Question I'm searching for the smallest DDR5 & PCIe 4 M.2 compatible motherboard ?

[93QSD5]

What I'm looking for​

I'm looking for the smallest possible motherboard that has the following features:

- Supports DDR5 DIMM modules
- Provides at minimum 1x PCIe 4 M.2 slot(s) for an NVMe SSD
- Provides minimum 1x SATA for HDDs.

GPU is irrelevant here, this system is purely focused on Size ≥ Storage > CPU > RAM > Power consumption
Budget should be under 100 bucks, might be open to buying used, but first new.

Ignore cooling & case concerns, I will take care of it.

What I have researched so far​

ASRock B760M Riptide Intel B760 So.1700 Dual Channel DDR5 mATX Retail (New):
- Costs almost 120 bucks, expensive cmp to rest
- Intel CPUs probably not cost effective here
+ Has 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 & 1x 2280
+ Has 4 SATA 6GB/s & 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1
+- Supports only up to DDR5-4800
+ Has more ports cmp to rest.
+ Has 4 DIMM slots
+ 2.5Gbps Net

ASRock Pro RS Intel B660M So. 1700 Dual Channel DDR mATX Bulk (Refurbished)
- Refurbished
+ Costs 80 bucks
+ Has 4 DIMM slots
- ONLY supports DDR4-3200
+ Provides 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (x4) / 1x PCIe
4.0 x16
+ Provides 2x SATA 6GB/s & 4x M.2 2280
- Sadly only 1 Gbps
+ 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1

MSI Pro A620M-E AMD B620 So.AM5 Dual Channel DDR5 µATX Retail (New)
+ AM5 support, will be very cost effective
- Only 2 DIMM slots, not end of world but less than rest
+ Supports DDR5-4400, DDR5-4800, DDR5-5000, DDR5-5200 cmp to rest
+ 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 though only 1
+ 1x M.2 bis 2280 though only 1
- Sadly 1Gbps Net
+ Has 4x 6GB/s SATA slots
+ USB 3.2 Gen 1

What I think​

1. The Riptide one has 2.5Gbps Net, an extra PCIe 3x16 slot as well not 1, not 2, not 3 okay you get it, FOUR M.2 2280 slots, NICE.
But sadly 1) it's refurb 2) Only supports DDR4 3200.

2. The AM5 board supports AM5 CPUs (big plus) & high DDR5. It seems great to me but only has 1gbps Net and only 2 DIMM & only 1 Nvme slot.

This is where your expertise comes in. Did I miss something, does DDR5 really matter for my intented use case (storage handling (not NAS) and a bit of non-gpu data computing) ? More recommendations are great too.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Aeacus]

- Supports DDR5 DIMM modules
- Provides at minimum 1x PCIe 4 M.2 slot(s) for an NVMe SSD
- Provides minimum 1x SATA for HDDs.

Any mini-ITX MoBo would do.

Plenty of options, both Intel and AMD side,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#f=8&mt=ddr5&E=1,7&K=1,13&sort=name&page=1
(ordered by name)

Use the filter on the lefit side to narrow things down. I already filtered it by the 3 requirements you have.

 

[93QSD5]

Any mini-ITX MoBo would do.

Plenty of options, both Intel and AMD side,
pcpp: https://pcpartpicker.com/products/motherboard/#f=8&mt=ddr5&E=1,7&K=1,13&sort=name&page=1
(ordered by name)

Use the filter on the lefit side to narrow things down. I already filtered it by the 3 requirements you have.

I am capable of doing research myself but the point of this question was more or less to a) get a recommendatio but most importantly b) to get people's thoughts on my specs/requirements. Maybe I am putting to much value into DDR5 for my use case etc. Maybe Pci4 is not necessary/too much.

That's the point.

 

[geofelt]

Most modern ITX motherboards will meet your specs.
There may possibly be a nano itx or pico atx with your specs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX

What is the need for as small as possible?

 

[93QSD5]

Most modern ITX motherboards will meet your specs.
There may possibly be a nano itx or pico atx with your specs:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX

What is the need for as small as possible?

