Question X570 MB for 3900x. Reason to spend above $150?

[NAC]

I'm totally confused by the MB choices. The prices are all over the place, and I don't see why really, other than the boards that support 3 or 4 PCIE 16 slots or 3 m2 slots. Or I guess fancy colors and layouts. Based on the specs and layout, a Asrock X570 phantom gaming 4 would suit my needs just fine. My last two MB were Asrock and have been solid. Am I missing something?

My requirements:
Used as a video / photo / 3d workstation
probably x3900
2*16gb 3200 gskill memory
I'll run two GPUs, not in SLI: 1660ti and 960. I prefer an extra empty slot between them for better cooling.
I need 8 SATA onboard and will get a PCIe4 card with 4 more SATA. I need space to fit this card and not impede the GPU cooling.
Use USB DAC, so no need for onboard sound. Don't need wifi, no specific USB port requirements - anything will be fine.

 

[NAC]

So I've been reading. I guess I probably want to spend a bit more for better VRMs and heat sinks on the power components. My understanding is that a cheaper MB would not necessarily be unstable, but better VMRs & heat sinks will be less likely to be unstable at high usage. Is that right? Looks like the ASUS TUF series is only a bit more - 165 - and worth the extra $15 or so.

 

[UsandThem]

So I've been reading. I guess I probably want to spend a bit more for better VRMs and heat sinks on the power components. My understanding is that a cheaper MB would not necessarily be unstable, but better VMRs & heat sinks will be less likely to be unstable at high usage. Is that right? Looks like the ASUS TUF series is only a bit more - 165 - and worth the extra $15 or so.

Exactly.

You don't need a $500 wonder board, but spending just a little extra gives you some better build quality / components / cooling than entry-level models.

 

[Arkaign]

You're on the right track. In fact, I'd cap it at $160-170, and instead spend a little extra on a very good PSU. Supplying clean stable power is every bit as important as the board itself, you want solid quality.

The Zen2 doesn't use the same level of power as the higher consuming Intel models, and they also are really and truly not worth wasting time trying to overclock (DO get good Ram and adjust timings accordingly however). Thus, the trick super 18-phase titanium yadda da da model is kind of a waste to chase.

Check the clearances of your GPUs though, so as not to interface with the Z570 active chipset fan.

 

[Topweasel]

You're on the right track. In fact, I'd cap it at $160-170, and instead spend a little extra on a very good PSU. Supplying clean stable power is every bit as important as the board itself, you want solid quality.

The Zen2 doesn't use the same level of power as the higher consuming Intel models, and they also are really and truly not worth wasting time trying to overclock (DO get good Ram and adjust timings accordingly however). Thus, the trick super 18-phase titanium yadda da da model is kind of a waste to chase.

Check the clearances of your GPUs though, so as not to interface with the Z570 active chipset fan.

What this guy said.

As for the Tuf I would stay away from that one. So much plastic cladding on the chipset that longer video cards actually rest against it.

Personally I would go for the Taichi myself but that's overkill. I don't like the overall lack of VRM cooling though on the Pro Gaming 4. Have you looked at the Steel Legend. Its a bit more but still sub $200 and has decent coverage on the VRM's.

 

[NAC]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I have a EVGA platinum 850 PSU so that should be covered.

I'm leaning toward the ASUS TUF but need to look into clearance. And ASRock Steel Legend is probably my second choice. It seems that the Steel Legend has slightly lower quality VRMs and south bridge fan, but an extra m.2 heatsink, more space for a pciE SATA card, and more clearance for GPU.

 

[Topweasel]

Thanks for all the tips guys. I have a EVGA platinum 850 PSU so that should be covered.

I'm leaning toward the ASUS TUF but need to look into clearance. And ASRock Steel Legend is probably my second choice. It seems that the Steel Legend has slightly lower quality VRMs and south bridge fan, but an extra m.2 heatsink, more space for a pciE SATA card, and more clearance for GPU.

You can check the reviews. All VRM's for x570 boards are enough for anything you can get out of any AM4 chip outside LN2. So really what you a looking at is maybe slightly cleaner power but more of a load spread more VRM's the less each one is feeding the cooler they stay. Which is kind of funny because the larger VRM boards have better cooling on the VRM's on top of that. Anyways, the gaming 4 isn't a bad board, but the VRM's on that really need direct airflow, preferably a down facing cooler (like a stock one) on the PC. Steal Legend on the other hand has enough and enough HS material where you just need decent airflow over them from case fans. The higher end ones can basically get away with being in a hot box. Where this matters most is AIO's and water cooling because you remove the air flow from going directly onto the vrms. This is where the "low quality vrm's" from the B350 board came in, in 2017. A lot of them explicitly expected air cooler on the VRM''s (and all of them much less VRM phases then x570 boards) so they ran into overheating issues when people paired $100 coolers with their $90 boards.

I'll go back to my usual rules.
Rule #1 never skimp on PSU, Rule #2 never skimp on Motherboard. That doesn't mean the best out there but those are two that if you have to spend a little bit more to be "safe" i'd do it (for mobo that means features as well as stability).

 

[MrTeal]

I run custom water, so I was thinking I might be looking at a more expensive board to keep it cool given there's not great airflow.
Hardware Unboxed did a great review of VRM temps on budget X570 boards that found that the Asus Prime X570-P performed remarkably well for a budget board.

I've been very happy with it so far, considering it's a $150 board. If you need a feature you can't find in a budget board I can see moving up a tier, but some of the base X570 boards seem more than adequate even for the upper end processors.

 

[Kenmitch]

I run custom water, so I was thinking I might be looking at a more expensive board to keep it cool given there's not great airflow.

I'm guessing your not open to the mono block option to keep the vrm's cool.

 

[MrTeal]

I'm guessing your not open to the mono block option to keep the vrm's cool.

LOL... I won't lie and say I never looked sideways at the X570 Aqua, but that's definitely a step to far for me.

Even with my present block I had to machine a retaining plate because it didn't have AM4 hardware and I didn't want to buy a new block.

 

[NAC]

Thanks MrTeal. I'm going to get a Asus Prime X570-P because of that video you linked to. I had originally ignored it because of only 6 SATA, but I'll be getting a 4 port SATA PCIe card anyway, and have determined that 10 total ports will be enough now and for the future. Plus with the Asus Prime X570-P, I can put the SATA card above my video card to not block any of the airflow.