BIOSTAR join the ranks of A520 motherboards with the A520MH V6.0, a design with a robust feature-set and full range of AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen APU and CPU support.
AMD finally launched their budget-oriented A520 motherboard chipset today, with models entering the market from all the major brands. A520 supports 3rd Generation Ryzen CPUs and as-yet unreleased consumer APUs based on the Zen 2 microarchitecture, and will likely be the final member of AMD’s now all-encompassing 500-series motherboard range. We’ve already covered ASRock and GIGABYTE’s efforts, but should also reserve a brief mention for BIOSTAR‘s debut design: the all new A520MH V6.0.
Taiwanese component manufacturer BIOSTAR boast an eclectic range of motherboard designs adhering to the requirements of each of the major desktop CPU vendors. The A520MH V6.0 is their first A520 motherboard, joining a wide selection of B550 and X570 designs that cater to higher market segments. It has aspirations above its humble begginings however.
BIOSTAR have decked the ‘board’s PCB in a matte black finish, masking its modest nature should the system be on display rather than tucked away out of sight. A micro-ATX form factor is suitable for a huge range of cases, particularly many attractive mATX models that have been poorly served by B550 and X570 releases to date. Should you put together a system that pleases the eye as well as performance you’re likely to do far worse than this one.
The A520MH V6.0 takes advantage of AMD’s single-chip SoC, offering support for up to 64GB of DDR4 RAM (2x DIMM slots) in speeds validated up to 3200MTs. Other specifications track with the core A520 feature set, including one x16 PCIe 3.0 slot (mode dependent on processor) and two x1 slots, a PCIe M.2 slot (PCIe 3.0 x4), Gigabit LAN, 7.1 audio and 6 USB 3.2 (Gen 1) ports.
In supporting the latest AMD APUs BIOSTAR have opted to equip the motherboard with a single HDMI port capable of resolutions up 4K (UHD). Legacy device support is also present in the form of a single VGA port, joining keyboard and mouse PS/2 ports to allow for backwards compatibility with older peripheral hardware still in use.
All in all, the BIOSTAR A520MH V6.0 shapes up as a solid choice for casual and business designs with flexibility in use case but adhering to relatively low-cost system requirements. Wide compatibility with current and future AMD CPUs will also make it an excellent spring-board for future upgrades of a piecemeal nature.
Specifications
FORM FACTOR: Micro ATX, Dimension: 24.4cm x 20.8cm ( W x L )
CPU SUPPORT:- Socket AM4 support AMD 3rd Gen Ryzen (Matisse/Renoir) processors
MEMORY:
– Supports Dual Channel DDR4 1866/2133/2400/2667/2933/3200+(OC)
– 2 x DDR4 DIMM Memory Slots, Max. Supports up to 64 GB Memory
INTEGRATED VIDEO (By CPU model):- Supports DX12, Supports HDCP
STORAGE:
– 4 x SATA III Connectors (6Gb/s): Supports AHCI and RAID 0, 1, 10
– 1 x M.2 (M Key) Socket, M.2 Type 2242/2260/2280 SSD module
– Supports PCIe 3.0 x 4 (32Gb/s) NVMe/AHCI SSD & SATA III (6.0Gb/s) SSD modes
LAN:
– Realtek RTL8111H
– 10/ 100/ 1000 Mb/s auto negotiation, Half / Full duplex capability
– Supports Super LAN Surge Protection
AUDIO CODEC:- ALC887. 7.1 Channels, High Definition Audio, Hi-Fi (Front)
USB:
– 6 x USB 3.2 (Gen1) ports (4 on rear I/Os and 2 via internal headers)
– 6 x USB 2.0 ports (2 on rear I/Os and 4 via internal headers)
EXPANSION SLOT
– 1 x PCIe 3.0 x 16 Slot (x16 or x8 modes dependant on installed processor)
– 2 x PCIe 3.0 x 1 Slots
REAR I/O:
– 1 x PS/2 Keyboard
– 1 x PS/2 Mouse
– 1 x HDMI Port
– 1 x VGA Port
– 1 x LAN port
– 4 x USB 3.2 (Gen1) Ports
– 2 x USB 2.0 Ports
– 3 x Audio Jack
INTERNAL I/O:
– 4 x SATA III (6.0Gb/s) Connectors
– 2 x USB 2.0 Headers (each header supports 2 USB 2.0 ports)
– 1 x USB 3.2 (Gen1) Header (each header supports 2 USB 3.2 (Gen1) ports)
– 1 x 8-Pin Power Connector
– 1 x 24-Pin Power Connector
– 1 x CPU Fan Connector
– 1 x System Fan Connector
– 1 x Front Panel Header
– 1 x Front Audio Header
– 1 x Clear CMOS Header
– 1 x Internal Stereo Speaker Header
– 1 x COM Port Header
H/W MONITORING:
– CPU/System Temperature Monitoring
– CPU/System Fan Monitoring
– Smart/Manual CPU Fan Control
– CPU/DDR Voltage Monitoring
ACCESSORIES:
– 2 x SATA Cables
– 1 x I/O Shield
– 1 x DVD Driver
– 1 x Quick Guide
FEATURES:
– Supports 100% Solid capacitor
– Supports BIOS-Flasher
– Supports A.I FAN
– Supports PCIe M.2 32Gb/s
More detailed information on this design is available at the product page. We would be surprised if this was the sole BIOSTAR A520 motherboard, but for now it appears that they are remaining fairly conservative with their range (while still ticking all the right boxes).
