AMD: Still having a hard rtime with MB choice. Looking again for mATX

If you're really concerned about fan noise from a CPU fan spinning up, that case will fit an AIO liquid cooler. Corsair H100i Pro or H115i pro will be nice and quiet. Lots more than a bigger air cooler though.

Do you need BT 5 for a specific reason?
 
If you're really concerned about fan noise from a CPU fan spinning up, that case will fit an AIO liquid cooler. Corsair H100i Pro or H115i pro will be nice and quiet. Lots more than a bigger air cooler though.

Do you need BT 5 for a specific reason?

I straem music as my main audio in my house. I just want to ame sure it's as clean as possible, but other than that, BT 4 is old technology. BT 5 was released in 2016. Why Asus chose BT 4.2 is really beyond explanation, especially when Giagbyte releases the nearly same MB wiith BT 5 for 30 dollars cheaper.
 
ASUS is always more expensive. They charge more for the name. I haven’t bought ASUS hardware in years ever since the price difference started getting noticeable. I remember looking for z97 itx motherboards and wondering why Asus was $40 more than the others. That was money better spent on a nicer gpu.

Anyways, as to why they have one or the other, just depends on what chipset they’re using. Intel’s newer 802.11ac chips with BT5 (like the 9260) didn’t offer a compelling reason to upgrade from the previous gen ones (8260). In fact really none of them have - any 2x2 802.11ac is going to be same as any other. They probably didn’t feel like buying the newer ones from intel or whichever manufacturer they’re using. Or they had a bunch piled up in a warehouse somewhere.

get the gigabyte board imo. Why pay more for the ASUS and then pay even more for a newer WiFi chip? Just making things more complicated. And needlessly spending extra money.
 
ASUS is always more expensive. They charge more for the name. I haven’t bought ASUS hardware in years ever since the price difference started getting noticeable. I remember looking for z97 itx motherboards and wondering why Asus was $40 more than the others. That was money better spent on a nicer gpu.

Anyways, as to why they have one or the other, just depends on what chipset they’re using. Intel’s newer 802.11ac chips with BT5 (like the 9260) didn’t offer a compelling reason to upgrade from the previous gen ones (8260). In fact really none of them have - any 2x2 802.11ac is going to be same as any other. They probably didn’t feel like buying the newer ones from intel or whichever manufacturer they’re using. Or they had a bunch piled up in a warehouse somewhere.

get the gigabyte board imo. Why pay more for the ASUS and then pay even more for a newer WiFi chip? Just making things more complicated. And needlessly spending extra money.
That's what I wasthinking too, except the ASUS board has 2 M2 slots where the Gigabyte has 1. I'm in the process of going through the manuals now to see the differences and see the restrictions using the M2 drives. I'm a little confused, but I'll post images of the manual and hopefully you all can get me sorted, then i can decide which board I want. I mainly want to amke sure that the PCIe 16 video card slot is NOT affected by using the M2 drives. I'm assuming that they would not, otherwise using an M2 drive on these boards would cripple teh PCI 16 card speeds,and no one would buy them for gaming.

Thanks for helping out.
 
The video card slot will never be affected by an NVMe ssd. There’s 16 dedicated lanes for it (I think the ryzen APUs only have 8 lanes for a gpu), and the lanes used by NVMe drives or sata controllers don’t come out of that pool.
 
The video card slot will never be affected by an NVMe ssd. There’s 16 dedicated lanes for it (I think the ryzen APUs only have 8 lanes for a gpu), and the lanes used by NVMe drives or sata controllers don’t come out of that pool.

Depends on the exact motherboard implementation.

The Crosshair 7 will do exactly this if you have an M2 in the top slot nearest the CPU.

It will take 4 lanes out of the X16, will drop the GPU to X8, and will have 4 lanes unused.

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?101950-Crosshair-VII-M-2-drives-steal-PCIE-bandwidth
 
Well that is just poor design. I figured no manufacturer in their right mind would take away from the 16 lanes typically used for GPU / dual GPU. But, Asus gonna Asus.
 
I totally agree. But X370/X470 really lacks PCIE lanes for anything more than a GPU, an M2 and another x4 device. Cost saving measure from AMD I guess.
 
The video card slot will never be affected by an NVMe ssd. There’s 16 dedicated lanes for it (I think the ryzen APUs only have 8 lanes for a gpu), and the lanes used by NVMe drives or sata controllers don’t come out of that pool.
Thanks man. That really helps.
 
Depends on the exact motherboard implementation.

The Crosshair 7 will do exactly this if you have an M2 in the top slot nearest the CPU.

It will take 4 lanes out of the X16, will drop the GPU to X8, and will have 4 lanes unused.

