Help a noob decide on a MB for new 2700x build

Kiri

Limp Gawd
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Apr 10, 2008
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Hey guys,
I'm putting together a new build to upgrade my 6 year old 4770 system. For the first time I'm trying to figure out everything myself, and I'm pretty much sorted but stuck on the MB choice.
I've been reading lots of reviews, but there doesn't seem to be any that stand out.

- The Gigabyte x470 Ultra Gaming has nice I/O for the price. But the BIOS and reliability could be a bit lacking?
- The MSI x470 Gaming Pro is basic but slightly cheaper.
- From there it jumps to MSI Carbon/ ASUS Prime / Strix... but not sure if its worth the extra money for those really.
I'm actually wondering if I might be better with a B450 board, despite slightly more limited I/O. In some cases they actually look like they have more features. The MSI B450 Carbon looks like great value, but unfortunately is not being sold where I live (Japan)


I was planning to OC, but I've been reading that the 2700x has some kind of auto OC feature which is quite effective, so I'm not sure if I will end up overclocking or not... If I do, it will be my first time trying that.
I'm mainly using the system for video editing, photoshop, etc. .

The case I'm planning to get is the Lian Li Dynamic. Which is one reason I'm considering the Gigabyte since I think its the only one which has a type C USB header. (the case has a type c port on the front). That's not a deal breaker, but it would be nice to be able to use the port since its there.


Sorry if this post is a bit confused. Its because I am confused. lol
 
What specific features are you looking for in a board?

I'd say most boards now are quite reliable (it's going to be luck based how long each board will last you).

If you aren't looking for anything in particular, you are probably right - a B450 will probably be enough.

To me, the 2700X to me isn't really 'overclockable' because getting it to 4.2ghz seems like too much trouble for so little gain. You can check the local reviews here on [H] about that.
 
One thing to watch out for on motherboards is the integrated stuff.

Ie: audio chipset and NIC

Cheaper boards tend to go with Realtek ALC892/887 and Realtek NIC's.

Try to keep an eye out for those with an Intel NIC and Realtek ALC1220....

-

Another factor to consider, at least regarding B450 boards, is the number of power-phases.

I believe the Asrock B450 Pro4 has 6+3. (which is pretty much as good as B450's get)

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157841

* But, with that board, you're getting the Realtek 892 & NIC soooo.... pick your poison lol
 
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I really like the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate AM4. It has 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.1. The non-Ultimate version also seems like a good option if you don't need the extra features like the 10GB/S LAN. $190 vs $260 after rebate at newegg right now.
 
What specific features are you looking for in a board?

I'd say most boards now are quite reliable (it's going to be luck based how long each board will last you).

If you aren't looking for anything in particular, you are probably right - a B450 will probably be enough.

To me, the 2700X to me isn't really 'overclockable' because getting it to 4.2ghz seems like too much trouble for so little gain. You can check the local reviews here on [H] about that.

Mostly just enough USB ports (I use quite a few accessories), Sata ports, at least one M.2 storage slot. I guess I don't need anything too special. Overclocking the RAM will probably be more important than OCing the CPU.
Thanks for your advice
 
One thing to watch out for on motherboards is the integrated stuff.

Ie: audio chipset and NIC

Cheaper boards tend to go with Realtek ALC892/887 and Realtek NIC's.

Try to keep an eye out for those with an Intel NIC and Realtek ALC1220....

-

Another factor to consider, at least regarding B450 boards, is the number of power-phases.

I believe the Asrock B450 Pro4 has 6+3. (which is pretty much as good as B450's get)

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157841

* But, with that board, you're getting the Realtek 892 & NIC soooo.... pick your poison lol

Yes, you are right. Most of the MBs in that price range are using Realtek. The gigabyte one at least uses intel for the LAN port though.
For audio, they all seem to use realtek.
 
I really like the ASRock X470 Taichi Ultimate AM4. It has 1 x Front Panel Type C USB 3.1. The non-Ultimate version also seems like a good option if you don't need the extra features like the 10GB/S LAN. $190 vs $260 after rebate at newegg right now.

Unfortunately its a bit out of my budget. Here in Japan the non ultimate version is close to $250 USD. And Newegg doesn't ship to Japan unfortunately.
 
TBH I can't tell the difference between my Intel NICs and Realtek NICs . I guess you'll know if you need an Intel NIC vs Realtek (You run some Linux distro without the Realtek NIC driver, computer will work as a VMWare server or something). If you don't know, you probably don't need it.

