Notable AMD GPU hardware partner Sapphire has released a new Mini ITX AM5 motherboard currently exclusive to China, as first reported byVideoCardz. This mini ITX motherboard, the Sapphire Nitro+ B650I Mini ITX, is priced at 1,689 Chinese yuan, roughly $233 US dollars.
One thing you’ll miss for that budget price? PCIe Gen 5 support. Here, Sapphire has opted for PCIe Gen 4.
Sapphire Nitro+ B650I Specifications
For the most part, this is a fairly standard Mini ITX motherboard. The design is colorful without being gaudy. Dual NVMe slots, dual RAM slots, and a full-speed x16 slot are all present, as well as on-board wireless networking. Even the I/O is looking surprisingly good, with plenty of USB expansion and direct-to-iGPU video ports.
However, this is an AMD AM5 motherboard without support for PCI Express Gen 5. This means that the latest cutting-edge NVMe Gen 5 SSDs won’t work, but all thebest Gen 4 NVMe SSDson the market should still be fine. Modern GPUs are also fortunately not even close to saturating PCIe Gen 5 bandwidth yet, much less Gen 4, so in terms of real-world performance these should be perfectly fine compromises.
Even the most SSD-demanding games of today, likeAlan Wake 2, aren’t going to tap out the full potential of your NVMe Gen 4 drive. In fact, that tier of speed— and much higher on PC— is essentially the baseline around which modern console titles that leverage SSDs are being built.
Time will tell whether or not this product makes its way to other markets like the United States; But considering its design and already English-heavy labeling, we’d be surprised if it weren’t up for consideration.
The pricing seems on par with other AMD B650 motherboard offerings, as well. Cheaper AMD A620 boards with wireless may exist, but their sacrifices to PCIe lanes make them suboptimal for those hoping to leverage a modern GPU alongside a modern NVMe drive.
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Christopher Harper has been a successful freelance tech writer specializing in PC hardware and gaming since 2015, and ghostwrote for various B2B clients in High School before that. Outside of work, Christopher is best known to friends and rivals as an active competitive player in various eSports (particularly fighting games and arena shooters) and a purveyor of music ranging from Jimi Hendrix to Killer Mike to the Sonic Adventure 2 soundtrack.
