Which AM5 motherboard?

[Zico]

I've not been on the forum in quite some time, and I've not upgraded my pc for even longer.

I've currently got an I7 5820k and Gigabyte X99 motherboard, but I'm making the move over to AMD and going AM5.

I will be picking up the 7800X3D for the CPU, and have already got 32Gb of G.Skill CL30 6000Mhz RAM.

The only thing I am stuck on is the motherboard. I gather that the basics are that X670E has the most features, PCIE lanes, PCIE 5.0 etc., with the B650 having fewer lanes and only PCIE 4.0, but when looking at the boards available, some X670 boards are cheaper than some B650 boards (Asrock X670E PG Lightning being one example).

My use case with be a mix of office work and gaming, and it's my intention to keep the system for at least the next 3-5 years with a possible upgrade path if AMD are going to support the AM5 platform for ~2-3 years.

 

[Haz123]

Whilst you are generally correct in thinking that X670E is PCIE 5 and B650 being PCIE 4 there are exceptions to this rule and it is frustratingly complicated to know what a particular mobo actually has.

Questions to ask yourself are -

1- Do you want a PCIE 5 x16 slot or are you happy with a PCIE 4 x 16 slot ? PCIE 4 is adequate for this gen of gpus and for the next and most likely the gen after that as well but it depends on how long you intend to keep the system.

2- Do you want PCIE 5.0 M.2 slots ? The new pcie 5 SSDs are at times coming with large heatsinks or even actice cooling solutions, this can make planning a build tricky because the heatsinks can interfere with gpus and other things in the case. For most users PCIE 4.0 drives are more than adequate.

2b- How many M.2 slots do you want ? With the cost of NVME drives being so good it is generally easier to just run these and forget about older storage formats

3- 10gb Ethernet ? Only the most costly motherboards come with this and is not needed for most users?

4- Do you want built in wifi?

Once you have decided what exact features you need then scroll through the motherboards and look for one that is in your price range.

Few mobos to consider.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Gigabyte B650M Gaming X AX (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BG-GI) = £189.95
• 1 x Asrock B650E Steel Legend WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-18U-AK) = £299.99
• 1 x MSI MPG X670E Carbon WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-36R-MS) = £499.99

Total: £997.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​

The Gigabyte Gaming X AX is very cheap for an AM5 mobo and will do everything most users need.

The Steel Legend has full PCIE 5.0 for GPU and also the M.2 slot.

Msi Carbon Wifi is a more premium mobo and the price reflects that. Has pretty everything everyone will ever need.

 

[Brizzles]

Asus TUF Gaming X670E-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard

Order Asus TUF Gaming X670E-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

Gigabyte X670 Aorus Elite AX (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard

Order Gigabyte X670 Aorus Elite AX (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

No real point spending more on a 670 board unless there is a specific feature you must have.

 

[Tetras]

The only thing I am stuck on is the motherboard. I gather that the basics are that X670E has the most features, PCIE lanes, PCIE 5.0 etc., with the B650 having fewer lanes and only PCIE 4.0, but when looking at the boards available, some X670 boards are cheaper than some B650 boards (Asrock X670E PG Lightning being one example).

B650E also has PCI-E 5.0 graphics and some are very high spec, they can even be higher than X670 (which does not have PCI-E 5.0 graphics), but any board can have a PCI-E 5.0 M.2, except e.g. B650 Tomahawk, which didn't take this option and the entire board is PCI-E 4.0.

The X670E Lightning is one of the cheapest X670E boards and it does have PCI-E 5.0 graphics, but the VRM, audio, LAN and USB config are nothing special, arguably comparable (or even inferior) to the B650 Tomahawk.

 

[Zico]

Whilst you are generally correct in thinking that X670E is PCIE 5 and B650 being PCIE 4 there are exceptions to this rule and it is frustratingly complicated to know what a particular mobo actually has.

Questions to ask yourself are -

1- Do you want a PCIE 5 x16 slot or are you happy with a PCIE 4 x 16 slot ? PCIE 4 is adequate for this gen of gpus and for the next and most likely the gen after that as well but it depends on how long you intend to keep the system.

2- Do you want PCIE 5.0 M.2 slots ? The new pcie 5 SSDs are at times coming with large heatsinks or even actice cooling solutions, this can make planning a build tricky because the heatsinks can interfere with gpus and other things in the case. For most users PCIE 4.0 drives are more than adequate.

2b- How many M.2 slots do you want ? With the cost of NVME drives being so good it is generally easier to just run these and forget about older storage formats

3- 10gb Ethernet ? Only the most costly motherboards come with this and is not needed for most users?

4- Do you want built in wifi?

Once you have decided what exact features you need then scroll through the motherboards and look for one that is in your price range.

Few mobos to consider.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Gigabyte B650M Gaming X AX (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5BG-GI) = £189.95
• 1 x Asrock B650E Steel Legend WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-18U-AK) = £299.99
• 1 x MSI MPG X670E Carbon WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-36R-MS) = £499.99

Total: £997.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

​

​

​

The Gigabyte Gaming X AX is very cheap for an AM5 mobo and will do everything most users need.

The Steel Legend has full PCIE 5.0 for GPU and also the M.2 slot.

Msi Carbon Wifi is a more premium mobo and the price reflects that. Has pretty everything everyone will ever need.

In response:
1) As no current GPU uses more than PCIE 4.0 then that should be fine. I've not even looked for a GPU yet due to the still silly prices. I'll probabl just carry over my 1080 Ti for a while and get a GPU next year. Then again if I'm going to wait for a GPU, would it not be better to get PCIE 5.0?

