AMD AM5 / Intel Gen 14 Upgrade

[HuLkY]

Hi All,

I will be finally upgrading my PC, I will be picking 14700K as my CPU, I also picked This for the CPU to help with the heat a bit, my main issue is, which motherboard should I pick?

I am willing to have a MATX motherboard but I don't know about which chip should I go for? Z690, Z790 or wait for the new X iteration with a better WiFi and enhancements? or should I get a beefy B760? I don't want to spend a lot for an ASUS $$$$ motherboard with the prices going above 300$+, I won't be crazy OCing but I want a motherboard that will stick with me for a long time - I upgrade each 5-7 years maybe.
and which RAM kit do you recommend at which frequency? I am not so familiar with the sweet spot for Intel CPUs with DDR5 - I am coming from DDR4 3200MHz @ CL14 G.Skill kit, I think 32GB is the new standard now?

Thank you all for your help and recommendations in advance.

 

[P4-630]

How about a GB Z790 Aorus board.

 

[HuLkY]

How about a GB Z790 Aorus board.

which model do you suggest please?

 

[PLAfiller]

Personally I am not a fan of B-chipset for a new board. I usually go for "H" as a middle ground, more pcie-lanes than "B" and not the overclocking "Z"-chipset. I am pretty happy with MSI motherboards lately, beefy VRM, not-so-fancy BIOS, but gets the job done. Aorus are great, but I haven't had one so far. Asus I am not very satisfied with them lately. Their M.2 controller is giving up on some series MB like the TUF, also USB controller issues and some other details. Yeah 32GB is a no-brainer IMO. Well if money is a factor, any 13th gen board should be compatible with 14th gen as well, so...there you go, might "step back" to save some buck. If not go for a new one.

 

[HuLkY]

Personally I am not a fan of B-chipset for a new board. I usually go for "H" as a middle ground, more pcie-lanes than "B" and not the overclocking "Z"-chipset. I am pretty happy with MSI motherboards lately, beefy VRM, not-so-fancy BIOS, but gets the job done. Aorus are great, but I haven't had one so far. Asus I am not very satisfied with them lately. Their M.2 controller is giving up on some series MB like the TUF, also USB controller issues and some other details. Yeah 32GB is a no-brainer IMO. Well if money is a factor, any 13th gen board should be compatible with 14th gen as well, so...there you go, might "step back" to save some buck. If not go for a new one.

Thank you so much for the details!

Do you recommend this one over the Morter?
MPG B760M EDGE TI WIFI (msi.com)

ASUS prices are going bananas at least for that segment I believe. How about the RAM speeds?

 

[iameatingjam]

I have a b760 motherboard, got it because it was cheap. But I kind of regret it now, there's no overclocking and I have to jump through a bunch of hoops to even get undervolting working.

 

[ir_cow]

What is your price range and what are you doing with the computer?

DDR4 Motherboards limit your choices a lot.

Edit: I like the MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4. https://www.techpowerup.com/review/msi-mag-z790-tomahawk-wifi-ddr4/ . vRM Thermals could be better, but unless your planning on cooling 320watt from the CPU, you shouldn't be concerned.

 

[Bobaganoosh]

I like the price per feature-set ASRock has been producing lately. I'm not entirely sold on their marketing or some of the designs, but from a price, functionality, support, and performance perspective, they seem to be doing great.
Some examples:
Z790 Taichi Lite
Z790 Nova
Z790 Riptide

They seem to have better VRMs than anybody with similar price range and have some good m.2 options.

As for memory, I'd look for a kit between 6000 and 7200MT/s with as tight of timings as you can afford. It'd be helpful if the memory is on the motherboard qvl or if the motherboard is on the memory's qvl (some are testing both directions lately). Unless you have some really unique needs, I'd go for a 2x16GB or 2x24GB kit. Not much will need more than that for a while unless you're doing some high res rendering or simulations or something.

 

[ir_cow]

Below are my blanketed recommendations for the average user. No one here will agree on a single brand and all cite each that one or more is trash....

Just pick the brand you like or fits in your price range.

