Can this CPU be upgraded?

[tinpanalley]

As for the motherboard, I would take this one (I have one of those) before the Gigabyte 570. But if you can stand Gigabyte, it is a newer chipset.

Open Box: ASUS Prime X470-Pro AM4 ATX AMD Motherboard - Newegg.com

Buy Open Box: ASUS Prime X470-Pro AM4 AMD X470 SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.ca

Open Box type deals scare me. I always feel like I'm gonna get a dud.
But I get that being an X470, I'm not gonna have to do anything for the 3600 to run out of the box.
Related question: if a board is ready for 3000 series, is it worth it to look for bios flashback?

 

[scannall]

Open Box type deals scare me. I always feel like I'm gonna get a dud.
But I get that as an X470, I'm not gonna have to do anything for the 3600 to run out of the box.
Related question: if a board is ready for 3000 series, is it worth it to look for bios flashback?

While it is handy, if the motherboard can already handle the CPU you are purchasing it isn't mandatory.

 

[tinpanalley]

While it is handy, if the motherboard can already handle the CPU you are purchasing it isn't mandatory.

Right... figured.
Ok, I've gotta figure out what I need here...
- SATA ports are massively important to me. I sometimes need access to several drives at once while doing editing work and external isn't always ideal and neither is having to unplug every other drive just to get work done. BUT this is once every now and then not every week.
- I want 4 RAM slots. I'm a creature of habit, I like the flexibility 4 slots provide.
- I want something that can give me upgrade options for several years.

 

[Markfw]

Open Box type deals scare me. I always feel like I'm gonna get a dud.
But I get that as an X470, I'm not gonna have to do anything for the 3600 to run out of the box.
Related question: if a board is ready for 3000 series, is it worth it to look for bios flashback?

Sorry, I went a little backwards. Thats not 3000 guaranteed. But IF it works, sure you don't need the flashback. Don't be scared of open box, except that it might be due to exactly what you mention, needs a bios update.

At this point with your concerns, that gigabyte board is probably your best bet.

 

[tinpanalley]

At this point with your concerns, that gigabyte board is probably your best bet.

Yeah, it's just that with the bios flashback options available in a B450, I'm almost better off just investing a little more in something that'll have more upgrade years on it going forward.
Sidenote: I need to learn about VRMs.
I think I agree about the X570 I just didn't think at all that I was going to be getting something that new/recent.

 

[tinpanalley]

I mean, the X570 boards are niiice, but they have that darn chipset fan, and ... the ones that are really any good, start at around $300, which is more than twice the price of a really high-rated B450 board

What is this chipset fan issue?

 

[scannall]

What is this chipset fan issue?

The X570 boards have a fan on the chipset. Not a big deal to most people, but it drives some people crazy.

 

[tinpanalley]

The X570 boards have a fan on the chipset. Not a big deal to most people, but it drives some people crazy.

Ok ... I don't get it.
I mean is it high pitched and infuriating? Does it take up lots of space in the system? Why does it drive people crazy?

 

[scannall]

Ok ... I don't get it.
I mean is it high pitched and infuriating? Does it take up lots of space in the system? Why does it drive people crazy?

No, small and quiet. People are getting flashbacks to 20 years ago and the motherboard fans then. The reason for it is the chipset can get toasty if you are pushing the PCIe lanes hard. Say with a couple of PCIe 4, NVMe drives. For your use at this time it's doubtful that it would come on.

 

[tinpanalley]

This write-up is very interesting. It suggests I should just stick with a B450. Of which there are certainly enough to look at with bios flashing. As I said before, looking at the price difference I'm not sure I fully agree, but I'm a bit of a novice here.

I was thinking of these for RAM.
So, if Corsair Bronze is a nono, then I can just look for any ATX, I'd prefer modular. I'm looking at the Seasonic Focus Gold now, but if I can get something a little cheaper it would be great. I can also do the semi-modular for only 126.99.

 

[VirtualLarry]

This write-up is very interesting. It suggests I should just stick with a B450.

