with a VRM that allows the use of CPUs up to 120w. For an entry level mobo this is amazing value and performance.
https://www.newegg.com/asrock-a620m-hdv-m-2/p/N82E...
So contrary to what this story and Tom's Hardware has written the A620 chipset mobos are NOT specifically limited to 65w CPUs to have full support. It is imperative that those building PCs check the mobo/CPU details to be certain that the CPU that you want to run is compatible with the VRM of the mobo that you are considering. While this has ALWAYS been the case, apparently some enthusiasts were not aware of this fact.
Ryan Smith - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
To be clear, at no point are we claiming that A620 is limited to 65W CPUs. To quote:"AMD also does not mandate its partners to support processors with a TDP higher than 65W, so in many cases (if not most of them) cases A620-based mainboards will not be able to operate Ryzen 7000X or Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs at their full power limits"
The chips will run. Mobo vendors' CPU validation lists support that. But for a true baseline motherboard, you may not be able to feed much more than 65W to your CPU.
Techie2 - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
The AMD quote assumes an 88w (minimum) VRM design on A620 mobos, not the currently available 120w Asrock A620M-HDV/M.2+ mobo design that has the proper VRM design to power 120w CPUs.So to be clear: If an AM5 CPU of up to 120w is used on the Asrock A620M-HDV/M.2+ mobo it can run at full speed. Other mobo models or brands can have the minimum VRM design limiting which CPU models will function at full speed. :)
Techie2 - Tuesday, April 4, 2023 - link
Upon further investigation the Asrock A620M-HDV/M.2+ mobo with a VRM designed for up to 120w CPUs can run all currently available Ryzen 7000 CPU models at FULL SPEED except the 170w Ryzen 9 7900X & Ryzen 9 7950X which would be limited to the 120w power consumption. The Ryzen 9 7900X3D and 7950X3D are both 120w CPUs so even they should run at full speed on this specific model Asrock A620 mobo with the 120w VRM.I suspect Asrock specifically made this mobo for those on a budget that want to run the X3D CPUs.
shelbystripes - Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - link
The quote describes the aggregate situation across all motherboards. It assumes only that “in many cases (if not most of them)” MB makers will build the A620 to minimum required power specs. It doesn’t actually say that A620 MBs *can’t* support more than 65W, only that AMD expects most A620 MBs made to not do so, since it’s not required.So it’s not “incorrect” at all, it’s just not as detailed as what you’re sharing, about a specific MB that does go above minimum specs.
Techie2 - Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - link
"...will not be able to operate Ryzen 7000X or Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs at their full power limits"The quote says the A620 chipset mobos will not run 7000X or 7000XD3 CPUs at their full power limit which is totally incorrect. Again the issue is that AMD was making the assumption that all A620 mobos would be using the minimum 88w VRM design.
The mobo chipset does NOT determine what CPUs can be used, the VRM typically does.
CindyYin - Wednesday, April 5, 2023 - link
Personal experience with AMD Ryzen motherboard is very bad, I hope this AMD A620 platform, AM5 can be very good!