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Question A B450 motherboard that actually works fine with Zen 2?

K

kamild1996

Junior Member
Hello, I would like to ask you about which motherboard to choose, but here's a thing - I'd like to hear from people who own a B450 motherboard along with a Zen 2 processor (like an R7 3700X).
After patiently waiting for MSI to fix an issue with the TOMAHAWK motherboard very often refusing to post (getting stuck on CPU debug LED) I'm quite out of that patience and I'm looking forward to returning it and getting something else. I see the TOMAHAWK MAX being recommended quite often, but after browsing other forums and seeing that this motherboard (and other MSI motherboards) is also suffering from similar issues, I'd like to avoid MSI altogether and pick something else.
X570 boards are slightly out of my budget, which is why I'd like to stick with B450. Any B450 + Zen 2 CPU users out here that can recommend me something that just works? 🙂
I don't really have any specific things I'm expecting out of the board - I don't care about audio since I have an external DAC, as for other things like amount of ports I'll check it myself. I just want it to run my R7 3700X properly.
 
kamild1996 said:
If I could afford a decent X570 I'd just buy it and not ask here.
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Just looking at current pricing of B450 and X570 motherboards (not looking for sales or mail-in-rebates), there's around a $50 difference between entry-level B450 and X570 motherboards. By the time you move up to more expensive motherboards than your current MSI motherboard (which is $115), you are only looking around a $35 difference.

Why not go with the motherboard series that were designed specifically for the Ryzen 3000 series? I'd understand at X570 motherboard launch pricing, but they have come down in price quite a bit since then.
 
UsandThem said:
Just looking at current pricing of B450 and X570 motherboards (not looking for sales or mail-in-rebates), there's around a $50 difference between entry-level B450 and X570 motherboards. By the time you move up to more expensive motherboards than your current MSI motherboard (which is $115), you are only looking around a $35 difference.

Why not go with the motherboard series that were designed specifically for the Ryzen 3000 series? I'd understand at X570 motherboard launch pricing, but they have come down in price quite a bit since then.
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I've checked available motherboards in one of the local online shops in Poland that I prefer buying parts in, the difference is unfortunately greater.
Right now, being able to get a different good B450 motherboard would be a stretch for me, not to mention trying to add even more to that budget.
 
kamild1996 said:
I've checked available motherboards in one of the local online shops in Poland that I prefer buying parts in, the difference is unfortunately greater.
Right now, being able to get a different good B450 motherboard would be a stretch for me, not to mention trying to add even more to that budget.
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If that's the case, I would recommend an Asus B450 motherboard, like the TUF B450-PRO Gaming or the ROG STRIX B450-F Gaming Asus have the most consistent UEFI updates for their B450 motherboards compared to the other manufacturers. However, they are priced a little higher than other options and approach upon entry-level X570 motherboards.
 
UsandThem said:
If that's the case, I would recommend an Asus B450 motherboard, like the TUF B450-PRO Gaming or the ROG STRIX B450-F Gaming Asus have the most consistent UEFI updates for their B450 motherboards compared to the other manufacturers. However, they are priced a little higher than other options and approach upon entry-level X570 motherboards.
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I'm getting a Strix B450-F for a friend's build, and on the motherboard product page it says "Ryzen 3000 Ready." So I'm hoping that means what it should mean, which is ready out of the box.

I would be so disappointed if that means it's Ryzen 3000 Ready after updating the BIOS. It doesn't seem to be that way but I can't shake the nagging suspicion.
 
jana519 said:
I'm getting a Strix B450-F for a friend's build, and on the motherboard product page it says "Ryzen 3000 Ready." So I'm hoping that means what it should mean, which is ready out of the box.

I would be so disappointed if that means it's Ryzen 3000 Ready after updating the BIOS. It doesn't seem to be that way but I can't shake the nagging suspicion.
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If any retailer hasn't sold through their old motherboard inventory that doesn't come with a BIOS version that supports the Ryzen 3000 CPUs by now, people should buy the motherboard from another retailer. 😛

The first UEFI updates to support the new CPUs happened back in March, with another update to improve compatibility with the 3000 series CPUs in August, so it shouldn't be an issue for most people at this point.
 
UsandThem said:
If any retailer hasn't sold through their old motherboard inventory that doesn't come with a BIOS version that supports the Ryzen 3000 CPUs by now, people should buy the motherboard from another retailer. 😛

The first UEFI updates to support the new CPUs happened back in March, with another update to improve compatibility with the 3000 series CPUs in August, so it shouldn't be an issue for most people at this point.
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That's what I thought, although I didn't know the exact dates and month. Thank you!
 
My B450 TOMAHAWK MAX handled my Ryzen 5 3600 out of the box. I updated the BIOS before installing windows. No apparent issues.
 
The best all around B450 board is still the Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro WiFi.
Latest UEFI (F50) is up to AGESA ComboPi 1.0.0.4B

It DOES work perfect with Zen 2 (Ryzen 5 3600 and Ryzen 5 3600x used with this board)
Almost every board of this model on the sales channel should already work with Zen 2 out of the box, but there is a difference between "works out of the box" and "works well"
Upgrade UEFI to F50 as very first task once you get it.
 
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