Portability and taking up space. I really like how tiny an RPI 4 or a thin client is compared to an full fledged atx tower.

Of couse that loss of size comes at a loss of capabilities.

 

[Aeacus]

a) get a recommendatio

For that, you need to read MoBo reviews and/or roundups. Like this one,
article: https://www.pcgamer.com/hardware/motherboards/best-mini-itx-motherboards/

but most importantly b) to get people's thoughts on my specs/requirements.

Your specs/requirements are for you and you alone. Whatever you need - no-one can say otherwise. Since you will be using the PC, not any of us.

Due to that, i'm not going to question the validity of your requirements. Also, your requirements are universal.
M.2 and SATA ports are commonplace today. DDR5 is must if you go with Ryzen 7000-, 8000-, 9000-series or Intel Core Ultra (15th gen) CPU.

Only place where you can choose between DDR4 or DDR5, is with Intel 12th, 13th and 14th gen CPUs. Ryzen 1000-, 3000-, and 5000-series all operate with DDR4.

Maybe I am putting to much value into DDR5 for my use case etc.

Since you are asking in general, if to look towards DDR4 or DDR5, here's good article to read,
link: https://www.tomshardware.com/features/ddr5-vs-ddr4-is-it-time-to-upgrade-your-ram

Do note that this article is 1 year old and the con listed there - high price, isn't that relevant today. DDR5 prices have come down considerably and are almost the same as DDR4 prices are.

Maybe Pci4 is not necessary/too much.

M.2 PCI-E 4.0 (aka Gen4), in my opinion, isn't mandatory.

As long as you can have M.2 PCI-E 3.0 (aka Gen3), you'd be good, since that is still ~10 times faster than any SATA SSD. Let alone SATA HDD.
E.g Samsung 970 Evo Plus (this drive is also my OS drive).

In real world usage, you can not tell a difference between M.2 PCI-E 3.0 (aka Gen3), M.2 PCI-E 4.0 (aka Gen4) and M.2 PCI-E 5.0 (aka Gen5). Sure, with each generation, the bandwidth does double, but this is only seen when you move large (1+GB) files. For all other tasks (including PC boot up), there is no difference that you can tell.

Best part is, that M.2 drives are backwards and forwards compatible. Meaning that you can put M.2 PCI-E Gen3 drive into PCI-E Gen5 slot and it works just fine. Same is when putting M.2 PCI-E Gen5 drive into M.2 PCI-E Gen3 slot. But only downside then, is that Gen5 drive will operate at Gen3 speeds.
M.2 PCI-E Gen4 drive would be Samsung 990 Pro; while M.2 PCI-E Gen5 drive would be Crucial T705.

 

[93QSD5]

In real world usage, you can not tell a difference between M.2 PCI-E 3.0 (aka Gen3), M.2 PCI-E 4.0 (aka Gen4) and M.2 PCI-E 5.0 (aka Gen5). Sure, with each generation, the bandwidth does double, but this is only seen when you move large (1+GB) files. For all other tasks (including PC boot up), there is no difference that you can tell.

Thank you for your detailed response, highly appreciated. If I could select it as the solution for this thread, I would.

The machine will be used for (very) large files so above 10G and more as well as programming / computation of large quantities of data in size.

 

[Aeacus]

Thank you for your detailed response, highly appreciated. If I could select it as the solution for this thread, I would.

You're welcome.

Also, i put the word out about you being able to select Solution/Best Answer.

The machine will be used for (very) large files so above 10G and more as well as programming / computation of large quantities of data in size.

In this case, better to look towards PCI-E 5.0 (Gen5) slots/drives. Now, Gen4 also does the job (so does Gen3), but those have reduced bandwidth compared to Gen5. Pros are that Gen4/3 are cheaper than Gen5 drives, use less power and won't heat up as much. Gen5 drives have to have (beefy) heatsink on them.

 

[USAFRet]

If I could select it as the solution for this thread, I would.

You can do it now.