The AMD X570 Motherboard Overview: Over 35+ Motherboards Analyzed
by Gavin Bonshor on July 9, 2019 8:00 AM ESTMSI X570-A Pro
Moving along to the last of MSI's seven deep X570 product stack is the entry-level MSI X570-A Pro. For users not looking to spend the $200 + for gaming branded boards and looking for more office-based and professional use, the MSI X570-A Pro includes a decent core feature set which includes the same 8+2 power delivery as the MPG X570 Gaming Plus ($169), but with basic design. Also included is a Gigabit NIC, DDR4-4400 support, and one PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slot.
On the MSI X570-A Pro is two full-length PCIe 4.0 which operate at x16, and x8/x4, and three PCIe 4.0 x1 slots. Also featured is one PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slot, but this slot doesn't come included with a heatsink; a total of six SATA ports make up the rest of the board's storage options. This model is very resemblant of the X570 Gaming Plus, but with a more professional look with its all-black theme, but without RGB or red accented heatsinks. On the X570 chipset heatsink is a cooling fan, and the X570-A Pro also has four memory slots with support for DDR4-4400 and up to a maximum of 128 GB. It also shares the same 8+2 power delivery as the X570 Gaming Edge WIFI and X570 Gaming Plus models, and also includes an 8-pin and 4-pin pair of 12 V ATX CPU power inputs.
MSI's X570-A Pro includes one USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, one USB 3.1 G2 Type-C, two USB 3.1 G1 Type-A, and two USB 2.0 ports on its rear panel. A clear CMOS switch is present, along with an HDMI video output, and a PS/2 combo port. The single Ethernet port is controlled by a Realtek RTL8111H Gigabit NIC, while the five 3.5 mm audio jacks and S/PDIF optical output are powered by a premium Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec.
The MSI X570-A Pro as it stands is the cheapest model from its X570 product stack with an MSRP of $159. It's solid and uniformed all-black look is very simplistic, and users not looking for NVIDIA SLI support and more than two PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 slots will find this as an attractive model. This no-frills and inexpensive (compared to some others) makes this one of the cheaper entry points onto the X570 chipset for users looking to benefit from X570's features such as PCIe 4.0.
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Zibi - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
Check over ASRock Rack X470D4U. Serverthehome have short review of it and it sibling.Eastrider - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
A quick mention, the Gigabyte Aorus Elite doesn't have an ALC1220, but ALC1200. Lovely write up otherwise!gavbon - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
Thanks for that, updated!BloodyBunnySlippers - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
I've had trouble finding the difference. I see references to the 1200 from 2008. Is it that old a chip?Zibi - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Thank you very much for the article. The feature comparison on the last page was especially valuable. I'm concerned with the longevity of the active cooling solution all these boards seems to require. Would it be possible for you to to write a sentence or 2 about the possibilities of the DIY replacing in case of the fault ?It would be bit of shame to have to throw away such expensive MoBo due to the faulty cheapo fan.
OTOH looking on those prices I start to lean about picking X470 Taichi Ultimate. I'm looking for the better network connection to my NAS and it looks like 270$ X470 Taichi Ultimate featuring 10 Gbe is the cheapest and the quietest option.
gavbon - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
If in doubt, get a 10G NIC add-on cardZibi - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
True this is an option as well.It's bit more expensive though, as there is limited amount of options in my country :-/
patrikor - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Question about the MSI x570 Godlike's m.2 slots:The manual says M2_3 is the slot provisioned by the CPU's pcie lanes. However, this is the farthest slot from the CPU. Moreover, on all the other MSI boards I've looked at, M2_1 (the closest to the CPU) is the one provisioned by CPU lanes.
Do I trust the manual here or trust my gut?
The_Assimilator - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Nothing about the fact that almost none of these boards, except the highest-end and most expensive ones, have no more than 8 USB ports on the back panel?TheUnhandledException - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
How many usb ports do you need on the back panel? Are you just spec shopping for the sake of spec shopping?