ASRock
You’ve already read the details about the A520 chipset in a separate article. The new cheap AMD motherboards lag behind B450 in some respects, in others they have the upper hand. Support for Zen 3 processors promises longer moral life, and this platform also offers pairing with APU Renoir. Modern connectivity with HDMI 2.1 is a standard here which is not a matter of course even with the B550. Can you find your favorite?
ASRock
You will not discover the difference between the ASRock A520M-HDV (left) and the A520M-HSV from the front view. Unlike the A520M-HSV, the A520M-HDV no longer has a DVI-D connector
| Parameters | ASRock | ||||
| A520M-HDV | A520M-HSV | A520-HDVP | A520-HDVP/Dash | ||
| Form factor | Micro-ATX (230 × 201 mm) | Micro-ATX (230 × 201 mm) | Micro-ATX (244 × 201 mm) | Micro-ATX (244 × 201 mm) | |
| VRM phases | 4+2 | 4+2 | 4+2 | 4+2 | |
| EPS connectors | 4-pin | 4-pin | 4+4-pin | 4+4-pin | |
| Maximum RAM frequency | 4733 MHz | 4733 MHz | 4733 MHz | 4733 MHz | |
| DIMM slots | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| PCI Express ×16/×4/×1 slots | 1×/0×/1× | 1×/0×/1× | 2×/0×/2× | 2×/0×/2× | |
| Storage connectors | 4× SATA 6 Gb, 1× M.2 (hybrid with SATA/PCIe ×4 support) | 4× SATA 6 Gb, 1× M.2 (hybrid with SATA/PCIe ×4 support) | 4× SATA 6 Gb, 1× M.2 (hybrid with SATA/PCIe ×4 support) | 4× SATA 6 Gb, 1× M.2 (hybrid with SATA/PCIe ×4 support) | |
| PWM 4-pin connectors | 3× | 3× | 3× | 3× | |
| Internal USB ports | 6× (2× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 4× 2.0) | 6× (2× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 4× 2.0) | 6× (2× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 4× 2.0) | 6× (2× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 4× 2.0) | |
| Other internal connectors | 1× TPM, 1× COM | 1× TPM, 1× COM | 1× TPM, 1× COM, 1× LPT | 1× TPM, 1× COM, 1× LPT | |
| External USB ports | 6× (4× 3.2 gen. 1 A type , 2× 2.0) | 6× (4× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 2× 2.0) | 6× (4× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 2× 2.0) | 6× (4× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 2× 2.0) | |
| Video outputs | 1× HDMI 2.1, 1× D-Sub | 1× HDMI 2.1, 1× DVI-D, 1× D-Sub | 1× HDMI 2.1, 1× DisplayPort 1.4, 1× DVI-D, 1× D-Sub | 1× HDMI 2.1, 1× DisplayPort 1.4, 1× DVI-D, 1× D-Sub | |
| Other external connectors | 1× RJ-45, 1× PS/2, 3× 3.5 mm jack | 1× RJ-45, 1× PS/2, 3× 3.5 mm jack | 1× RJ-45, 1× COM, 2× PS/2, 3× 3.5 mm jack | 1× RJ-45, 1× COM, 2× PS/2, 3× 3.5 mm jack | |
| Network | 1 Gbps ethernet (RTL8111H) | 1 Gbps ethernet (RTL8111H) | 1 Gbps ethernet (RTL8111EPV) | 1 Gbps ethernet (RTL8111GN) | |
| Audio | Realtek ALC887 (7.1) | Realtek ALC887 (7.1) | Realtek ALC887 (7.1) | Realtek ALC887 (7.1) | |
| Buttons | – | – | – | – | |
| POST display | no | no | no | no | |
| Price (VAT incl.) | 64 euros | N/A | N/A | N/A |
The ASRock A520-HDVP makes sense when you need more PCI Express connectors
ASRock A520M/ac and A520M Pro4. The latter, with its equipment, is already breaking out of the low-end. It has a VRM cooler also for M.2 SSD and as one of the few motherboards, a more modern audio codec ALC1200
| Parameters | ASRock | |||
| A520M/ac | A520M Pro4 | A520 ITX/ac | ||
| Form factor | Micro-ATX (230 × 201 mm) | Micro-ATX (230 × 201 mm) | Mini-ITX (170 × 170 mm) | |
| VRM phases | 4+2 | 6+2 | 8 | |
| EPS connectors | 4-pin | 4+4-pin | 4+4-pin | |
| Maximum RAM frequency | 4733 MHz | 4733 MHz | 4733 MHz | |
| DIMM slots | 2 | 4 | 2 | |
| PCI Express ×16/×4/×1 slots | 1×/0×/1× | 2×/0×/0× | 1×/0×/0× | |
| Storage connectors | 4× SATA 6 Gb, 1× M.2 (hybrid with SATA/PCIe ×4 support) | 4× SATA 6 Gb, 1× M.2 (PCIe ×4 + hybrid with SATA/PCIe ×2 support) | 4× SATA 6 Gb, 1× M.2 (hybrid with SATA/PCIe ×2 support) | |
| PWM 4-pins connectors | 3× | 6× | 3× | |
| Internal USB ports | 6× (2× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 4× 2.0) | 6× (4× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 4× 2.0) | 4× (2× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 2× 2.0) | |
| Other internal connectors | 1× TPM, 1× COM | 1× TPM, 1× COM, 2× RGB LED, 2× ARGB LED | 1× RGB LED, 1× ARGB LED | |
| External USB ports | 6× (4× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 2× 2.0) | 8× (5× 3.2 gen. 1 A type, 1× 3.2 gen. 1 C type, 2× 2.0) | 6× (3× 3.2 gen. 1 typ A, 1× 3.2 gen. 1 typ C, 2× 2.0) | |
| Video outputs | 1× HDMI 2.1 | 1× HDMI 2.1, 1× DisplayPort 1.4, 1× D-Sub | 1× HDMI 2.1, 1× DisplayPort 1.4 | |
| Other external connectors | 1× RJ-45, 1× PS/2, 3× 3.5 mm jack, 2× SMA | 1× RJ-45, 1× PS/2, 3× 3.5 mm jack | 1× RJ-45, 1× PS/2, 3× 3.5 mm jack, 2× SMA | |
| Network | 1 Gbps ethernet (RTL8111H), WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, BT 4.2 | 1 Gbps ethernet (RTL8111H) | 1 Gbps ethernet (RTL8111H), 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, BT 4.2 | |
| Audio | Realtek ALC887 (7.1) | Realtek ALC1200 (7.1) | Realtek ALC887 (7.1) | |
| Buttons | – | – | – | |
| POST display | no | no | no | |
| Price (VAT incl.) | 71 euros | N/A | 106 euros |
The top of the range of ASRock motherboards with the AMD A520 chipset is the Mini-ITX motherboard (A520 ITX/ac) with an eight-phase power design and WiFi
