Who are madmen buying $700 motherboards?

ashmelev75 said:
Why? What is the reason to purchase a motherboard at twice the cost of the CPU?
Did the world go insane in the last 5 years?
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Possible insanity. Honestly, depends upon how nuts people are about Zen 2. I would love to pick one up but funds are tight and I might get fired soon... lol. Paying over 299 bucks for a fully loaded Mobo is insane. Typically, I consider paying 200 bucks insane given my typical use scenario (1 M.2 SSD, 1 SSD Swap (SATA), 16-32 GB of RAM and a ballsy Video card (I can use damn near any Mobo with those requirements).
 
when I was shopping to upgrade a few months ago....even though i could easily afford it, I couldnt even stomach spending 200+ on a board. Hell I ended up with a 120 board that was refurbished and sold for 99.
 
ashmelev75 said:
Why? What is the reason to purchase a motherboard at twice the cost of the CPU?
Did the world go insane in the last 5 years?
Click to expand...

people just want their bling.. but really they just exist for manufactures to show off. the only two boards that really deserve their stupid high price and bring something to the table is the aorus x570 xtreme which uses a server grade vrm controller that has true 16 phase support and comes with 16 power phases and the meg godlike which comes with a pcie 4.0 m.2 expansion card along with all the other features it has otherwise it probably would cost about the same as the asus crosshair VIII hero. the CH8 formula is literally the most useless board to exist but i'm sure some one will buy it because it looks cool.
 
ashmelev75 said:
Why? What is the reason to purchase a motherboard at twice the cost of the CPU?
Did the world go insane in the last 5 years?
Click to expand...
In more general terms, there are CPUs that cost way more than $700, and specific to Ryzen 3, there are CPUs that will supposedly cost at least $500 or more that are coming.

I could see there being advantages to the super high end boards for competitive overclockers, such as extra BIOS features, debug indicators, unusually strong VRM designs, and so forth. I think there may also be one that comes with a mono-block water jacket, and those are obviously an expensive part to make. Buildzoid of AHOC fame has a video about which of the really expensive boards are good and whicn ones aren't, I think.
 
Because you look like the man when it's in your signature.

But seriously I agree. Sure they are nice. But even at $500 yikes. That's why I've only had one HEDT rig. The boards are so high. I've only used b450 with ryzen and they have served me well. I may have got another 100mhz out of my chips with better boards but no big deal.
 
Some people are hungry for integrated 10gbps rj45. I see it as insanity though. If you can justify a $700 for that opposed to an add-on card, you are better off buying a pre-built workstation with same day onsite support.
 
I'm not sure about $700 as I can't think of any reason I'd spend that much, but I've definitely paid more for boards with more full length pci-e slots or dual nics.
 
I pay 210 or so for a microatx 2 nvme, x570, 8 sata, 1x 16x, 1x m2 wifi key, 1x 4x slot and a open 1x slot I believe.
+ more usb bandwidth.

That is a bit steep but "Ok"

Add 10gbit, 100 $.
Add 1-2 nvme more 50$ more.
Add premium sound 10-20$ more.
beefier vrm - 10$

400$ is the most I can think anyone would want to spend for a nichè in nichè market
 
People with an equipment allowance from work, or contractors that include gear into their invoices.
 
in past motherboard and hard drives was something i always tried to save on to get more gfx and cpu power. and i never had issues with either, but a while since the normal hd was all u needed. i got a terrabyte of ssd now and a good mb. just getting a decent mb now is normally never an issue given it got all the connections u actually need. cant see much benefit by going beyond a good reasonably priced MB from a good brand. no need to pay for features u wont need, and here in norway we got the best consumer warranties, that goes to the reseller and not the company who produce it. i think hardware got a 5 year on failure in norway, things like tv and things not subject to alot of wear like a phone or watch, they are on 2 years, and other items like it.
 
Ok, peeling my cramped GPU out of the way to get at the CMOS jumper on my pos cheapie board.

$700 may be outside the range most people need to go, but spending a little extra for debug led/readout, bios retry, and clear CMOS button really are luxuries worth having.

Having a bare ones nothing to indicate issues isn't worth it unless you want to year your box apart checking off troubleshooting boxes wasting time.

It's like when you decide you are at a point in life that you deserve higher quality socks, underwear, and toilet paper.
 
I have bought some pretty expensive motherboard but they all have multiple sockets.
 
cdabc123 said:
I have bought some pretty expensive motherboard but they all have multiple sockets.
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So have I, using a budget allocated to replace or increase datacenter gear.

Thinking about spending that much on a personally owned build will be difficult bc I'd have to justify it on some side work.

