Anyone actually have a 650 or 650E Board yet?

[Surly]

So I'm torn between the ASRock B650E PG Riptide and the GIGABYTE B650 AORUS Elite AX. Both are around the same cost $230'ish and have an near-identical feature set for what I want:

• PCIe 5.0 M2s, with heatsinks
• Wifi
• 6 channel direct (via reassignment is fine)

The only difference is the Riptide has PCIe x16 5.0 and the Aorus does not. It would normally seem like the ASrock is an easy pick, but I can't help but shake the perception that ASRock is a cheap brand. My gaming PC is a Gigabyte Z170 from 2016 and its still rocking perfectly.

I know that it will be years before PCIe x16 5.0 is remotely relevant. Still, am I wrong? Is the Asrock brand fine now?

My feelings are that NVME 5.0 is about as relevantly useful as PCIE x16 5.0. ie Not. The only difference for me (and why I prioritize PCIE x16 5.0) is that over the lifespan of the motherboard there is a realistic chance that I upgrade the video card 2 to 3 generations from now (5-6 years)

 

[Domingo]

After buying a Gigabyte video card, I now plan to stay far away from their software whenever possible. The stuff for their mobos uses the same "control center" as the video cards. It's janky as hell compared to the stuff I've used from every other major OEM, although admittedly I've never used anything from ASRock. I was looking at a couple Gigabyte boards, but I'm 100% certain that I'm going with ASUS now.

 

[chameleoneel]

After buying a Gigabyte video card, I now plan to stay far away from their software whenever possible. The stuff for their mobos uses the same "control center" as the video cards. It's janky as hell compared to the stuff I've used from every other major OEM, although admittedly I've never used anything from ASRock. I was looking at a couple Gigabyte boards, but I'm 100% certain that I'm going with ASUS now.

I never use the software from any of 'em

 

[Rev. Night]

I'm going to have to use the Realtek software to remap the 3 audio ports for my Z5500. Thats about it.

 

[Domingo]

In at least some cases, you have to install their software to disable/change RGB lighting, update the BIOS, etc. You can do some of those things from within the BIOS, but not always.

 

[Rev. Night]

ive never updated the bios from windows. Im sure you can now, but i remember horror stories from years/decade ago. I put the new bios on a clean usb and load it via bios

 

[Legendary Gamer]

So I'm torn between the ASRock B650E PG Riptide and the GIGABYTE B650 AORUS Elite AX. Both are around the same cost $230'ish and have an near-identical feature set for what I want:

• PCIe 5.0 M2s, with heatsinks
• Wifi
• 6 channel direct (via reassignment is fine)

The only difference is the Riptide has PCIe x16 5.0 and the Aorus does not. It would normally seem like the ASrock is an easy pick, but I can't help but shake the perception that ASRock is a cheap brand. My gaming PC is a Gigabyte Z170 from 2016 and its still rocking perfectly.

I know that it will be years before PCIe x16 5.0 is remotely relevant. Still, am I wrong? Is the Asrock brand fine now?

I would personally steer away from the ASROCK board because the BIOS really feels primitive and unfinished in their current line of products. I had a 670E ASROCK that was a complete dumpster fire. Technically it was the upgraded version of the 650E Riptide and it was still hot garbage. The Gigabyte Aorus Elite AX boards are good, I had the 670 version and it was a nice BIOS and board overall. The build quality alone blew the ASROCK out of the water.

 

[Legendary Gamer]

After buying a Gigabyte video card, I now plan to stay far away from their software whenever possible. The stuff for their mobos uses the same "control center" as the video cards. It's janky as hell compared to the stuff I've used from every other major OEM, although admittedly I've never used anything from ASRock. I was looking at a couple Gigabyte boards, but I'm 100% certain that I'm going with ASUS now.

Yeah but the ASROCK stuff is worse... At least the Gigabyte boards in the AM5 lineup have good reviews. I never had an issue with their software, personally.

 

[chameleoneel]

In at least some cases, you have to install their software to disable/change RGB lighting, update the BIOS, etc. You can do some of those things from within the BIOS, but not always.

Bios can always be updated from Bios.

As far as RGB----I would install and learn to use OpenRGB.