For Realtek 1220 (top of the line Realtek at the moment) vs the cheaper Realteks, I guess those with a good ear and good audio hardware can appreciate the difference.

As to power phases, I really wouldn't worry about it unless some reviews say the board lacks power phases or what. I think my X38 had a lot of power phases for its time and it still went belly up after just 3.5 years. My Q6600 wasn't overly OCed (mildly at 3.2ghz at <1.3v IIRC) and my PSU wasn't faulty... Made me wish I got the P35 board at 100$ cheaper instead of the X38.

For the extra features, it's really up to you if you think you need it.

WRT to the RAM OC, the X470 boards will be able to use OCed RAM up to 1-2 steps up compared to the B450 I think.
 
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Unfortunately its a bit out of my budget. Here in Japan the non ultimate version is close to $250 USD. And Newegg doesn't ship to Japan unfortunately.
If you can't get one of the ASRock boards I think I would choose the MSI x470 Gaming Pro, simply because I've never had a problem with an MSI product and they seem to have a good customer support system in place. It's also cheap. Good luck with whatever you end up choosing.
 
I was gonna also suggest the Asrock. I just put together my HTPC 2700x with a Taichi (non-ultimate) and it works great. The assembly went together smoothly, build quality is great and even comes with an SLI bridge. Hard to know what the pricing is like in Japan but I would assume if the Asrocks are expensive, then Asus and other more mainstream brands are even more expensive?

I've only used Gigabyte boards once or twice a few builds back (x68 IIRC) but I don't recall them being particularly good or bad. They just worked. If price is an issue and the Gigabyte can do what you need, I'd just go with that.
 
TBH I can't tell the difference between my Intel NICs and Realtek NICs . I guess you'll know if you need an Intel NIC vs Realtek (You run some Linux distro without the Realtek NIC driver, computer will work as a VMWare server or something). If you don't know, you probably don't need it.

For Realtek 1220 (top of the line Realtek at the moment) vs the cheaper Realteks, I guess those with a good ear and good audio hardware can appreciate the difference.

As to power phases, I really wouldn't worry about it unless some reviews say the board lacks power phases or what. I think my X38 had a lot of power phases for its time and it still went belly up after just 3.5 years. My Q6600 wasn't overly OCed (mildly at 3.2ghz at <1.3v IIRC) and my PSU wasn't faulty... Made me wish I got the P35 board at 100$ cheaper instead of the X38.

For the extra features, it's really up to you if you think you need it.

WRT to the RAM OC, the X470 boards will be able to use OCed RAM up to 1-2 steps up compared to the B450 I think.

Yeah I am probably overthinking the whole thing to be honest.
Choosing the other parts of the system have been fairly easy, but the motherboard is a bit more confusing.
Like you said, I probably won't notice things that I'm missing if I don't know I need them. As long as it works ! :)
 
If you can't get one of the ASRock boards I think I would choose the MSI x470 Gaming Pro, simply because I've never had a problem with an MSI product and they seem to have a good customer support system in place. It's also cheap. Good luck with whatever you end up choosing.

Most prices here are comparable to what you would find on Amazon US. Its just that there are is nothing like newegg offering rebates here.
The Taichi does seem to be an exception though for some reason. Its definitely more pricey here. Not sure why.
 
I was gonna also suggest the Asrock. I just put together my HTPC 2700x with a Taichi (non-ultimate) and it works great. The assembly went together smoothly, build quality is great and even comes with an SLI bridge. Hard to know what the pricing is like in Japan but I would assume if the Asrocks are expensive, then Asus and other more mainstream brands are even more expensive?

I've only used Gigabyte boards once or twice a few builds back (x68 IIRC) but I don't recall them being particularly good or bad. They just worked. If price is an issue and the Gigabyte can do what you need, I'd just go with that.

Thanks. The Taichi seems to be an exception. Not sure why. Most other boards are slightly more expensive but not by much. Although ASUS in particular seems to carry a bit of a premium sometimes.
It often depends on the specific board, but most of them are fairly similar to in the US.

Thanks for your advice. I'll have another look at them before I decide.
 
My last few builds have hopped from Biostar (mini itx Ryzen) to Asus to Asrock. Since I had good luck with Asrock (on my 2nd mini itx Ryzen build), I've stuck with them on my last few full size builds as well.

Asus is no doubt the most feature packed but also the most pricey. About the only difference I've seen between the top of the heap boards and the low end no frills boards are build quality (brand & model of components and integrated parts, caps / audio chips, integrated wifi, etc.), bios / uefi features and overclockability.