Even then, there's other places I'd put $300-400 saved on a "mid tier" mobo.

Maybe I'd justify a pcie 4.0 drive.
 
somebrains said:
So have I, using a budget allocated to replace or increase datacenter gear.

Thinking about spending that much on a personally owned build will be difficult bc I'd have to justify it on some side work.

Even then, there's other places I'd put $300-400 saved on a "mid tier" mobo.

Maybe I'd justify a pcie 4.0 drive.
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I normally get cpus for cheap so dont mind justifying abit of cost for the motherboard. I would pay 1k for the tallos 2 board but they go for around double that :(
 
ashmelev75 said:
Why? What is the reason to purchase a motherboard at twice the cost of the CPU?
Did the world go insane in the last 5 years?
Click to expand...
Im with you on this. I used to recomemend higher end boards when they were around 450 - 600 at the MOST.
But now its just for no good reason. Most mid range boards take care of everything needed.
I think mobo makers need to relax but also I know they need to make up R&D.
 
I picked up the Gigabyte one mostly for the 10Gb nic and no fan. I don’t upgrade too often so I’m not too worried about the price. Still waiting on my water block and 3900X to go with it.
 
Dont think i would go 700 but im one of those who only purchase the higher end boards because i keep mine a long time and only upgrade when i can EASILY afford it
 
primetime said:
Dont think i would go 700 but im one of those who only purchase the higher end boards because i keep mine a long time and only upgrade when i can EASILY afford it
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I've bought from the whole range of motherboards, from cheap (but not crap) to expensive (still less than $300), ran overclocked on every one, and never had an issue or a failure and some of the systems went on for 10+ years before being replaced for being obsolete.

Anything past $300 or so would have to have a specific killer feature that I absolutely need, but I can't think of any.
 
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ole-m said:
I pay 210 or so for a microatx 2 nvme, x570, 8 sata, 1x 16x, 1x m2 wifi key, 1x 4x slot and a open 1x slot I believe.
+ more usb bandwidth.

That is a bit steep but "Ok"

Add 10gbit, 100 $.
Add 1-2 nvme more 50$ more.
Add premium sound 10-20$ more.
beefier vrm - 10$

400$ is the most I can think anyone would want to spend for a nichè in nichè market
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With current Win 10 updates breaking soundcards every year, and mobo manufacturers only providing 2 years of support, I would just go for a discrete soundcard.Creative still fixed X-Fi functionality for 1903 build on the decade old Titanium HD.
 
300-350 euro boards i can understand. Sometimes it is not an option to get a cheaper board (most HEDT usually starts around 200-250 euros in the first place for most barebones boards). Sometimes you want some extra feature compared to a 200 euro board - for example most sub-200 euro X570 boards do not have x8/x8 PCI-E lane distribution, so if you want SLI, you need to go higher.
But once you go above 400 euro, the increased costs are hard to justify, even with a 3900X purchase.

And sometimes also pricing is weird in some regions. For example i bought the ASUS Pro WS X570-ACE for the x8/x8/x8 lane setup, which is $379 in Newegg - but it is 306-310 euros in my country, including 20% VAT. So once you remove the VAT and convert it to USD, it comes priced at $300.

The only board barely above 350 euro i ever bought was ASUS X99 Deluxe, and that is because i needed the board ASAP and other boards were unavailable.
 
Lepardi said:
With current Win 10 updates breaking soundcards every year, and mobo manufacturers only providing 2 years of support, I would just go for a discrete soundcard.Creative still fixed X-Fi functionality for 1903 build on the decade old Titanium HD.
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had no idea cause I don't use them either :)
but my "value calculation" is rough and pretty accurate, a 400$ board can easily exist and people want and need the features.
700.. well people buy rtx titan so enough said :)
 
Azrak said:
In this day of $1200+ video cards, a $700 motherboard isn't really something to talk about.
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True, but at least that GPU lets you game faster. Not sure what the MBO gives you to justify the price.
 
I don't think I'd spend $700 on a motherboard, but it turns out I will spend $400 on one :(. Don't get me wrong, this Crosshair VIII Hero is great, but come on...$379+tax? I'd feel better about myself if it was closer to $300.
 
kirbyrj said:
I don't think I'd spend $700 on a motherboard, but it turns out I will spend $400 on one :(. Don't get me wrong, this Crosshair VIII Hero is great, but come on...$379+tax? I'd feel better about myself if it was closer to $300.
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its money well spent...and we both know that! IMO its the one thing in our box that we cant just swap out...at least conveniently
 
primetime said:
its money well spent...and we both know that! IMO its the one thing in our box that we cant just swap out...at least conveniently
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If I were smarter I would have just hung onto my CH7 but I sold it a few months back.
 
