The entry end of AMD's current desktop socket is wider than it looks. Below the mainstream tier sit two genuinely basic chipsets and one that borrows a mainstream-looking name, and they do not offer the same things. The cheapest boards drop processor overclocking and Precision Boost Overdrive entirely, run their graphics slot and first storage slot at the older PCIe generation, and give you fewer high-speed USB ports on the back panel.

The parts worth paying a little more for are the ones you cannot add later. Power delivery and its heatsinks decide whether a processor holds its boost through a long render or sags after a few minutes. Firmware recovery decides whether a board bought off the shelf will start with a newer chip at all. Storage layout decides how many drives you can fit before something else switches off. Lighting, extra fan headers and a fancier rear panel can wait.

One thing the low end does not cost you is the upgrade path, because every board on this socket takes the same processors and the same memory type. AMD has publicly committed to keeping the platform alive for further processor generations rather than retiring it alongside the current one. Evetech dispatches boards from Centurion, with the main centres normally receiving orders within one to three business days and regional addresses in three to five.