Question B450 vs X570 motherboard for AMD Ryzen 7 3700x - Questions

[Vabe]

Hi guys,

After looking into AMD processors, I finally decided that for what I do, they will be the better choice over Intels.
Now I have been reading about the difference between the boards (e.g X470 SLI, X570 PCI-E 4), and based on my budget, I managed to narrow my choices down to two motherboards:

• MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ($125)
  It has BIOS flashback so I could flash it should the 3rd gen CPU require that
• MSI MPG X570 GAMING PLUS ($190)

I plan on using the motherboard with the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X CPU and a nice pair of G.SKILL 16GB Ripjaws V DDR4 3200MHz RAM.

I'm having a hard time figuring out which motherboard to go with:

• do both of them support 3200MHz RAMs by default or would I have to overclock it? (I looked at the specifications and a few different sources, but still couldn't tell it for certain)
• which one do you think I should go with? Does the pros of the x570 justify the price difference?

Thank you in advance!

 

[PC Tailor]

MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ($125)
It has BIOS flashback so I could flash it should the 3rd gen CPU require that

The MAX version does not need a BIOS flash, it is compatible with 3rd Gen out of the box. That's what the MAX version is for.
It's the non-MAX version that requires a BIOS flash first.

do both of them support 3200MHz RAMs by default or would I have to overclock it

Technically no mainstream motherboards support that speed without XMP/DOCP - as this is a form of overclocking. But both of those boards support speeds of 3200 yes. But you do still have to technically overclock them.

Does the pros of the x570 justify the price difference?

Only really if you require PCIe Gen 4 now or in the near future. Which for most people isn't necessary. The X570 costs more for less as it's newer tech, and a newer chipset, but ultimately, you can pick up the older generation that has more features, for less. But simply won't have PCIe Gen 4 for example (and latest USB).

 

[Vabe]

[...] Only really if you require PCIe Gen 4 now or in the near future. Which for most people isn't necessary. The X570 costs more for less as it's newer tech, and a newer chipset, but ultimately, you can pick up the older generation that has more features, for less. But simply won't have PCIe Gen 4 for example (and latest USB).

Thank you for the quick answer! I think I'll put the price difference toward an SSD then.

With regards to the actual motherboard then, which one of the following should I go with?

• ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING
• MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX

I see that they're quite similar (apart from BIOS flashing), I just don't know what else to look for, what defines a good motherboard.. Are there any advantages for one over the other, or is it more like personal preference?

Thanks!

 

[PC Tailor]

MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX

I would opt for this precisely because you don't need to update the BIOS and the ASUS does not have CPU-less BIOS update support from my awareness.

 

[RodroX]

If you can afford it, I would go with the best X570 mainstream budget motheboard out there:

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wh...plus-atx-am4-motherboard-tuf-gaming-x570-plus (or the Wifi model if you need Wifi, price should be $20 less for the non-Wifi one)

Most budget MSI mobos have really low end, cheap VRM, so be carefull what you choose.

If you wana know the best motherboard for the money:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGY2mqTn2rc

 

[peteregg]

Just to set the record straight on this thread, the b450 Tomahawk Max has proven to be the best answer here. The x570 has a loud fan, costs more, and PCIe 4 provides nothing for 99% of users.

 

[GarrettL]

That’s been the consensus.

If budget limited it’s the obvious choice. But I build for the longer term and PCIe 4.0 may start being used by Nvidia. Yes, that is a rumor but if true then the next 2-3 years could be interesting on the gpu side. And if true I’ll take the investment risk and go with the x570.

But in June the B550 will likely become the obvious choice.

 

[peteregg]

I actually don't appreciate what they did with x570 pricing, and the chipset fan was an extra kick in the dirt. The b550 won't matter either because PCIe 4 will be useless for years. Even NVMe still has unnecessary performance gains for most.