Gigabyte Elite AX
MSK Tomahawk
ASRock Steel Legend
Asus Strix

 

[Post Nut Clairvoyance]

[opinion] its a bit rough, I think 13th gen and 14th gen doesn't have much OC headroom compared to past generations. I think you buy Intel right now for the multicore performance to price ratio and nothing else, so you ought to pick a mobo with great amount of expendability. [/opinion]

These lineups are usually kept consistently decent:
ASRock Steel Legend/LiveMixer/Taichi, Gigabyte Aorus Elite or Pro or AERO, MSI MAG or MPG or MEG, Asus TUF or Strix or ROG.

And to be honest you could do your own further research on youtube. Hardware unboxed does motherboard roundups with all I care about - VRMs and back panel connectors. Often there are cheaper board not from lineups mentioned that are decent, but the lineups themselves are not consistently decent, like "ASUS Prime". I think Gaming X from gigabyte has a sizable heatsink, might be ok.
and then again check your local offers/ prices with PCpartpicker to find the cheapest board you like.

 

[HuLkY]

Thank you all for the answers and input, well a change of plans for now!! Upon some research and digging, also many users feedback on PCPartPicker, I will be going to AMD 7800X3D and do my best to fine-tune it in the BIOS.
So my build should be this..
AMD 7800X3D
Thermalright peerless assassin 120 SE >> Snagged that one for 25USD locally here and I was waiting for Noctua's next NH-D16 but in case the performance is satisfying to me, I might keep it!
Thermalright AM5 Socket bracket, Red one
G Skill Ram NeoZ for AMD, 6000 MT/s, timings are 30-38-38-96, this model >>> F5-6000J3038F16GX2-TZ5NR
Mobo : ASUS ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WiFi >>> If you suggest other model I am open for suggestions, but B650E I guess will do the job for me as a gamer.

I thought of AM5 since I totally forgot that Gen 14 is the last for Intel o LGA1700, AM5 might later provide a better CPU to just update the BIOS and add it.

 

[Macro Device]

I will be going to AMD 7800X3D

Then you don't need to think about VRMs, capacitors and whatnot. 7800X3D is a CPU that dies of overheating faster than any available AM5 mobo, A620 models included.

Just pick whatever motherboard fits your needs regarding quid, PCI-E lanes, sockets amount, geometry and aesthetics.

I highly recommend not allowing wattages beyond 75 W and temperatures above 85C on this CPU. X3Ds are VERY sensitive. Stay as far away as you humanly can from high voltages as well. I don't know exact numbers but undervolting is the very first thing you MUST do.

 

[HuLkY]

Then you don't need to think about VRMs, capacitors and whatnot. 7800X3D is a CPU that dies of overheating faster than any available AM5 mobo, A620 models included.

Just pick whatever motherboard fits your needs regarding quid, PCI-E lanes, sockets amount, geometry and aesthetics.

I highly recommend not allowing wattages beyond 75 W and temperatures above 85C on this CPU. X3Ds are VERY sensitive. Stay as far away as you humanly can from high voltages as well. I don't know exact numbers but undervolting is the very first thing you MUST do.

I considered B650E since it's within my budget - I don't want to exceed 280-300USD by any means and lower the better - and in the same time I want a rich features chip, PCI Express 5.0 and so since I don't change motherboards that much.

As for the CPU cooling, I hope my cooler above can tame it a bit and for sure once I get it all set, I will update the BIOS, Undervolt it even if it means 100MHz less but better thermals - I had that adventure with my 8700K; taking it down from 5GHz to 4.9GHz saved me like 10 degrees! - I just hope it goes without any issues.

I noticed that some ASRock motherboards with X670E can be the same price or even less than ASUS or Aorus with B650E, is it like lower quality?

 

[Macro Device]

Thermalright peerless assassin 120 SE

This one must be more than enough considering low wattages of this CPU. Your main concern is not letting your CPU have high voltage and wattage more than anything else. High temperatures like 90C are not as bad as overvoltage/overwattage.

I considered B650E

Most likely you won't need anything more than that, unless you are amongst those enthusiasts who connect dozens of various devices to your motherboard at once. Even E-less B650 has all OC/UV you could ever ask for.

I noticed that some ASRock motherboards with X670E can be the same price or even less than ASUS or Aorus with B650E, is it like lower quality?

