Minor pickle - new motherboard or new cpu

almoststew1990

almoststew1990

almoststew1990

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I've got a ASUS PRIME X470 PRO that I've had for years with a 3700X and then a 5800X3D. The USB is starting to go on the rear panel and various devices keep disconnecting so I think it is time to replace it as it is pretty annoying.

Howevever with RAM prices I am hesitant to buy a DDR5 set up (something like a 9800X3D) and the 5800X3D 4X8GB DDR4 running at 3000MHz is fine for my needs really.

I do have a spare MSI PRO H610M-E DDR4 with an i3-12100F that;s had very little use.

So do I replace the motherboard with something like a B550 board https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-b550-a-pro-amd-am4-pro-series-b550-atx-motherboard-mb-357-ms.html and reuse the 5800X3D (noting it doesn't allow me to use the 7000 series) for £95. It may also let my RAM run at 3600MHz?

Or do I buy an i5 14400 for the Intel board I have for about £130.

I have a 4TB NVMe drive that I'll use in either system and I am due a clean install of Windows anyway (and change to Windows 11)
 
That is a very sensible idea but I have maxed my pcie lanes through m.2 slots. My pcie WiFi adapter doesn't work if both m2 slots are in use :(

And thinking about that the intel board only has one m.2 slot but I have two m.2 drives so that isn't really a solution
 
almoststew1990 said:
That is a very sensible idea but I have maxed my pcie lanes through m.2 slots. My pcie WiFi adapter doesn't work if both m2 slots are in use :(

And thinking about that the intel board only has one m.2 slot but I have two m.2 drives so that isn't really a solution
Click to expand...
Do you have a USB Wifi adapter? Use that instead of the onboard wifi.

You have a ton of PCI-e slots that can be used for both USB and M.2 expansion.
 
Personally I'd buy the AM4 motherboard - yes it's dead end, but you've got the ram and a decent CPU already. It's piece of mind and rules out any further issues developing with your existing board.

The Intel option I wouldn't entertain - again it's dead end but it's also a fairly basic motherboard with even more limitations - dropping money on a better CPU for it is far more wasteful.
 
almoststew1990 said:
That is a very sensible idea but I have maxed my pcie lanes through m.2 slots. My pcie WiFi adapter doesn't work if both m2 slots are in use :(

And thinking about that the intel board only has one m.2 slot but I have two m.2 drives so that isn't really a solution
Click to expand...
Are all the ports flaky or just 1 or 2.
If there are still usable usb3 ports then I would just be tempted to buy a hub instead

Edit: I just had a thought, can you please post a pic of how you've set up your pcie expansion cards?

The Asus manual says that the m2-2 slot runs in sata mode if pcie1-1 or 1-3 is occupied. So it's no surprise if your WiFi card is slotted into 1-1 or 1-3 and if you also forced nvme mode on m2-2 that the WiFi card will not work.

I am assuming you only have your GPU and WiFi cards as expansion cards.

If so, the solution is to put the WiFi card into the pcie16-2 or 16-3 slot.
The usb-pcie card can go into either of the spare 16-2 or 16-3 slot that isn't used by the WiFi card.

And yes the x16 slots are fully pin-compatible with X1/X2/X4/x8/x16 cards.
 
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almoststew1990 said:
So do I replace the motherboard with something like a B550 board https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-b550-a-pro-amd-am4-pro-series-b550-atx-motherboard-mb-357-ms.html and reuse the 5800X3D (noting it doesn't allow me to use the 7000 series) for £95. It may also let my RAM run at 3600MHz?

Or do I buy an i5 14400 for the Intel board I have for about £130.
Click to expand...
If you're a gamer, get the AM4 motherboard. 5800X3D is a superior gaming CPU to a 14400.

Also, if you were bothered by USB ports, that MSI H610 board hardly has any and most are USB 2.0.
 
almoststew1990 said:
Yeah, and my name drive (or drive and pcie slot combo) doesn't seem to have a sata mode which I would be fine with so I can't free up lanes that way. It's an old chipset now lol
Click to expand...
tamzzy said:
Edit: I just had a thought, can you please post a pic of how you've set up your pcie expansion cards?

The Asus manual says that the m2-2 slot runs in sata mode if pcie1-1 or 1-3 is occupied. So it's no surprise if your WiFi card is slotted into 1-1 or 1-3 and if you also forced nvme mode on m2-2 that the WiFi card will not work.

I am assuming you only have your GPU and WiFi cards as expansion cards.

If so, the solution is to put the WiFi card into the pcie16-2 or 16-3 slot.
The usb-pcie card can go into either of the spare 16-2 or 16-3 slot that isn't used by the WiFi card.

And yes the x16 slots are fully pin-compatible with X1/X2/X4/x8/x16 cards.
Click to expand...
^ have you seen my reply above?
 
To clear things up in the OP I say I am having USB issues including my USB wifi adatper, the board doesn't have onboard wifi and for last few years I haven't used PCIe wifi (since I got my second M.2 drive and found I didn't have the lanes for it)

So right now I have PCIEX16_1 in use with my 6800XT, M2_1 is my main 4TB drive, M2_2 is my 2TB storage drive. I don't think the set up is causing USB issues as this is new.

However as you say I could put a card in PCIEx16_2 or _3, I haven't d one that to date thinking it would take lanes away from PCIEX16_1? The X470 is PCIE 3 x16 which I believe is PCIE4 x8 equivalent - I know this isn't going to make any difference but if it drops to PCIE3 X8 / PCIE4 x4 that might well be noticable

I will try it for science
 
almoststew1990 said:
However as you say I could put a card in PCIEx16_2 or _3, I haven't d one that to date thinking it would take lanes away from PCIEX16_1? The X470 is PCIE 3 x16 which I believe is PCIE4 x8 equivalent - I know this isn't going to make any difference but if it drops to PCIE3 X8 / PCIE4 x4 that might well be noticable

I will try it for science
Click to expand...

from my interpretation of the asus manual:
- if a card is in 16-2, then 16-1 (gpu) and 16-2 will both be x8/x8, whether this affects a 6800xt noticeably i'm not 100% sure
- asus says 16-3 shares bandwidth with 1-1 and 1-3. but in the storage section, it doesn't say that if 16-3 is used, that the m2-2 loses it's nvme capability (ie stuck in sata mode only)

worth a try i guess
i would stick the pcie wifi card in both slots in the first instance:
1) 16-2 to check the performance of the 6800xt doesn't tank
2) then 16-3 to ensure that m2-2 still works in nvme mode

if both (1) and (2) are ok then can just buy a pcie-usb card and you've saved yourself a bit of money in the process - you can then choose to use either your pcie wifi card, or your usb wifi dongle on the pcie-usb card

if (1) is not okay and the 6800xt performance tanks, but (2) is okay, then potentially you could still get the pcie-usb card and mount it in 16-3. then, use your usb wifi dongle on the pcie-usb card
if (1) is okay, but (2) is not okay - then could mount the pcie-usb card 16-2. then, use your usb wifi dongle on the pcie-usb card
 
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So my wifi card works in PCIE16_3 (_2 doesn't really have any clearance from the GPU) with the GPU still at PCIE3x16 (says GPUZ) and the second M.2 drive is still accessible (previously it would just vanish when I had a PCIE conflict/run out of lanes). I'm not bothered whether this is via sata or via Nvme/PCie as it is a storage drive. I get the same GPU benchmark score before and after

I think I will therefore buy a PCIe USB card to put in this slot and continue with my (newer, faster) USB wifi over this adapter card but hopefully without the usb disconnects I get with it plugged straight into the rear i/o.

Thanks for the help everyone
 
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