Which mb for 7950x

dhodson66

Weaksauce
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Nov 26, 2016
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121
I am soon going to buy either a 7900x or 7950x combo deal from micro center.

Currently it’s bundled with

ASUS X670E-PRO PRIME WIFI​


Is there a better mb such that it’s better to forgo the sale instead?
 
Well, it really depends on what you plan to do, what features are important to you, and what you can afford/want to spend. Since you're selecting a 7900X or 7950X I assume you're looking for performance and at least have some use for a significant amount of cores (note - if you're going to be gaming or certain others tasks, it may be worth looking into the 3D VCache versions of those processors as well , the 7900X3D and 7950X3D ; you may be able to find these in combo as well). The X670E is the high performance, PCI-E 5.0 compatible chipset for AM5, and I too generally find that Asus boards have in my experience been the best option for high end purchase.

The mobo you have chosen is certainly not a bad one, but it does have some limitations vs other options. Here is a comparison off Asus' site - https://www.asus.com/product-compar...&LevelId=motherboards-components-motherboards - that shows a few elements of difference. For instance, the PRIME PRO has a single PCI-E5 5.0 x16 slot, and the other x16 slot is apparently a 4.0 spec and only electrically supports x4 where as other boards from a bit high end families have 2 PCI-E 5.0 compatible x16 slots (and even those may very, with the highest end boards allowing for x8/x8 when both populated, but some others allowing only x8/x4 ). Now, this may not make a big difference to you if you don't plan to put any PCI-E 5.0 x16 device in save for your graphics card, but its an example. There are some other differences as well, such as the PRIME PRO has a Realtek 2.5gb NIC whereas the ROG Strix and ROG Crosshair HERO models have 2.5gb Intel, whereas the EXTREME has both a 10gb and a 2.5gb. Support for the amount, type, and parameters of M.2 drives also vary. Some boards vary with USB as well, with USB 3.2 2x2 as top, but others have USB4 / Thunderbolt 4 40gbps bidirectional compatibility. There are quite a few hardware changes like this, but there are also more subtle elements such as the type and build of the PCB, the VRM and power management system phases and design, overclock and UEFI/BIOS features, and more.

Ultimately, aside from handful of other PRIME boards, some of the next "steps up" will generally be TUF family, and ROG Strix, and then ROG "Named" (in the case of AMD AM4/AM5 socket its typically Crosshair) boards that have suffixes. Assuming you want a standard ATX-sized board, The top of the line is the ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme, but with a price to match its a considerable investment. Next, if you want most of the overclocking , features and the like but want to save a bit, the ROG Crosshair X670E Hero is a good way to go. The ROG Strix family, I think the "E" model is the highest option, with the "F" and "A" models both a bit of a step down in comparison. There is also the TUF Gaming X670E-PLUS WIFI which is somewhere of an overlap between some of the PRIME and F or A models of the Strix, and the one of ProArt X670E CREATOR WIFI which as its name suggests is aimed at creators and has some higher end I/O features (USB4, 10Gb NIC) but lacks some of the gamer/enthusiast features which can make for a mixed bag depending on your needs; it may be a way to get some items you'd otherwise need to pick up the Extreme at a much higher price, but may lack certain non creator focused elements as well.

As far as the combo, there are several MC combos for other CPU + Mobo + RAM (or at least 2 of those) including those I described, but it may vary as far as stock in a given location at a given time. I can't tell you what mobo to get as it depends on your usage and willingness to spend, but I will say that if you're open to stepping up from the PRIME you mentioned, I'd compare it with the ROG Strix "E" model primarily which may a balanced spec/value improvement. I can certainly recommend the Crosshair boards Hero and Extreme alike on raw performance and feature (I've bought Extreme level boards myself and they in the past compared favorably vs highest end offerings from other manufacturers. I'm in the process of rebuilding myself both a Zen3 / X570 system with a Dark Hero and a Zen 4 / X670E system with the Extreme ) , but the downside is the expense. Good luck and if you have any specific questions, let us know
 
thank you for the very detailed response

i guess when i look at the microcenter site, it appears to have just that specific MB with the 7950x as a combo and by combo i mean the processor, MB, and ram.
https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/bundle-and-save.aspx
now i could just get the combo of process and ram and then just buy a MB which appears to maybe have a 20 reduction but i believe not as steep a reduction as the tripple combos listed.
currently i run a 5900x on a msi tomahawk 570. i cant see a need for ethernet more than 2.5 and even thats a stretch. i do have cat 5e in the house but the ubiquiti router and swithc are 1 gig and to upgrade all that seems silly. i plan to use mostly m2 drives at least two of them. One being 2tb and the other might be a 4 or another 2. The 4s just seem so expensive for what you get currently.
i have a big case so i dont need a small board. i plan to use a thermaltake 360 cooler and i have a 1000 w PSU but i really want to run it cool and stable instead of over clock.

i guess im trying to decide if the standard 3 combo is just too cheap a board and even though its a better deal maybe i should get a better one. I would say gaming is the most intense applications i use although i do photoshop.
 
I had a X570 Pro Prime board last generation and it was a pretty solid board. Since you're not doing anything crazy with your planned build, the x670 version should be fine, especially for the price in combo.
 
I feel like any input I provide is drivel compared to RJ's response, but if it were me, I'd just take the combo deal.
 
all input is welcome. im probably going to wait until the 7800x3ds come out bc i believe (possibly mistakenly) that the 7900x and 7950x will drop a tiny bit or the combo will include a higher mb. I dont actually have a budget so its not a big deal if i dont get the best deal but want to make a decent choice. Ill probably just take whatever combo they have at the end of next month
 
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