Question What mobo for Ryzen 7 5800x ?

[cgeorgy]

Hello,
I'm trying to decide about a mobo for Ryzen 7 5800x.
I want reliability and stability more than high performance.
I'm not a gamer, I just want to run a few VMs in parallel with Docker and various databases, do software development.
No CPU intensive workloads running a lot of time.

Should have these characteristics :

• micro-ATX
• 2x M.2 NVMe SSD
• one PCIe 4.0 x16 , preferably two
• no X570 chipset, because most are using cooling fan, I want a very silent desktop. And also noticed some posts about problems with this chipset.

1. Would be nice to upgrade (only) the CPU in the future.
Although have the same chipset B550, why only a very limited number of items have any mention about future CPU upgrades ?!

For instance B550M PRO-VDH is one of the few on MSI website to have this mention : "Support for 3rd Gen AMD® Ryzen™ processors and future AMD® Ryzen™ processors with BIOS update"

2. I've spend time to read forums and reviews.
I have the feeling that most of the mobo problems described in the last year in articles/posts are with ASUS and Gigabyte.
Is this close enough to reality ?!

3. What would you choose from these (all micro-ATX) ?

• MSI MAG B550M MORTAR
• ASUS TUF GAMING B550M-PLUS
• AsRock B550M STEEL LEGEND
• Gigabyte B550M AORUS ELITE

any alternatives ?

Thanks for any help!

 

[SamMaster]

From what I can see from the specifications, only the Asus and Gigabyte lists suffort for unbuffered ECC memory (MSI too but in non-ECC mode). In your case, ECC memory is a benefit as it provides extra security and stability in your VMs. You can also get 3200MHz unbuffered ECC memory so performance loss is minimal versus "gaming" or OC memory.

One feature I like of Gigabyte is the Dual BIOS that you can switch between in case one craps out.

The rest is just preference.

 

[cgeorgy]

From what I can see from the specifications, only the Asus and Gigabyte lists suffort for unbuffered ECC memory (MSI too but in non-ECC mode). In your case, ECC memory is a benefit as it provides extra security and stability in your VMs. You can also get 3200MHz unbuffered ECC memory so performance loss is minimal versus "gaming" or OC memory.

One feature I like of Gigabyte is the Dual BIOS that you can switch between in case one craps out.

The rest is just preference.

Thanks for info !

 

[gdansk]

MSI MAG B550M MORTAR

This is what I'm using. I think it's fine but two problems: I had to update mine before it would boot with a 5000 series CPU. Second, if you use the 2nd M.2 slot then the PCIe x4 slot will be unavailable. If you are inclined to ECC memory it would be a bad match anyway.

 

[tamz_msc]

Personally, I would hold off buying a B550 board until the USB issues on AMD's platform are fixed(this includes X570 and sometimes older chipsets as well). A small but significant number of people are affected by this problem, and the speculation is that it happens due to some issues with PCI-E 4.0, global C-states, unstable IF, or faulty AGESA. A simple google search reveals the extent of this issue, and Buildzoid(a well-respected extreme overclocker) even made a video on it:

 

[cgeorgy]

Personally, I would hold off buying a B550 board until the USB issues on AMD's platform are fixed

Wow!
I'm reading this and can't believe my eyes :
USB issues on B550/X570 Motherboards
The extent of this problem is huge, lots of different mobos impacted.
I was just preparing to start buying the items when I saw your post.
Probably you saved me a lot of headaches !
Thanks a lot !

 

[SamMaster]

I wasn't aware of the issue until I read this. I find it strange because of all my sources of tech info I haven't seen this come up, plus my own x570 board doesn't appear to have the issue.

Strange indeed.

 

[tamz_msc]

I wasn't aware of the issue until I read this. I find it strange because of all my sources of tech info I haven't seen this come up, plus my own x570 board doesn't appear to have the issue.

Strange indeed.

From what I've read AsRock seems to be the least impacted, though it could also be due to low sample size.

 

[Shmee]

Hmm I never heard about this issue, nor had it on my MSI. Most of my ports on my MSI X570 are gen 3.0 or higher, though I have used the 2.0 ports in the past for mouse and keyboard, though I am currently connecting my mouse and keyboard through a desktop USB3 hub. I am currently using the latest beta BIOS for my board, but have used others in the past without this issue. I have used both this 5800X as well as the 3700X it replaced on this board. I am currently running two PCIe Gen 4 NVMe drives.

My guess is that it is not on all boards? Perhaps a bug or defect for some.

OP, if you can wait, that would not be a bad idea. New AGESA / UEFI releases can help Ryzen a lot. That said, I would go for an X570 board of some sort in the future, if you can get one without the chipset fan. Some do not have this. That said, I am not aware of any mATX X570 boards without the chipset fan, though they may exist now or later.

The reason I would recommend X570 is do to additional lanes, which it seems you desire. Now, if you can do without the PCIe 4, you could also look at X470 boards, which do not have chipset fans, but some would need BIOS updates to use the 5800X. (some could do this without an old CPU, if supported)

 

[VirtualLarry]

Weird, I had this same / similar problem with my Asus ROG STRIX B450-F ATX board, and my Zen2 Ryzen 3600 CPU. Attempting to use a (Chinese, cheap) USB3.0 Type-A to Gigabit Ethernet dongle, caused USB ports to reset several times, bing-bong, bing-bong, bing-bong.

It stopped, when I started using USB hubs for my peripherals, and didn't try to plug in that dongle. I assumed that it was full of Chinesium Malware.

 

[IEC]

I've not noticed any issues on any rigs I've built. Any USB2 issues would have annoyed me very quickly as I still have a lot of legacy devices and I also have a VR headset.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

He're an official post + the thread, by AMD on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/lnmet0

 

[benjemin3]

My mobo is b450 f gaming and my usb connectivity issue but after restarting my pc with bios update now fixed

 

[legolas_tk]

I just found out that there is new fix for the USB issue with new AGESA 1.0.2.1 Patch A TUF GAMING B550M-PLUS. So don't worry about it. The TUF GAMING B550M-PLUS supports 5th Gen Ryzen processor out of the box. It doesn't have any fans for chipset and VRM, so it is quiet as you can get. Just get a Noctua NH-L9x65 SE-AM4 or any quiet heatsink/fan combination and you are good to go!

 

[WorldTraveller]

I am using ASUS ROG STRIX B550-E after reading a ton of reviews. I have just put it together, so too early to comment! Don't plan to overclock too much.

Update: I successfully put it together. Everything worked well.