If you need just a basic no frills machine that just works, I don't think you can go wrong anywhere. From what I've heard, Bios updates can affect memory compatibility - especially on Ryzen builds - so that's something to consider. The quality of caps on the MB can affect longevity and the audio chips can impact sound quality 9if you're an audiophile), but given your stated use-case, I wouldn't care about those frills / options.

For OC'ing, that would really be more dependent on your luck (CPU lottery), quality of CPU cooler / cooling and quality of ram IMO. If I were doing video editing I'd personally try to shave off $$$ / save on the mobo and get more GPU or RAM or faster storage (larger NVME maybe).
 
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Actually guys, I've just noticed that I can buy a used ROG Crosshair XI Hero x370 for about the same price as the entry level x470 boards.
What do you think? With a bios update it should be fully compatible from what I can tell. And it seems like a much higher quality board.
Would there be any reason not to go with it or anything I'd be missing out on by using a x370 vs a x470?
 
The reason I decided to do a 470 build was to try out the StoreMi functionality (which I still haven't gotten around to yet). That and a change in form-factor (wanted to do a full size build, since my existing Ryzen builds are both mitx) was basically the only reasons I didn't just plop the 2700x into one of my 2 other Ryzen boxes (both are x370, one is Biostar and other is Asrock).

Check out the x470 feature list and see if anything jumps out at you. Otherwise, go x370.
 
The reason I decided to do a 470 build was to try out the StoreMi functionality (which I still haven't gotten around to yet). That and a change in form-factor (wanted to do a full size build, since my existing Ryzen builds are both mitx) was basically the only reasons I didn't just plop the 2700x into one of my 2 other Ryzen boxes (both are x370, one is Biostar and other is Asrock).

Check out the x470 feature list and see if anything jumps out at you. Otherwise, go x370.

Thanks for the advice. As far as I can tell the only major difference is StoreMi. And I doubt that I will ever use that TBH.
For some x370 boards I can see it would be a hassle to update the BIOS (requiring a last gen CPU), but the crosshair has that BIOS flashback feature so it should be pretty painless.
 
crosshair x370 has gotten better with bios updates but honestly all the boards are pretty equal. if the crosshair can be updated without the cpu being installed and you can get it cheap i'd go for it. otherwise you can just contact asus or AMD and have them send you one of the a series apu's to update the bios.
 
Hi, I just wanted to thank you guys for the advice and let you know I went with the Crosshair VI and have pretty much finished my build :)
https://imgur.com/a/mWgOwaS

I just need some nice case fans to finish it off.

The motherboard is working well and the bios update went smoothly. The only issue I've had is that I can't get it to turn off all the RGB lighting when its in sleep mode, so its always like a disco.
I think this problem is because of the buggy Asus Aura software though.

Anyway, thanks again guys!
 
Hi, I just wanted to thank you guys for the advice and let you know I went with the Crosshair VI and have pretty much finished my build :)
https://imgur.com/a/mWgOwaS

I just need some nice case fans to finish it off.

The motherboard is working well and the bios update went smoothly. The only issue I've had is that I can't get it to turn off all the RGB lighting when its in sleep mode, so its always like a disco.
I think this problem is because of the buggy Asus Aura software though.

Anyway, thanks again guys!

If it's like the Crosshair 7 there's a setting in onboard devices configuration called RGB LED lighting that lets you configure the lights depending on if the system is on or not.
 
Thanks. The Taichi seems to be an exception. Not sure why. Most other boards are slightly more expensive but not by much. Although ASUS in particular seems to carry a bit of a premium sometimes.
It often depends on the specific board, but most of them are fairly similar to in the US.

Thanks for your advice. I'll have another look at them before I decide.


Taichi is one of the best AM4 motherboards atm, I have one from the X370 series and it's incredible great features and overclocking.. Taichi and Crosshair, both the best AM4 motherboards in the market if you want the best.
 
The reason I decided to do a 470 build was to try out the StoreMi functionality (which I still haven't gotten around to yet). That and a change in form-factor (wanted to do a full size build, since my existing Ryzen builds are both mitx) was basically the only reasons I didn't just plop the 2700x into one of my 2 other Ryzen boxes (both are x370, one is Biostar and other is Asrock).

Check out the x470 feature list and see if anything jumps out at you. Otherwise, go x370.

FYI, you can use StoreMi on any chipset within the last few years (Intel 100, 200, 300 series and AMD 300, 400 series chipsets). It will cost $40 to $60 but it's cheaper than a new motherboard and transferable to a new system if you're not interested in another feature of a new board (the form-factor change e.g.)

http://www.enmotus.com/fuzedrive
 
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