I've only built one computer with RGB. For some kids, last summer. And thankfully----the particular fans I used, look AMAZING with the default rainbow mode. So....I didn't have to mess with any software to change the lighting

I really hate that all the motherboard brands now have a bios setting activated by default, to IMMEDIATELY and automatically download and install their software, after your first boot into windows. There have been a couple of times where I forgot to change that setting----and went ahead and just wiped the SSD and reloaded Windows again >_>

 

[Legendary Gamer]

If you're serious about getting a board with longevity you should consider the MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk is a solid choice. If you gotta have the PCI-E 5.0 you should look at the

ASUS ROG Strix B650E-F & the​

ASUS TUF Gaming X670E-PLUS WiFi​

The Strix is 300 bucks and the TUF is about 300 bucks. I have had great luck with the TUF series.

 

[Legendary Gamer]

Bios can always be updated from Bios.

As far as RGB----I would install and learn to use OpenRGB.

I've only built one computer with RGB. For some kids, last summer. And thankfully----the particular fans I used, look AMAZING with the default rainbow mode. So....I didn't have to mess with any software to change the lighting

I really hate that all the motherboard brands now have a bios setting activated by default, to IMMEDIATELY and automatically download and install their software, after your first boot into windows. There have been a couple of times where I forgot to change that setting----and went ahead and just wiped the SSD and reloaded Windows again >_>

I'm sick of the bling and lighting as a selling point. It don't need it to look pretty, I just need it to kick as much ass as possible and run all my stuff like a bat outta hell.

 

[Domingo]

Personally, I just want to disable any/all RGB lighting (permanently) and the various software solutions from Corsair, MSI, Gigabyte, EVGA, etc. often conflict with one another. OpenRGB works to a degree, but not with all of my devices...and apparently not with that goofy Aorus LCD screen, either.

 

[chameleoneel]

Personally, I just want to disable any/all RGB lighting (permanently) and the various software solutions from Corsair, MSI, Gigabyte, EVGA, etc. often conflict with one another. OpenRGB works to a degree, but not with all of my devices...and apparently not with that goofy Aorus LCD screen, either.

Anything which connects to an rGB header, can simply be physically disconnected.

 

[pitingres]

So I'm torn between the ASRock B650E PG Riptide and the GIGABYTE B650 AORUS Elite AX. Both are around the same cost $230'ish and have an near-identical feature set for what I want:

• PCIe 5.0 M2s, with heatsinks
• Wifi
• 6 channel direct (via reassignment is fine)

The only difference is the Riptide has PCIe x16 5.0 and the Aorus does not. It would normally seem like the ASrock is an easy pick, but I can't help but shake the perception that ASRock is a cheap brand. My gaming PC is a Gigabyte Z170 from 2016 and its still rocking perfectly.

I know that it will be years before PCIe x16 5.0 is remotely relevant. Still, am I wrong? Is the Asrock brand fine now?

I have several Asrock boards, including an X470 Taichi Ultimate, and a number of B450 Pro4's. I have no complaints about the hardware. The BIOS can be obscure in some places, but nothing worse IMO than gigabyte or the others, just different. I can't comment on bundled software because I never use any of it. I haven't used any of their newer hardware; I do get the impression that outside of the Taichi, they are targeting a lower price point. As long as they are good enough, that isn't necessarily bad.

 

[D-EJ915]

Asrock has had RGB settings in their bios before so you don't need to install any software to control it, I am not sure if it still in there but it may be worth to look if that board has that feature or not. Gigabyte tends to have more aggressive memory timings on AMD boards so it may get a tiny bit more FPS than the others but not really a huge difference unless you're benching which case you'd set them manually anyway.

 

[Rev. Night]

Hmm

If you're serious about getting a board with longevity you should consider the MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk is a solid choice. If you gotta have the PCI-E 5.0 you should look at the

ASUS ROG Strix B650E-F & the​

ASUS TUF Gaming X670E-PLUS WiFi​

The Strix is 300 bucks and the TUF is about 300 bucks. I have had great luck with the TUF series.

newegg has the TUF for $277 right now at newegg. Beats any combo from Microcenter. i may just buy it now and get the cpu/ram deal later at MC.

https://www.newegg.com/asus-tuf-gam...&ranSiteID=kXQk6.ivFEQ-_qYB31zGMFSCQM5VT7QG_g

 

[chameleoneel]