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?101950-Crosshair-VII-M-2-drives-steal-PCIE-bandwidth
Well,shit. I'll be posting the manual images for everyone to look at I can't ,make sense out of their fucked up diagrams. Why not just say forthrightly!? "Using an NVM2 in X will reduce PCIe16 Graphics card path to x8! I mean, how hard is that?

After looking at the manuals for the above gig and Asus boards, I think the Asus is probably laid out better, and the manual is more clear, even giving the amps for the CPU fan header. I'd have to purchase anotehr wifi/BT card to get BT 5 making the total MB purchase around 160.00 for the ASUS board vs 120.00 for the gig board, which comes with BT 5. I'll post as soon as I can, with links to both manuals and images of the M2 slot configurations.
 
Do you know if this board has the M2 Wifi card in it that can be replaced? I'm still thinking about getting teh ASUS recommended board above, if I can swap out the wifi/BT 4card in it to BT 5. Which board do you think is better,the Gighere or the above ASUS ROG Strix B450-I Gaming Motherboard (Mini ITX) AMD Ryzen 2 AM4 DDR4 HDMI M.2 USB 3.1 Gen2 B450?

I also want to install a different cooler on the 5 2600 (120.00), but then I can get the 2700x for the same price if I use the included Wraith Prism cooler becuase the cooler is going to be 50 bucks give or take. I want the CPU cooler to be over kill so it always runs more quitely, and cooler at both idle and gaming temps. I just like cooler and quiter.
I actually used the cooler of my 2700 who got a better cooler, on my 2600. :) I believe the 2600X has the same as the 2700 without leds. So this is a trick to have a better cooler on a 2600 if you already own the bigger CPU.
 
Oh, that doesn't come close to requiring a low profile heatsink. You've got plenty of room. Max height of the CPU heatsink is 15cm.

If you want something with RGB on it and want good cooling:

http://www.cryorig.com/h7ql.php
I have owned a couple of Cryorig H7 heatsinks over the years - my last build was in a case where the CM 212 wouldn't quite fit, but this would - and it's quite a good heatsink, not noisy at all. Uses a nice retention mechanism, not the stock one (though I haven't had any issues with AM4 heatsinks that use the stock bracket). The "quad lumi" version has RGB on it too. 14.5cm height, so it comes in just under the max height the case can support.

That said, I'd still suggest using the heatsink it comes with and adjusting fan curves if needed. They're fine if you're not doing overclocking.

Note: current prices on these are a bit high - Cryorig usually sells them direct through Newegg and Amazon. The regular H7 is usually $35 or so. This version I think is around $50. I expect they don't have their listing up because of CNY, so if it looks like this heatsink is what you're after, just keep an eye on the listings and the prices will probably go back to normal in another week or two.

Personally, I'd just go with the 2700x and the Prism; I wouldn't see any value in spending the same on the 2600 and aftermarket heatsink when I could get +2 cores and an extra 3-400MHz (stock) for the same price (or slightly less actually).
No shit on your entire post. Exactly what I am thinking too. I think I ahve pretty much given up on finding a cooler and the 5 2600 deal. I'll get one later, and I'd like to have on that uses addressable LEDs so I can have it pace the CPU speed.
 
Depends on the exact motherboard implementation.

The Crosshair 7 will do exactly this if you have an M2 in the top slot nearest the CPU.

It will take 4 lanes out of the X16, will drop the GPU to X8, and will have 4 lanes unused.

https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?101950-Crosshair-VII-M-2-drives-steal-PCIE-bandwidth
YEs, but tehr is always the option to have one M2 drive and full PCIe 16 for the card. I'm going to post the vsbetween the ASUS and Gig board soon, but it's hard to find seocific information. For instance, the Gig manual dosent mention LED lights on the MBitself, whreas the ASUS manual has a picture of them and discusses them,but then on the Gig site, it shows LEDs on the Aurus itx pro board we are discussing, but then right underneath the picture it was (only on specific MBs) so who the fuck knows what you get. Another difference is that the ASUS boaard states it has a dedicated LED Addressable riser, and the Gig board does, jsut says RGB, but again on teh gig site, it says it can handle addressable LED strips.
 
Well,shit. I'll be posting the manual images for everyone to look at I can't ,make sense out of their fucked up diagrams. Why not just say forthrightly!? "Using an NVM2 in X will reduce PCIe16 Graphics card path to x8! I mean, how hard is that?

After looking at the manuals for the above gig and Asus boards, I think the Asus is probably laid out better, and the manual is more clear, even giving the amps for the CPU fan header. I'd have to purchase anotehr wifi/BT card to get BT 5 making the total MB purchase around 160.00 for the ASUS board vs 120.00 for the gig board, which comes with BT 5. I'll post as soon as I can, with links to both manuals and images of the M2 slot configurations.
Says so on the website.

https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/ROG-CROSSHAIR-VII-HERO/specifications/
 
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From the website and I also looked at both manuals.

