[SOLVED] Best budget X570 and X470 MOBO's?

[n00bguy84]

I will keep this short. I watched some videos on YouTube but they are a bit confusing.

I am looking for the best X570 and X470 motherboards that are $200. It can be a little more or a little less. Not too much cause my budget is $300.

I need a board that can handle a R7 3700X and can overclock well in case I choose to tinker with overclocking. RGB isn't a big issue but I am not against it.

My main concern is VRM's and MOSFETS.

So any recommendations would be helpful.

Also I need a board that can have a BIOS flashed without a CPU in it. I don't have an older AMD CPU since the 3700X would be my first AMD CPU.

 

[sizzling]

I don’t see any need to go over a MSI B450 Tonahawk Max. The CRM’s come out better than low end 570x boards and a 3700x doesn’t have much overclocking potential anyway. Most people recommend not overclocking and just using PBO.

 

[n00bguy84]

I don’t see any need to go over a MSI B450 Tonahawk Max. The CRM’s come out better than low end 570x boards and a 3700x doesn’t have much overclocking potential anyway. Most people recommend not overclocking and just using PBO.

I forgot to add that I need a MOBO that can have a BIOS flashed without a CPU in the socket.

 

[sizzling]

I forgot to add that I need a MOBO that can have a BIOS flashed without a CPU in the socket.

The Tomahawk Max (Max version) comes with a 3000 series BIOS installed, it’s what the Max branding means with MSI.

 

[n00bguy84]

The Tomahawk Max (Max version) comes with a 3000 series BIOS installed, it’s what the Max branding means with MSI.

How do you tell which B450 and X470 motherboards come with a 3000 series BIOS. I mean other than the MSI board you suggested.

 

[drea.drechsler]

How do you tell which B450 and X470 motherboards come with a 3000 series BIOS. I mean other than the MSI board you suggested.

With MSI boards, all their boards with MAX in their name you know come with 3000-ready BIOS'. That's their reason for being.

With any other boards, including MSI's non-MAX, you have to ask the retailer to be sure. While it's been long enough that most stock will be new manufacture with updated BIOS there is also 'new-old' stock that may not have gotten updated yet. Look for a 'Ryzen 3000 Ready' sticker on the box or your seller will update it for you and offer assurances it's good to go.

 

[jon96789]

I under stand the new MSi X570 Tomahawk is a pretty good board... Not sure about the BIOS flashing option tho.... It should be on sale pretty soon...

But do not get any of the other current MSi X570 MEG boards. They are all crap.

 

[ocer9999]

Any B450 would handle the 3700 pretty confortably with enough airflow.
If you overclock you might also want to consider overclocking or running the memory at higher clocks which the X570 do best, but it's silly to spend 300$+ on a motherboard that cost more than the CPU. For that CPU a X570 Pro 4 would do and cost half of the price.

 

[cryoburner]

I forgot to add that I need a MOBO that can have a BIOS flashed without a CPU in the socket.

In addition to MSI's B450 "Max" boards all being Ryzen 3000-ready, the B450 Tomahawk also features the ability to update the BIOS without a CPU, even the original non-Max version of that board. It's a feature MSI included on a number of their B450 boards, which is something other manufacturers didn't do, so even before they released the refreshed Max lineup, their boards were the go-to option for running 3rd-gen Ryzen processors on B450. Since both versions of the board cost about the same, you might as well go with the Max version though.

But do not get any of the other current MSi X570 MEG boards. They are all crap

Most of MSI's original X570 lineup wasn't on-par with the competition in terms of VRM performance, but they have recently begun releasing new boards that are vastly improved on that front, and are actually some of the best X570 boards available for the money. The soon to be released X570 Tomahawk, for example, comes in at $200 and offers VRM temperatures on par with the best X570 boards found at much higher price points, replacing a board in their lineup that had some of the worst vrm performance in that price category...

MSI X570 Tomahawk Motherboard Review

MSI's new Tomahawk is the most impressive X570 motherboard we've tested at the $200 price point and it deserves serious consideration if you're upgrading or building a...

www.techspot.com

I would agree that for a 3700X, you could likely get away something like the B450 Tomahawk. However, the X570 Tomahawk does offer additional features like 2.5Gbit ethernet (though most home networks are 1Gbit still), built-in wireless networking, a somewhat better audio chipset and PCIe 4.0. Those are all fine features, but depending on the budget of your build, it might potentially be better to put that extra $80+ toward something like graphics hardware instead.

 

[n00bguy84]

I under stand the new MSi X570 Tomahawk is a pretty good board... Not sure about the BIOS flashing option tho.... It should be on sale pretty soon...

But do not get any of the other current MSi X570 MEG boards. They are all crap.

I heard that in the videos and several people on other sites have told me to avoid the lower priced MSI boards cause they aren't very good.

I decided I would stick with X570 series boards for the upgrade path. I don't really want to have to buy a new motherboard later on to upgrade to a new AMD CPU.

 

[n00bguy84]

In addition to MSI's B450 "Max" boards all being Ryzen 3000-ready, the B450 Tomahawk also features the ability to update the BIOS without a CPU, even the original non-Max version of that board. It's a feature MSI included on a number of their B450 boards, which is something other manufacturers didn't do, so even before they released the refreshed Max lineup, their boards were the go-to option for running 3rd-gen Ryzen processors on B450. Since both versions of the board cost about the same, you might as well go with the Max version though.


Most of MSI's original X570 lineup wasn't on-par with the competition in terms of VRM performance, but they have recently begun releasing new boards that are vastly improved on that front, and are actually some of the best X570 boards available for the money. The soon to be released X570 Tomahawk, for example, comes in at $200 and offers VRM temperatures on par with the best X570 boards found at much higher price points, replacing a board in their lineup that had some of the worst vrm performance in that price category...

MSI X570 Tomahawk Motherboard Review

MSI's new Tomahawk is the most impressive X570 motherboard we've tested at the $200 price point and it deserves serious consideration if you're upgrading or building a...

www.techspot.com

I would agree that for a 3700X, you could likely get away something like the B450 Tomahawk. However, the X570 Tomahawk does offer additional features like 2.5Gbit ethernet (though most home networks are 1Gbit still), built-in wireless networking, a somewhat better audio chipset and PCIe 4.0. Those are all fine features, but depending on the budget of your build, it might potentially be better to put that extra $80+ toward something like graphics hardware instead.

I watched a video about the MSI X570 Tomahawk and it seems like an ok board. All the boards that are $200 or less or even just under $300 are mostly sold out on Newegg. So I will probably be waiting. I will keep the MSI X570 Tomahawk in mind as an option. But avoid the lower end X570 boards.

 

[n00bguy84]

Any B450 would handle the 3700 pretty confortably with enough airflow.
If you overclock you might also want to consider overclocking or running the memory at higher clocks which the X570 do best, but it's silly to spend 300$+ on a motherboard that cost more than the CPU. For that CPU a X570 Pro 4 would do and cost half of the price.

I am kind of leaning towards ASUS cause my current motherboard is an ASUS and I like their BIOS and I am familiar with it. I have had my current board, a H170 Pro Gaming for 4 years now and had no issues.

But it doesn't have to be ASUS. Like I said in a previous post, Newegg is sold out of all the $200 and underboards and most of the boards a little over $200 are sold out.