Hmm

newegg has the TUF for $277 right now at newegg. Beats any combo from Microcenter. i may just buy it now and get the cpu/ram deal later at MC.

https://www.newegg.com/asus-tuf-gaming-x670e-plus-wifi/p/N82E16813119586R?nm_mc=AFC-RAN-COM&cm_mmc=afc-ran-com-_-Future+Publishing+Ltd&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=afc-ran-com-_-Future+Publishing+Ltd&utm_source=afc-Future+Publishing+Ltd&AFFID=2294204&AFFNAME=Future+Publishing+Ltd&ACRID=20809448412&ASUBID=wp-us-1429894781469696500&ASID=https://www.windowscentral.com/hardware/asus-tuf-gaming-x670e-plus-wifi-review&ranMID=44583&ranEAID=2294204&ranSiteID=kXQk6.ivFEQ-_qYB31zGMFSCQM5VT7QG_g

Yeah that's open box.

They caught me with that the other day, on a different Asus board.

 

[Rev. Night]

Shit. What's open box again? No wtty?

 

[chameleoneel]

Shit. What's open box again? No wtty?

Yeah, its probably a customer return.

Usually they are totally fine. But, no warranty. And sometimes are missing stuff. Maybe even everything. You don't know, until you get it.

 

[Rev. Night]

No Newegg wty or manufacturer wtty?

 

[chameleoneel]

No Newegg wty or manufacturer wtty?

30 day return for refund or replace

 

[Rev. Night]

So even Asus won't wtty it?

 

[chameleoneel]

So even Asus won't wtty it?

You might get lucky?----usually they ask for an invoice/receipt. And if it says "open box", I would imagine they won't honor the original warranty.

But, I think Gigabyte actually has some sort of warranty coverage for 2nd hand purchases.

 

[Rev. Night]

Jfc $50 make it half off for that much risk

 

[Legendary Gamer]

Jfc $50 make it half off for that much risk

Open box is worth it sometimes. Generally, I always go for brand new. Some products like the Arctic Freezer II 280 Liquid for 49 bucks with a 6 year warranty were an instabuy. But loosing any warranty on your mainboard is a no go for me. Even though, in most cases, you will never have the need to utilize the warranty. I like having that intangible safety net. The TUF series is surprisingly good from ASUS. It's like a "budget performance" board that hits most of the checkboxes. They always have good BIOS update support and a host of advanced features easily accessible in the bios.

 

[Rev. Night]

I have an Asus B450 TUF at home for my htpc, it performs well enough. Looking back at my receipts, i got it 3 years ago from Amazon for $109. jfc

curious, i hate the look of the "movable antennas" that the alot of the mobos have. the ones that attach straight into the mobo ports are alot cleaner look. Is there a way to have Asus send me those instead of the one that comes with?

 

[Domingo]

I'd be wary of something open box that's being shipped to you. Mainly because you have no clue if it's being shipped with things like cables, backplates, cooler adapters, wifi antennas, etc. Things you'd likely want and in a couple cases might not be able to get elsewhere.
On the other hand, if I can actually take a look at what I'm getting - I'm game as long as I can return it if there are issues. I've bought and been happy with open box stuff at Microcenter, BestBuy, CompUSA (RIP), etc.

 

[chameleoneel]

I'd be wary of something open box that's being shipped to you. Mainly because you have no clue if it's being shipped with things like cables, backplates, cooler adapters, wifi antennas, etc. Things you'd likely want and in a couple cases might not be able to get elsewhere.
On the other hand, if I can actually take a look at what I'm getting - I'm game as long as I can return it if there are issues. I've bought and been happy with open box stuff at Microcenter, BestBuy, CompUSA (RIP), etc.

You can return Newegg open box within 30 days

Similarly, Amazon used/warehouse stuff

 

[Rev. Night]

Just got done chatting with Asus, they said the 3 year wtty starts when I order that open box. So thats cool, i am going to probably buy it soon. No way those features are at $270ish boards. I have all the cables I need and more, so thats not an issue

 

[ND40oz]

Man, I've been reading through this thread trying to figure out what a wtty is, finally got it on this last post. I've never seen warranty abbreviated that way, where do the 2 Ts come from?

 

[Rev. Night]

my inability to spell

 

[chameleoneel]

I was about to respond to your build list.

You can probably get a better drive than the SN770, for similar price.