I was concerned about PCIe being cannibalized by using an M2 drive,and that does not seem to be any problem.
I was concerned about the wifi/BT modules being hard wired into the board, and that does not seem to be the case either. Both boards seem to have a removable m2 wifi/ BT card.

FROM THE WEBSITE
ASUS ROG STRIX B450-I GAMING

--Back panel
1 x HDMI
1 x LAN (RJ45) port(s)
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 (red)Type-A,
4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 (blue)
3 x LED-illuminated audio jacks
1 x ASUS Wi-Fi GO! module (Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth v4.2)

--Internal
1 x Aura Addressable Strip Header(s)
1 x Aura RGB Strip Header(s)
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1(up to 5Gbps) connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 3.1 Gen 1 port(s)
1 x USB 2.0 connector(s) support(s) additional 2 USB 2.0 port(s)
2 x M.2 Socket 3 for M Key, type 2242/2260/2280 devices
4 x SATA 6Gb/s connector(s)
1 x CPU Fan connector(s) ( x 4 -pin)
1 x Chassis Fan connector(s) ( x 4 -pin)
1 x AIO_PUMP connector ( x 4 -pin) (GIG BOARD DOES NOT HAVE THIS)
1 x 8-pin EATX 12 V Power connector
1 x 24-pin EATX Power connector(s)
1 x Front panel audio connector(s) (AAFP)
1 x Thermal sensor connector(s) (GIG BOARD DOES NOT HAVE THIS)
1 x Clear CMOS jumper(s)
1 x System panel connector
1 x Thermal sensor connector
1 x Speaker connector

MANUAL
--Specifically shows a picture of the MB LED lights.

ASUS Rog Strix ASUS site

GIGABYTE B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI (rev. 1.0)

--Back Panel
1 x DisplayPort
2 x HDMI ports
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A ports (red)
4 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports
1 x RJ-45 port
2 x SMA antenna connectors (2T2R)
3 x audio jacks

--Internal

1 x CPU fan header
1 x system fan header
1 x digital LED strip header
1 x CPU cooler LED strip/RGB LED strip header
4 x SATA 6Gb/s connectors
1 x M.2 Socket 3 connector
1 x front panel header
1 x front panel audio header
1 x S/PDIF Out header
1 x speaker header
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 header
1 x USB 2.0/1.1 header
1 x Trusted Platform Module (TPM) header (2x6 pin, for the GC-TPM2.0_S module only)
1 x Clear CMOS jumper
1 x chassis intrusion header

Website: LED mother board lights:
GigWebsite_OnBoardLED.png


MANUAL
--Does not mention MB LED lights

Gigabyte Aurus Website

The only differences I can see in these two boards, besides the price:

--GIG board does not have the thermal riser
--GIG board has one M2 drive slot, whereas ASUS has 2 (but using 2 would cripple PCIe16). So that isn't a negative.
--GIG board DOES NOT have an AIO pump header!
--ASUS pusses out and chooses to use 7 year old technology in it's wifi/BT 4 module, whereas GIG uses BT5.

I would say the winner (If the gig board actually has the onboard LEDs also) is the ASUS board because of the AIO pump riser and thermal TP riser, but for 20.00 more plus another 20.00 to upgrade the wifi/ BT to BT 5, no way.



If anyone else can see any hardware or additional differences, please comment.
 

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Amazon review %ages

MSI Performance Gaming AMD Ryzen 1st and 2nd Gen AM4 M.2 USB 3 DDR4 HDMI Display Port Mini-ITX Motherboard (B450I Gaming Plus AC) (Supports AIO)

5 stars = 65%
4 stars = 17%
3 stars = 6%
2 stars = 3%
1 stars = 9%

ASUS ROG Strix B450-I Gaming Motherboard (Mini ITX) AMD Ryzen 2 AM4 DDR4 HDMI M.2 USB 3.1 Gen2 B450 (has AIO pump header and GIG does not)

5 stars = 71%
4 stars = 15%
3 stars = 4%
2 stars = 4%
1 stars = 6%

GIGABYTE B450 I AORUS PRO WiFi (AMD Ryzen AM4/M.2 Thermal Guard with Onboard WiFi/HDMI/DP/USB 3.1 Gen 2/Mini ITX/Motherboard) (NO AIO support)

5 stars = 66%
4 stars = 10%
3 stars = 5%
2 stars = 7%
1 stars = 12%

The ASUS board is now 134.00 vs 120.00 for the GIG and 128.00 for the MSI.

If no one has any more comments, I think I'm going to go with ASUS and live with BT 4.2 for now. They all have their DOAs and other problems, but it looks like the ASUS has less of all of it.
 
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