AMD yesterday released its A520 Motherboards, a bit unexpectedly. These boards give Ryzen processor users options when on a tight budget, while also offering new features over older A320 and B450 motherboards.

AMD A520 motherboards have a lot to offer with prices (that should be) below $100. Compared to last gen, better quality components, greater I/O and support for current and next-generation Ryzen CPUs and APUs, something we cannot expect base don say the A320.

A520 motherboards do not have PCIe Gen 4 support, this should not be a big problem considering that the GPUs used by users on this board, hardly saturate the PCIe Gen 3 interface. Manufacturers include a number of features as better. USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports and faster Ethernet and WiFi controllers. They also offer support for existing 3rd generation AMD Ryzen “Matisse” CPUs and “Renoir” APUs.

The AMD A520 platform will be the last of the 500-series PCH family to support next-generation Ryzen CPUs (for now Vermeer) and also Ryzen (Cezanne) APUs. Manufacturers will release BIOSes for their respective A520 boards before the release of those processors, so this motherboard can be a good choice for the future if on a tight budget.