White Micro ATX motherboard for 9850X3D recommendations

[Shashman]

Afternoon!

Finally splashed out on a 9850X3D and I'm looking for recommendations for white mATX motherboards.

Currently using an Asrock B650M Riptide with a Ryzen 5 7600 but:

A) I want a white mobo to go with the rest of the system
B) I would rather have a board with off the shelf 9000 support
C) I've just splashed out on a powerful CPU so why not combine it with a board which will do it justice

Budget is around £150 but flexible (within reason)
Rest of the components are in my signature, plus 2x M.2s and 1 x SATA SSD.
I wouldn't mind having more ARGB ports as current board only has a couple.

I'm also on the lookout for a white PSU so I'll cheekily tag that onto this post

Cheers!

 

[Gray2233]

I've used another variant of this board and its spot on, excellent value for the price:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Sapphire Pure B850M WiFi (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-SPR-05691) = £129.95
• 1 x Lian Li SX Platinum 850W ATX 3.1 PCIe 5.1 80 Plus Platinum Modular Power Supply - White (SKU: POW-LIA-06698) = £109.99
• 1 x Lian Li SX Platinum 1200W ATX 3.1 PCIe 5.1 80 Plus Platinum Modular Power Supply - White (SKU: POW-LIA-06702) = £139.99

Total: £387.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

The Lian Li SX series is very good at its current price point if you're after a white PSU, obviously the 1200W is massive overkill for your system but it's well priced and will offer a lot of upgrade potential.

They're A rated on the SPL tier list and review very well:

Lian Li SX1200P Platinum PSU Review - KitGuru

Today we take a look at one of the latest power supplies from Lian Li, the SX1200P. This fully modul

www.kitguru.net

 

[momo56]

If you can stretch to £250 the Asus B850 AYW white edition is really good. 1DPC so some of the best RAM oc out there. Also has async (eclk) for core oc too.

 

[Shashman]

I've used another variant of this board and its spot on, excellent value for the price:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Sapphire Pure B850M WiFi (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-SPR-05691) = £129.95
• 1 x Lian Li SX Platinum 850W ATX 3.1 PCIe 5.1 80 Plus Platinum Modular Power Supply - White (SKU: POW-LIA-06698) = £109.99
• 1 x Lian Li SX Platinum 1200W ATX 3.1 PCIe 5.1 80 Plus Platinum Modular Power Supply - White (SKU: POW-LIA-06702) = £139.99

Total: £387.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

The Lian Li SX series is very good at its current price point if you're after a white PSU, obviously the 1200W is massive overkill for your system but it's well priced and will offer a lot of upgrade potential.

They're A rated on the SPL tier list and review very well:

Lian Li SX1200P Platinum PSU Review - KitGuru

Today we take a look at one of the latest power supplies from Lian Li, the SX1200P. This fully modul

www.kitguru.net

Thanks! I had actually noticed that mobo and didn't even know Sapphire did them. Apparently the software lacks fan control. Seems to have what I'd need though.
I've seen people saying that Lian Li PSUs can get noisy?

If you can stretch to £250 the Asus B850 AYW white edition is really good. 1DPC so some of the best RAM oc out there. Also has async (eclk) for core oc too.

That's quite a bit more than I'm looking to spend for features that would probably be wasted on me, but appreciate the suggestion.

 

[Gray2233]

I've seen people saying that Lian Li PSUs can get noisy?

Some of them might, it'll depend on the model/oem as is the case with any company that sells PSU's.

The SX range has a high quality fan and is by all accounts a very quiet PSU even under high loads.

See here: https://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/lian-li-sx1200p-platinum-psu-review/5/

I appreciate that they opted to include a high-grade Hong Hua fluid dynamic bearing fan in the unit, these are good fans we have seen in products from other leading brands such as Seasonic and DeepCool. Under most load situations it remains inaudible, or almost inaudible, and only at close to full load will you hear it operating.

As for the motherboard, I've used the B850 M-ATX Nitro and it's spot on, capable of running a 16c processor like the 9950X under load without a problem for prolonged periods. The Pure is pretty much the same board from what I understand, same VRM's and most other specifications at least.

If fan control is an issue you can get some solid third party controllers for £5-10, at £130 it's a steal tbh.

 

[Shashman]

For the motherboard, any opinions/experience with the Gigabyte B850M Aorus Elite WIFI6 ICE?

I think I'm sold on that Lian Li PSU. Love the braided cables too.

 

[Gray2233]

For the motherboard, any opinions/experience with the Gigabyte B850M Aorus Elite WIFI6 ICE?

I think I'm sold on that Lian Li PSU. Love the braided cables too.

I've never used that Gigabyte board, but I've heard it's a solid bit of kit.

If I was buying a PSU for myself right now I'd spring for the Lian Li SX 1200 myself tbh, not that I need that much power but given the small price difference and how long I'm prone to keep the things it's a cracking price.

 

[Shashman]

I think I'll go for the 850w version. Use the price difference towards the motherboard.

