Invest in upgrade mobo or go middlebrow?

[Mac29]

Building a Ryzen system and want to start off w/a 1600. That will be enough for my needs. Want a motherboard good enough to drop in a 2600, 3600 or future sub 105W chip. If I ever want an 8 core I'd start from scratch.

I'd like to OC a 1600 now, but even if PBO works on better Ryzens, an OC won't get me much of a bump, AFAIK. So looking at some B450 and X470 boards. Leaning Asus b/c I also want to use Linux.


Do you think it makes sense to drop another $50-70 on a better mobo now, so I don't have to buy again later? Or just get a typical board for a 1600 or 2600 now? It seems to me spending more will get me a better OC for these chipsets, unless I go for the Tomahawk, w/ is less $$.

I'm thinking if I can kill 2 birds now, at least I'll have a board worth selling later. I can't think of any feature I'd need that a B450 or X470 doesn't already have.

Do you think waiting for B550 intro deals is going to save much compared to just buying B450 or X470 right now?


Thank you!

Mac

 

[VirtualLarry]

Just remember, X570 boards don't support 1st-Gen Ryzen CPUs, and it wouldn't entirely surprise me to find out if B550 doesn't either.

If you want to "start with" a 1600, then just pick up a B450 board of choice, a B450 Tomahawk or an AORUS PRO WIFI (my board), isn't a bad choice, and both of them are capable of running 3rd-Gen Ryzen CPUs too. (YMMV on the VRM config on the AORUS PRO WIFI.)

 

[Mac29]

Ahh. I learn something every day. Yeah but will a typical B450 be able to update for functions or run future Ryzens chips? I guess no one knows until we're dealing w/specifics.

So I'm left pondering an Asus TUF B450-PRO Gaming (I think I can find one), or the Prime, a Tomahawk or splurge on an Asus Prime X470-Pro. The X470 looks a lot better VRM, etc. to OC but apparently has no Post code nor a few other items. I really don't want to wait until mid September or later for B550 but if I go 2600 the B550s are supposed to have improved VRMS & better copper. I'd rather dump more in the mobo.

Think it's a wise move to do that, or just get something good that puts me on the platform? As far as I can tell the better heatsinks will help an OC bigtime w/a good cooler.

Let me ask this, if I were to get the 2600 and a pedestrian B450, will PBO give me much of a boost? That chip doesn't OC much anyhoo, right? Ten percent maybe?


Thanks.

 

[maddogmcgee]

If you get a quality b450 board I don't think you will run into many problems with overclocking.

A quality b450 board should be more than enough for your use and is unlikely to reduce your overclock by much if at all. If money is a concern I also wouldn't bother with a new cooler, I would just make sure that the CPU I bought came with a Spire rather than a stealth.

Going off reviews the pro gaming is a bad choice if you are wanting to overclock a high core count Ryzen.

The b450 Tomahawk (the board I went with) will be plenty for 8 and 12 core chips, maybe for stock operation on a 16 core. It also has an option to update the bios by usb which is nice. Just be aware the bios is all sorts of messed up at the moment for Ryzen 3000.....I couldn't get it working until in desperation I followed a Reddit post and unplugged my reset switch....now it turns on most of the time through the power of Reddit wizardry.

 

[Mac29]

The Asus Prime X470-Pro appears gimped. Wondering what's happening w/MSI boards out there and pushing out 'MAX'. I like that GB's mATX are the only ones that don't block a PCI slot but everybody thinks their bios and VRMS stink. Would like the Strix B450-E better at $140.

Wondering where I'd find succinct webpage anywhere about recent Quality, user ratings for manufacturer, warranty service vs. overall 'stars' for a particular board. Wading thru threads online basically informs me that many are steering away from GB, many going MSI b/c they beefed up their VRMS, etc. Common knowledge.

Some think as far as VRM and heatsink there's no diff B450 vs X470. Thoughts?

Probably stick w/ a B450. Reason I seem obsessed w/VRM and phases is if I maybe want an X chip later. PBO doesn't seem to do much. Maybe it would do more on an X chip.

I'll change the cooler b/c I want a (more) silent system. Yeah the Tomahawk is obviously the choice to oc. For the money. I'm sure they'll improve the bios but this whole 'bigger bios chip' revamp throws a wet hankie on things. I still want an Asus.


Thanks for the help.

 

[ElFenix]

i bought a top of the line X370 board (taichi) and i don't think i've done anything with it to have justified the cost over a lesser board (like a fatality). it looks nice, though.

 

[maddogmcgee]

This document gives you an idea of what boards VRM will work for what CPU. The bios glashback column is really handy as well.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...TJFqqVxdCR9daIVNyMatydkpFA/edit#gid=639584818

This document is an easy way to compare the specs of different boards
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...FnsZYZiW1pfiDZnKCjaXyzd1o/edit#gid=2112472504

They saved me so much time trying to read reviews of all the different boards. Once I found one I here I was able to look up a few reviews for that specific board.

 

[Mac29]

Hey thanks. Miss the 2nd link my 1st time reading this. That's the dog.