Gigabyte B650M K motherboard debuts at $124.99
AMD pledged as early as last August that the starting price for B650 motherboards on the new AM5 platform would be $125. However, upon the actual release of the Ryzen 7000 series processors and their accompanying motherboards, gamers discovered that the starting prices for B650 motherboards far exceeded AMD’s promised $125, causing many potential AM5 platform builders to hesitate.
A short while ago, ASRock introduced the B650M-HDV/M.2 motherboard, priced at $124.99, becoming the first to fulfill AMD’s $125 promise. David McAfee, AMD’s Vice President and General Manager of Client Channel Business, congratulated the achievement on his social media account, admitting that the “timing might have been off,” but expressing delight in ultimately honoring the initial $125 commitment.
Recently, Gigabyte launched the B650M K motherboard, now listed on Newegg at an identical price of $124.99. Like the B650M-HDV/M.2, the B650M K is also a Micro-ATX board, featuring an 8+1+1 phase power supply, four DDR5 memory slots supporting AMD EXPO and Intel XMP memory modules, a full-length PCIe 4.0 slot in x16 mode, and an additional PCIe 3.0 x1 slot. It offers two PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, both supporting the 2280 form factor, a 2.5G Ethernet connection, a DisplayPort 1.4 interface, and an HDMI 2.1 interface.
AMD previously stated that it would expand the B650 motherboard product line to cater to a broader range of price requirements. Motherboard manufacturers would also attempt to reduce B650 motherboard prices to attract consumers to the AM5 platform. Judging by recent actions from ASRock and Gigabyte, it appears that B650 motherboard prices are indeed gradually decreasing. Alongside the upcoming launch of the A620 chipset, this will further reduce the cost of building an AM5 platform.