No idea. Might be the case, might be just because AsRock has some discounts on their mobos due to bad sells. Investigation won't hurt whatsoever. My experience with AsRock motherboards is only limited to Intel CPUs and back in the day (late 00s and early 10s) AsRock mobos were crappy, but their Z370 and Z390 stuff is pretty solid. Can't say anything bad about their H510 ones as well. Didn't touch anything newer than that though.

 

[ir_cow]

I considered B650E since it's within my budget - I don't want to exceed 280-300USD by any means and lower the better - and in the same time I want a rich features chip, PCI Express 5.0 and so since I don't change motherboards that much.

One and done ASRock B650E Steel Legend WiFi Review

 

[HuLkY]

This one must be more than enough considering low wattages of this CPU. Your main concern is not letting your CPU have high voltage and wattage more than anything else. High temperatures like 90C are not as bad as overvoltage/overwattage.

Most likely you won't need anything more than that, unless you are amongst those enthusiasts who connect dozens of various devices to your motherboard at once. Even E-less B650 has all OC/UV you could ever ask for.

No idea. Might be the case, might be just because AsRock has some discounts on their mobos due to bad sells. Investigation won't hurt whatsoever. My experience with AsRock motherboards is only limited to Intel CPUs and back in the day (late 00s and early 10s) AsRock mobos were crappy, but their Z370 and Z390 stuff is pretty solid. Can't say anything bad about their H510 ones as well. Didn't touch anything newer than that though.

Oh yes! I will be doing the BP02 undervolt with tight power delivery target, I have seen a video for it now, the dude achieved 30 less degrees and went jsut from 5.250GHZ to 5.1 GHz! definitely gonna do it + the new BIOS revisions now are much better than 6 months ago, gonna be a good ride I hope!

One and done ASRock B650E Steel Legend WiFi Review

This one here costs more than Asus B650E-F Strix but not that much more, I will check the review for it deeply! thank you so much!

 

[nomdeplume]

[opinion] its a bit rough, I think 13th gen and 14th gen doesn't have much OC headroom compared to past generations. I think you buy Intel right now for the multicore performance to price ratio and nothing else, so you ought to pick a mobo with great amount of expendability. [/opinion]

On day 14th gen released there was a small accomplishment announced on this site. It involved the number 9 followed by two numbers after the decimal point (twice) and OC'ing.

[opinion] may differ what constitutes headroom but it should be fairly easy to establish if it does exist in K models below i9 and especially how feasible it is with air or water cooling.

Personally I am not a fan of B-chipset for a new board. I usually go for "H" as a middle ground, more pcie-lanes than "B" and not the overclocking "Z"-chipset.

Hx70/Hx90 can be solid choices. Hx10 are more of a question mark in relation to B-chipset mobo.

Out of the current (mATX) offerings I'm trying to convince myself a low end ASRock Z-chipset board looks better than a pile of others. Refreshed for the refresh mobo might introduce a wildcard?

 

[evernessince]

I think your choice of the 7800X3D and AM5 platform is ideal given you typically keep your system 5 - 7 years. Now the next time when you go to upgrade you can simply drop in a new CPU and get a massive performance boost.

You really don't need a super beefy cooler to keep the 7800X3D in check, something in the mid-range or better should do fine. As for undervolting, most 7800X3D users can get a negative -10 to -15 offset using the PBO curve optimizer in the BIOS. It's as easy as setting a single value and it often results in a small increase in performance in addition to the lower temps.

Memory wise you are going to want DDR5 6000 CL30. It's only around $100 right now, which is dirt cheap compared to the $320 I paid for the same kit a year ago.

I noticed that some ASRock motherboards with X670E can be the same price or even less than ASUS or Aorus with B650E, is it like lower quality?

ASRock is pretty high quality. They just dont' charge as big a markup as other brands. If I had to list my top 3 mobo brands they'd be ASRock, MSI, and Gigabyte. ASUS has kind of fallen off over the last few years over various issues they've had. They also charge the more than other brands for the same feature set usually as well.

 

[HuLkY]

I think your choice of the 7800X3D and AM5 platform is ideal given you typically keep your system 5 - 7 years. Now the next time when you go to upgrade you can simply drop in a new CPU and get a massive performance boost.

You really don't need a super beefy cooler to keep the 7800X3D in check, something in the mid-range or better should do fine. As for undervolting, most 7800X3D users can get a negative -10 to -15 offset using the PBO curve optimizer in the BIOS. It's as easy as setting a single value and it often results in a small increase in performance in addition to the lower temps.

