AM5 board recommendation

[Zazigalka]

Hi, I'd like a recommendation for an AM5 mobo. Was gonna wait for Arrow Lake-S, but seeing all the drama with 13/14th gen, I don't think I'll trust Intel (despite being on intel cpus exclusively for the last 20+ years)
I will likely just pair it with a 7500f for now, enough for a 4070 Super, and upgrade the cpu to 9000x3d in the future.
I'd like to have at least 10xUSB on the back (got a lot of peripherial stuff), built-in wifi, at least 3x nvme (5.0 is not a must, could be 4.0 or even 3.0) and at least 6x SATA.
I'd like to keep it under or as close to 200eur as possible.

 

[JWNoctis]

Hello and welcome!

The motherboard of my current setup (MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk Wifi) is an almost exact fit. Worked well enough for my purposes, has fast-enough built in wifi, three PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots without eating into PEG lanes, 6x SATA albeit only 4 of the 6 supporting RAID, rather a lot of USB slots, and even more if you populate the headers. It's in the system specs to the left. Haven't run into any real problem with it so far, either.

It should not exceed 200EUR too, I think.

 

[R00kie]

Gigabyte's B650 Aorus Elite AX has exactly what you need, 3 M.2's and 10 ports at the back, and wifi, its 230USD though
the MATX version omits one M.2 slot but still retains 10 usb's and Wifi, which makes it sligthly cheaper

 

[Zazigalka]

Thanks, great option both. That MSI board is absolutely fire for the money it costs here in Poland (195eur new, found a used one in great condition from a very reputable seller at 147). Thanks a million. I can see you have it too. People mention long boot times though, is it this board only or is it the whole am5 platform ?

 

[JWNoctis]

Thanks, great option both. That MSI board is absolutely fire for the money it costs here in Poland (195eur new, found a used one in great condition from a very reputable seller at 147). Thanks a million. I can see you have it too. People mention long boot times though, is it this board only or is it the whole am5 platform ?

Update BIOS to latest, and turn on Memory Context Restore. It will reduce BIOS time to a few seconds after first boot, but may not work for every setup, especially if you do memory OC, depending on how much you push it.

 

[Blaeza]

Update BIOS to latest, and turn on Memory Context Restore. It will reduce BIOS time to a few seconds after first boot, but may not work for every setup, especially if you do memory OC, depending on how much you push it.

Can you give more details please? What menu is it under?

 

[Sunny and 75]

I don't think I'll trust Intel

They're humans too.

I'd say give them a shot one more time, read (watch) reviews, then decide on the purchase.

 

[ir_cow]

Update BIOS to latest, and turn on Memory Context Restore. It will reduce BIOS time to a few seconds after first boot, but may not work for every setup, especially if you do memory OC, depending on how much you push it.

Update the BIOS for sure, but do not turn on Memory Context Restore. Just asking for stability problems.

 

[JWNoctis]

Can you give more details please? What menu is it under?

OC menu for MSI boards. If there's anything wrong with their motherboards it's that their BIOS menu is a bit of a jumble.

Update the BIOS for sure, but do not turn on Memory Context Restore. Just asking for stability problems.

Don't think it'd hurt to try, though - But yes, there's little reason to do it if one rarely restarts. I agree that memory stability should not be toyed with. It's easy to get things corrupted that way.

I've had one fail-to-boot before it fell back to slow boot for one bootup, and no visible stability problem so far. Guess maybe I should turn it off anyway.

 

[Blaeza]

OC menu for MSI boards. If there's anything wrong with their motherboards it's that their BIOS menu is a bit of a jumble.

Don't think it'd hurt to try, though - But yes, there's little reason to do it if one rarely restarts. I agree that memory stability should not be toyed with. It's easy to get things corrupted that way.

I've had one fail-to-boot before it fell back to slow boot for one bootup, and no visible stability problem so far. Guess maybe I should turn it off anyway.

It's not broke so I'm not touching it, lol.

 

[Zazigalka]

They're humans too.

I'd say give them a shot one more time, read (watch) reviews, then decide on the purchase.

It's not just what they messed up, but also how they're handling it. Don't want to buy from then anymore, especially when there is na alternative that deserve a shot

What's the sweetspot ddr5 speed for 7500f ?

 

[Sunny and 75]

It's not just what they messed up, but also how they're handling it.

Not wrong on that one.

Don't want to buy from then anymore, especially when there is na alternative that deserve a shot

Absolutely.

What's the sweetspot ddr5 speed for 7500f ?

The sweetspot DDR5 memory speed for the ZEN4 processors is 6000 MT/s.

 

[Vayra86]

Thanks, great option both. That MSI board is absolutely fire for the money it costs here in Poland (195eur new, found a used one in great condition from a very reputable seller at 147). Thanks a million. I can see you have it too. People mention long boot times though, is it this board only or is it the whole am5 platform ?

