The AMD X570 Motherboard Overview: Over 35+ Motherboards Analyzed
by Gavin Bonshor on July 9, 2019 8:00 AM ESTMSI MPG X570 Gaming Edge WIFI
Moving down the product stack and we come to the MSI MPG X570 Gaming Edge WIFI which sits below the X570 Gaming Pro Carbon WIFI with much of the same features, but with a lower-cost controller set. The main features include one PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slot, six SATA ports. and an 802.11ac wireless interface. Up to DDR4-4400 is also supported with a total capacity of up to 128 GB across the four available memory slots.
The MPG X570 Gaming Edge WIFI offers a more modest variety of specifications which bridges the gap between the X570 Gaming Pro Carbon WIFI ($259) and the more cost-effective X570 Gaming Plus ($169). Its design is similar to the MPG X570 Gaming Pro Carbon WIFI in that it has a black PCB, but without the carbon inspired decorations on the heatsinks. There are two PCIe 4.0 x4 slots with the top slot including a heatsink, while the bottom slot doesn't, and six SATA ports with support for RAID 0, 1, and 10 arrays. A total of two full-length PCIe 4.0 slots with which run at x16, and x8/x8 with support for two-way AMD CrossFire multi-graphics card setups, and four DDR4 memory slots that support up to DDR4-4400. The two full-length PCIe 4.0 slots operate at x16, and x16/x4 which means NVIDIA SLI isn't supported, but users can utilize two-way AMD CrossFire setups.
On the rear panel is a pre-installed rear panel I/O shield with five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output powered by a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec. For general connectivity, there is three USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, one USB 3.1 G2 Type-C, two USB 3.1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports. Also present is an HDMI video output for use with compatible AMD Ryzen APUs, as well as a BIOS flashback button, and a PS/2 combo port. Networking wise, there are two antenna ports for the included Intel 3168 802.11ac Wi-Fi interface which is capable of speeds of up to 433 Mbps, while the single Ethernet port is controlled by a Realtek RTL811H Gigabit NIC.
The MSI MPG X570 Gaming Edge WIFI represents a more modest offering in the line-up with an MSRP of $209 which is down to a couple of component choices such as the cheaper Realtek Gigabit NIC instead of the usual Intel variant, as well as no support for NVIDIA SLI configurations.
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The_Assimilator - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
Nope, I really do need that many USB ports! In the past I've used various add-in cards and hubs to achieve this, but my experiences with these devices, and their drivers, and compatibility has been spotty at best, and they also take up space or PCIe slots - hence why I'd much prefer if it was all just integrated on the board.Just to be clear, I don't need 10 USB 3 ports - 8 USB 3 and a pair of 2.0 would be perfect. Considering almost all of these boards have a pair of USB 2.0 headers for 4 ports in total, but cases today don't offer more than a single USB 2.0 front-panel connector - plus that these boards' IO panels have plenty of extra room - I don't see why manufacturers can't drop one of those headers and just give us an extra two rear 2.0 ports as standard.
Qasar - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
why not pick up a usb header to slot plate adapter, im sure you have unused card openings on the back of your case under the video cardDanNeely - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
More ports on the back mean fewer available headers for internal connections. x570 has 12 total USB 3.x ports; so most boards maxing out at 8 on the back and 2 headers (2 ports/header) internal seems about right. Going higher means adding either USB3 controller chips (eats PCIe lanes but gives independent ports for greater total system throughput) or on board USB3 hubs; both of which drive up costs. With making the boards PCIe4 capable already driving up costs a lot the board makers are looking to economize elsewhere.shabby - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
I noticed the cheap asrock boards have 8 usb3 ports in the back.plonk420 - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
THANK YOU SO MUCH for the VRM information! i don't even OC but i like to keep an eye on what VRMs boards are using... hopefully will help with longevity if i'm going to thrash either Vcore or SoC (keeping components like caps cooler)thomasg - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
In my opinion, all those boards are just silly.All they bring over the 2 years old X370 platform is PCIe 4.0 support, a bit more USB 3 Gen2 as well as often a second m.2 slot.
On the other hand, the southbridge fan is a ridiculous idea, especially consindering all the silly enormous heatsinks they mount to everything BUT the chipset.
And for that, they go for a premium of about 60% over X370 when it was fresh.
I paid 170 dollars for my PRIME X370-Pro day 1 (over 2 years ago), now the successor is 270 dollars.
The WS is the only board looking buyable, but then again, it also is actively cooled and doesn't even bring NBase-T.
I could forgive that, wouldn't they charge well above 300 dollars for it (while the other boards are close to MSRP in germany, the WS is already far below its MSPR).
Nope, thanks, I'm skipping X570.
Death666Angel - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
"I paid 170 dollars for my PRIME X370-Pro day 1 (over 2 years ago), now the successor is 270 dollars."Take that up with ASUS. I can get the X570 Phantom 4 from AsRock with (4x2) power stages (which means easier 3950X oc vs your x370 Pro) for 170€.
And for me, I'm starting to think that having 3 whole x4 slots (2 M.2, one x16) of 4.0 speeds is a nice addition versus the one 3.0 x4 M.2 and one 3.0 x2 or 2.0 x4 slot with another 2.0 x4 slot all the 4xx and 3xx mainboards offer. If I'm spending ~500€ anyway (32GB and 8 core), I might as well just spend another 170 on the mainboard vs 100 on a B450 (I need mATX, so only the MSI Mortar and AsRock Pro4 suite my needs).
And if you need Thunderbolt or over GbE speeds, these boards are the only way to go, frankly, since the 2.0 chipset lanes of the older chipsets are just terrible for this.
This doesn't satisfy your niche? Great, move along. That's the incredible thing about AMD supporting AM4 for this long. But no need to shit over a product that is pretty great overall, just because you don't need it's features.
thomasg - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
Indeed, it doesn't satisfy my niche, I'm just complaining about the new downsides of the new X570 platform, and specifically the available implementations.I'm not telling anyone not to get one, anyone who wants to take advantage of the extras is of course free to adopt the new boards.
I think I should be able to freely "shit over a product" as I wish without you having to take personal offense.
fearby - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Being in a hot climate I'd love to know what one has the best chipset cooling.gavbon - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
We are doing X570 chipset thermal analysis in our motherboard testing ;)