Speaking of which, I'm gonna up my budget a bit...

 

[Gray2233]

I think I'll go for the 850w version. Use the price difference towards the motherboard.

Speaking of which, I'm gonna up my budget a bit...

Personally?

Performance wise you gain literally nothing by spending more on the motherboard, and undoubtedly you'll change it out multiple times in the future.

How often are you going to swap a 1200w PSU?

What if you decide you fancy a higher end GPU that needs more juice, as they're wont to do every generation of late?

The 850W would do you just fine, but for £30 I'd take the higher wattage PSU every day of the week if it was that or spending more on zero real world gains on a motherboard. You've already established that you don't need a ton of extras offered by higher end boards, so what's the point? Maybe if you really want to push aesthetics but even then, and especially in an M-ATX build, most of the board is hidden behind other components anyway.

If it's purely a price thing I'd still opt for the cheaper motherboard and 850W PSU.

 

[Shashman]

I get what you're saying, but I've only had my 9070XT a few months so definitely not thinking about upgrading that within the next couple of years tbh.
I've been reading up on the ASUS ROG Strix B850-G this evening and it seems to offer everything I'm after. Decent VRMs, 4 x M.2, all white aesthetic, nice amount and variety of USB ports.

 

[Gray2233]

I get what you're saying, but I've only had my 9070XT a few months so definitely not thinking about upgrading that within the next couple of years tbh.
I've been reading up on the ASUS ROG Strix B850-G this evening and it seems to offer everything I'm after. Decent VRMs, 4 x M.2, all white aesthetic, nice amount and variety of USB ports.

I'd keep a power supply like that for ten years, I wouldn't keep a motherboard for anywhere near that long usually.

Are you thinking about upgrading to a high core count CPU for production/work related tasks down the line? Otherwise you gain zero from better VRM's, you're literally just buying features.

See here: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/sapphire-nitro-b850a-wi-fi-7/5.html

The Nitro and the Pure use the same VRM's and similar heatsinks.

The two large heatsinks cooling the 12+2+1 power phase design did a decent job of handling our Ryzen 9 9950X, with the VRM peak temperature just topping 70°C, and only at the end of our 30 minute full-load stress test.

That's a heavy artificial constant 30 minute load that isn't realistic for most consumer use cases on a 16c32t processor, the CPU you're looking at is a easy to power and cool. An 8c16t CPU under gaming loads will almost never place anywhere near as much stress on your processor or use as much power/generate as much heat. I've ran multiple heavily overclocked systems in the past 20 years on entry level motherboards, you literally only gain features as long as you have sufficient VRM's and bios options -- and as of 2026 overclocking is dead for consumers, you gain more with less faff with undervolts which inherently places less strain on your components.

It's your money at the end of the day, as mentioned even if going with the cheaper PSU I'd still not pony out on a motherboard for zero benefit judging from your initial post.

But then I'm a tight git, as mentioned and I'm sure others such as @tamzzy can attest given my attitude toward overspending on motherboards in the past.

 

[rare]

I had a B850-G and it’s an awesome board. Looks really nice and has a brilliant spec. I sold it to go for an atx board and I kind of regret not keeping it.

 

[Shashman]

I'd keep a power supply like that for ten years, I wouldn't keep a motherboard for anywhere near that long usually.

Are you thinking about upgrading to a high core count CPU for production/work related tasks down the line? Otherwise you gain zero from better VRM's, you're literally just buying features.

See here: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/sapphire-nitro-b850a-wi-fi-7/5.html

The Nitro and the Pure use the same VRM's and similar heatsinks.



That's a heavy artificial constant 30 minute load that isn't realistic for most consumer use cases on a 16c32t processor, the CPU you're looking at is a easy to power and cool. An 8c16t CPU under gaming loads will almost never place anywhere near as much stress on your processor or use as much power/generate as much heat. I've ran multiple heavily overclocked systems in the past 20 years on entry level motherboards, you literally only gain features as long as you have sufficient VRM's and bios options -- and as of 2026 overclocking is dead for consumers, you gain more with less faff with undervolts which inherently places less strain on your components.

It's your money at the end of the day, as mentioned even if going with the cheaper PSU I'd still not pony out on a motherboard for zero benefit judging from your initial post.

But then I'm a tight git, as mentioned and I'm sure others such as @tamzzy can attest given my attitude toward overspending on motherboards in I appreciate your input.

I'll spend a week deciding which HDMI cable to buy, so trust me I know about being a tight git! I was just thinking that for the first time ever I'd like to splash out on a motherboard. I've never spent more than 100 before, basically always settled for low-mid tier.

I've seen that in general, both the Gigabyte Aorus and Asus Rog Strix boards I previously mentioned perform better and have better features than the Sapphire boards.

