The AMD X570 Motherboard Overview: Over 35+ Motherboards Analyzed
by Gavin Bonshor on July 9, 2019 8:00 AM ESTASRock X570 Pro4 & X570M Pro4
ASRock unveiled a number of its X570 models during Computex 2019: a lot of gaming-focused models, and some extremely high-end offerings, but the ATX sized ASRock X570 Pro4 and microATX X570M Pro4 looks set to offer users less bling and more functionality at a lower price point.
Starting with the design of the ASRock X570 Pro4 and X570M Pro4 models, both models use the same silver and black theme throughout, with shining silver heatsinks, and a solid looking aluminium rear panel cover which doubles up as the power delivery heatsink. Both the ATX and microATX models use the same 10-phase power delivery, with both opting to use a single 8-pin 12 V EPS CPU power input. Both have dual PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots with one M.2 heatsink, with eight SATA ports, and both also use an Intel Gigabit LAN port, and a Realtek ALC1220 HD audio codec.
ASRock X570 Pro4 motherboard
The primary difference aside from the form factor is the ASRock X570 Pro4 naturally has more PCB space for extra PCIe connectivity. This includes two PCIe 4.0 x1 slots on the X570 Pro4 compared to the single PCIe 4.0 x1 on the X570M Pro4, but surprisingly, both feature two full-length PCIe 4.0 x4 slots and an M.2 Key E for users to add their own Wi-Fi/BT module. Both include a DisplayPort and HDMI video output on the rear panel, and four memory slots capable of supporting up to DDR4-4066 with a maximum capacity of up to 64 GB.
ASRock X570M Pro4 microATX motherboard at Computex 2019
The rear panel on both the ASRock X570 Pro4 and X570M Pro4 are identical in terms of connections and includes a single USB 3.1 G2 Type-A, a single USB 3.1 G2 Type-C, six USB 3.1 G1 Type-A ports, and a single Ethernet port powered by an Intel I211AT Gigabit controller. For audio, there are three color coded 3.5 mm audio jacks which is controlled by a Realtek ALC1200 HD audio codec.
It's clear that the X570 Pro4 and X570M Pro4 models are aimed at users with more a more professional focus; this is prevalent in the feature set and the aesthetic. There is nothing flashy about the Pro4, but it does represent a more modest offering in its X570 product stack with the X570 Pro4 priced at $170, with the X570M Pro4 coming in at a slightly higher MSRP of $186
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abufrejoval - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
PCI4 and 5, or for that matter IF will trigger rethinking motherboard layouts and form factors."The [Enthusiast] motherboard" dates back to 1981 or the dawn of the IBM Personal Computer, and physics are catching up everywhere, even on the motherboard.
Distance has a huge impact on speed, latency and power, so 'flat' and 'square' are both the first obstacles and the first who need to compromise. In the future every milimeter of distance between the die carrier and your point of interest will need to be paid for, in energy/time or extra switching silicon.
Linear extrapolations of the past have little use, when the barriers are exponential.
TheUnhandledException - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
Even if you keep the board a square moving the CPU and chipset to the center of the board and having PCIe slots on either side would cut the trace to the furthest slots in half.The_Assimilator - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
Hopefully at the same time we can ditch 12V as the rail to rule them all, so that we can bring the amperages in current systems back down to sane levels.ChubChub - Friday, July 12, 2019 - link
Would be cool to see the CPU on one side of the board, and the cards on the other; would shrink those distances, but would require a new form factor, which would kindof suck (but I can picture what the dual-sided boards would look like, and I think it's a pretty neat idea having two independent sides for cooling (also, in a tower setup, a CPU sitting vertically on the board, which would be nice).Targon - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
This is why if Gen-Z gets adopted, we could have PCI Express hanging off the Gen-Z bus as a way to deal with these issues.sing_electric - Wednesday, July 10, 2019 - link
I was thinking that the mobo costs made price comparisons more difficult. Then I remembered that AMD is still throwing in a pretty good stock cooler, while Intel makes you BYO. For MOST users, that means that your total build cost will be lower with AMD.If you're doing something exotic - say, with liquid cooling or heavy overclocking that requires a certain thermal solution - then sure, you lose those savings, but if you're spending $300 to keep your machine cool, is the price difference of the motherboard really going to sway you one way or another?
Oliseo - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
You're actually comparing the bundled CPU cooler to a $300 custom loop Intel Cooler?You're expecting people to take you seriously as well?
Targon - Thursday, July 11, 2019 - link
Consider that for those who buy the i9-9900k, you can't get away with a 95W cooler, even if the rated TDP is 95W. So, you do need to buy at least a $30 cooler for air cooling on the 9900k, while AMD does provide a cooler to handle the typical performance of its processors. Even then, $330 for the Ryzen 7 3700X or 3800X for 8 cores/16 threads, vs. the $489 for the 9900k+$30 or $40 will still be more expensive for an 8 core/16 thread chip.What many don't realize is that if you go with AMD and get a B450 or X470 chipset motherboard(that has an updated BIOS or with BIOS flashback), you get the motherboard price you want, and the cost of ownership will still be lower. Since Intel doesn't offer PCI Express 4.0, going with PCI Express 3.0 on the AMD side won't be a big deal from the comparison point of view. Overclocking potential has not been compared between the enthusiast class X470 and X570 based motherboards from what I have seen as well, but it could make a difference for many people.
Flunk - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
I like how almost all of these boards have 2 or more M.2 slots. I had to be very careful when I bought my Z170 board to find one with 3 M.2 slots.But now there are boards with 3 slots so maybe I'll have to snag that Aorus Ultra.
drexnx - Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - link
it's amazing how fast number of M.2 slots has become the primary thing I look for in a mobo anymore too