Some people are just stupidly wealthy. I've met a few who work high up in the financial services industry. 1000$ to them is like 10$ to regular folk.
 
kirbyrj said:
If I were smarter I would have just hung onto my CH7 but I sold it a few months back.
Click to expand...

Arguably a $200 X570 Mobo has better power delivery and you can use a riser if you need a pair of nvme drives that ride on cpu lanes.

What will be interesting to watch is the top tier x370 owners trying to get pcie 4.0 to stick.

I always like watching that mentality drive itself nuts.
 
These motherboard prices might have made more sense if this were a new motherboard socket. My understanding is that the 3950X is the last CPU to be released on this platform. So, it's not for longevity/future proofing. The chips to be released next year will most likely require a new motherboard. It made me a little sick purchasing a $300 motherboard (Asus Strix X570) for a new 1900x build -- my last motherboard and probably most expensive up to this point was $168 and was a Gigabyte B350 board. The problem this time around is that the less feature rich/expensive chipsets like the B550 are not around for a cheaper option.
 
Sometimes there are very hard to find features a spendy board will have that can justify the price. In general no, there isn't a good reason besides wasting money, however there have been times I have spent good money on a board when I needed a specific feature for work/private use.
 
Meeho said:
True, but at least that GPU lets you game faster. Not sure what the MBO gives you to justify the price.
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Everything I've read that compares X570 to X470 and B450 mobos says they give you about 1-2% increase in performance for about a 100% increase in price!!! You better believe I'll be putting my (used in 3 years) R9 3900 on my X470 Taichi!!!!!
 
Like it or not, it's the price you have to pay to have dual Epyc processors (today).
 
OhSigmaChi said:
Everything I've read that compares X570 to X470 and B450 mobos says they give you about 1-2% increase in performance for about a 100% increase in price!!! You better believe I'll be putting my (used in 3 years) R9 3900 on my X470 Taichi!!!!!
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Better than crashing headlong into taming dust.
I avoided mobos with chipset fans back when they were a thing.
Just couldn't do a thing about keeping them clean.
Had a bunch of buddies that dealt with clogged or dead fans.
 
OhSigmaChi said:
Everything I've read that compares X570 to X470 and B450 mobos says they give you about 1-2% increase in performance for about a 100% increase in price!!! You better believe I'll be putting my (used in 3 years) R9 3900 on my X470 Taichi!!!!!
Click to expand...

It is all about what you use your PC for. Sure, if the only PCI-E device you have is your GPU, you have one PCI-E 3.0 NVMe (or SATA drive) drive, then sure, you notice no difference between an X570 and B450.
With two x8 devices, you can rule out B450, because the second slot is only x4.
With three PCI-E 3.0 x4 (or higher) devices you also rule out X470, because the PCI-E slots wired to the X470 chip itself are only PCI-E 2.0.
Meanwhile X570 boards being all PCI-E 4.0 makes all slots also PCI-E 3.0, including x1, x4 slots, M.2 or U.2 conectors.

In short, the reasons for buying X570 are the following :
  • you need PCI-E 3.0/4.0 on at least three cards if you don't mind PCI-E x8 speed on your main GPU; on two if you want to have x16 on your GPU, but still have at least PCI-E 3.0 x4 on your other device in bottom slot).
  • if for some reason you need PCI-E 4.0 NVMe
  • much better VRM than on pretty much all older boards, if that is required for your use case
  • you don't want to deal with BIOS updates on older boards
If none of those points apply to you, X570 is not for you. It is as simple as that.
 
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For HEDT, I get it. For mainstream enthusiast? I don't know. The general rule of thumb for me is that the mainboard should not be the same price or higher than the CPU that goes on it.
 
some people have more money, and are too lazy to actually research them - so they take most pricey mobo.
 
Because the Formula is a top end, water cooling monster! I would imagine the underlying hardware is also improved as well as the bios firmware. Beyond my budget and I do not water cool but, others do.
 
I'm trying to imagine EK holding water blocks back beyond an exclusivity date.

They're not going to miss the x570 lifecycle.

They sold lot of 990fx blocks.

12+ core Zen2 + x570 is an attractive platform for those that primarily enjoy water cooling = output as an exercise.
 
I clearly remember paying $ 600 plus dollars 10 years ago for an EVGA SR-2 which I still have. Still worth that much today just about. I mostly build 2 processor servers and they are not inexpensive (WCG). Now for main stream I have a hard time paying more than $ 350 for a motherboard. I still find that expensive. Thing is some of the more expensive board do come with better features. That does cost some money in the end.
 
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