Question Advice on budget MB?

[fourtwenty]

I need to build a new PC. It's been a while. I'm so out of the loop and there's so much to read. What I was hoping was for some suggestions for a budgetish MB that could handle upgraded CPUs in the future. Not sure about going with Intel or AMD. FPS gaming like Counter-Strike will be the most used game. Otherwise I'm surfing the net etc.

 

[kschendel]

On the AMD side, B450 Tomahawk MAX handles a pretty wide range of CPU options decently well. Don't know about Intel. To get more than that you'll have to be more specific about your CPU choice(s).

 

[Markfw]

I need to build a new PC. It's been a while. I'm so out of the loop and there's so much to read. What I was hoping was for some suggestions for a budgetish MB that could handle upgraded CPUs in the future. Not sure about going with Intel or AMD. FPS gaming like Counter-Strike will be the most used game. Otherwise I'm surfing the net etc.

At the moment, unless you want gaming only, and the top 5% FPS in the latest games, Intel makes no sense.

From what you say, a nice 3600 or 3600x with a nice x570 motherboard (not an expensive one) would be the way to go.

 

[fourtwenty]

I'm looking at the i3-9100F or the i5-9400F. When I look at the performance of comparably priced AMD chips the Intel's perform better.

I'm open to anything though as long as the performance and cost line up comparably. I was a big AMD supporter back in the day.

 

[fourtwenty]

At the moment, unless you want gaming only, and the top 5% FPS in the latest games, Intel makes no sense.

From what you say, a nice 3600 or 3600x with a nice x570 motherboard (not an expensive one) would be the way to go.

I just had a look at pricing, 570 boards are beyond what I want to spend as are AMD 3600 chips.

So I guess I want total budget, not budgetish. I currently run an i3-3220 and GTX 460 so even with super budget components It will be a big upgrade I think. Will probably pick up a used 1050 or 1060 ti for video card.

 

[Markfw]

I'm looking at the i3-9100F or the i5-9400F. When I look at the performance of comparably priced AMD chips the Intel's perform better.

I'm open to anything though as long as the performance and cost line up comparably. I was a big AMD supporter back in the day.

I can't find it, but I thought the Ryzen CPUs won all the CS go benchmarks, the only game it beat Intell badly.

 

[fourtwenty]

I can't find it, but I thought the Ryzen CPUs won all the CS go benchmarks, the only game it beat Intell badly.

I'll do some digging. I'm actually playing CS:S 😉

 

[Markfw]

I'll do some digging. I'm actually playing CS:S 😉

It has to be 2019 benchmarks, after the Ryzen 3000 series came out.

 

[Campy]

Surprisingly, AMD 3900X does seem to beat the 9900K in CSGO. However the practical difference is zero, so maybe it's more correct to call it a tie. That's still a huge milestone for AMD after being inferior to Intel in gaming for so long, and especially in esports titles where players want the highest framerate possible all the time.

Anyway none of that really matters if all you're aiming for is a constant 60fps for a 60Hz monitor.

Like a previous post suggested the B450 Tomahawk MAX gets a lot of praise and isn't particularly expensive. It should be able to handle more or less any CPU you throw at it, even high core count ones as long as you don't do any overclocking and make sure the board has some airflow to cool the VRMs.

B450 Tomahawk MAX + a R5 2600 and some 2x8GB 3200 CL16 memory is probably pretty close to the best price/performance you can get and still have a good upgrade path.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Anyway none of that really matters if all you're aiming for is a constant 60fps for a 60Hz monitor.

Like a previous post suggested the B450 Tomahawk MAX gets a lot of praise and isn't particularly expensive. It should be able to handle more or less any CPU you throw at it, even high core count ones as long as you don't do any overclocking and make sure the board has some airflow to cool the VRMs.

B450 Tomahawk MAX + a R5 2600 and some 2x8GB 3200 CL16 memory is probably pretty close to the best price/performance you can get and still have a good upgrade path.

I agree.

Steve lays it out nicely -

I also agree with him that there is more than enough precedent to make the prediction that going Intel will get you juiced for a 9 series CPU, years from now, when you look to upgrade. It is a dead platform and lacks PCIe 4.0.

And while there is a lot of Jedi hand waving about the Swiss cheese security of Intel CPUs, they still exist. More keep being found. Maybe it is nothing to worry about for us low value targets, maybe not? Hypothetically, given a few years, we will see them exploited. Which means you live with all the patches, which effect performance in some areas outside of gaming, at times significantly. Or you turn them off and perhaps expose yourself.

Not looking to scare monger, just giving you some need to know info since you said you have been out of the loop. And, if all you play is old MP shooters, it won't matter much what you buy. But if you decide to jump in the new ones, the 9400F is already driving the struggle bus in at least one of them i.e. stuttering issues. It will only get worse with every new release that looks to use more than 6c/t. /my pov

 

[Iron Woode]

I need to build a new PC. It's been a while. I'm so out of the loop and there's so much to read. What I was hoping was for some suggestions for a budgetish MB that could handle upgraded CPUs in the future. Not sure about going with Intel or AMD. FPS gaming like Counter-Strike will be the most used game. Otherwise I'm surfing the net etc.

I would probably help us out if you told us what type of budget you have. What would be the max you want to spend?

 

[fourtwenty]

I would probably help us out if you told us what type of budget you have. What would be the max you want to spend?

Max to spend on a mobo would be around $120-130 (USD).

Are all the B450 boards generally the same? Does the "MAX" part of the recommended MSI board mean something sepcial?

I've decided to go the mini-ITX route.

Any thoughts on these:

Gigabyte B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI
ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac
Asus ROG Strix B450-I Gaming
MSI B450I GAMING PLUS AC

Any other recommendations?

 

[fourtwenty]

Something I don't like reading is the warning about some B450's needing a BIOS flash to work with R5 3600. is there any what to know for sure which do and don't need this? I won't have a separate CPU to do the flash with so it's not a problem I want to have to deal with.

 

[Iron Woode]

I own an ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac.

It is a great board for my HTPC needs. I paired it with a R3 2200G.

This board does require a BIOS update to work with Zen 2 cpu's. BIOS 3.30 or newer supports 3000 series.

MAX series boards have a larger BIOS storage system so there is more room for bigger BIOS's.

Many MSI boards support flashback. That allows you to flash your BIOS without a cpu or memory in the motherboard.

There are numerous youtube videos about those motherboards.

 

[Campy]

Does the "MAX" part of the recommended MSI board mean something sepcial?

MAX means it supports Ryzen 3000 series, they're basically just refreshes of the non-MAX versions.

I don't think there are any B450 ITX boards that support flashing without a CPU installed. You could always contact AMD for a loaner CPU to allow you to flash, but that's a bit of a chore too.

The MSI B450i Gaming Plus AC has really good power delivery(better than many X470 boards) for the CPU, but lacks some features the Asus B450 ITX board has like Intel LAN and much better onboard sound.

 

[fourtwenty]

I own an ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac.

It is a great board for my HTPC needs. I paired it with a R3 2200G.

This board does require a BIOS update to work with Zen 2 cpu's. BIOS 3.30 or newer supports 3000 series.

I ended up getting this board. They're now shipping with BIOS 3.4 and they've added a sticker to the box to say its "AMD RYZEN 3000 DESKTOP READY".

Figured this could be relevant to someone in the future.

Thanks again everyone for your help.