 

[Rev. Night]

hey I moved it to the 670 thread since it was more appropriate

https://hardforum.com/threads/what-...boards-with-good-features-in-general.2024740/

 

[Rev. Night]

Yeah that's open box.

They caught me with that the other day, on a different Asus board.

After Asus said that their 3 year wtty applied, and it started at when I bought that mobo, I just went ahead and bought it

The Asus Convo was saved to pdf from their own service. Now I got it in writing, bitches!

 

[Domingo]

Not knowing what supply is going to be like after the 3D CPU's hit, I went ahead and snagged the ASUS B650E-F at Microcenter over the weekend. I glanced on Friday (just to see what they had) and when I went back on Sunday, they had apparently sold 3-4 of 'em.

Their stock situation is kinda interesting for the Zen 4 boards. They seem to have a boatload of the high end boards collecting dust, and quite a few low end ones, too. Those in-between 650's look to either be selling well, or they didn't order as many. Lots of the desirable boards has low stocks, although they had quite a few open box Zen 4 boards, too. Good ones, too.

 

[Troub]

I just purchased the ASRock B650E Tachi which the price dropped to $350. Now just waiting for the 3D chips to get released.

 

[chameleoneel]

I opened up an Asus B650E-I (ITX) motherboard.

One of the features they mention, is that the front NVME setup actually has a cooling plate for the back side of the SSD.

Well, the plate on this board is bent downward (the plate is rasied up on two posts, which are not adjustable). So, the cooling pad only just barely contacts the last half of the final chip on the back of SSD, before the mounting screw. And even if I put a thicker pad on there, pressure would be uneven and it would flex the daughter board its all connected to, or the drive itself.

Sending it back to Amazon.

Not sure if I'm going to try another one-----or try a completely different board.

 

[chameleoneel]

MSI B650i (ITX) just arrived.
Compared to the Asus B650E-i ----- I lose PCI-E 5.0 on one NVME slot and also on the graphics card slot. And no optical output. Otherwise, the boards are pretty comparable.

But, the MSI doesn't have the riser card setup for the NVME (which is a good thing) and is $90 less. I also hear MSI has the fastest boot times for AMD right now. And overall pretty good memory compatibility. And the MSI has a Realtek NIC (seems to be a good thing lately, with Intel's 2.5 Ethernet issues).

Provided there are no quality issues like the Asus----I will build today, with the MSI.

It is mildly annoying to lose the PCI-E 5.0 on the graphics card slot. But....it may never really matter to me. As I never plan to have a top end graphics card. And I don't think I would ever benefit from a PCI-E 5.0 SSD.

Super annoyingly, the only AM5 ITX board which doesn't have AMD Wifi is Asrock's B650E board. Asrock uses the latest Killer Wifi and Killer NIC. But, that board otherwise has stupid rear panel I/O and a couple of layout issues I don't like. And the VRM heatsink is really thin, despite having one of the best VRM setups of the AM5 ITX boards.

I do happen to have a recent version of Intel's Killer Wifi 6E. So, I will put that in whatever board ends up working out for this ITX build. Extremely annoying is I will have to first build it and use it to be sure----then I will have to completely take it apart, including the VRM heatsink, to install the Intel Wifi chip.......

 

[chameleoneel]

MSI B650i has extremely noisy sound output. Lots of noise during any sound. and lightly popping the second any sound stops playing. Its completely awful.

Shame, because everything else about the board is great. It boots pretty fast, stable, all of the bios settings work great. Build was easy. But I have to send this back.

So that's 2 boards down. At this point, not sure If I will try another AM5 ITX board or simply sell this 7700x and stick with Intel for now.

 

[chameleoneel]

MSI B650i has extremely noisy sound output. Lots of noise during any sound. and lightly popping the second any sound stops playing. Its completely awful.

Shame, because everything else about the board is great. It boots pretty fast, stable, all of the bios settings work great. Build was easy. But I have to send this back.

So that's 2 boards down. At this point, not sure If I will try another AM5 ITX board or simply sell this 7700x and stick with Intel for now.

Before I uninstalled the board and packed it up: I plugged in a USB headset which I have had for some time. And it also has noise and sound popping, with this board. So, it appears something is wrong with the USB power on this board. (The Realtek sound chip built in these boards, uses a USB interface).