I can buy and will buy a Mortar b650m for 202 eur in the Netherlands. It has marginally better featureset mostly on audio. Might want to look at that too. You can go lower too, in the 170 eur range for Asrock Riptide and similar. But the used Tomahawk is nothing to sneeze at either.

Boot times are a general thing that can apparently be halved with memory context restore.

Heres my topic you might find some useful bits of info, even though Im placing a bit more cpu on it; it also contains a shopping list for RAM etc

Help me pick an mATX b650 board for 7800X3D

Its time to get rid of my 8700K and unleash the 7900XT proper! 7800X3D time. Im looking for the best board and RAM to pair with this cpu and frankly Im a bit lost in the woods. Im sold on this case though, the smaller size and build options here are pretty awesome.. lots of power in a small...

www.techpowerup.com

 

[Sunny and 75]

It has marginally better featureset mostly on audio.

Both Tomahawk and Mortar have got the same audio chip (same amount of audio capacitors also).

Tomahawk's VRM setup is a bit better though (16 VRM phases vs 14). Mortar's VRM setup is more than fine as well and can handle any CPU you throw at it, it has to be said.

It's fair to say that their only difference is in form factor.

 

[Vayra86]

Both Tomahawk and Mortar have got the same audio chip.

Tomahawk's VRM setup is a bit better though (16 VRM phases vs 14). Mortar's VRM setup is more than fine as well and can handle any CPU you throw at it, it has to be said.

It's fair to say that their only difference is in form factor.

Wow indeed thanks for correcting

 

[Sunny and 75]

Wow indeed thanks for correcting

No problem, mate

Boot times are a general thing that can apparently be halved with memory context restore.

If I'm not mistaken, only the first time boot is longer than usual. After that, the boot times will be like any other PC (aka normal).

 

[Zazigalka]

I was really surprised that a board that costs 195eur new and 145eur used in mint condition can have 3xpcie4 nvme, so many usb connections, wifi AND pack alc4080 (I understand that's top tier built-in audio these days). Thanks for the recommendation. Still thinking what to do with cpu. 7500f is nice, very fast and cheap too.
a whole b650 tomahawk wifi+7500f+32g ddr5 6000 c30 setup would cost about 450eur. I would need a new cooler too, my old one doesn't have an am4/am5 mount, and it's quite large too. Would like to sell it and get a new 120mm that wouldn't block the access to the pcie clip like my d15s. any recommendations ? maybe the new arctic 36 ?

I can buy and will buy a Mortar b650m for 202 eur in the Netherlands. It has marginally better featureset mostly on audio. Might want to look at that too. You can go lower too, in the 170 eur range for Asrock Riptide and similar. But the used Tomahawk is nothing to sneeze at either.

Boot times are a general thing that can apparently be halved with memory context restore.

Heres my topic you might find some useful bits of info, even though Im placing a bit more cpu on it; it also contains a shopping list for RAM etc

Help me pick an mATX b650 board for 7800X3D

Its time to get rid of my 8700K and unleash the 7900XT proper! 7800X3D time. Im looking for the best board and RAM to pair with this cpu and frankly Im a bit lost in the woods. Im sold on this case though, the smaller size and build options here are pretty awesome.. lots of power in a small...

www.techpowerup.com

thx, the riptide is similar price but it's 650e so you get pcie5. I think I'll get this one. 15eur more than 650 tomahawk, I think it'll be worth it in the long run.
ninja edit: it has old alc version though, it's gonna need a card, so I think I'll pass.
Also, I noticed you have a 7900xt with a 8700k, how are they performing together ? I'm only upgrading cause I thought my skylake (10700f, 8x4600) is holding back my 4070 Super, but maybe it isn't. I have it paired with 32gb oloy 3600 c16 memory. Am I fine for now ? How about an upgrade to something like 4080 super equivalent ? It should be noted that I use FrameGen in every game I play and usually cap it around 90-100. I hope this isn't too many questions in one post.

 

[AusWolf]

I'm not sure what kind of board you're looking for apart from the back connections, but my MSi Pro B650M-A is a great board. The BIOS is easy to use, it's got a good VRM, adequate connectivity, etc.

And if you need more USB ports, you can always just use one of these (as long as your GPU doesn't take up all the space in your case):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sharplace-Expansion-Bracket-Motherboard-Header-White/dp/B0798QGRXK

 

[Vayra86]

I was really surprised that a board that costs 195eur new and 145eur used in mint condition can have 3xpcie4 nvme, so many usb connections, wifi AND pack alc4080 (I understand that's top tier built-in audio these days). Thanks for the recommendation. Still thinking what to do with cpu. 7500f is nice, very fast and cheap too.
a whole b650 tomahawk wifi+7500f+32g ddr5 6000 c30 setup would cost about 450eur. I would need a new cooler too, my old one doesn't have an am4/am5 mount, and it's quite large too. Would like to sell it and get a new 120mm that wouldn't block the access to the pcie clip like my d15s. any recommendations ? maybe the new arctic 36 ?


