It was already rumoured last week. We were talking about the end-of-life (EOL) of the B650 chipset, which was expected to result in a drop in the price of B850 motherboards. It seems that the operation is already underway, and according to some media, the end of production has already been announced since the end of the first quarter. However, motherboards equipped with the B650 chipset will remain available for a few more months, thanks to large stocks. It is estimated that B650 boards could continue to be available from certain brands until the end of 2025.
End of the B650 – Price drop for the B850… But when really?
The B650 chipset was launched in 2022 with the arrival of the Ryzen 7000, and will be the first to leave the catalogue to make way for the future chipsets that will arrive with the Zen 6 processors. AMD wants the B850 to replace the B650 range, and prices for the B850 are set to fall significantly in the fourth quarter of this year, so we’re already seeing a certain easing of pressure… even if we’re still a long way from B650 prices. It’s highly likely that the other 600-series chipsets will also be phased out in 2025. We don’t know what the next ones will be, but the A620, which is the entry-level model, should be next on the list. As for the X670/X670E chipsets, here again, they are due to disappear in favour of the X870/X870E chipsets, which have modern features, even though they are very similar.
As a result of this situation, there’s a good chance that the B650s will be bought up en masse by PC integrators who will want to release configurations for the second half of the year. Another point is that, given the number of Ryzen AM5s, it’s conceivable that some first-generation boards won’t accept the next Zen 6s. If it comes to that, it will probably be the entry-level chipsets.
