AM4 Motherboard Options - help!

[ShivP]

Hi all,

Looking at B450 Tomahawk MAX, Asus Prime X570-P (I can get a used one for £120) or B450 Gaming Pro AC Carbon. Not sure which to go for.

Tomahawk MAX is out of stock most places but not in a huge rush. WiFi is not a big deal for me and VRM is the same as Gaming Pro?

I understand B450 boards support up to 3200MHz - is going for 3600MHz of benefit (and therefore better to go for the X570?)

All to match with a Ryzen 7 3700X.

Thanks

 

[wookiee87]

if you want something quick and easy to pair with a 3700x then defiantly go for the tomahawk, after a few updates of the board 3600mhz should work, as I've seen people with 450 chipsets with 3rd gen ryzen report that that speed does work.

(btw the tomahawk will work out of the box with 3rd gen ryzen's no updating of the bios needed)

for more long term i'd look at x570 even the up coming x600 series reportedly coming out by the end of the year plus new 4th gen ryzens should be out then too, with x570 you have gen 4 pci-express support for fast drives and higher bandwidth gpu wise if thats your thing, if not then as above opt for the b450 tomahawk, for a gaming/surfing and light render work it will do the job nicely.

 

[ShivP]

I think the b450 I guess is better for me. Only reason for asking about the X570 was that I could get a cheap one, but from what I understand Gigabyte are doing the good X570 boards and the X570-P Asus isn't worth looking at.

Good to know about the RAM - thanks.

 

[wookiee87]

np as i said the tomahawk will run with 3rd gen ryzen's out of the box, but for better ram compatibility (probably speed too) its always best to update.

just a tip don't do what i did, i updated to the latest version and it completely screwed up my rig, my chip ran stupidly hot and voltage were a bit funny too, luckily i was able to roll back and everything's been brilliant since

 

[ShivP]

Another question - is there a huge performance increase in 3600 over say 3200 memory or shall I save money with some 3200 stuff?

 

[wookiee87]

depends really for benchmarking the higher frequency will be better over all, can run 1:1 with the cpu infinity fabric, but for gaming faster latency is always best and to avoid paying lots for low latency high speed ram the happy middle ground is 3200mhz at cl15/cl16 generally.

however now 3rd gen ryzen's on the block the happy medium is 3600mhz as you can run a 1:1 infinity fabric at 1800mhz for some serious gains overall, but which ever kit you end up getting will do the job (3200mhz-3600mhz) don't go lower or higher than this.

(plus any ryzen tuned kits you see will be good too)

 

[opethdisciple]

I think the b450 I guess is better for me. Only reason for asking about the X570 was that I could get a cheap one, but from what I understand Gigabyte are doing the good X570 boards and the X570-P Asus isn't worth looking at.

Good to know about the RAM - thanks.

You are right about the Gigabyte boards, but during my research when I was looking in to purchasing a new mobo, the Asus Prime X570-P is also good budget board.

So if you can get one for £120 I'd take it. However I'd want to know why the seller was selling it so cheaply first.

 

[Jamin280672]

Forget Anus all together, if you are planning on getting a B450 then MSI all day long, but only the Max range of boards, if it's not already been released, I believe the gaming pro carbon has a max version coming, otherwise, with a Ryzen 3000 you'll be left with a very horrible to use and horrible looking bios, GS lite bios they call it, the Max versions come with the click 5 bios (nice looking one) for Ryzen 3000.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

You are right about the Gigabyte boards, but during my research when I was looking in to purchasing a new mobo, the Asus Prime X570-P is also good budget board.

So if you can get one for £120 I'd take it. However I'd want to know why the seller was selling it so cheaply first.

rather get Gigabyte UD - bare basic X570 that can handle 3600hz plug and play and VRM greater then non B450 ITX boards . But for some reason they are now the same price as Gaming X boards, First came to the market at £125

Forget Anus all together, if you are planning on getting a B450 then MSI all day long, but only the Max range of boards, if it's not already been released, I believe the gaming pro carbon has a max version coming, otherwise, with a Ryzen 3000 you'll be left with a very horrible to use and horrible looking bios, GS lite bios they call it, the Max versions come with the click 5 bios (nice looking one) for Ryzen 3000.

normal version will be fine, would have had basic Ryzen 3000 bios update as its been over a year since that update rolled out .
But pricing of MSI Max boards are a joke, Toma released at £80 ! now Max is £100.... (before virus and pound drop)

 

[doodah]

For the X570s - the X570 AORUS PRO WIFI looks like a good bang for buck (considering the price of other X570s). If my CH6 is on its way out (jury still out), likely getting it.

 

[Joxeon]

Another question - is there a huge performance increase in 3600 over say 3200 memory or shall I save money with some 3200 stuff?

I have the b450 tomahawk max and got the team dark pro 3200 8 pack ram as it was quite a bit cheaper than the 3600 version, I've since manually overclocked this to 3600 and now running 3800.

Found the tomahawk to be very solid with ram overclocking and overall an exellent board in general, will be dropping in a 4900x later this year when zen 3 is released.

 

[voidshatter]

for more long term i'd look at x570 even the up coming x600 series reportedly coming out by the end of the year

For long-term I would worry about the lifespan of the chipset fan on the X570. Also, the AM4 socket may die in one year, likely with compatibility no further than Zen3. I don't see X570 a good choice for those who don't want to replace motherboards for 5 years.