thx, the riptide is similar price but it's 650e so you get pcie5. I think I'll get this one. 15eur more than 650 tomahawk, I think it'll be worth it in the long run.
ninja edit: it has old alc version though, it's gonna need a card, so I think I'll pass.
Also, I noticed you have a 7900xt with a 8700k, how are they performing together ? I'm only upgrading cause I thought my skylake (10700f, 8x4600) is holding back my 4070 Super, but maybe it isn't. I have it paired with 32gb oloy 3600 c16 memory. Am I fine for now ? How about an upgrade to something like 4080 super equivalent ? It should be noted that I use FrameGen in every game I play and usually cap it around 90-100. I hope this isn't too many questions in one post.

The 8700K holds back the 7900XT by quite a bit. Most (all?) games are still very much playable and high gpu usage though, but there's a good 30-40% of potential perf in cpu heavy situations for gaming in the tank, too. It really does depend what you play though. If I run a bench like FF Heavensward or Crytek's Neon Noir my scores are 30% lower than they should be, or worse depending on resolution. Similarly, TW Warhammer 3 also notes much lower performance.

 

[jormungand]

I hope this helps you, no idea the prices or availability in you country but at least is more info for your pool of choices.

 

[Zazigalka]

The 8700K holds back the 7900XT by quite a bit. Most (all?) games are still very much playable and high gpu usage though, but there's a good 30-40% of potential perf in cpu heavy situations for gaming in the tank, too. It really does depend what you play though. If I run a bench like FF Heavensward or Crytek's Neon Noir my scores are 30% lower than they should be, or worse depending on resolution. Similarly, TW Warhammer 3 also notes much lower performance.

Usage seems okay, I'm not having problems with having cp2077 push the GPU near 99% with path tracing on really. I just thought newer architecture and memory will allow higher fps. I'm at +95% usage in every new game when I uncork the fps limit past 90.

 

[SL2]

I will likely just pair it with a 7500f for now, enough for a 4070 Super, and upgrade the cpu to 9000x3d in the future.

Just a reminder, the 3D models are probably not that far away. Rumors are saying september, we'll probably get an exact date within two weeks.

Mainboards AMD Sockel AM5 mit M.2 M-Key PCIe: ab 3x, SATA 6Gb/s: ab 6x, USB extern: ab 10x Preisvergleich Geizhals EU

Preisvergleich und Bewertungen für Mainboards AMD Sockel AM5 mit M.2 M-Key PCIe: ab 3x, SATA 6Gb/s: ab 6x, USB extern: ab 10x

geizhals.eu

 

[Zazigalka]

Just a reminder, the 3D models are probably not that far away. Rumors are saying september, we'll probably get an exact date within two weeks.

Mainboards AMD Sockel AM5 mit M.2 M-Key PCIe: ab 3x, SATA 6Gb/s: ab 6x, USB extern: ab 10x Preisvergleich Geizhals EU

Preisvergleich und Bewertungen für Mainboards AMD Sockel AM5 mit M.2 M-Key PCIe: ab 3x, SATA 6Gb/s: ab 6x, USB extern: ab 10x

geizhals.eu

I don't think I'll be buying a new x3d cpu at launch price when I'm building a whole system, more likely when 9800x3d is near 350eur and all I'll need is to drop the cpu in.

 

[SL2]

I don't think I'll be buying a new x3d cpu at launch price when I'm building a whole system, more likely when 9800x3d is near 350eur and all I'll need is to drop the cpu in.

Yeah, it also depends on what you can sell your 7500F for (unless you want to keep it). I'm guessing the added cost for picking 3D directly will be closer to <€50.

The 7800X3D dropped under €400 within 3 weeks from launch. As a comparison, 7500F + 7800X3D is currently €395.

Preisentwicklung für AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 8C/16T, 4.20-5.00GHz, boxed ohne Kühler (366 Tage) Geizhals EU

Preisentwicklung für AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 8C/16T, 4.20-5.00GHz, boxed ohne Kühler (100-100000910WOF) (366 Tage)

geizhals.eu

The 9800X3D going above €450 is unlikely.

These are all lowest prices, and maybe not the prices you can find where you live. You'd also need €250 extra to spend at launch, so I understand your plan.

 

[Sunny and 75]

10700f ... 4070 Super ... Am I fine for now ? How about an upgrade to something like 4080 super equivalent ?

If you mainly are a AAA gamer, the only upgrade worth recommending at this point is the upcoming 5080/5070 series.

If you also play competitive gaming, upgrading to a faster CPU is essential for a smooth gameplay session. Having said that, if your gameplay is already smooth (your FPS output matches your monitor's max refresh rate and you've got no frametime issues in competitive titles) then you're all set and no need to upgrade anything just yet.