That was my decision, of course, it was easier, since I was upgrading from a Ryzen R5 1600 on a B450 board (or boards) that I already owned, just needed to flash to the new BIOS, before dropping in the Ryzen R5 3600 CPU. I join the "next generation of Ryzen users", for a $200 (+tax) outlay. Fairly economical, all things considered.

If I had to drop $300 (or more!) on an X570 board, I might have thought about going full-monty on the CPU front, and getting a 3900X too, and then an RX 5700(XT) for PCI-E 4.0 GPU support, and then a PCI-E 4.0 NVMe SSD, of which a 1TB is like $200-250 (whew!).

But since I already had the (~$110 on sale) B450 board(s), it was a no-brainer to drop in the R5 3600 CPU. Of course, I've been through some BIOS and cooling roller-coasters, nothing unusual for "early adopters", really, I bought mine the first night or two that it came out, wanted to be on the "cutting edge", immature BIOSes (at the time) made some things a challenge.

But now that 1.0.0.3ABBA AGESA-based BIOSes are out for most major B450 / X470 mobos, it's (relatively) smooth sailing.

Edit: And I agree with the others, when buying New PSUs for your "main rigs", look at 80Plus Gold and better, don't bother with Bronze, unless you just need a temporary stand-in for some reason. The energy savings is worth it. As for the price difference with Titanium-rated PSUs, I don't know, those tend to be even more pricey, for limited incremental benefit. Some people (I believe Mark is in this category), believe that the Titanium-rated PSUs are built even better than the 80Plus Gold ones. That could well be true.

 

[Thunder 57]

This write-up is very interesting. It suggests I should just stick with a B450. Of which there are certainly enough to look at with bios flashing. As I said before, looking at the price difference I'm not sure I fully agree, but I'm a bit of a novice here.

I was thinking of these for RAM.
So, if Corsair Bronze is a nono, then I can just look for any ATX, I'd prefer modular. I'm looking at the Seasonic Focus Gold now, but if I can get something a little cheaper it would be great. I can also do the semi-modular for only 126.99.

That is the exact memory kit I got for my 2600X. I saved maybe $50 by not getting B-die, and it worked great. Just went into the BIOS and set it for XMP. No hassle at all. I love Corsair but my last two builds I've gone with G.skill.

EDIT

FWIW, I paid $139.99 USD for that kit last December, so at $92.99 CAD that looks like a bargain.

 

[tinpanalley]

Ok, glad to hear the RAM is a good choice. So you guys are in agreement that that PSU is good if I want modular? I was hoping to save a little more money but I also don't wanna skimp on important components. And in the end, a great way to save money without really losing anything in my build is by getting the B450 A Pro. It would be lovely to have the future protection of the X570 but with tax things start getting pricey and that isn't even with any protection plans on anything.

 

[Thunder 57]

Ok, glad to hear the RAM is a good choice. So you guys are in agreement that that PSU is good if I want modular? I was hoping to save a little more money but I also don't wanna skimp on important components. And in the end, a great way to save money without really losing anything in my build is by getting the B450 A Pro. It would be lovely to have the future protection of the X570 but with tax things start getting pricey and that isn't even with any protection plans on anything.

Several PSU's have been mentioned. Are you talking about the semi-modular Seasonic 80+ Gold for ~$126? I'd say that's an excellent choice.

 

[tinpanalley]

Several PSU's have been mentioned. Are you talking about the semi-modular Seasonic 80+ Gold for ~$126? I'd say that's an excellent choice.

Yeah, the Seasonic. Seems perfect.
I'm just debating the mobo now.

 

[Thunder 57]

Yeah, the Seasonic. Seems perfect.
I'm just debating the mobo now.

Yea Seasonic is great, and they have a 10 year warranty. As far as mobo's, which ones are you considering?

 

[tinpanalley]

Yea Seasonic is great, and they have a 10 year warranty. As far as mobo's, which ones are you considering?

Well, I've mentioned it a few times and don't wanna bore people but right now I'm between the B450 A Pro and the totally opposite end of the spectrum, Gigabyte X570 UD. Price being the ultimate deciding factor, having decided to pay what was necessary for PSU, RAM, and CPU. Some places I've read say someone like me needs nothing more than the B450, but over a decade of customising my own systems tells me the upfront investment of the X570 is years of being able to keep my system up to date.

