X870E and X870 motherboards are now widely available for purchase, with B850 and B840 following in the coming months. However, AMD could be planning to launch another 800 series chipset to the lineup if recent Asus product registrations are any indication.
Recent EEC filings (via ITHome) by Asus contain references to an unannounced ‘B850E’ chipset. More specifically, the products in question are ROG Strix B850E-F Gaming WiFi and B850E-I Gaming WiFi. This suggests to me that either AMD delayed the launch of B850E or Asus is simply sweeping up possible product names to cover its back.
The latter appears the most plausible of the two possibilities. This appears the case all the more taking the perspectives of X leakers AnhPhuH and harukaze5719 into account. Both parties believe none of these boards will hit the market, merely symptomatic of AMD’s prior plans to launch B850E before scrapping it.
Assuming the opposite, though, AMD would find it difficult to differentiate B850E from other existing and upcoming chipsets. There isn’t much wiggle room between X870 and B850. In my eyes, AMD could remove mandatory USB 4 support as a cost-saving measure, but that’s at a push. Complicated stuff.
I wouldn’t hold my breath for B850E motherboards all things considered. Thankfully, there isn’t much of a need for it as the current stack both current and imminent feels encompassing enough to all needs and budgets. That’s not forgetting that the addition of a new variant would potentially make it harder for consumers to find the right board for them through overcrowding.