Gigabyte unleashes new DDR4 AM4 motherboards as RAM shortage continues to slam PC builders
MSI unlocks the full power of AMD CPUs with new MEG X870E Unify-X Max motherboard
Gigabyte and now Asus are seemingly preparing in advance for the same issues to occur with AM5. Up until now, there have been no issues with Ryzen compatibility on AM5 motherboards, so doubling the ROM capacity now will give these new AM5 boards plenty of headroom to support future Ryzen releases without making any serious sacrifices elsewhere. For now, though, both board makers are using the extra space to add pre-installed WiFi drivers, something which will come in handy now that Microsoft prevents users from installing Windows 11 fresh without a Microsoft account.
The Strix Neo series adds a variety of extra quality-of-life features beyond just having a bigger 64MB ROM. These boards come with the Asus Q-Release system, which makes it easier to remove big, beefy GPUs without having to squeeze your hand between your CPU cooler and GPU to unlock the PCIe latch.
Asus has also added a super handy optimization to the PCIe slots that allows Strix Neo owners to run the main PCIe 5.0 x16 slot at full speed with two PCIe 5.0 M.2 drives and a whopping three additional PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs installed. Asus is doing this by sharing the PCIe bandwidth between the second M.2 slot and USB4 ports. Speaking of USB ports, the new Neo lineup also includes three internal USB 2.0 headers to accommodate the growing number of integrated devices PC builders are now including, reducing the need for internal USB hubs.
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Key considerations
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/motherboards/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/motherboards/asus-adds-64mb-rom-to-strix-neo-am5-motherboards-following-gigabyte-capacity-large-enough-to-fit-pre-installed-wi-fi-drivers#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.