MSI Unveils X670 Pricing Ahead of AMD Ryzen 7000 Launch, Starting at $290
by Gavin Bonshor on September 8, 2022 6:00 PM EST
Ahead of the launch of AMD's latest Ryzen 7000 processors, which will hit retail shelves on September 27th, MSI unveiled pricing on four of its X670/X670E motherboards. Given the world's current financial climate and features such as PCIe 5.0 connectivity to M.2 storage drives and at least one PCIe x16 slot, the writing has been on the wall for a while regarding pricing.
Currently listed in their US store, MSI has two premium (MEG), one mid-range (MPG), and one entry-level regular X670 (Pro) model, with prices ranging from $290 (Pro X670-P WIFI) up to $1300 (MEG X670E Godlike).
MSI MPG X670E Carbon WIFI ($480) ATX motherboard
As we've seen with previous generations on both Intel and AMD platforms, MSI's flagship for Ryzen 7000 is the MEG X670E Godlike ($1300). MSI is advertising a 24+2+1 power delivery, with up to six M.2 slots, 10 GbE, 2.5 GbE, Wi-Fi 6E, and a touchscreen 4.5" M-Vision dashboard panel.
Sitting just behind the Godlike is the MSI MEG X670E Ace ($700), with support for up to six M.2 drives, an advertised 22+2+1 power delivery, and 10 GbE/Wi-Fi 6E networking to sweeten the deal. Both models benefit from PCIe 5.0 PEG slots and one PCIe 5.0 x4 M.2 slot for the latest PCIe Gen 5 SSDs due sometime in November.
X670E Mid-Range Model for $480, X670 Entry-Level at $290
The MPG X670E Carbon ($480) represents MSI's mid-range MPG offerings with advertised 18+2+1-phase power delivery, an 8-layer PCB, and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity. Despite costing nearly $500, MSI offers a 2.5 GbE NIC considering this has been offering this on entry-level models for the last couple of generations. Importantly, however, this is the cheapest MSI X670E motherboard – meaning it's the cheapest board MSI will be offering at launch with PCIe 5.0 slots.
Coincidentally, we just reviewed MSI's MPG Z690 Carbon WIFI, which is MSI's equivalent motherboard for the Intel LGA1700/Z690 market.That board has an MSRP of $400 and a current selling price of $350 on Amazon. So there is a significant premium right now for the AM5 board, on top of what's already a relatively high price for a mid-range Intel motherboard.
Finally, the entry-level MSI Pro X670-P WIFI (non-E) model has 2.5 GbE, an advertised 14+2+1-phase power delivery, and supports up to four M.2 slots. Despite dropping PCIe 5.0 in favor of PCIe 4.0, the MSRP is sitting at $290, which is very surreal pricing for an entry-level model.
Despite not agreeing with MSI's current X670E/X670 MSRP pricing, things could change over the coming weeks and months as more vendors announce its offerings to the market. The introduction of B650/B650E boards should also offer a cheaper alternative, though those boards won't be arriving for at least another month. As it stands, the MSI MEG X670E Godlike will cost $1300, the MEG X670E Ace will cost $700, the MPG X670E Carbon WIFI has a price tag of $480, and the Pro X670-P WIFI will cost $290.
All four models are expected to launch on September 27th, along with AMD's Ryzen 7000 series processors.
Source: MSI
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Techie2 - Friday, September 9, 2022 - link
I didn't say anything about GPU prices.While it does cost a little more for PCIe 5 it doesn't cost double or triple the price of an AM4 or similar mobos. As we have seen with DRAM over decades, prices are excessive when demand is high and they drop to reality when consumers refuse to be price gouged.
Many mobo makers have been price gouging for decades. When Asus was exclusively an OEM/ODM producer they supplied their mobos for <$25 USD to customers. When they decided to go "Hollywood" i.e. the direct to end user market they increased their mobo prices to ~$75 for essentially the same product. Once other mobo makers realized how lucrative the direct to consumer market could be they all jumped in and prices have been excessive ever since. With the coming recession many PC hardware companies are going to be begging for sales.
If consumers believe that AM5 mobo prices are acceptable then they will buy them. If they believe the prices are a bridge too far sales will be dramatically lower and prices will tumble as with any commodity. Jacking prices in an economic recession can be corporate suicide.
occidental - Saturday, September 10, 2022 - link
Perhaps if poor people spent more time working, and less on social media, they wouldn't be poor? $1300 means as much to the folks in my crowd, as $10 to ordinary people. I want the Taiwanese people to make excessive profits, and use the resulting tax windfall for Taiwan to heavily arm themselves. Hail victory!IBM760XL - Thursday, September 8, 2022 - link
Well, if other vendors have similar pricing, I'll definitely be waiting for B650. I appreciate 2.5 GbE built-in, but really don't need four M.2 slots or WiFi on the mobo. Or PCI Express 5.0, for that matter. Give me a B650 that keeps 2.5 GbE but drops half the M.2, WiFi, and PCIe 5.0, and costs half as much, and I might buy it.I'd have to expect AMD would like *some* vendors to have somewhat reasonable prices though. If no one buys AM5 at launch because the cheapest mobo is $290, that isn't setting AMD out on the right foot.
meacupla - Thursday, September 8, 2022 - link
I would wait for B650 anyways, because we have no idea how well DDR5 performs on AM5.The highest rating I have seen is DDR5 6000 for AM5, but on Intel's platform, there are Samsung and SK Hynix sticks that work in the 6400~7500 range.
Techie2 - Friday, September 9, 2022 - link
Performance is not just about DRAM speed. DDR5 6000 is reported by Robert Hallock from AMD as the sweet spot for performance with the Ryzen 7000 CPUs. By leaving FCLK in auto mode and overclocking the DDR5 and controller in a 1:1 ratio you get the lowest latency. System performance is a function of the entire system architecture.thestryker - Friday, September 9, 2022 - link
The prices on X670 are definitely out of whack compared to the Z690 prices.MPG Z690 CARBON WIFI is $380 direct from MSI buying the same thing in AM5 is +$100.
This is either cost increase due to these boards having two chipsets and the extra PCIe 5.0 lanes for the M.2 or it's a way for motherboard makers to pad their bottom line since AM5 will last through 2025 or longer.
Threska - Friday, September 9, 2022 - link
Maybe it will, maybe it will not. The socket 939 relatively speaking didn't last long. The rest up till the AM4 lasted only slightly longer. The AM4 is one of the longest for AMD and still going strong.thestryker - Friday, September 9, 2022 - link
In the Zen 4 presentation they said AM5 through 2025 and the slide showed 2025+.Duncan Macdonald - Friday, September 9, 2022 - link
How about a non-WiFi model - for home use with wired Ethernet the WiFi components are just waste.Makaveli - Friday, September 9, 2022 - link
This.I will never used wifi on a desktop computer and its just taking up space on the board and increasing cost. I will wait for a non wifi model.