Which keeps many of us looking at manufacturers who haven't lost touch with reality. Now, if they'd throw in a 3060 for $ 1, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
That's actually a pretty accurate scale. $500 being mid-range more than makes sense–especially with 4K-oriented workflows these motherboards are increasingly catering too. All prices of PC components are rising to also account for increased tariffs, demand, & so on.
If you want a motherboard with Thunderbolt 4, multiple M.2 slots, & Wifi6E, you should absolutely expect a price around $500 these days.
The AMD Hero's boards also in the same price range so not surprised. But I choose to be a hero to my wallet and choose a board in the $300-$350 price range. For me if i'm spending $500 on a motherboard it will be for a build using ECC memory.
Just got myself a Gigabyte B550 Vision D-P for that reason (ECC support) and it was half that. :)
Looking at the current Intel and AMD platforms I see little reason to choose X570 over B550, you pretty much have to need the chipset PCIe 4.0, and none to choose Z590 over B560.
Pricing seem more out of hand on Intel than AMD though, generally speaking. There are decently priced X570 boards here in Sweden but Z590 is hard to get with reasonable specs sub-$500.
I bought my Crosshair VI Hero for $249 new. It's only in the last couple of generations that these companies have decided to inflate the prices to ludicrous amounts.
Seriously, and I thought AMD platforms were expensive (at least prior to the B550) but Intel is just ridiculous. It used to be their crutch was lower cost of entry, but now they have practically nothing. They are more power hungry, lower performance per watt, more expensive per MOp, and now the boards\chipsets cost more, too.
> There is a lot going on across the board, with multiple areas of integrated RGB LED lighting which includes the rear panel cover, and the rear panel cover.
I'm happy to know RGB is limited to just the rear panel cover.
Of course so you can blind all the poor people following you with their cheaper boards. But seriously it looks like the big back shroud is the newest trend in motherboards. AMD or Intel, both have it.
> Other inclusions include a pair of premium and high-spec Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports on the rear panel, which support DisplayPort video input too for users with compatible monitors.
What does this mean? The more interesting part of thunderbolt is to be able to transmit DisplayPort video FROM the PC to monitor, so I'm expecting there to be a DisplayPort INPUT connector / header on the motherboard to loop into the external GPU video outputs. Can this board do that? Or is the TB output limited to whatever IGPU is on the processor?
There is No dedicated GPU support via thunderbolt, just the igpu. One of the biggest limitations of this expensive $500 board. The z590 vision d has a DP-in foe this purpose.
I'd argue that's not an especially interesting part of Thunderbolt from the perspective of a desktop PC. The high-bandwidth data connection is definitely more of a draw there than display output, given that the GPU already has those attached.
I have this board, there's a few trade-offs this board has that been omitted from the review: 1 of the M.2 slots is PCIe 4.0 and has dedicated lanes 1 of the M.2 slots is PCIe 3.0 and has dedicated lanes 1 of the M.2 slots is PCIe 4.0 but shares lanes with the second PCIe 16x slot. (8x,4x,4x setup if the M.2 is present) 1 of the M.2 slots shares HSIO with SATA ports 5-6 (populating this slot will disable those SATA ports)
The PCH PCIe 16x slot (that's electrically 4x) shares HSIO with SATA ports 1-4 (populating that slot with a 4x card will disable the first 4 SATA ports) If this slot runs at 2x then only SATA 3-4 are disabled.
How can you have a 16 phase VRM running in 7.1? I think you mean the board has 16 smart power stages & inductors, with two of each assigned to 7.1 phases?
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A5 - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
$500 isn't mid-range by any stretch of the imagination, except in the wildest dreams of ASUS' CFO.shabby - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
Lol indeed, wake up Gavin.Ian Cutress - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
It's in ASUS' 'mid-range' 😉eastcoast_pete - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
Which keeps many of us looking at manufacturers who haven't lost touch with reality. Now, if they'd throw in a 3060 for $ 1, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.shabby - Saturday, July 10, 2021 - link
Oh ok, guess my asus x570 gaming plus wifi is in the poor range section...$100 homeless range
$200 poor range
$300 low end
$500 mid range
$800 high end
$1000 baller range
lilkwarrior - Monday, July 12, 2021 - link
That's actually a pretty accurate scale. $500 being mid-range more than makes sense–especially with 4K-oriented workflows these motherboards are increasingly catering too. All prices of PC components are rising to also account for increased tariffs, demand, & so on.If you want a motherboard with Thunderbolt 4, multiple M.2 slots, & Wifi6E, you should absolutely expect a price around $500 these days.
