Question Few questions about motherboard choice

xKetjow

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Jul 11, 2016
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Hi, I want to get a new motherboard and based on what I need from it (mainly 3-pin RGB connector, built in Bluetooth and at least the same or better than my current motherboard) I've narrowed it down to two choices, Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (£192) and MSI MPG B550 GAMING EDGE (£155). Which of these two would be a better choice? I've looked around and leaning towards the MSI one as saw that it's apparently better to get a decent B550 board over a budget X570 board so not sure if it's worth paying the extra £40 for the Asus one.

This is for an upgrade as my current PC is like this: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/zTrDJM , I've got the B450 Tomahawk currently but the USB 3.0 has a few bent pins on it, it doesn't have the 3-pin RGB connector and it doesn't have the built in Bluetooth which I heavily use which is mainly why I wanted to change.

Would there also be any compatibility issues if I was to buy either of these boards with any of my other existing components? It seems to be fine based on what PCPartPicker is saying but just want to make sure.

Thanks
 
Hi, I want to get a new motherboard and based on what I need from it (mainly 3-pin RGB connector, built in Bluetooth and at least the same or better than my current motherboard) I've narrowed it down to two choices, Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (£192) and MSI MPG B550 GAMING EDGE (£155). Which of these two would be a better choice? I've looked around and leaning towards the MSI one as saw that it's apparently better to get a decent B550 board over a budget X570 board so not sure if it's worth paying the extra £40 for the Asus one.

This is for an upgrade as my current PC is like this: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/zTrDJM , I've got the B450 Tomahawk currently but the USB 3.0 has a few bent pins on it, it doesn't have the 3-pin RGB connector and it doesn't have the built in Bluetooth which I heavily use which is mainly why I wanted to change.

Would there also be any compatibility issues if I was to buy either of these boards with any of my other existing components? It seems to be fine based on what PCPartPicker is saying but just want to make sure.

Thanks
The B550 motherboard doesn't have BIOS support for CPUs before the Ryzen 3000 series. Therefore your Ryzen 5 2600 won't work according to the official CPU support page. https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MPG-B550-GAMING-EDGE-WIFI/support#cpu

The X570 on the other hand does have support for the Ryzen 5 2600.
 
Hi, I want to get a new motherboard and based on what I need from it (mainly 3-pin RGB connector, built in Bluetooth and at least the same or better than my current motherboard) I've narrowed it down to two choices, Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (£192) and MSI MPG B550 GAMING EDGE (£155). Which of these two would be a better choice? I've looked around and leaning towards the MSI one as saw that it's apparently better to get a decent B550 board over a budget X570 board so not sure if it's worth paying the extra £40 for the Asus one.

This is for an upgrade as my current PC is like this: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/zTrDJM , I've got the B450 Tomahawk currently but the USB 3.0 has a few bent pins on it, it doesn't have the 3-pin RGB connector and it doesn't have the built in Bluetooth which I heavily use which is mainly why I wanted to change.

Would there also be any compatibility issues if I was to buy either of these boards with any of my other existing components? It seems to be fine based on what PCPartPicker is saying but just want to make sure.

Thanks
While it's true that the updated BIOS' for B550 boards aren't supposed to support CPU's prior to 3000 series, they do. The motherboard MFR's have gone ahead and included the modules (something called the SMU) in the BIOS to enable them (Summit Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge, at least). Every B550 BIOS I've examined have had the SMU's for Ryzen 2000 CPU's and there are many people merrily using them.

I'm not sure what "3 pin RGB" support means. It seems most motherboard mfr's support their preferred RGB protocols...MSI's is Mystic Light, ASUS's is Aura Sync. I'm not an RGB fan and don't use it but I know Asus' is a four pin plug on my B550m TUF Gaming board. It does have a three pin plug...actually a 4 pin plug with one pin missing...for Aura Gen2. Not sure if that's your "3 pin RGB" expectation.

So you need to make sure Aura/Aura Gen2 and MSI's Mystic Light works for what you want if you want to use motherboard based control. Otherwise I'm pretty sure the best way to make sure you get what you want, and can be moved to any future upgrades too, is to buy a separate RGB hub that can be controlled from an internal USB port on the board. That way you can also avoid installing Asus' Aura Sync software and MSI's Dragon Center (to get their Mystic Lights) for controlling it. They are both dogs that have been shown to lead to a lot of the performance problems... such as high CPU temp even when idle.
 
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xKetjow

Distinguished
Jul 11, 2016
38
0
18,530
While it's true that the updated BIOS' for B550 boards aren't supposed to support CPU's prior to 3000 series, they do. The motherboard MFR's have gone ahead and included the modules (something called the SMU) in the BIOS to enable them (Summit Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge, at least). Every B550 BIOS I've examined have had the SMU's for Ryzen 2000 CPU's and there are many people merrily using them.

I'm not sure what "3 pin RGB" support means. It seems most motherboard mfr's support their preferred RGB protocols...MSI's is Mystic Light, ASUS's is Aura Sync. I'm not an RGB fan and don't use it but I know Asus' is a four pin plug on my B550m TUF Gaming board. It does have a three pin plug...actually a 4 pin plug with one pin missing...for Aura Gen2. Not sure if that's your "3 pin RGB" expectation.

So you need to make sure Aura/Aura Gen2 and MSI's Mystic Light works for what you want if you want to use motherboard based control. Otherwise I'm pretty sure the best way to make sure you get what you want, and can be moved to any future upgrades too, is to buy a separate RGB hub that can be controlled from an internal USB port on the board. That way you can also avoid installing Asus' Aura Sync software and MSI's Dragon Center (to get their Mystic Lights) for controlling it. They are both dogs that have been shown to lead to a lot of the performance problems... such as high CPU temp even when idle.
Basically on my current board, there's only the JRGB1 port which accepts a full 4 pin plug, but the one I need is a 3 pin one to support this sort of cable, which is probably the 4 pin with one pin missing you mentioned, had no idea about the performance problems though and might buy an RGB hub instead as you suggested so that might not be as much of a requirement anymore. I've checked and both of these boards have this header so would both fit in for this, but would still like to change due to the broken USB 3.0 connector and the lack of inbuilt Bluetooth