I'm not running a Zen2, still on my 2700X at this point. I want to snag a 3600 or 3700 at some point. But all the way up to the 3800 is on the approved CPU list after July's BIOS upgrade (iirc it was that one).
I will say that recent BIOS updates brought back PBO, and then the following update fixed a PBO issue I was having...higher temps and lower PBO clocks. I now no longer have to run a modded BIOS to have proper PBO. So far my 2700X and X370 combo has been quite solid overall. Kinda ho-hum on the OC-side of things, but really that's not an issue this time around.
If I do snag a Zen2, I'll definitely letcha know. If you snag one soon, I'd love to hear how it works on these boards. From what I've read the VRM's on these are similar to the higher-end boards so taking on the higher-end Zen2 CPU's shouldn't be an issue at all.
Well, either way good to hear!
And yeah, it's really not a bad board. Buildzoid himself called it overbuilt, heh. Funny anecdote. Back when I first assembled this system was having some rounds of everyone's favorite game... "Testbench With Your Main Rig." I wanted to see what the absolute max thermal, power, and stability headroom was for the setup... mostly out of boredom. I figured if I fry it, my 40 lashes is buying new hardware. And somehow life goes on...
But I digress. I was getting to max power draw on air, for my particular setup, anyway. With an overclock just a hair over 4.3ghz and a ton of voltage, I managed to get over 250W ripping through the traces... can't remember the exact number but it was definitely closer to 300W than 200! That I remember distinctly. Upon loading the system down, just trying to hit everything at once, wattage pegged at 250 and my eyes bugged out as I watched it steadily climb. I did this a small handful of times... always with the same conclusion. Hard power down... just up and quit. Now, here's where it gets kind of interesting. The CPU was actually stable enough to complete the tests consistently, which I learned by turning the voltage down a couple of stops. If I really pushed I could make it toss up a WHEA or induce a hard lock, but no power-down. Also of note was that when the shutdowns occurred, I wasn't yet at TJmax... more like upper 80s with spikes in low 90's, where the chip again generally kept chugging with just a little lower voltage. Given all of this, I can only assume the VRM's were triggering the shutdown. That had to be the point where the current and sheer power caused them to get away abruptly. More telling, without a cooldown it would trigger pretty much immediately. Following a cooldown I would gain a minute of runtime. I could almost predict it with a stopwatch... which again makes me think temperature, as temperature climbs usually occur consistently... same loads, same base point, same temperature curve. It hits a certain, specific point and there just is no more give left.
I mean, clearly there was enough wiggle everywhere else. To me 280w sounds about right, if not sliightly generous. Probably a little more with significant cooling, though I'd never go there without confirming the kind of current the components on-board are actually up for. No sense in knowingly frying my board with total assurance of that outcome. But bleh... even if I slice a good chunk of that off, still seems like plenty, as long as I'm not bombing the thing with ridiculous unrealistic multithreaded loads all day long.
Anywho... I stopped after that. Sure, I coulda had a new board in two days max if I fried it then and there. Just decided maybe that wasn't so favorable
Really just total speculation on my part, but given that experience with this board, I feel like I can safely assume VRM's will not be a concern and likely would not be with even a 3900x. Not like the TDP's have changed drastically from past generations. I dunno, haven't looked at what kind of power draw people are ACTUALLY seeing with them, but I'm betting it's nothing too scary for my board. But then, I assume that to be true 90% of the time, with 90% of all boards running any consumer Ryzen chip. Under certain circumstances you
can get them to pull Intel levels of power - been there, done that, but it's not like they are known for running that way without serious coercion. I dunno, I haven't been looking much at the 12-core Ryzens so correct me if I'm wrong. I'm talking purely theoretical here.
But really, looking at TPU's own numbers for max power draw, I don't see why this board couldn't handle a 3900x if it can handle a 2700x... we're talking not even 20w difference.
The only showstopper would be if the BIOS was coded to prevent it from accepting it, which I think would be strange. So many other factors I'm not considering... but it's interesting to think about...
But again, I would have to look at real power scenarios for the 3900x. I assume no troubles, unless we're talking the really seedy 6 'phases' on a doubler to give you an actual 3 crappy ones types of affairs. The Strix x370-f is... what? 8+2? Like, a real, not-cheap one at that. Some people get into too much of a tizzy over VRM's, I think.
EDIT: Seems to be some conflicting information on the board. Some say 6 for vcore and 2-phase doubled for SOC. Others say 8+2. Honestly couldn't say which it actually is. Either one is probably good though. 60A International Rectifier power stages too! That was a major motivator for me... kinda thinking if I upgrade later that would come in handy, and if not would undoubtedly run a tad cooler and more efficiently. So definitely up to a 3900x on paper. Very little doubt there.
My only concern is compatibility. If there will be problems at all, that'll be it. If it's listed I can be reasonably sure it will boot, but I can't be sure what silly things won't work, or won't work right
Well, and maybe pushing potentially half-fried VRM's on this particular board
I'm not too smart sometimes. But I know and accept it, so it's cool. I have a pattern where I get going with a setup and settle-in for a while until inevitably I get the irresistible urge to fuck with things and end up swapping components long before they wear out, or even become obsolete.
Suffice to say lifespan is not my primary concern, as long as I can potentially squeeze a few short years out. With that in mind, why not have a little fun? And hey, if it runs high-end Zen 2 stable with PBO, that's pretty kickass. Probably worth trying and sharing. This board is going for $150 new on Amazon, and under ~$120 used. Might actually be a total winner for a very solid budget option for those who want to run the latest Ryzen-series chips for the performance but don't care quite so much about pcie 4.0 or perhaps getting the aaaabbbsolute fastest RAM clocks possible (though that'll be interesting too! Can't wait to see how that goes.) Would be a steal for people not feeling the crazy prices or caring for the features on fancy x570 boards but still wanting an actual good board that looks pretty good and has a strong foundation. It's an older board now... one of their first Ryzen boards. But it's also not a budget board.
If it works, this board will have then run a member of every Ryzen family to date in it. Part of why I want to do it. When's the last time something like that happened with a platform? Kind of makes for a neat way to save some cash on a build, for those willing to do some research.
So yeah, one way or another, I'll be sure to chime in on how it goes and try to break down in detail how everything shakes down. Have some fun and hopefully come out with some helpful information for people out there. I also have the B350-F that I can't get rid of. It has some problems with the USB power bus and I sent it out to Asus for repair but it seems they just tested it and sent it back to me lol, so I'm stuck with it. But I can also play with that at some point. There are BIOS versions good for Ryzen 3000 available for it now, too.
At any rate, gimme a month and a half or so to gather funds and I'll have the thing in my hands. Maybe in two months time there will be some 3900x's for less than the roughly
$850 they're going for at the moment! :O If I could get a 3900x for a non-insane price I might be inclined to hold out for the cash and try it... and if it's not holding up or for whatever reason it just won't run, I'll set my sights on an x570 or a really good x470... and just ride on the excellent 2600/x370 setup for a lil longer. Otherwise, 3700x for ~$350 in just shy of two months is sounding more realistic lol.
