[SOLVED] Asus vs Gigabyte for 5900x

[victortsoi]

So I've been an Asus fan for almost ten years for intel chips. I've found the motherboards to be very reliable, with great overclocking/utility software. I'm looking to do a 5900x build, going with AMD for the first time. I'm torn between the top ASUS board(crossfire or ROG Strix B550-F ) and the X570 Aorus master.

I'm going to want to do a modest overclock to maybe 4.5-4.8. I also want to overclock my RAM to about 4400. Now it seems that there are issues

• It seems that the Asus boards are limited to 2133mhz for RAM? This is kind of shocking to me, and seems very low. Is there something about Ryzen and RAM that I don't get? Can an XMP profile still work?
• If I want to overclock, should I go with the Gigabyte this time? It seems to support higher RAM Speeds.

Please advise if I am misreading the specifications or making a wrong assumption. Thanks!

 

[Endre]

So I've been an Asus fan for almost ten years for intel chips. I've found the motherboards to be very reliable, with great overclocking/utility software. I'm looking to do a 5900x build, going with AMD for the first time. I'm torn between the top ASUS board(crossfire or ROG Strix B550-F ) and the X570 Aorus master.

I'm going to want to do a modest overclock to maybe 4.5-4.8. I also want to overclock my RAM to about 4400. Now it seems that there are issues

• It seems that the Asus boards are limited to 2133mhz for RAM? This is kind of shocking to me, and seems very low. Is there something about Ryzen and RAM that I don't get? Can an XMP profile still work?
• If I want to overclock, should I go with the Gigabyte this time? It seems to support higher RAM Speeds.

Please advise if I am misreading the specifications or making a wrong assumption. Thanks!

Well, AMD made a partnership deal with Gigabyte.
Also, Gigabyte boards, usually, have better VRMs, while Asus’ strength lies in its user-friendly BIOS menu.
I’d choose Gigabyte over Asus (in the same price range).

About overclock and XMP, things can go wrong with both brands!
For OC you’ll need good cooling.
Also, memory XMP isn’t a guarantee! Sometimes it stops working after a few months of active usage!
I wouldn’t use both: memory XMP (which is an overclock) and CPU overclock simultaneously!
But that’s just me...

 

[victortsoi]

Well, AMD made a partnership deal with Gigabyte.
Also, Gigabyte boards, usually, have better VRMs, while Asus’ strength lies in its user-friendly BIOS menu.
I’d choose Gigabyte over Asus (in the same price range).

About overclock and XMP, things can go wrong with both brands!
For OC you’ll need good cooling.
Also, memory XMP isn’t a guarantee! Sometimes it stops working after a few months of active usage!
I wouldn’t use both: memory XMP (which is an overclock) and CPU overclock simultaneously!
But that’s just me...

Price is not really an object, I'd spend up to 600 on a board. Is gigabyte software OK compared to the asus uefi?

If I got
: G.SKILL 32GB (2 x 16GB) Ripjaws V Series DDR4 PC4-25600 3200MHz, would it work well with any board?

 

[Endre]

Price is not really an object, I'd spend up to 600 on a board. Is gigabyte software OK compared to the asus uefi?

If I got
: G.SKILL 32GB (2 x 16GB) Ripjaws V Series DDR4 PC4-25600 3200MHz, would it work well with any board?

Gigabyte UEFI BIOS menu is alright.

About memory, I usually choose stability over speed.
So, I’d go with a memory kit that runs at 3200MT/s ~ 3466MT/s @1.2V, instead of @1.35V.
Here’s an example of that:

https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Technology-HyperX-HX434C19FBK2-32/dp/B07BJJSQK7

It runs by default at those speeds, no OC’ing needed!

https://www.kingston.com/dataSheets/HX434C19FBK2_32.pdf

 

[victortsoi]

Gigabyte UEFI BIOS menu is alright.

About memory, I usually choose stability over speed.
So, I’d go with a memory kit that runs at 3200MT/s ~ 3466MT/s @1.2V, instead of @1.35V.
Here’s an example of that:

https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Technology-HyperX-HX434C19FBK2-32/dp/B07BJJSQK7

It runs by default at those speeds, no OC’ing needed!

https://www.kingston.com/dataSheets/HX434C19FBK2_32.pdf

Thanks. I just don't get how the Rog Strix Mobo could have such a low speed for RAM. Correction to the above, I'd likely get this:

G-Skill-Trident-PC4-28800-CL16-19-19-39-F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC

 

[Rogue Leader]

Thanks. I just don't get how the Rog Strix Mobo could have such a low speed for RAM. Correction to the above, I'd likely get this:

G-Skill-Trident-PC4-28800-CL16-19-19-39-F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC

Don't know where you got that spec but the ASUS boards are not limited to 2133 at all

https://rog.asus.com/us/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-b550-f-gaming-model/spec

4 x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4 5100(O.C)/5000(O.C)/4800(O.C.)/4600(O.C)/4400(O.C)/4133(O.C.)/4000(O.C.)/3866(O.C.)/3600(O.C.)/3466(O.C.)/3200/3000/2800/2666/2400/2133 MHz Un-buffered Memory

I wouldn't build a Ryzen system with anything less than 3600 mhz ram. The one you selected above is a good choice.

 

[Endre]

Thanks. I just don't get how the Rog Strix Mobo could have such a low speed for RAM. Correction to the above, I'd likely get this:

G-Skill-Trident-PC4-28800-CL16-19-19-39-F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC

On paper, that kit looks amazing, but I have to warn you about memory XMP instability issues in general!

Many people are complaining that their modules don’t run at those advertized speeds on the long run! (Especially owners of G. Skill modules).