2) Picked up a 2TB Samsung 990 Pro for the new system which should be plenty fast. I've not checked out the cost of new PCIE 5.0 NVMe drives, but I'm still using a Samsung Pro 950 in my X99 rig which isn't an issue. Having at least a couple of M.2 bays would be plenty for storage (might pick up a cheap 4TB gen 3/4 drive in future).

2b) See above.

3) Not fussed on 10Gb and seeing most new motherboards come with 2.5Gb as standard, that should be fine.

4) Won't be using Wi-Fi. If it's part of the board then possible bonus, but will be going LAN all the way.

 

[Haz123]

AFAIK there are no current gpus that are actually PCIE 5 and until the next gen are released we do not even know whether they will be PCIE 5 either.

It sounds like you have standard user requirements so you can get away with a fairly basic B650 mobo and it will have everything you need. The Gigabyte Gaming X AX I linked above does everything you need it too or if you want a full sized ATX mobo then the below would be my choice, I have a personal preference for msi mobos.

MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard

Order MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

One last thing to ask. Did you get the EXPO version of the G skill ram ? think it has Neo in the name.

 

[rchads89]

Went with the Msi tomahawk X670E got it for £305 caused me no problems would recommend and comes with all the features you would need

 

[Zico]

AFAIK there are no current gpus that are actually PCIE 5 and until the next gen are released we do not even know whether they will be PCIE 5 either.

It sounds like you have standard user requirements so you can get away with a fairly basic B650 mobo and it will have everything you need. The Gigabyte Gaming X AX I linked above does everything you need it too or if you want a full sized ATX mobo then the below would be my choice, I have a personal preference for msi mobos.

MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard

Order MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

One last thing to ask. Did you get the EXPO version of the G skill ram ? think it has Neo in the name.

Yes got the NEO (EXPO) kit.

I'll wait on the motherboard for now, will see what the prices are like in a little while.

 

[Zico]

Bit of a bump.
So after a few months, I've aquired the rest of my build.

I picked up an AsRock X670E Steel Legend for a good price.

CPU is 7800X3D and G.Skill CL30 6000Mhz NEO ram, Arctic Liquid Freezer II 360 AIO, Saphire 7800 XTX and a couple of Samsung 990 Pro 2TB drives.

I've done a bit of homework on setting up the new AM5 platform, and just wondered if there was anything to specifcally do/avoid on the Steel Legend BIOs wise? I've already updated it to 1.28 via the flaskback method (which seemed to work ok - I'll guess I will find out when I try and boot it in due course).

Driver wise, I've got the latest (well last week but will check again when I start to build/install) AMD chipset and GPU drivers. I'm going to be going with Windows 11 for the first time (avoided upgrading my Windows 10 devices for now) but understand that the AMD chipset drivers are first to install followed by the GPU drivers.

Any other tips or advice would be welecomed.

 

[mickyflinn]

First boot can take up to 5 minutes for memory training so be patient as this is common on AM5.

 

[Haz123]

I am sure the build will go well. Once you power on for the first time go make some soup or something and let the memory training do its thing.

You have to get the specific chipset drivers for the X3D chip and yes make sure those are installed first

 

[Troezar]

I am sure the build will go well. Once you power on for the first time go make some soup or something and let the memory training do its thing.

You have to get the specific chipset drivers for the X3D chip and yes make sure those are installed first

Are we talking cup-a-soup or the real deal?

 

[iron_monkey]

Mine didn't take long, pot noodle would be fine.

 

[Zico]

So, a mini update. After having all the kit sitting around in boxes, I built the PC a few weeks back, but it was a tight fit!!

I picked up a Corsair 5000D airflow which is big as far as I was concerned and had the room for a 360 radiator in supposedly the top, side or front intake position.

After fitting the Asrock mobo into the case, I go to try and fit the pre-built Arctic LF II to the top of the case and hit my first issue. The Asrock's VRM heatsink at the top of the board is ~10mm too tall and interfered with the fans that were in the push config on the radiator. I considered going for a front of the case install but it looked like the tubing from the cooler to the radiator was going to be too short once the gfx card was installed. So I go to the next option, the side position. Took a few minutes to unscrew the fans and reset them as a push config and I installed it into the bracket and put things back into place,

Then comes my next failure. I go to install the 7900 XTX and the card doesn't quite sit flush into the PCIe connector. I then find that the length of the card is ~5mm too long that it overlaps the radiator. After some minor swearing, and a little faffing, I unscrewed the bracket that held the radiator in place on the side of the case and pushed the rest of the gfx into the PCIe slot, and then screwed the bracket back in place. Everything looked to be installed and the gfx was locked into place. I then fired things up and expected a wait for the memory training (at the very least). After leaving things for what appeared to feel like eternity, I saw nothing on screen nor any LEDs on the mobo indicating any failure or further memory training. I reset the pc and it booted back up and after a short boot I got input on my monitor and the bios screen.

I checked a few of the options and changed the memory option to the rated speed and saved and exited. The memory trained again but thankfully this time it was far shorter and booted to the bios without any issues. I've only since then got as far as installing Windows 11 and that's it. Work has been too busy that I've had the tower sitting on my table in the same state for the few weeks.

I'm going to try and finally sort out the rest of the setup etc. but wanted to check what would be a rough idle temp for a 7800 X3D under an Arctic Freezer II 360 cooler if I've not fudged the install of the cold plate too much.