[Overview] Ryzen CPU & AM4 Mainboard Lineup

[unseenmorbidity]

This is an amazing summary of Zen thus far.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/5uh3x4/overview_ryzen_cpu_am4_mainboard_lineup/

 

[whm1974]

I'll wait until everything is finally out. Not that I will be building a new system anytime soon.

 

[IEC]

ASUS Crosshair VI Hero and the Asrock motherboards are at the top of my list right now.

I want that max OC...

 

[unseenmorbidity]

ASUS Crosshair VI Hero and the Asrock motherboards are at the top of my list right now.

I want that max OC...

I heard 8 phases was more than enough for water/air cooling.

 

[DrMrLordX]

More phases isn't always better. Asus' 8+2/8+2+2 AM3+ motherboard generally did a better job overclocking than ASRock's 12+2 Extreme9

 

[hojnikb]

More phases isn't always better. Asus' 8+2/8+2+2 AM3+ motherboard generally did a better job overclocking than ASRock's 12+2 Extreme9

That's likely because asrock is a doubled 6 phase board.

 

[IEC]

I heard 8 phases was more than enough for water/air cooling.

Enough? You done triggered me, son. Enough is for peasants. I am a free man! Overkill is a requirement for my next motherboard. That Crosshair VI Hero having a baker's dozen of USB ports on the back is sending me the right message: enough is for peasants!

In all seriousness, the ASUS offering seems to be a safe bet to not limit overclocking. The single m.2 slot is kind of annoying, though.

 

[DrMrLordX]

That's likely because asrock is a doubled 6 phase board.

Hmm. Are they doing the same with the X370 Taichi?

 

[FrostigerFinger]

That's a very good summary indeed, ty for the link.

 

[richierich1212]

Some MSI boards have now popped up:

 

[jpiniero]

Those are some expensive boards. I was kind of expecting it to be cheaper.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Those are some expensive boards. I was kind of expecting it to be cheaper.

But they're "mainstream" -- as long as they are "mainstream," it doesn't matter what the actual pricing is!

 

[lolfail9001]

Looks just slightly higher than Z270. I mean, sure, X370 is pretty bad even in comparison to Z270 so it makes no sense, but come on, if Ryzen is as good as everyone right now thinks it is, these prices make perfect sense.

EDIT: Also, where are the ITX boards dammit.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Looks just slightly higher than Z270. I mean, sure, X370 is pretty bad even in comparison to Z270 so it makes no sense, but come on, if Ryzen is as good as everyone right now thinks it is, these prices make perfect sense.

EDIT: Also, where are the ITX boards dammit.

The board prices are higher likely because the AMD boards won't move in anywhere close the kinds of volumes that the Intel Z270 ones will. To make the venture worthwhile for the mobo makers, they probably need to charge a little more.

 

[unseenmorbidity]

Some MSI boards have now popped up:

Man, $160 is the cheapest x370. Seems kind of high.. I hope one of the other good manufacturers can do better.

The board prices are higher likely because the AMD boards won't move in anywhere close the kinds of volumes that the Intel Z270 ones will. To make the venture worthwhile for the mobo makers, they probably need to charge a little more.

Eh... They are new, ,so there is easily at least a 10% early adopters tax on there. You cannot directly compare them directly to older intel boards without taking that into consideration.

 

[Mopetar]

But they're "mainstream" -- as long as they are "mainstream," it doesn't matter what the actual pricing is!

Man, $160 is the cheapest x370. Seems kind of high..

The X boards aren't mainstream, they're marketed as enthusiast and unless you're running SLI/CF you can just get the B boards (which incidentally are marketed as mainstream) which still allow you to overclock. It's just the A boards that you want to stay away from. As long as there are some B boards that support > 2400 MHz memory, there isn't a lot of reason to get an enthusiast board for most people.

 

[unseenmorbidity]

The X boards aren't mainstream, they're marketed as enthusiast and unless you're running SLI/CF you can just get the B boards (which incidentally are marketed as mainstream) which still allow you to overclock. It's just the A boards that you want to stay away from. As long as there are some B boards that support > 2400 MHz memory, there isn't a lot of reason to get an enthusiast board for most people.

Yah, but I kind of wanted to play around with my 480 and 470 in xfire. I also heard that the xfr only works with the x370, but that is at best a rumor.

 

[Mopetar]

Isn't XFR pointless if you do a manual overclock anyway?

 

[lolfail9001]

Isn't XFR pointless if you do a manual overclock anyway?

We don't even know what XFR actually is, anyway.

 

[Elixer]

Looks just slightly higher than Z270. I mean, sure, X370 is pretty bad even in comparison to Z270 so it makes no sense, but come on, if Ryzen is as good as everyone right now thinks it is, these prices make perfect sense.

EDIT: Also, where are the ITX boards dammit.

Come on, the X370 isn't that bad compared to the Z270, heck, it even has things the Z270 don't.

I do expect them to charge as high as they think they will get away with, just like anything else that is in demand.
The mobo are now pretty much feature parity as well, so, economics of scale plays a roll in this as well, as was mentioned.

 

[unseenmorbidity]

Come on, the X370 isn't that bad compared to the Z270, heck, it even has things the Z270 don't.

I do expect them to charge as high as they think they will get away with, just like anything else that is in demand.
The mobo are now pretty much feature parity as well, so, economics of scale plays a roll in this as well, as was mentioned.

Yah, I didn't understand that part. How is loli quantifying that the x370 bad?! By what metric is it bad?

I agree. There is always an early adopters fee for this type of thing. They will milk people as much as they think they can get away with, and then after a few months the prices will settle down.

 

[Mopetar]

We don't even know what XFR actually is, anyway.

I thought it was basically just automatic overclock based on cooling solution, e.g. if it detects its sitting at 30 degrees it will automatically boost higher within some TDP range. I thought I read it in another post here where someone explained it, but perhaps they were just referring to a rumor. A quick Google search brings up a techPowerUp article that states basically that, where XFR is an automatic OC if the cooling is good enough.

 

[unseenmorbidity]

I thought it was basically just automatic overclock based on cooling solution, e.g. if it detects its sitting at 30 degrees it will automatically boost higher within some TDP range. I thought I read it in another post here where someone explained it, but perhaps they were just referring to a rumor. A quick Google search brings up a techPowerUp article that states basically that, where XFR is an automatic OC if the cooling is good enough.

that's what we thought, but someone here, presumably with inside info, said we were making bad assumptions.

 

[EXCellR8]

No EATX boards with water-capable chipsets??? Bah.

I'll wait for the ASUS ultra super crosshair vi formula zxr platinum oc epic extreme AM4+ board I guess... because brand rep means everything (obviously)

 

[lolfail9001]

Come on, the X370 isn't that bad compared to the Z270, heck, it even has things the Z270 don't.

Like PCI-E 2.0 lanes.

By what metric is it bad?

By providing PCI-E 2.0 lanes in 2017. I mean, it uses, what, 8 PCI-E 3.0 lanes from CPU. If the theory of Naples having 128 PCI-E 3.0 lanes is right, it has to.

I thought it was basically just automatic overclock based on cooling solution, e.g. if it detects its sitting at 30 degrees it will automatically boost higher within some TDP range. I thought I read it in another post here where someone explained it, but perhaps they were just referring to a rumor. A quick Google search brings up a techPowerUp article that states basically that, where XFR is an automatic OC if the cooling is good enough.

The Stilt's hint gives me a discouraged expectation that few of us will be happy to learn what XFR actually is.