Makaveli - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
The AMD Hero's boards also in the same price range so not surprised. But I choose to be a hero to my wallet and choose a board in the $300-$350 price range. For me if i'm spending $500 on a motherboard it will be for a build using ECC memory.Exodite - Saturday, July 10, 2021 - link
Just got myself a Gigabyte B550 Vision D-P for that reason (ECC support) and it was half that. :)Looking at the current Intel and AMD platforms I see little reason to choose X570 over B550, you pretty much have to need the chipset PCIe 4.0, and none to choose Z590 over B560.
Pricing seem more out of hand on Intel than AMD though, generally speaking. There are decently priced X570 boards here in Sweden but Z590 is hard to get with reasonable specs sub-$500.
Destoya - Sunday, July 11, 2021 - link
I bought my Crosshair VI Hero for $249 new. It's only in the last couple of generations that these companies have decided to inflate the prices to ludicrous amounts.Spunjji - Monday, July 12, 2021 - link
They've cottoned on to that segment of users that think something is inherently better just because they spent more money on it 🤷♂️Samus - Tuesday, July 13, 2021 - link
Seriously, and I thought AMD platforms were expensive (at least prior to the B550) but Intel is just ridiculous. It used to be their crutch was lower cost of entry, but now they have practically nothing. They are more power hungry, lower performance per watt, more expensive per MOp, and now the boards\chipsets cost more, too.timecop1818 - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
> There is a lot going on across the board, with multiple areas of integrated RGB LED lighting which includes the rear panel cover, and the rear panel cover.I'm happy to know RGB is limited to just the rear panel cover.
Threska - Saturday, July 10, 2021 - link
Of course so you can blind all the poor people following you with their cheaper boards. But seriously it looks like the big back shroud is the newest trend in motherboards. AMD or Intel, both have it.timecop1818 - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
> Other inclusions include a pair of premium and high-spec Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports on the rear panel, which support DisplayPort video input too for users with compatible monitors.What does this mean? The more interesting part of thunderbolt is to be able to transmit DisplayPort video FROM the PC to monitor, so I'm expecting there to be a DisplayPort INPUT connector / header on the motherboard to loop into the external GPU video outputs. Can this board do that? Or is the TB output limited to whatever IGPU is on the processor?
Exotica - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
There is No dedicated GPU support via thunderbolt, just the igpu. One of the biggest limitations of this expensive $500 board. The z590 vision d has a DP-in foe this purpose.Exotica - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
for*Spunjji - Monday, July 12, 2021 - link
I'd argue that's not an especially interesting part of Thunderbolt from the perspective of a desktop PC. The high-bandwidth data connection is definitely more of a draw there than display output, given that the GPU already has those attached.weilin - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
I have this board, there's a few trade-offs this board has that been omitted from the review:1 of the M.2 slots is PCIe 4.0 and has dedicated lanes
1 of the M.2 slots is PCIe 3.0 and has dedicated lanes
1 of the M.2 slots is PCIe 4.0 but shares lanes with the second PCIe 16x slot. (8x,4x,4x setup if the M.2 is present)
1 of the M.2 slots shares HSIO with SATA ports 5-6 (populating this slot will disable those SATA ports)
The PCH PCIe 16x slot (that's electrically 4x) shares HSIO with SATA ports 1-4 (populating that slot with a 4x card will disable the first 4 SATA ports) If this slot runs at 2x then only SATA 3-4 are disabled.
Alistair - Friday, July 9, 2021 - link
Who in their right mind would buy this though? I just checked the local store and you can get the Asus X570 Tuf + Ryzen 12 core 5900X for just $700.lilkwarrior - Monday, July 12, 2021 - link
It's the Tuf series though which can't be compared; the CPU is fundamentally inferior to AMD's so that price isn't surprising.That Tuf motherboard has significant drawbacks when it comes to I/O, especially when it comes to Thunderbolt & etc.
Oxford Guy - Sunday, July 11, 2021 - link
14nm.Oxford Guy - Sunday, July 11, 2021 - link
Everything for Rocket Lake except the relevance.DarkSpatter - Sunday, July 11, 2021 - link
How can you have a 16 phase VRM running in 7.1? I think you mean the board has 16 smart power stages & inductors, with two of each assigned to 7.1 phases?Dr_b_ - Tuesday, July 13, 2021 - link
Had this board, one month in, it died and wouldn't boot. Could be the CPU, but only have one, so RMAd it.