Btw regarding that review:

• EFI needs some work and is missing some key options
• Software lacks fan control
• Low-end audio
• Low numbers of fan headers and USB ports

These are all big no's for me

 

[Shashman]

I've used another variant of this board and its spot on, excellent value for the price:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Sapphire Pure B850M WiFi (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-SPR-05691) = £129.95
• 1 x Lian Li SX Platinum 850W ATX 3.1 PCIe 5.1 80 Plus Platinum Modular Power Supply - White (SKU: POW-LIA-06698) = £109.99
• 1 x Lian Li SX Platinum 1200W ATX 3.1 PCIe 5.1 80 Plus Platinum Modular Power Supply - White (SKU: POW-LIA-06702) = £139.99

Total: £387.92 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

The Lian Li SX series is very good at its current price point if you're after a white PSU, obviously the 1200W is massive overkill for your system but it's well priced and will offer a lot of upgrade potential.

They're A rated on the SPL tier list and review very well:

Lian Li SX1200P Platinum PSU Review - KitGuru

Today we take a look at one of the latest power supplies from Lian Li, the SX1200P. This fully modul

www.kitguru.net

I managed to find the 1000W version elsewhere which is the perfect middle ground. Wonder why OcUK don't stock it

 

[Gray2233]

I managed to find the 1000W version elsewhere which is the perfect middle ground. Wonder why OcUK don't stock it

Good choice! I'm surprised they don't have it tbh.

I'm sure you'll be happy with it, let us know how you get on! It's good to see more well priced PSU's come bundled with braided cables.

 

[Shashman]

Yeah I'm very impressed with what I've read about this SX line. Looking forward to this upgrade. Those braided cables are going to look great.

For the motherboard, I think based on reviews and comparisons and tests I'll be going for the ASUS ROG Strix B850-G.

Earlier you mentioned that the 9850X3D is easy to power and cool... Are you sure?

 

[Gray2233]

Yeah I'm very impressed with what I've read about this SX line. Looking forward to this upgrade. Those braided cables are going to look great.

For the motherboard, I think based on reviews and comparisons and tests I'll be going for the ASUS ROG Strix B850-G.

Earlier you mentioned that the 9850X3D is easy to power and cool... Are you sure?

Yup.

It's pretty much just a refresh of the 9800X3D and frankly is very minimally faster for another £40.

I've had the things running full pelt under artificial stress testing loads with no problem on the following HSF:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB Black CPU Cooler - 120mm (SKU: COO-TLR-02724) = £29.99

Total: £33.98 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

See here:

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Review - The Best Gaming Processor

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D establishes AMD as the leader in gaming performance. This Zen 5-based X3D chip is not only fast, it also comes with full support for overclocking. Besides gaming, application performance is considerably improved over the 7800X3D, but that comes at a price.

www.techpowerup.com

AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D Review - The Best Just Got Better

The AMD Ryzen 9850X3D builds on the already excellent 9800X3D without trying to shake up the market. Instead, it focuses on refining what already works. AMD delivers modest improvements with smarter tuning, and the same cache magic that gamers love. Thanks to a reasonable price increase, this...

www.techpowerup.com

Hold in mind, these processors are more or less designed to boost as high as they can within thermal and voltage limits, so when stressed they'll always appear to run hot. You'll see the same sort of behaviour under water, it's honestly not something to be concerned about unless you plan to run them under high non gaming workloads for sustained periods.

I've seen people run the 9950X3D (aka the 16c32t variant, the 9850X3D is 8c16t) for work tasks on a Peerless Assassin just fine.

 

[Shashman]

Wow, that's really surprised me. Back when the 9800X3D was released, and I was considering getting it, I was warned by a pal that it ran hot haha.

A year later and I'm still on my R5 non-X 7600 so makes sense going for the 9850X3D instead.

 

[Gray2233]

Wow, that's really surprised me. Back when the 9800X3D was released, and I was considering getting it, I was warned by a pal that it ran hot haha.

A year later and I'm still on my R5 non-X 7600 so makes sense going for the 9850X3D instead.

I mean, technically they do but it's by design.

You can make changes to limit or change that if it bothers you, but it doesn't do any harm to your experience really. Overclocking is more or less dead for the consumer for better or worse, gone are the times when you'd buy a CPU and slap 30-40% more performance on them as they function on algorithms that (roughly) get them to OC themselves on the fly.

Set temp limits, undervolt, various profiles such as fan/power curves and other metrics. Ultimately it's faff for not much performance benefit in most cases, but if you want to keep things quiet it can help a lot.

It's a new way for PC hardware to function for those of us used to the old school stuff, I'm a bit of an enthusiast so I keep up with it but for anyone that dips in and out or has been on hiatus it can be a system shock (pun intended).

 

[Shashman]

I'm 43. I remember the days when overclocking involved physically tinkering

But yeah, it's never been something that's particularly interested me. Seems a lot of faff for marginal gains.

A user on here has the DeepCool CH270 case I want to get and they said it was a faff installing an Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360... Which I also have in my basket after reading up on it... but now after what you've posted I'm considering downgrading to a 240mm offering