 

[drea.drechsler]

So I've been an Asus fan for almost ten years for intel chips. I've found the motherboards to be very reliable, with great overclocking/utility software. I'm looking to do a 5900x build, going with AMD for the first time. I'm torn between the top ASUS board(crossfire or ROG Strix B550-F ) and the X570 Aorus master.

I'm going to want to do a modest overclock to maybe 4.5-4.8. I also want to overclock my RAM to about 4400. Now it seems that there are issues

• It seems that the Asus boards are limited to 2133mhz for RAM? This is kind of shocking to me, and seems very low. Is there something about Ryzen and RAM that I don't get? Can an XMP profile still work?
• If I want to overclock, should I go with the Gigabyte this time? It seems to support higher RAM Speeds.

Please advise if I am misreading the specifications or making a wrong assumption. Thanks!

I'm not that familiar with 5000 series CPU's but I rather think fixed clock of 4.5-4.8Ghz would be a serious hit to performance. I thought they were commonly hitting 4.9-5.1 on their own, but that could just be over-enthusiastic hype.

Also, 4400 is only a good idea if you get it without de-syncing IF. With a willing memory kit 3600 is quite likely, but don't expect more than 3700 or so without de-syncing. Since 5000 CPU's use the same I/O die as 3000 they share the same capabilities and limitations so you can look at the bountiful experiences of 2nd gen users to guide you there.

Personally, I've only had dodgy experiences with Gigabyte boards. I'd go with the Asus...and that Strix B550-F is a great one. They benefit from a very active ROG users forum too, where you'll find a lot of advice very specific to your board.

 

[victortsoi]

I'm not that familiar with 5000 series CPU's but I rather think fixed clock of 4.5-4.8Ghz would be a serious hit to performance. I thought they were commonly hitting 4.9-5.1 on their own, but that could just be over-enthusiastic hype.

Also, 4400 is only a good idea if you get it without de-syncing IF. With a willing memory kit 3600 is quite likely, but don't expect more than 3700 or so without de-syncing. Since 5000 CPU's use the same I/O die as 3000 they share the same capabilities and limitations so you can look at the bountiful experiences of 2nd gen users to guide you there.

Personally, I've only had dodgy experiences with Gigabyte boards. I'd go with the Asus...and that Strix B550-F is a great one. They benefit from a very active ROG users forum too, where you'll find a lot of advice very specific to your board.

Thanks so much- I'm looking at the x570 rog strix, unless people really feel B550 is better for mostly gaming. Could you elaborate on the 4.9-5.1 clock? I'm coming from my experience with the 8700k, where I overclocked to 4800mhz using bios settings. Is it done differently with Ryzen?

 

[drea.drechsler]

Thanks so much- I'm looking at the x570 rog strix, unless people really feel B550 is better for mostly gaming. Could you elaborate on the 4.9-5.1 clock? I'm coming from my experience with the 8700k, where I overclocked to 4800mhz using bios settings. Is it done differently with Ryzen?

In general, X570 boards get their worth from more gen 4 PCIe lanes and sockets. A B550 will have gen 4 lanes to the GPU and the NVME, gen 3 everywhere else, and that's all that most users need. B550 boards are more than adequate for gaming and the B550 Strix-F is at the top of the heap with more than enough VRM to power a 5950X CPU.

Overclocking Ryzen is, indeed, very different. Reason is the extremely aggressive boost algorithm AMD has implemented that drives the CPU close to it's silicon limits by design. It will eagerly boost individual cores very high only when needed, driving it with (what looks like) very high voltage to keep it stable. It monitors dozens of sensors all over the cores and changes boost ratios and voltage up to a hundred times a second for each core individually. That lets it drive the CPU very close to the safe limit of the silicon.

What holds the boost algorithm back more than anything else is cooling: keep it cool and it stays boosting longer. You can also encourage the CPU to stay boosting with PBO (Performance Boost Override) that opens up power and current limits. Doing so raises heat output a lot (so you really need good cooling for it) but can improve performance pretty significantly. What's important here, though, is the boost algorithm is left doing it's thing so it's going to protect the CPU by lowering clock and voltage if it's getting outside of safe ranges.

Many people try all-core overclocking, but the gains are very low and it can take a lot of tweaking to get it stable at a low voltage to be safe. Even when done right light threaded performance (most important for gaming) might be hurt as the algorithm is so aggressive on it's own. But if you're only interested in heavily threaded performance (as for rendering or video editing) it can be a way to go. But the boost algorithm is locked out so you're on your own as far as monitoring temps so keeping the fixed voltage low is critical to avoid early degradation.

And then there's per-CCD/per-CCX overclocking. Identify your strongest cores (hit the highest clocks at lowest voltage) and the CCD/CCX they're on and overclock those highest. That can help games, but then how they make sure the scheduler puts the important threads on those cores is beyond me.

That's it in a nutshell, the specifics of it for ryzen 5000 I don't know (I've a 3700X, it works extremely well with a PBO overclock). I'm aware it's somewhat different with Zen 3. I suppose because CPU's have been in such short supply there's not a whole lot of experiences being posted, but those that are suggest very eager boosting behaviour even at stock, when set up right in BIOS with good air or liquid cooling.

Some people have used Clock Tuner for Ryzen (CTR) to help get an overclock...there's recent versions for Zen 3 come out. It works by using RyzenMaster software (it has to be installed) to iterative test clocks and voltages (so you don't have to) and stress tests them until settling on a combination. Once it's done, you still have to set up the overclock in BIOS though.

 

[sonofjesse]

You don't need a 400 dollar MB for a AMD chip. Unless it has something you have to have. Lot of good 200-250 boards.