One thing concerns me slightly which is that outside of the info on Gigabyte's site, I can't seem to find any info, reviews, etc on this board as I can with other boards.

 

[scannall]

Well, I've mentioned it a few times and don't wanna bore people but right now I'm between the B450 A Pro and the totally opposite end of the spectrum, Gigabyte X570 UD. Price being the ultimate deciding factor, having decided to pay what was necessary for PSU, RAM, and CPU. Some places I've read say someone like me needs nothing more than the B450, but over a decade of customising my own systems tells me the upfront investment of the X570 is years of being able to keep my system up to date.

If you tend to keep your systems for a long time, like I do then a little extra upfront is usually a good investment in longevity. It is unlikely that AMD will do a big add to AM4 down the road. The PCIe 4 will be the last change for that socket, so the X570 will be current for longer.

 

[tinpanalley]

If you tend to keep your systems for a long time, like I do then a little extra upfront is usually a good investment in longevity. It is unlikely that AMD will do a big add to AM4 down the road. The PCIe 4 will be the last change for that socket, so the X570 will be current for longer.

Yes, I know. That's a big draw for me. And it even HAS bios flash, which makes any future bios updating super easy. One thing concerns me slightly which is that outside of the info on Gigabyte's site, I can't seem to find any info, reviews, etc on this board as I can with other boards. The 540s on the other hand have lots of reviews and such online, although I appreciate they've been out longer. Is there something rare about the X570 UD?

 

[scannall]

Yes, I know. That's a big draw for me. And it even HAS bios flash, which makes any future bios updating super easy. One thing concerns me slightly which is that outside of the info on Gigabyte's site, I can't seem to find any info, reviews, etc on this board as I can with other boards. The 540s on the other hand have lots of reviews and such online, although I appreciate they've been out longer. Is there something rare about the X570 UD?

Just new is all. There is one review on the US Newegg site that likes it a lot. The MSI MPG X570 Gaming Plus has a lot of great reviews, for $15 more than the Gigabyte board.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Newegg had no idea. They said they wouldn't have that kind of info and that I should contact the manufacturer.
Which revision am I looking for though and where would I download it from when the time comes?

When examining board UEFI revisions, do this:

1). Google search the board. Go to the manufacturer website
2). Go to something like "Support"
3). Look for the BIOS/UEFI download, and read the descriptions.

Example, for Asus Prime x470-Pro:

｜｜ASUS USA

www.asus.com

Note the description mentioning AGESA version 1.0.0.3ABBA. That's a good thing.

So, I need to find a B450 that has MAX in the name to avoid any future flashing problems with BIOS of a certain size, and if it says 3000 ready in some form I'll be able to just pop the 3600 in there and go.
Anything that can definitively tell me that a board is 3000 ready?

The MAX designation is specific to MSI. They're using it as a marketing tool to point out which of their revised boards using older chipsets have larger firmware ROMs. The MAX boards are new enough that they should all support Matisse out-of-the-box (though some of them may be behind on AGESA version; check MSI's page for each individual board to see what AGESA version is supported by the latest UEFI).

 

[tinpanalley]

It looks like this X570 UD is essentially a Gaming X with a few changes to the PCB.
Problem is that Gaming X reviews I see are awful. What does it mean that a motherboard doesn't "post"? The Gaming X gets that a lot.

 

[DrMrLordX]

@tinpanalley

When a mobo won't POST, it means it won't start up at all when you feed it power. It's like having a brick in your system.

 

[tinpanalley]

@tinpanalley
When a mobo won't POST, it means it won't start up at all when you feed it power. It's like having a brick in your system.

Nice. Good sign.

 

[Markfw]

It looks like this X570 UD is essentially a Gaming X with a few changes to the PCB.
Problem is that Gaming X reviews I see are awful. What does it mean that a motherboard doesn't "post"? The Gaming X gets that a lot.

3 of 5 stars ?? Don't buy that one.