Memory wise you are going to want DDR5 6000 CL30. It's only around $100 right now, which is dirt cheap compared to the $320 I paid for the same kit a year ago.



ASRock is pretty high quality. They just dont' charge as big a markup as other brands. If I had to list my top 3 mobo brands they'd be ASRock, MSI, and Gigabyte. ASUS has kind of fallen off over the last few years over various issues they've had. They also charge the more than other brands for the same feature set usually as well.

Exactly! I will be doing the BP02 + the cooler I had, I feel that's a win-win there and no need to delid the CPU - it was a huge adventure with the 8700K also - so yeah I am so into it.

DDR5 prices went down, you're absolutely right; the kit I want is sold for 110USD here, pretty good one with the tightest timing I could find with frequency of 6000 Mt/s.

I am comparing these now,
ASRock > Motherboard Compare Result

I am just scared / worried about ASRock BIOS since I am used to ASUS more and EVGA as well..

 

[ir_cow]

This one here costs more than Asus B650E-F Strix but not that much more, I will check the review for it deeply! thank you so much!

Oh dang, yeah buy within your price range. No point in overspending.

I am just scared / worried about ASRock BIOS since I am used to ASUS more and EVGA as well..

Its not user friendly unfortunately. Well it depends on the SKU. Idk why but some ASRock MBs don't have the Easy-Mode.

 

[Macro Device]

don't have the Easy-Mode.

One of the least useful tools anyway. Even braindeads like me can navigate through advanced mode lmao

 

[HuLkY]

Oh dang, yeah buy within your price range. No point in overspending.


Its not user friendly unfortunately. Well it depends on the SKU. Idk why but some ASRock MBs don't have the Easy-Mode.

I have two boards almost the same price here, the one you reviewed - so awesome review BTW! - and Asus B650E-E Strix, the difference between the E and F from Asus is more lanes and some more ports here and there, but the F is cheaper like 50$, so I guess I got three boards now to choose from, but ASRock BIOS is hard for me at leasst based on your recent review as well! also in the same price range is Aorus B650E Master! looks so damn sexy with the heat coolers and so, also AORUS BIOS is mature more than ASRock?

I am lost a bit but a side note, motherboard prices are crazy banana expensive, we are talking an *afforadable* mobo easily above 250USD!!

 

[evernessince]

I have two boards almost the same price here, the one you reviewed - so awesome review BTW! - and Asus B650E-E Strix, the difference between the E and F from Asus is more lanes and some more ports here and there, but the F is cheaper like 50$, so I guess I got three boards now to choose from, but ASRock BIOS is hard for me at leasst based on your recent review as well! also in the same price range is Aorus B650E Master! looks so damn sexy with the heat coolers and so, also AORUS BIOS is mature more than ASRock?

I am lost a bit but a side note, motherboard prices are crazy banana expensive, we are talking an *afforadable* mobo easily above 250USD!!

PCIe 5.0 is expensive. It requires more board layers and redrivers for the PCIe 5.0 slot. Hopefully that cost goes down over time but as of right now if you are going for 5.0 you are doing it because you want longevity.

 

[ir_cow]

@HuLkY Gigabyte has been killing it for the AM5 socket I think. There is a ton of different SKUs per brand. I suggest going for the brand you like and don't force one you aren't interested in. After that narrow it down in the price range you want.

 

[HuLkY]

PCIe 5.0 is expensive. It requires more board layers and redrivers for the PCIe 5.0 slot. Hopefully that cost goes down over time but as of right now if you are going for 5.0 you are doing it because you want longevity.

OK you got me there.

@HuLkY Gigabyte has been killing it for the AM5 socket I think. There is a ton of different SKUs per brand. I suggest going for the brand you like and don't force one you aren't interested in. After that narrow it down in the price range you want.

I got three options now, GB B650E Aorus Master, ASUS Strix B650E-E and both are for 335USD, third option is Asus STRIX B650E-F which is a tad cheaper for 280USD, I hope you get your hands as a reviews on them and test them tbh xD but if you have a preference among these let me know what you think please and thank you all for your help, so much love for TPU community; never let me down!