Question Choosing a motherboard MSI Meg Ace Z390, MSI MPG X570 Gaming PRO Carbon, or ASRock AM4/X570 Steel Legend

[jblorenz]

Hi, I am trying to choose a new motherboard and with it a chipset. I like the new 3 gen AMD's, but I feel like I can get more bang for my buck on a motherboard with an intel cpu.

I want to future proof a bit, because I only build a new computer about every 7 years, updating some of the parts like the gpu here and there.

My Z390 option are

MSI MEG ACE

ASUS ROG Hero XI

My two x570 options are:

MSI MPG Pro Carbon

ASRock Steel Legend for a bit of a cheaper option.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[jon96789]

Do NOT even consider any of MSi's X570 MPG line of boards (the MPG Gaming Pro Carbon is one). They are widely known to have a crappy VRM design which reaches 95+ degrees C which then throttles down the CPU speed until the motherboard cools down. The MSi boards are fine with any AMD 65-watt CPU but are not designed to supply the current that the 105-watt CPUs require.

One of the best X570 motherboards is the ASUS X570 ROG Crosshair VIII Hero which has tested to have one of the best VRM implementations on boards under $400. Any of the ASUS X570 boards would be a good choice as ASUS has really done a good job on designing the power section of their boards. They have performed as good as or better than any comparably priced board.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Hi, I am trying to choose a new motherboard and with it a chipset. I like the new 3 gen AMD's, but I feel like I can get more bang for my buck on a motherboard with an intel cpu.

I want to future proof a bit, because I only build a new computer about every 7 years, updating some of the parts like the gpu here and there.

My Z390 option are

MSI MEG ACE

ASUS ROG Hero XI

My two x570 options are:

MSI MPG Pro Carbon

ASRock Steel Legend for a bit of a cheaper option.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Any particular reason to be hard-over for X570 boards? Reason being, you can save a lot by considering an X470 or even B450. Ryzen 3000 CPU performance is uncompromised on a B450 board making their value unbeatable and it seems to satisfy most peoples' hardware needs.

If the reason should somehow include 'PCIe gen 4' also consider that B550 boards are due pretty soon, although they're a bit of an unknown as far as price at the moment.

Lastly: what CPU are you planning on putting on the boards?

 

[jblorenz]

Any particular reason to be hard-over for X570 boards? Reason being, you can save a lot by considering an X470 or even B450. Ryzen 3000 CPU performance is uncompromised on a B450 board making their value unbeatable and it seems to satisfy most peoples' hardware needs.

If the reason should somehow include 'PCIe gen 4' also consider that B550 boards are due pretty soon, although they're a bit of an unknown as far as price at the moment.

Lastly: what CPU are you planning on putting on the boards?

I looked a few x470s, which I liked too, but then I read that sometimes you needed to get a loan chip from AMD to make the ryzen 3600 work with the board. I might be wrong about that.

I am looking at running a ryzen 3600 or i5 9600k.

I am even open to an i5 9400 because I usually do not overclock.

I am basically looking to spend around 400 between the motherboard and cpu. I just need the combo to be somewhat future proof because I usually only upgrade the motherboard and cpu every6-7 years.

 

[drea.drechsler]

I looked a few x470s, which I liked too, but then I read that sometimes you needed to get a loan chip from AMD to make the ryzen 3600 work with the board. I might be wrong about that.
...

MSI has a line of MAX boards with X470 as well as B450 chipsets that were released specifically for Ryzen 3000 and come pre-loaded with BIOS for the CPU. Look at one of those and you don't need an AMD Loaner.

Also, by now at least, most boards should have been updated to Ryzen 3000 BIOS'. If you have the opportunity to ask someone or 'see' the box yourself, just look for a "Ryzen 3000 Ready" sticker. Otherwise, getting a loaner CPU from somewhere would be needed as you say.

A really popular combo for value right now is the 3600 with an MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX. That also gives you a lot of future proof, assuming by that you mean you can upgrade CPU. A Tomahawk will run very nicely with a 3900X (12 core) and even a 3950X has been shown to work comfortably.