ASRock AB350M Pro4
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Micro-ATX motherboard based on AMD Promontory B350 chipset with Socket AM4 processor socket. The manufacturer is positioned as a model of the middle price category, mainly intended for assembling performant home or office personal computers, but can also be successfully used as the basis for performant gaming systems. Supports the installation of AMD Ryzen processors, and supports both the Summit Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge CPU families.
In addition, the ASRock AB350M Pro4 motherboard supports the installation of Bristol Ridge and Ryzen Raven Ridge A-series APUs, as well as some Athlon X4 models that do not have an integrated video core. It features compact dimensions (244x244 mm), which allows the use of small-sized micro-ATX cases, and the use of high-quality component base. Equipped with 4 slots for installing DDR4 RAM modules with a total capacity of up to 64 GB.
Moreover, thanks to good overclocking abilities, memory operation with effective frequencies up to 3200 MHz is possible. Two M.2 Socket 3 and four SATA 3 ports are available for fast work with modern SSD drives. High-speed network connections are created using the Realtek RTL8111GR Gigabit Ethernet adapter. There are 13 USB ports, 6 of which support the USB 3.1 Gen1 standard, and one is a reversible USB 3.1 Type-C connector.
High price-performance ratio
ASRock AB350M Pro4 is built on the mid-range B350 chipset and, accordingly, is positioned as a mid-range model designed to build robust work and gaming computers.
Perhaps the main difference between this "motherboard" and its counterparts in the initial class is the abundance of slots. First of all, 4 DDR4 slots are striking instead of the standard two. This somewhat expands the room for manoeuvre when assembling a computer, allowing you to take 2 standard DDR4 4 GB sticks right now and get a speed boost from the multi-channel mode, and buy the rest as needed. Also noteworthy at once are 2 PCI-E 16x slots for connecting a pair of video cards and 2 M.2 connectors for installing high-speed SSD NVMe drives. Well, there is also USB-C, which is a rarity in motherboards under $100. Given the price tag, this is more than worthy functionality.
Acceleration within reasonable limits
Among the limitations of the model, we can single out support for memory with a maximum frequency of 2667 MHz, although 3200 MHz is the norm even for the cheapest motherboard. On the one hand, now this is enough for the eyes, and the frequency of the memory as a whole does not really affect the speed of the computer, on the other hand, it is not clear what caused such a limitation. It is unlikely that trimming the RAM allowed significant savings. Also worth noting is the absence of the LLC function, which helps to deal with voltage drops when overclocking the processor. Therefore, overclocking of eight-core processors such as Ryzen 7 1800X based on ASRock AB350M Pro4 is unlikely to end in success.
The main thing is stability
However, taking into account the price up to $100, this is not even a minus, but a plus, since overclocked 4 and 6-core chips based on this “mother” work stably. In all other respects, this is an excellent motherboard with an affordable price tag, advanced features and, most importantly, stable performance.
